Agatha Christie and Rudyard Kipling made Britain a nation of passive racists, claims Johm Barnes Tarzan showed that. Racism came from the idea of race, which is a man-made construct. Race is not scientific or genetic. It does not actually exist. Race came about to validate and justify colonialism and slavery. Do Agatha Christie and Rudyard Kipling encourage racism? Barnes was born in Jamaica and moved to live in England at the age of 13, when his father was Jamaica's military attache to London in the late 1970s. He remains England's most-capped black player but in during the 1980s in his career at Liverpool, he suffered a torrent of racist abuse from the terraces, including having bananas thrown at him. He made the attack on classic literature in a lecture to students at Liverpool University entitled "What is the cause of racism in football?" Barnes 48, told the audience that racism exists because of "preconceived ideas" that are planted through books and films that validate colonial prejudices. He added: "Passive racism might be seen in someone choosing to live next to a white person and that's the racism we have to get rid of. If we get rid of passive racism then overcoming overt racism will take care of itself. The majority of racism which goes on is unconscious - people do not even think about it. By letting people understand they are passive racists will help tackle it. Barnes, who lives on the Wirrall, Merseyside, has become a regular contributor to debates about racism in football. Earlier this year, he took part in an Anti Racism Football Summit at Downing Street which looked at racism in football. A supporter of legislation to clear up the "ambiguity" over what is considered discrimination, he believes that racism will never be eradicated from football as long as it exists in society.