“The UK is not Innocent”: Black Lives Matter in Britain

York St John University’s History programme are pleased to present a powerful talk on Black Lives Matter in Britain for Black History Month.

“The UK is not Innocent”: Black Lives Matter in Britain
Dr Simon Peplow (University of Warwick)

During a Newsnight interview in June 2020, George The Poet refuted presenter Emily Maitlis’ claims that racism in the UK is not ‘on the same footing’ as in the United States. Similarly, when Black Lives Matter UK protestors blocked access to London’s Heathrow Airport in 2016, many people questioned why demonstrations were occurring in Britain when this was ‘America’s problem’. In attempting to absolve Britain from a history of racism, an acknowledgement of such a history – and often the very existence of Black people – is regularly omitted or downplayed in histories of Britain. This talk will place the recent Black Lives Matter protests into a longer historical overview of the relationship between Black people and the police in the UK.