Book Review: Black Star: Britain’s Asian Youth Movements by Anandi Ramamurthy

Abstract

Anandi Ramamurthy Black Star: Britain's Asian Youth Movements, Pluto Press, London, 2013; 240 pp: 0745333486, 19.99 [pounds sterling] (pbk) Black Star: Britain's Asian Youth Movements explores the spontaneous emergence and subsequent decline of Asian youth movements (AYMs) across Britain during the 1970s and '80s through archival material and interviews with participants in Bradford, Sheffield, Manchester and Birmingham. It shows that the focus of these struggles was on securing equal access to citizenship rights in Britain. State and individual racism in employment, education, housing and policing shaped the experiences of the children of South East Asian migrants. Young people, predominantly male, were mobilised in response to attacks on their community. Whilst they emerged spontaneously in response to local conditions in a number of areas, they also connected with each other and with existing black and left-wing political organisations, and developed an analysis of racism based on power. The struggle against racism was seen as part of the class struggle within Britain and globally. They articulated a black political identity forged by experiences of racism and the legacies of colonialism. The lessons of Black Power, the US Civil Rights movement, the struggle against apartheid and the influence of the Institute of Race Relations informed the development of an inclusive black consciousness. The movement was secular and used cultural activities to help to develop this consciousness. As well as local and national campaigns, it provided solidarity with struggles in South East Asia, Africa, Palestine, Ireland, Central and South America. The male dominance of many of the movements is acknowledged. This led to the marginalisation of women's participation and concerns, and the emergence of black feminist organisations. The AYMs and black organisations engaged in alliances on a number of immigration and other campaigns. The author explores how activists engaged with existing black organisations such as the Indian Workers Association and with the British left, and organised local political action as they sought to build well disciplined political movements. She identifies how some sections of the British left criticised the AYMs as black separatists, and failed to recognise the legitimacy of the grievances they articulated. Chapters 5 and 6 explore the major activities of the AYMs against racist immigration laws and police criminalisation. Ramamurthy provides a concise summary of the effect of racist immigration controls and shows how, by taking up individual cases, the AYMs built a principled position that respected the individuals affected whilst challenging state racism. Their involvement with the Anwar Ditta campaign against a refusal to allow her children to come to Britain exemplifies this approach. They contributed to the building of a broad alliance against the injustices Ditta and her family were experiencing, eventually leading to victory. The case of the Bradford 12 exemplifies the response to 'the lack of police response to racist attacks and the frequent criminalisation of victims' (p. 120). The police arrested and charged twelve political activists in Bradford in 1981 against a backdrop of national conflict between police and black youth. The campaign organised public meetings, marches and pickets of the courts. …