Here's a part of that Question Time show which hasn't yet been mentioned on this thread, and I don't think has been widely noted elsewhere:

A young White male audience member said he had a question for the lady on the panel. The moderator asked him which lady he was referring to, and he answered Baron Warsi, because he said he knew Bonnie Greer's name.

I believe this is significant on two levels:

1. That two Women of Color were referred to as "lady" and it appears that most people thought that a given. Think about what that means in terms of the 1863 Ain't I A Woman speech that is attributed to the African American female anti-slavery activist Sojourner Truth.


2. That a woman without a nobility title was referred to as a "lady".

-snip-

I think that both of these points show how far people in the early 21st century have come regarding issues of race and class.

This doesn't mean that there nothing more positive that needs to be done in those areas. Obviously, in light of the BNP and other racist, fascist organizations, anyone who thought that we had eradicated the need to positively and effectively work through issues of race, ethnicity, and class has his or her head buried waaay down in the sand.

But, in my opinion, that small exchange in which the White audience member and the White moderator referred to Bonnie Greer and Baroness Warsi as ladies and the audience took that as a matter of course definitely shows that we have made some progress.