Gilroy

Who is Paul Gilroy?

Who is Paul Gilroy?

• Paul Gilroy, founding director of study for Race and Racism at UCL London

• Gilroy examined the role of colonialism in the treatment of black Caribbeans in Britain from the 1970s onwards

• Suggested that there existed a 'myth of black criminality' in the UK

What is the myth of black criminality?

• Ethnic minority crime is a myth created by stereotypes of blacks and Asians

• Ethnic minority crime can be explained as political resistance against a racist society - has its roots in early colonial rule

What is the colonial legacy?

• Gilroy suggested that Asian, African and Caribbean communities in the UK carried the 'scars of imperialist violence'

• Historical anti-colonial struggles against the British Empire had led to the development of techniques to avoid exploitation

What is political resistance?

• As a result, these groups demonstrated political resistance to exploitation in the UK

• Marches, demonstrations, and rallies were used to fight back against oppression and racism

• Exploded into riots in the early 1980s - Brixton, Toxteth, Bristol and Tottenham

What are negative stereotypes?

• Police viewed minority ethnic groups with suspicion according to Gilroy

• Ill-informed propaganda from right-wing media, canteen cultures and political figures such as Powell fuelled this

• Basis of institutional racism in the police

What are contemporary applications of Gilroy’s theories?

• Riots in 2011 following the police shooting of Mark Duggan

• Removal of Edward Colston statue - Colston was a slave trader - by BLM protestors

What are the criticisms of Lea and Young?

• First-generation immigrants in the 50s and 60s were very law abiding

• Most crime is intra-ethnic

• Asian crime is lower than whites so therefore, police must only be racist towards black and not Asians

What is the evaluation of Gilroy?

• Gilroy's original ideas are still influential in explaining tensions between police and ethnic minority communities in the 21st century

• Critics suggest crime is not politically motivated as it is mostly based in local communities and against others from similar backgrounds