Roots & Culture: Cultural Politics in the Making of Black Britain

Description

How did a distinct and powerful Black British identity emerge? In the 1950s, when many Caribbean migrants came to Britain, there was no such recognised entity as "Black Britain." Yet by the 1980s, the cultural landscape had radically changed, and a remarkable array of creative practices such as theatre, poetry, literature, music and the visual arts gave voice to striking new articulations of Black-British identity. This new book chronicles the extraordinary blend of social, political and cultural influences from the mid-1950s to late 1970s that gave rise to new heights of Black-British artistic expression in the 1980s. Eddie Chambers relates how and why during these decades "West Indians" became "Afro-Caribbeans," and how in turn "Afro-Caribbeans" became "Black-British" - and the centrality of the arts to this important narrative. The British Empire, migration, Rastafari, the Anti-Apartheid struggle, reggae music, dub poetry, the ascendance of the West Indies cricket team and the coming of Margaret Thatcher - all of these factors, and others, have had a part to play in the compelling story of how the African Diaspora transformed itself to give rise to Black Britain. Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Endorsement......Page 4 Title page......Page 5 Copyright information......Page 6 Table of contents......Page 7 List of Illustrations......Page 8 Black: For Those Who Have Been for Generations in ‘the Lower Case’......Page 12 Acknowledgments......Page 13 Preface......Page 15 Introduction: England Isn’t Home......Page 23 1 De Street weh Dem Seh Pave Wid Gold......Page 47 2 Towards the Black 70s......Page 73 3 Rasta This and Dreadlocks That......Page 99 4 Leggo de Pen1......Page 123 5 Africa: The Call of the Continent......Page 154 6 Fyah!......Page 177 7 Picture on the Wall......Page 197 8 Failing the Cricket Test......Page 227 Conclusion: (Dawning of a) New Era......Page 244 Preface......Page 252 Introduction......Page 253 Chapter 1: De street weh dem seh pave wid gold......Page 256 Chapter 2: Towards the Black 70s......Page 261 Chapter 3: Rasta This and Dreadlocks That......Page 266 Chapter 4: Leggo de Pen......Page 271 Chapter 5 Africa: The Call of the Continent......Page 276 Chapter 6: Fyah!......Page 279 Chapter 7: Picture on the Wall......Page 282 Chapter 8: Failing the Cricket Test......Page 285 Conclusion: (Dawning of a) New Era......Page 286 Publications......Page 288 Songs and music......Page 294 Exhibitions......Page 295 Film......Page 296 Index......Page 297