The Impact of Sport on Black British Identities in the West Indian Diaspora between 1945 - 1993: A Critical Approach

Seminar abstract

This presentation explores the creation and maintenance of distinct Black British identities and anti-racism initiatives within sporting contexts during the post war period.

It examines the historiography of sport within the British Empire and Commonwealth, its intersections with race and class, and the role of sport as a cultural institution creating national identities.

This presentation also looks at the role in sport in the creation and maintenance of a distinct Black British identity in post-war Britain with the arrival of West Indian migrants and their assumption of British citizenship after the passing of the 1948 Nationality Act.

It will consider the idea that a collective Black British identity developed among migrants and their descendants, partly defined by both individual and team success in the sporting arena. It argues that as a cultural institution sport has been an important tool in the decolonisation of ideas around ethnicity and race in the United Kingdom, as well as intersecting with race, gender and class. It will also consider sport as both an integrating or differentiating factor in British race relations, and as a challenge to the state by Black Britons against structural racism and discrimination.

The presentation draws on work from theorists such as Hargreaves (1987) and Polley (1999) who explore the impact of non-white ethnicities on sport and immigration in Britain since 1945 and place sport in the context of wider social issues during this period. It will address a gap in the literature which is that sport gave Caribbean migrants to Britain the opportunity to create a self-defined Black British identity rather than those historically ascribed by the imperial power.

Booking

This seminar is free to attend with no need to register in advance,

You can enjoy this seminar online on Wednesday 2 June at 12pm.

Speaker bio

Desmond is a PhD student in History at Goldsmiths.

His research explores the creation and maintenance of distinct Black British identities and anti-racism initiatives within sporting contexts during the post war period.

He obtained his BA and MA at Goldsmiths and is currently one of the BME Postgraduate Student Reps in History.

He also tutors A-level and GCSE History and Sociology and works as a Learning Coach in a primary school in Ilford, Essex.

His thesis is titled: Impact of sport on Black British identities in the West Indian diaspora