大象传媒

Is it racist for a person of colour to call someone a coconut? Should it be a crime?

A teacher was put on trial after she was pictured at a pro-Palestinian march holding a placard that showed then prime minister Rishi Sunak and then home secretary Suella Braverman as coconuts. The term 鈥渃oconut鈥� can be used to suggest that someone who is brown on the outside is white on the inside - that they are somehow acting in a way inconsistent with their ethnicity. The prosecution called 鈥渃oconut鈥� a 鈥渞acial slur鈥�; the judge said the placard was 鈥減olitical satire鈥� and found the teacher not guilty. How did the case play out in court? What鈥檚 the history behind this use of the word coconut and others like it? And what does the law say about when speech becomes criminal?

Presenter: Adam Fleming
Producers: Simon Maybin, Ellie House, Elliot Ryder
Production coordinator: Janet Staples
Editor: Richard Vadon