FOR half a century he has devoted his spare time to fighting racism in Southampton and other parts of the country.

Now Nairobi-born Jayantilal Shah, known as Jay, has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for striving to improve race relations.

Jay is a director of Positive Message Ltd and also been a leading figure in the success of Black History Month.

He has seen the openly racist attitudes evident in the 1970s replaced by a more subtle but no less damaging form of discrimination, with too many victims continuing to suffer in silence - either in the street or in the workplace.

Daily Echo:

He said: "I don't think we have made very much progress.

"Until we learn not to stereo-type people racism will exist. Everyone can claim to be non-racist but that's not enough."

Jay enrolled at Southampton University in 1968, graduating three years later with a degree in engineering.

Over the next three decades he held prominent positions with the Southampton Race Equality Council and also contributed to the work of the city's race sub-committee.

He set up Positive Message about 15 years ago and witnessed the success of its tireless efforts to promote Black History Month.

Jay was part of the team which that transformed it into a significant event in Southampton before clearing the way for others to take over in 2015.

More recently he has witnessed the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement, which sprang up following alleged murder of George Floyd, who died after being arrested outside a shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Married with a son and two daughters, Jay has lived in the same Southampton house since 1978.

Daily Echo:

Looking back on his voluntary work over the past 50 years he said: "I have just done what is the right thing to do.

"Anti-racism is about acting to eliminate racism. Everyone can claim to be non-racist but that is not enough."

"Anti-racism is not about reading books on anti-racism other cultures. It's about challenging our own view and acting on it."

Asked about Black Lives Matter he said: "When people are made to feel they don't belong, and that they've got nothing to lose, they're are going to take action."