Western Europe has welcomed millions of ethnic minority immigrants in the decades since World War II. These individuals have made important contributions to the productivity and dynamism of their new homelands. Moreover, they have become an integral part of unions, churches, and community organizations; they have borne children who have grown up attending the nation's schools; and in many cases they and their descendants have become full-fledged citizens of their new countries. The positive influence of immigrants and their children on national life has not, however, served as a shield against the effects of racism. Ethnic minorities often bear the brunt of economic disadvantages, venomous harassment, or physical violence because of the color of their skin, their accent, or their faith.

States have been relatively slow to respond to these negative side effects of diversity. When the first postwar wave of ethnic minorities began arriving in Europe in the 1950s and early 1960s, it was legal for pub owners to refuse them a drink because they were not white, for employers to fling racial insults at them, and for landlords to write advertisements for prospective tenants that plainly stated “no coloureds.” In 1963, the owner of a Bristol bus company claimed that he would not employ non-whites as bus drivers for fear that whites would then refuse to drive (The Times, May 7, 1963).