Kehinde Andrews

Andrews in 2020

Kehinde Nkosi Andrews (born January 1983)[1] is a British academic and author specialising in Black Studies.

Andrews is a Professor of Black Studies in the School of Social Sciences at Birmingham City University.[2] He is the director of the Centre for Critical Social Research, founder of the Harambee Organisation of Black Unity,[3] and co-chair of the UK Black Studies Association.[4] Andrews is the first Black Studies professor in the UK and led the establishment of the first Black Studies programme in Europe at Birmingham City University.[5][6][7]

Early life and education

Andrews is of British African-Caribbean heritage.[8] He earned a PhD. in Sociology and Cultural Studies from the University of Birmingham in 2011. His thesis was entitled Back to Black: Black Radicalism and the Supplementary School Movement.[9]

Journalism, media appearances, and personal views

Andrews regularly appears in the media discussing issues of race and racism, colonialism and slavery, and British nationalism. He contributes to The Guardian,[10][11] The Independent,[12] New Statesman,[13] CNN,[14] OpenDemocracy,[15] and often appears as a guest on the BBC[16][17][18][19] and Good Morning Britain.[20][21][22][23]

In 2016, Andrews criticized universities in the United Kingdom for institutional racism, specifically the lack of diversity in students' assigned readings.[5] The following year, Andrews spoke at the Oxford Union, arguing that British education perpetuates racism.[24] He also gave a TEDxYouth talk in Birmingham entitled "How to Stay Radical within an Institution", exploring how Black Studies can exist within the historically racist institution of the university.[25]

In 2019, Andrews took part in a debate on whether or not the West should pay reparations for slavery at Intelligence Squared, arguing in favour of reparations.[26] He also spoke about his book Back to Black in the John Hope Franklin Center for Interdisciplinary and International Studies at Duke University[27] and gave a talk at Tate Liverpool on the role of Black radicalism in the United Kingdom and the United States.[28] In that year, Andrews appeared on Good Morning Britain, where he argued that the Royal Air Force bombing of Nazi Germany constituted a war crime[29] and equated the racial views of Winston Churchill to those of Adolf Hitler.[30]

Andrews narrated the film The Psychosis of Whiteness, which explores race and racism through cinematic representations of the slave trade.[31]

In July 2019, Andrews criticized the idea that prominent non-white members of the Conservative Party automatically represent racial progress, saying that a "cabinet packed with ministers with brown skin wearing Tory masks represents the opposition of racial progress".[32]

In May 2020, Andrews was a guest on Russell Brand's YouTube channel discussing racism in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd.[33] He was also interviewed by the Los Angeles Review of Books discussing Malcolm X and the question of violence in Black radicalism.[34]

In August 2020, Andrews joined calls to drop "Rule, Britannia!" and "Land of Hope and Glory" from the Last Night of the Proms, stating that the lyrics contained "racist propaganda from a time where Britain was the leading slave-trading nation in the world".[35]

In June 2021, Andrews described Elizabeth II as "the number one symbol of white supremacy in the entire world".[36] Following her death in September 2022, he called for the abolition of the monarchy.[37]

Selected works

  • Andrews, Kehinde (2013). Resisting Racism: Race, Inequality, and the Black Supplementary School Movement. London: Institute of Education Press. ISBN 9781858565156. OCLC 952965547.
  • Andrews, Kehinde (2018). Back to Black: Retelling Black Radicalism for the 21st Century. London: Zed Books. ISBN 9781786992789. OCLC 1038006618.
  • Andrews, Kehinde (2021). The New Age of Empire: How Racism and Colonialism Still Rule the World. London: Allen Lane. ISBN 9780241437445.
  • Andrews, Kehinde (2023). The Psychosis of Whiteness: Surviving the Insanity of a Racist World. Penguin Books. ISBN 9780141992396.

References

  1. ^ "KEHINDE ANDREWS". Still We Rise. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Black Studies". Birmingham City University. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Organisation of Black Unity". Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Black Studies Association". Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  5. ^ a b Ross, Alice (23 October 2016). "Universities do not challenge racism, says UK's first black studies professor". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  6. ^ "University to launch Europe's first Black Studies degree". Birmingham City University. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  7. ^ Ali, Aftab (19 May 2016). "Birmingham City University becomes first in Europe to offer black studies degree". The Independent. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  8. ^ "Time for BAME voices to be heard". Black History Month at UHB. University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. October 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  9. ^ Andrews, Kehinde N. (October 2010). "Back to Black: Black Radicalism and the Supplementary School Movement" (PDF). University of Birmingham.
  10. ^ "Kehinde Andrews". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  11. ^ Andrews, Kehinde; Green, Leah; Rinvolucri, Bruno (18 January 2017). "The west was built on racism. It's time we faced that". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  12. ^ "Kehinde Andrews". The Independent. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  13. ^ Andrews, Kehinde (12 October 2017). "Claudia Jones's transnational radicalism". New Statesman. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  14. ^ Andrews, Kehinde (19 April 2018). "Racism is as British as a cup of tea". CNN. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  15. ^ Andrews, Kehinde (10 February 2016). "Confronting the brutal reality: how to teach the legacy of transatlantic slavery". openDemocracy. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  16. ^ "'We should not stand for the British anthem'". Newsnight. BBC News. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  17. ^ "A radical vision of a new Africa". BBC Ideas. BBC Radio 4. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  18. ^ "This Flag Has Been Adopted By The Far Right". Don't Turn Around. BBC Three. 19 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  19. ^ "'The West is built on racism'". Newsnight. BBC Two. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  20. ^ "Should the Word 'Empire' Be Removed From the Honours?". Good Morning Britain. ITV. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  21. ^ "Cambridge University Launches Inquiry on How They Profited From Slavery". Good Morning Britain. ITV. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  22. ^ "Are Portraits of The Queen Offensive?". Good Morning Britain. ITV. 5 August 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  23. ^ "Is It Offensive to Quote Churchill?". Good Morning Britain. ITV. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  24. ^ "British Education Does Perpetuate Racism". Oxford Union. 19 April 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  25. ^ "How to stay radical within an institution". TEDx. 1 December 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  26. ^ "Debate: The West Should Pay Reparations for Slavery". Intelligence Squared. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  27. ^ "Left of Black with Kehinde Andrews". John Hope Franklin Center for Interdisciplinary and International Studies. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  28. ^ "Love Is The Message, The Message Is Death". Tate Liverpool. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  29. ^ White, Megan (22 January 2019). "Academic slammed after calling bombing of Nazi Germany a 'war crime'". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  30. ^ Doody, Kieran (10 June 2020). "Piers Morgan clashes with GMB guest over comparing Churchill to Hitler". WalesOnline. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  31. ^ "The Psychosis of Whiteness". IMDb. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  32. ^ Andrews, Kehinde (25 July 2019). "Don't be fooled by Johnson's 'diverse' cabinet. Tory racism hasn't changed". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  33. ^ "Want To Understand Why Racism Won't Go Away - Watch This". Russell Brand. 31 May 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  34. ^ Evans, Brad (1 June 2020). "Histories of Violence: Why We Should All Read Malcolm X Today". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  35. ^ Heren, Kit (24 August 2020). "Academic calls on BBC to drop Rule Britannia from Proms". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  36. ^ White, Nadine (12 June 2021). "Dr Kehinde Andrews: UK's first Black Studies professor says his own university is institutionally racist". The Independent. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  37. ^ "Opinion | I Don't Mourn the Queen". www.yahoo.com. 13 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.