The Black Studies Movement in Britain: Becoming an Institution, Not Institutionalised

Abstract

There is a crisis in British academia. It is one that has gone largely unnoticed but has huge implications for society. Whilst the student body has to some extent diversified with the expansion of higher education, the academic staff has remained overwhelmingly white. The problem is particularly acute for Black (African and African Caribbean) communities, who represent only 1% of academic staff (Equality Challenge Unit in The experience of black and minority ethnic staff working in higher education. Equality challenge Unit, London, 2009). A broader range of knowledges are therefore excluded from the academy, which is regressive in general but specifically works to marginalise the diverse student body. The problem is wider than representation, restricting the curricula and also a wider understandings of society. This chapter will consider the implication of this restricted knowledge. In order to begin to address the problem a Black Studies movement is emerging in Britain that aims to provide a space to showcase and develop a range of theories, experiences and practices emerging from Black communities. Alongside legitimising a range of knowledge the movement aims to transform how we understand academia, organically connecting universities to the communities they serve. The elitist, exclusionary paradigm of academia is no longer fit for purpose and Black Studies offers the potential to develop an open and inclusive model for the academy.