Colorism in England and the History of Black Brits

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My talented cousin and vlogger, Naomi Grant, just released a short documentary about colorism in England, 50 Shades of Melanin. Running seconds over 30 minutes, the piece is a compilation of sound bites from 30 Black Brits (all of various backgrounds and quite literally shades of black) on the topic of the racial color hierarchy present amidst the Black community in England. In the short film, you’ll find similar themes that mirror what has been discussed about colorism in the US–being darker equating to being of less value or less beauty; Black men preferring light skin women; colorism driving a wedge in the Black community; the media and the home perpetuating colorism. The video is a great opportunity for Blacks in England to discuss an important topic in the context of their own experience. For American viewers, it’s a chance to see living proof that no experience exists in a vacuum–meaning, in this case, that colonialism and the Slave Trade had effects in countries where slavery didn’t take place.

50 Shades of Melanin doesn’t go deeply into the roots of colorism in England. One interviewee mentions it stems from the dichotomy among darker and lighter slaves during US slavery, where light slaves served their masters in the home, while darker slaves were kept outside, working in the fields. However, slavery (during the Atlantic Slave Trade) never actually took place on British soil. In fact it was illegal. So then we have to ask, how did its effects trickle into England? This question is answered a little by another interviewee in the film who mentions the immigration of Jamaicans into England and with that immigration bringing with them the social standards that they had internalized in Jamaica as a result of slavery having taken place there. A little bit of digging into the history of Blacks in Britain shows that there have been roughly five major moments of Black movement into Britain–the Atlantic Slave Trade, World War I, World War II, and a moment referred to as the ‘Windrush’ in the 1950s, where an estimated quarter million immigrants from the British West Indies (primarily Jamaica) immigrated to England in less than a decade.

Self-love is taking all the love that you’ve never gotten and giving it to yourself. -D. Kusotera Click To Tweet

Speaking generally, trade and war have been the major drivers of Black immigration into England. The Slave Trade brought Black people into the country as servants and soldiers,  the two World Wars brought them in as soldiers. In these cases, even though they weren’t slaves (although in some cases faced a form of servitude that closely resembled slavery), Black people largely held a lower status than White people and were forced into poverty because they were discriminated against. So in addition to them possibly bringing over a racial color hierarchy that had been internalized in them in the British colonies, these immigrants were then placed in a social hierarchy that further categorized them as ‘less than’ because of the color of their skin.

Black has and still connotes ‘the lesser’ in many countries around the world because of the global mistreatment and classification of Black people. Black people being considered cattle or not human wasn’t just an idea that existed in America, it was a notion that existed (really, was created) in Europe. And centuries later we’ve yet to dismantle it. Part of breaking the hierarchy that exists has to do with breaking down harmful ideas that we’ve internalized, while a big part of it has to do with leveling the global playing field. On the subject of addressing the ideas we’ve internalized, writer/poet Denise Kusotera who’s featured in 50 Shades of Melanin provides a powerful quote:

…people need to actually understand what self-love is. It’s not how your mother or your father loved you. It’s not how your boyfriend loves you. It’s you taking all the love that you’ve never gotten and giving it to yourself; taking the time to understand the sources of your insecurities and realizing that they were never your own ideas and you never agreed to it and signed up to it. And then doing all the things you’ve always wanted. …Don’t leave your longings unattended. Do what your heart feels and that’s self-love. Care for yourself. Don’t wait for anyone else to do it for you.

And as if that weren’t powerful enough, the film offers a beautiful poem written by Grant:

I am comforted by the line of strong women that I come from
I have not just emerged here
There have been warriors, champions, survivors before me
And they have all worn the same skin as I am in
Or carried the same bosom as I have
And yet they conquered
And their bones and blood run deep within me
So I cannot stop otherwise I’d be failing them
My mother is strength personified
She told me as a kid they used to call her black beast at school
But she knew that her skin was not just black
It was a myriad of all the colors of the rainbow
She knew that those children would have children who were taught her own
So she taught me to never run from the sun
And whenever I am buried in curses and abuse
She told me to look up and see that not even the sky is one color
It comes in multiples
She told me that I cannot run from myself
My wounds need to be opened and heeled
And once they are, you would step into yourself
You would shed layers
You would dance to new rhythms
And you would be ashamed to remember the times you denied your soul
By saying you were black and not gold

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Antonia
Antonia

An entrepreneur at heart, I founded Unruly in 2013 after spending six great years in advertising. I’m über lazy when it comes to doing my hair so I’m always looking for easy and quick ways to care and style my hair.

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