The Changing Pattern of Black Politics in Britain

This work provides a detailed reassessment of the politics of race since the 1950s. Shukra examines some of the enduring political issues, strategies and theorising concerning ethnic minorities in the UK and, by comparison, the US. Tracing the history of black political consciousness, Shukra outlines the differing strategies and ideologies throughout the period, from the early period of black political organisation in the 1950s and 60s and the emergence of a black consciousness, to the debates over black sections in the Labour Party in the 1980s and the issues of race, class and social change in the 1990s. Shukra traces the tensions between the Asian and African-Caribbean communities in the UK, and analyzes the debates around the boundaries of blackness, arguing that the key issue in black politics has always been the need for acceptance by the host society and polity.