THIS week I thought I would write about something slightly different. My parents went to America recently and it fascinated me to learn more about their racial history. And of course, it's not just a thing that did and still affects the US today, it’s happening here too.

The UK still suffers higher unemployment amongst black, Asian and people from ethnic minorities. One in four people in Britain have felt racially abused, but this also includes falls in equality amongst all races.

It goes without saying but acceptance is key in communities no matter what your background is or where you have come from. We are improving but there is still more that can be done.

The article that I have been reading is about Nashville in America, which looks at the history of racial events in the period 1957-1968. It looks at how Nashville as a community played a vital role in the civil rights movement during the late 1950s and 1960s. It was one of the first places in the south east that was able to combine places of business in a peaceful way amongst everyone in the neighbourhood. It trained young people to participate in non-violet protests in order to achieve what they wanted socially or rather what they deserved.

Nashville struggled with the battles of racism. One of the snippets spoke of a bomb made of dynamite which badly damaged Hattie Cotton Elementary school in East Nashville, where the only African American child who attended class there was sent back to a previous all black school. At that time, the desegregation was slow, with only 19 African American first graders beginning school at what had previously been known as eight all-white school institutions.

I found it incredible to learn about such a vital part of history that realistically wasn’t happening that long ago and is still relevant now. The king of peace himself, Martin Luther King stated: “I came to Nashville not to bring inspiration, but to gain inspiration from the great movement that has taken place in our community.”

I just thought this was something to reflect on ourselves, as wouldn’t it be incredible in an ideal world to say this about everywhere, even our small, wonderful market town of Devizes. It is easy for people to find the hatred and the judgements, but it feels so much better to do quite the opposite.

The article then goes on to mention how people who lived in turbulent areas of that time as well as the youth are at the forefront of America’s consciousness and so they should be. Some examples of the cruelty portrayed in those times makes me question humanity but it is important to notice the progress we are making towards harmony.

Being actively involved in the arts at the moment, I am seeing a real shift into all ethnicities having a chance to get work or make their own and this can only continue on further until it isn’t even a problem anymore.

A play called Half Breed by Natasha Marshall recently toured around our area and other regions such as London and has been written by a local girl who has achieved a great accomplishment in telling the tale of how she personally dealt with racial abuse growing up.

My family told me how much of a success it had been, so much so that tickets had all sold out extremely rapidly even for showings in London itself.

So perhaps as the saying goes the best is yet to come and soon we can all be one. That includes everyone.