In Frantz Fanon’s “The Fact of Blackness”, he expresses that “for not only must the black man be black; he must be black in relation to the white man…The black man has no ontological resistance in the eyes of the white man” (Fanon,110). Colonial black migrants entering England were not seen as “British” because they did not exhibit the characteristics that were part of the “British” identity. They were characterized as being uncivilized and a danger to the British way of life.
This assertion by Fanon parallels with Chris Waters article ‘”Dark Strangers” in Our Midst: Discourse of Race and Nation in Britain, 1947-1963″, which explores the idea that “race became central to questions of national belonging” (Waters, 208). The British people saw the rise of the black migrant population in their country as a problem. British men viewed these migrants as a threat to the feminine Britain. They believed the “black male sexuality could generate anxieties not only about the safety of the women, hearth, and home but about the very safety of the nation itself” (Waters,212).
Black migrants were also characterized as a danger to “British common people” who prided themselves on their “ordinariness” (Waters, 211). George Orwell defined this ordinariness as: “all the culture that is most truly native, centers around things which even when they are communal are not official–as the pub, the football match, the back garden, the fireside and the ‘nice cup of tea'” (Waters,211). In the nations eyes black migrants did not share this identity or commonality that were part of the Nations identity. They were not British and thus they could not assimilate in their culture. In the Brit’s eyes black migrants were “outsiders” and “strangers” because they did not fit the social norms of British society.
In order to move forward and away from their narrow view of cultural identity “the white British, has to learn that being British isn’t what it once was. Now it is a more complex thing….So there must be afresh way of seeing Britain and the choices it faces: and a new way of being British after all this time” (Waters, 238). As societies changed British people had to become more inclusive, it was no longer a nation of predominately white men but rather was growing into a multicultural nation. The British people had to learn to accept new cultures and redefine what it meant to be British instead of staying stuck in the past.
This xenophobia present in 1950s Britain is still a prominent issue that plagues the world today. People focus on what it means to be British or what it means to be American through past definitions and archaic social norms, instead of expanding their worldview and making their society more inclusive.
Waters, Chris. ‘”Dark Strangers” in Our Midst: Discourses of Race and Nation in Britain, 1944-1963″. Journal of British Studies, Vol. 36, No. 20 (1997): 207-238.
Fanon, Frantz. “The Fact of Blackness”.
I like how you started with Fanon’s quote–it was really thought-provoking! I thought you did a great job of supporting/clarifying Water’s article. It’s true that a lot of the implications of this xenophobia can be seen today in many nations. I wonder how these fears are translated in America, both in the past and today. I think a lot of Water’s reasoning for British angst against black migration was mirrored in America. Great post!
I think you make a really good point talking about the the ordinary lives of British people and how that was their social norm. I also really liked how you included xenophobia, and explained how it is still occurring today because it really is. I think you did an awesome job!
Awesome post! I would like to add on your statement that “[black migrants] did not exhibit the characteristics that were part of the “British” identity.” I think it is interesting how Waters discusses how race relations ‘experts’ focused on the differences between races. As you describe, these stereotypical and generalized differences very much give way to xenophobia in Britain. I feel like in order to talk about race, the culture discussed has to have some voice in how they are represented. It is interesting how these experts were all white English people, with little deep understanding of the cultures they describe.. Do you think some of these scholars had a political motive (maybe anti-immigration) for writing about race?
The analyses was really good and I love how you used the article to say something about the contemporary world. We often look at people in the past and act like we have moved so far past their prejudices but in many ways we still struggle as a culture with issues of race.
I like that you mentioned that Waters provided a solution to this problem: British people must simply change their ideas on what it means to be British. Nations are constantly changing and people are moving around all the time. For a country to not adapt to that change is just crazy. We see that in our own country as immigrants of different places move to America for a better life. If we all keep in mind that America is a mixing pot of diversity, there would be less issues.