Contrary to the more popularised ‘institutional racism’, terms like ‘institutional whiteness’ are not so widespread in wider public discussions. Yet, it must be said the so-called ‘diversification’ of the UK Honours list is as interesting as it is alarming. Here, I observe many Black people allocated space to speak…

Whilst Bridgerton fans shipped Kate and Anthony as #Kanthony, we also must consider how the Netflix show fits into a wider dominant media culture that situates Black and Brown people in interracial relationships only as worthy of love when in proximity to a white person and white families. — NB: The use of “whites” in the title is intentional and for effect— it is a response to the number of people (but especially white people) I see using ‘Blacks’ in academic writing. We are human beings — Black people. Stop calling us Blacks! I also know this is something I have done in the past. Being Black does not mean we do not make mistakes. You will not find me going back editing it out past work, but leaving it and using it as an example of growth by learning.

With more Black people now on our film and television screens, it was not really until I started to watch NBC’s hit show ‘This Is Us’ in late 2021 I could point to a Black character in a contemporary drama and say “I relate” to their experience of the world. — When I saw Netflix’s ‘A Great Day in Hollywood’ advert doing the rounds on Twitter in 2018, I was racking my brains for a present day-set film or television show I related to in the context of my Blackness no questions asked (but I couldn’t). It was around that time…

The Railway Children is one of my favourite stories ever — and this sequel continues it admirably. The arrival of 150,000 Black American troops to Britain meant there were more Black people here during The War, than in 1948 with the coming of postwar Caribbean migrants, otherwise known as the Windrush. — When I was a child visiting my grandparents in the mishmash urban-rural terrain of Lichfield City, Staffordshire, my grandmother gifted me with an audiobook rendition of Edith Nesbit’s 1906 text The Railway Children. In those days, it was on CD-ROM! I went on to read and love the novel, and…

The history of anti-racism and postwar Caribbean migrants is inextricable. For me, Black Caribbean insurrection against British police and education has long enveloped this narrative, whilst cricket as a tool of anti-racism has been pushed to the sidelines. — Premise Playing cricket since childhood, I have always been interested in the political nature of the sport — but it hasn’t reached the contemporary mainstream in the same way football has. Having written previous articles on Walter Tull in journalism and in academia, racism in football is quite well-known. There is…

This essay comes from an entry I submitted for a call for papers about Bridgerton that I did not end up using. It’s essentially a first draft badly in need of editing, and I’m posting because people showed interest in what I was writing (it is definitely unfinished). — Context In June 2021, I submitted an abstract to a Call for Papers [CFP] about the Netflix programme Bridgerton. ‘Call for Papers’ is just academic jargon for submissions from prospective writers to an ad. …

As a dissenting voice against racist policing in my community before and following the Murder of George Floyd, the Murder of Sarah Everard followed by the Wayne Couzens Trial reminded me how the police have long threatened other historically excluded groups — in addition to Black people showing a history of policing that isn’t exclusive to racialised peoples (nor widely talked about). — CW. Police brutality; violence against women; racism; misogyny; ableism; homophobia; transphobia; hatred; misogynoir.

‘How working with a local community project forced me to rethink the Windrush Scandal — Previously published by the NN Journal — 29th May 2021 When NorFAMtoN CEO Shereen Ingram asked me to join her project to help members of Northampton’s Windrush Generation, I jumped at the opportunity without a second thought, to give back to the people that raised me. I am still firmly of the belief that the village raises the child and…

I promised a colleague I would put this together so here it is. Whilst Whiteness Studies is multidisciplinary, I have given vague subheadings to help direct people to themes they are interested in … all these texts may well fit under multiple headings. — “[White people] have a deep emotional investment in the myth of “sameness,” even as their actions reflect the primacy of whiteness as a sign informing who they are and how they think. …