Black Britain: A Photographic History

by Paul Gilroy

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.

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 Small Acts and Between Camps.

Genres: Photography, History, Nonfiction, Art, British Literature, Race

320 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

Paul Gilroy is an English sociologist and cultural studies scholar who is Professor of the Humanities and the founding Director of the Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of Race and Racism at University College, London.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased "Black Britain: A Photographic History" after coming across the excellent reviews. This book describes the lives of Black people in the British Isles through numerous photographs dating from the late nineteenth century to the present day.

This is another excellent addition to the story of Black people in Britain and a joy to read.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating book with some phenomenal photographs. I hope the author produces a second volume focusing on the 21st century - the Grenfell disaster, BREXIT, the changing nature of migration, immigration and emigration in the 21st century, etc. The book is very good indeed, but there is still a lot more to be said.

[Dawson Escott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the photos were well selected and the overall history it curates is important and well constructed. However, I think that the "coffee table" format just isn't something I like. Reading the text alongside the photos can be distracting, as the text doesn't always line up exactly with the photos and it will describe pictures that are 3 or 4 pages ahead or behind, making the whole book feel a bit disjointed.

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

TEACH THIS IN SCHOOLS!!!!!

[Clare Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a beautiful photo history of black British life, documenting how discourse moved from exoticism to denigrating black domestic spaces (despite exclusion and chronic disadvantage), conflict and finally integration and acceptance.

[Rue · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved it.

[Me]

Pretty...