£19.99
About the Book
Black people have inhabited the British Isles for centuries. Eminent professor Paul Gilroy, renowned for his work exploring the social and cultural dimensions of British blackness and black Britishness, has assembled a living visual history of their social life in the modern British Isles.
Watershed moments include the rise and commercial circulation of black culture and music, the world wars, the Manchester Pan African Congress, the historic settlement of the Windrush generation and the riots of the 1980s. Luminaries drawn from politics, art and sport appear alongside many pioneers – the first Jamaican immigrant to Brixton, London’s first ‘Caribbean Carnival’, the first black publican and the first female plumber. Just as important are the everyday experiences and anonymous faces. The ordinary lives of people of African, Caribbean, British and other cultures, captured here, vividly document the country’s difficult and unfinished process of becoming postcolonial.
About the Author
Paul Gilroy is the Anthony Giddens Professor of Social Theory at the London School of Economics. He has written widely on race, culture, nationalism, music and literature. His books include Black Britain (Saqi Books), There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack, Small Acts and Between Camps.
Reviews
‘Gilroy’s commentary is tart and learned; this is the rare book that would sit as easily on coffee tables as on university syllabuses.’ Telegraph
'Black Britain is a testament to the strength black people in this country have shown in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.’ Metro
