The Politics of Black Presence in Britain and Black Male Exclusion in the British Education System

Abstract

This article examines Black settlement in the United Kingdom in relation to the experience of Black male exclusion in the British education system. The time frame covers the post-World War II era and the subsequent Enoch Powell era that manifested in anti-Black discrimination throughout British society in the 1960s to mid-1970s. During this period, people of color in British schools, particularly males of African Caribbean heritage, were experiencing poor results in terms of gaining education qualifications. A major contention is that one cannot divorce the broader anti-Black political sentiment from the British education system; the two are interwoven when it comes to understanding the plight of Black British school children in historical and contemporary times