May i ask a question?

Originally weren't we all black? After all we originated in Africa?Im sure thatbags can confirm or deny!

Yep. White is weird

Though perfectly sound in evolutionary terms since it's difficult to make vitamin D in your skin in northern climes if you have a lot of melanin in your skin. So the northern tribes ditched it and the tropical and sub-tropical tribes kept it. Simple.

Unfortunately Anniebach I think that skin colour is important. That's not to say it should be, but it is.

Documentation that requires, amongst other things, information regarding ethnicity do so to try and establish whether different ethnic groups have proportional access to resources such as education, housing, healthcare. etc., and if they are being disproportionately penalised in some way (for instance, within the judicial system).

But if we stop grouping people according to race and ethnicity and just see them as people then we wouldn't need such information.

Quite.

Or class! or political viws?

It would be wonderful if skin colour/race/faith/nationality didn't matter,but it does.
So far as I'm aware, my heritage is white British, so I haven't experienced racism. As a woman, I have experienced sexism and in recent years have developed some understanding of what it's like to have mobility and other problems. I have never been racially abused, or treated differently because of my colour. The closest I've come to this is when an elderly woman in a remote town in Tunisia began to shout abuse at my husband. She was reacting to photographs all over the papers that day of a funeral party in Iraq that had been devastated by US bombing and the fact we were white and English speaking was enough for her to direct anger and distress our way.
I've never had people making monkey noises at me, calling me offensive names or attacking me in the street, simply because of the colour of my skin. My children have never been suspended from school after they finally snapped as a result of persistent racism, and hit someone who'd been tormenting them for years.
I had the task of completing diversity forms for every child and family member during the course of work. It was tedious, time consuming and I grumbled along with others about this. But - I echo what Eloethan said (16.52) about its necessity

Monitoring ethnicity allows us to see how disproportionately black youths are stopped and searched, charged, convicted and imprisoned. They are more likely to be found guilty and given longer sentences than white youths for the same crimes.

Yes Gnan. Plus, the dreaded diversity forms ensure that faith/non faith is recorded. That is so helpful when trying to place vulnerable children in appropriate foster placements. I know I know, it sounds obvious, but honestly, as with the introduction of race/drink driving/sex discrimination laws - it does help to name it, and public opinion often follows on.

I used to wonder why Irish was a separate category on ethnic monitoring forms. Apparently it is because they are only group of immigrants that have done significantly worse than other groups in terms of health etc. A reflection, possibly, of that large group of exploited men who came here to build modern motorways etc in the 1960s and 70s.