For anyone who doesn’t know, Coronation Street is a soap opera which follows the lives of people living in a fictitious town in Manchester, northern England. The show has been broadcast weekly, on several nights, since 1960 and is a bit of an institution in this country, attracting audiences of around 6 million viewers per episode. Over the years, the show has tackled some very difficult storylines, from bigamy, gaslighting, domestic violence, addiction and murder. It takes challenging topics and uses the storylines to raise awareness of social issues, educating and entertaining viewers at the same time.

Recently, the show has been addressing institutionalised racism and unconscious bias with a storyline about a young black man, James, who is discriminated against by the police, because of his colour. Whilst test driving a high-powered sports car, James was racially profiled and stopped in the street by an officer, PC Brody. James was compliant and polite throughout the interaction with Brody. However, when James asked why he’d been stopped, Brody arrested him for obstruction.

As the storyline progressed, the institutionalised racism within the police force was further highlighted and James’ complaint to the police was rejected. It also became apparent that PC Brody was unwilling to reflect on his unconscious bias (his underlying prejudice and stereotyping of James) and how this influenced his beliefs, his decision making at the time and his subsequent behaviour. Indeed, even when a colleague who knew James vouched for him, Brody would not take this new information on-board and remained unaware of how his stereotyping had blinkered his perception. However, when James appealed the decision, his complaint was upheld and he received a formal apology from the police. In a further twist, PC Brody visited James at home, to apologise for the ‘misunderstanding’. During their brief conversation, James further highlighted how unconscious bias works by pointing out to Brody that he wouldn’t have felt threatened had he known that James was a well-paid footballer, who could easily afford the car.

This was a storyline which raised awareness of some of the mechanisms which can reinforce racism in our society. It highlighted the frustrations and difficulties faced by those affected by institutionalised racism, whilst challenging the viewer to consider their own unconscious bias. It also drew attention to the complexities of addressing these issues within society and the moral imperative of doing so.

If you have a story about a person, group of people, organisation, concept, policy, system etc which exists in an ‘I’m OK, you’re OK’ way, please share it by clicking the nominate button below.