Conclusion: Anchoring in 2020

The conclusion of Writing Black Scotland addresses developments in the decade to 2020. It tracks the changing pattern in the publishing of Black writers, suggesting that the period after the 1997 referendum was a particular fertile and nationally ‘necessary’ point for such publishing. The conclusion reflects on the current state of Black writing in Scotland, noting its strong grassroots presence and the work of writers like Hannah Lavery, as well as acknowledging the role race played in the 2014 referendum on independence. Meanwhile, ongoing developments in ‘Black Britain’ such as celebratory accounts of the Markle-Windsor wedding and the Stormzy Glastonbury set, suggest that the practice of refurbishing Britishness via appeals to post-racial commonality remains an ongoing political strategy for the state. The book concludes with an observation about the complexity of Blackness as a formation in Scotland with reference to the respective work of Lavery and the Edinburgh band Young Fathers.