Back to Black: retelling Black radicalism for the 21st century

361 Pages·2018·3.514 MB·English

by  Andrews, Kehinde

‘Andrews is ferocious and brilliant and absolutely indispensable.’
Junot Díaz
‘Andrews takes the concepts that underpin so much of our
woolly, contemporary talk about blackness, structural racism,
pan-Africanism and – most of all – radicalism, and does the
hard, essential work of re-inserting meaning and critique into
the debate. An unflinching and authentic contribution.’
Afua Hirsch, author of Brit(ish): On Race, Identity
and Belonging
‘No more timid, liberal bullsh*t or empty jingoism. Kehinde
Andrews is a brilliant, black British intellectual who searingly
and expertly reveals the meaning of real change, for those
willing to face it. In a time of flux, doubt and uncertainty,
Kehinde provides a clear and lucid voice. Back to Black is an
important book for anyone interested in real change and
what that is likely to cost.’
Russell Brand
‘Andrews pulls no punches. His concept of black radicalism
is raw and powerful. This book is sure to provoke, and will gain
him adversaries – both black and white – because of the home
truths it exposes.’
Femi Nylander, Rhodes Must Fall
‘A timely and important book capturing an important political
moment in north Atlantic culture.’
Robert Beckford, BAFTA winning documentary
filmmaker

Back to
Black
Retelling
Black
Radicalism
for the
21st Century
Kehinde
Andrews
Back to Black: Retelling Black Radicalism for the 21st Century
was first published in 2018 by Zed Books Ltd, The Foundry,
17 Oval Way, London SE11 5RR, UK.
www.zedbooks.net
Copyright © Kehinde Andrews 2018
The right of Kehinde Andrews to be identified as the author of this
work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
Typeset in Haarlemmer by seagulls.net
Index by Kehinde Andrews
Cover design by David A. Gee
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without
the prior permission of Zed Books Ltd.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-78699-278-9 hb
ISBN 978-1-78699-279-6 pdf
ISBN 978-1-78699-280-2 epub
ISBN 978-1-78699-281-9 mobi
For Assata, Kadiri, Omaje, Ajani
and
the people in the struggle

Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Prologue: Reclaiming Radicalism xi
1. Narrow Nationalism 1
2. Pan-Africanism 35
3. Black is a Country 67
4. Cultural Nationalism 101
5. Blackness 139
6. Black Marxism 177
7. Liberal Radicalism 213
8. Black Survival 247
Epilogue: It’s Already Too Late 279
Notes 299
Index 327

Acknowledgements
Writing this book has been a collective process with me
drawing on influences, experiences, conversations for years.
Foremost of those influences have been my parents, Carole
and Maurice Andrews, whose activism, dedication and book
collection on the Black liberation struggle made this book
possible. Also a big thank you to my sisters Nzinga and Zakiya
for always challenging me to think beyond the surface. I, of
course, could not have written the book without the uncondi-
tional support of my wife, (Dr) Nicole, who challenged me to
rethink the concepts and ideas, while also taking the strain of
the hours I had to be out of the house or in the office writing.
A big thank you also has to go to the Black activist commu-
nity in Birmingham, in particular the African Caribbean
Self-Help Organisation and all the people who have been
involved with Harambee Organisation of Black Unity. Thanks
also to anyone who has come to talk, a meeting, volunteered,
or who I have met a conference, taught in class, or bent your
ear over a coffee or having a drink. Every interaction, conver-
sation and argument has gone into crafting the book. We may
not have agreed (and this will be obvious in the book) but I
couldn’t have written it without you.
Finally, I am indebted to those people in the Black libera-
tion struggle who organised, struggled, fought and even died
for freedom. There is no book without those sacrifices and I
dedicate the work to all those who have gone before.
ix