LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has said he prefers to keep the term BAME to represent people of colour in the UK.
Khan said the abbreviation - which stands for black, Asian and minority ethnic – is used as a term of "strength rather than weakness".
Khan told Eastern Eye on Wednesday (8): "I think the umbrella term BAME is very important for representing people of colour. There are different races of people, and different backgrounds.
“And what we don't want is the umbrella term to mask some of the challenges there are within different communities.”
His remarks come after broadcasters BBC and ITV said they would ban the use of the term following recommendations by broadcaster Lenny Henry.
An industry report published by the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity (LHC) highlighted that BAME is used as a catch-all to describe all non-white groups; however, the report concluded that the term fails to distinguish differences between the groups.
Khan said, “BAME has got a very important role to play as an umbrella term, but also let's not be embarrassed about talking about people of Pakistani heritage or people who are African Caribbean, people of Hindu faith, etc. We are a diverse city, a diverse country, I think it’s a strength not a weakness.”
The BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Viacom CBS UK have all agreed to avoid using the term in their content and communications.
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