Resistance to rebellion

Abstract

This chapter addresses the history of black and minority ethnic people in Britain following increased colonial migration after the Second World War, and subsequent relationship with an often-hostile society, experiencing widespread discrimination, racial violence, and a political consensus to depoliticise and marginalise racial issues. It examines the development of activism, militancy, and black mobilisation, considering the build-up of antipathy towards the police due to their policies, actions, and general criticism, illustrating the gradual building of discontent towards a British state offering minority ethnic groups little support. The chapter’s title ‘Resistance to rebellion’, inspired by Ambalavaner Sivanandan, itself provides a basic overview of the change demonstrated through these years; discussion, in effect, acts as a ‘roadmap to 1980–1’.