Interesting....

When GD first started school we were looking at her reading book and I asked her what was different about one of the little girls, she looked closely and said " she's wearing red shoes " she was indeed but she was also of African origin and all the other children were white.

I do think that there was built-in racism at the time I grew up. My grandmother was very racist and did not hold back on her views, all of which I heard as a child. I know my FIL was the same - what a pain he was!

We did not see a black person from one year to the next, so for us it was something unusual.

I remember when I first went to uni, there was a mature black male student on our course and during a tutorial the tutor said: "Well Mr Blackman, what do you think?" - I nearly fell off my chair! But in fact, that was his name!

I think things have changed even in the last 20 years. We welcomed a black girl into our home under the holidays for inner city children scheme and took her and my own DDs to a swimming pool. My Dds were very upset when they were getting dressed as they said this lass had been the target of some very unpleasant racist comments. And one day the neighbouring child come to play for the afternoon and they all finished up siting on the sofa under a duvet watching Mary Poppins - when the neighbour came to fetch her child, she looked horrified and dragged her DD out and off home at some speed - she never let her child come to play with ours again. I am guessing that it was not Mary Poppins that set her off.

Would that happen nowadays? - I think not.

When young, my eldest son was telling me about a new boy in school and all he mentioned was he had “lovely curly hair”, the colour of his skin was not mentioned, it was lovely. One of my little grandsons was lucky enough to be chosen as a mascot to walk out on the pitch with professional footballers. Later, I asked him if he enjoyed it and he said “ yes I did and I held ........... ‘s hand and he even had a black face” . Kids learn racist behaviour from others, they are not born with it.

Born in 1949 - grew up in middle class part of Merseyside. All colours and parts of the world at school - Norwegian, Nigerian you name it. Nobody made any distinction. It was only when I left Liverpool I came across the idea that your skin colour was something that might matter.

In our (small) church we have members from all over the world, Africa, South America, Caribbean, Asia, western and eastern Europe, and I feel privileged that they are all my friends. It also means when we share a meal there is an amazing variety of lovely food. They all seem to be great cooks. I was born in the 1950s.

I was born in 1953 and when I was about 5 I bought home a boy who had moved in a long the street to play with my brother and I. He was from Trinidad and my mother told me to send him home. I was confused and horrified at the same time and have continued to be confused and horrified but actively non racist all my life. Sorry illtellhim you don't speak for us all even if you think you do. You sound pretty dogmatic yourself.

I was born in the early 1940s, but spent a good part of my childhood in the Far East, mostly in Singapore and Malaysia. My parents socialised with people of all origins (those two countries have in built diversity with significant numbers of not just Malays but also Chinese and Indians and, when we were there Portuguese and Dutch people) and my mother taught at the top girls school there. Racism there was but mainly among the local population for each other.

My family come from London and I lived there in the mid 60s and while I agree that there was a lot of racism then (and sexism), to say that for our generation racism is built in is quite ridiculous.

Not knowing the GN members background I cannot comment on the situation in their community, but racism was not common among my friends and family. DH has a mixed race godson born in 1967.

There is research that shows the same. Kids under five don't notice skin colour.

I'm still RIGHT

Agreed, kitty - I'm your vintage and my friends/acquaintances are "the one who's good at knitting", "the keep fit fan", "the good neighbour" etc, not the black one, the brown one, the oriental one.

(Hope you've noticed the frequent playing of your greatest hit on the BBC drama The Last Post recently!!)

I wasn't born in the 1950s, but in 1940. I absolutely refute the assertion that my generation is racist. Some probably are, but the same can be said about each subsequent generation.

I think its great!

When DD2 started work in a supermarket while she was still at school, she told us about a new friend she had made who worked on the next till and never stopped talking. She was, apparently very tall, slim and pretty - she forgot to mention she was Indian and it took ages for us to work out who she meant. They bonded over a love of Take That and Grunt Mitchell!

I was born in 1949 and I am not racist. I do notice the colour of a person's skin but also their hair, accent etc.

I once went for an interview and was asked whether I had any friends from ethnic minorities or other races but said I hadn't. I forgot my friends who are Indian, Polish, Jewish, Moslem and my Chinese Malayan sister in law.

Lovely, isn’t it??
Nobody is born hating another person simply because of the colour of their skin.

Sadly, if like us you were born in the 1950,s the being racist is built in.
I can feel the righteous going crazy at their key boards but at the end of the day I'm Right