POLITICAL BLACKNESS AND BRITISH ASIANS

In the 1980s a political concept of blackness was hegemonic, but is increasingly having to be defended, even within the sociology of race. This is to be welcomed and seven reasons are given why the concept harms British Asians. The use of 'black' encourages a 'doublespeak'. It fa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociology (Oxford) 1994-11, Vol.28 (4), p.859-876
Main Author: Modood, Tariq
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African Americans
Analysis
ASIA
Asian Cultural Groups
Asian people
Asians
Black people
Black white relations
Blacks
Classification
Communities
Cultural Identity
Cultures and civilizations
Ethnic identity
Ethnic relations. Racism
Ethnicity
ETHNICITY AND ETHNIC GROUPS
GREAT BRITAIN
Intergroup Relations
Minority & ethnic groups
Political correctness
POLITICAL EVALUATION
Race
RACE AND RACISM
Race discrimination
RACE RELATIONS
Racial discrimination
Racial equality
Racial identity
Racial Relations
Racism
Social aspects
SOCIOLOGY
Stereotypes
United Kingdom
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Summary:In the 1980s a political concept of blackness was hegemonic, but is increasingly having to be defended, even within the sociology of race. This is to be welcomed and seven reasons are given why the concept harms British Asians. The use of 'black' encourages a 'doublespeak'. It falsely equates racial discrimination with colour-discrimination and thereby obscures the cultural antipathy to Asians and therefore of the character of the discrimination they suffer. 'Black' suggests also a false essentialism: that all non-white groups have something in common other than how others treat them. The fourth reason is that 'black', being evocative of people of African origins, understates the size, needs and distinctive concerns of Asian communities. Fifthly, while the former can use the concept for purposes of ethnic pride, for Asians it can be no more than 'a political colour', leading to a too politicised identity. Indeed, it cannot but smother Asian ethnic pride - the pride which is a precondition of group mobilisation and assertiveness. Finally, advocates of 'black' have tried to impose it on Asians rather than seek slower methods of persuasion, with the result that the majority of Asians continue to reject it. The new emphasis on multi-textured identities is therefore encouraging, as long as we are not simply exchanging a political for a cultural vanguardism.
ISSN:0038-0385
1469-8684
DOI:10.1177/0038038594028004004