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A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick Permanent WRAP URL: http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/88778 Copyright and reuse: This thesis is made available online and is protected by original copyright. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item for information to help you to cite it. Our policy information is available from the repository home page. For more information, please contact the WRAP Team at: [email protected] warwick.ac.uk/lib-publications Union Black: The Social and Spatial Mobility of African Caribbeans in Birmingham, UK by Dennis George Hamilton BA (Hons.) MA (Dist.) A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Warwick Department of Sociology July 2016 To Sharon, my Wonderwall, the one who saved me Contents 1. African Caribbean social and spatial mobility: A “race” analysis 1 2. Empire, slavery, migration and ethnic competition 35 3. The researcher as gatekeeper and insider 83 4. From the politics of collectivism to individualism 131 5. Education, ideology and racial inequality 177 6. Penalties, privileges and labour market competition 224 7. Social change and spatial transition: Space – the final frontier 273 8. One step forward, two steps backwards ina Babylon 332 Appendix i 383 Research participants’ details Appendix ii 385 National and Birmingham ethnic populations in the 2001 and 2011 Censuses Appendix iii 386 HESA confirmation of changes to student population data Appendix iv 387 Birmingham City Council confirmation of total postcodes in Birmingham Appendix v 388 Letter to Maurice Andrews and the Harambee Committee on behalf of ACSHO Appendix vi Location map of Birmingham wards 390 References 391 i Figures Fig. 1.5. National White British and Black Caribbean Distribution of First Class Honours Degrees: 2003-2012. 204 Fig. 2.5. National White British and Black Caribbean Distribution of Second Class First Division Degrees: 2003-2012. 204 ii Tables Table 5.1: National Annual Distribution and Gender Participation of All Home Domiciled First Year Full-Time Students by Gender. 202 Table 5.2: National White British (WB) and Black Caribbean (BC) 18-24 Home Domiciled Full-Time Students’ Higher Education Participation: 2003-2013. 202 Table 5.3: White British Birmingham Students Accessing National Higher Education Institutions. 210 Table 5.4: Black Caribbean Birmingham Students Accessing National Higher Education Institutions. 210 Table 5.5: White and Black Caribbean Birmingham Students Accessing National Higher Education Institutions. 210 Table 5.6: Birmingham White British 18-24 Students’ National and Russell Group H.E. Participation by Gender: 2007-2013. 215 Table 5.7: Birmingham Black Caribbean 18-24 Students’ National and Russell Group H.E. Participation by Gender: 2007-2013. 215 Table 5.8: Birmingham White and Black Caribbean 18-24 Students’ National and Russell Group H.E. Participation by Gender: 2007-2013. 215 Table 5.9: Birmingham H.E. Students and Their National and Russell Group Distributions: 2007-2013. 216 Table 5.10: Birmingham H.E. Students and Their National, Russell Group and Age-Range Distributions: 2007-2013. 217 Table 6.1: The Registrar General Social Classes and the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classifications 2001 and 2011. 238 Table 6.2: 16 and Over Social Class Based on Occupation by Ethnicity, 1991 [%]. 243 iii Table 6.3: 16-74 Socio-Economic Classifications by Ethnicity, 2001 [%]. 245 Table 6.4: 16-74 Socio-Economic Classifications by Ethnicity, 2011 [%]. 245 Table 6.5: 16-74 National Socio-Economic Classifications by Ethnicity and Gender, 2001 [%]. 246 Table 6.6: 16-74 National Socio-Economic Classifications by Ethnicity and Gender, 2011 [%]. 246 Table 6.7: 16-74 Birmingham Socio-Economic Classifications by Ethnicity and Gender, 2001 [%]. 249 Table 6.8: 16-74 Birmingham Socio-Economic Classifications by Ethnicity and Gender, 2011 [%]. 249 Table 6.9: 25-49 National Socio-Economic Classifications by Ethnicity, 2001*-2011 [%]. 252 Table 6.10: 25-49 National Socio-Economic Classifications by Ethnicity and Gender, 2001 [%]. 253 Table 6.11: 25-49 National Socio-Economic Classifications by Ethnicity and Gender, 2011 [%]. 253 Table 6.12: 25-49 Birmingham Socio-Economic Classifications by Ethnicity and Gender, 2011 [%]. 254 Table 7.1: Distribution of 16-74 Aged White British and Black Caribbean Populations in the Lowest Deprivation Birmingham Wards [1991]. 290 Table 7.2: Distribution of 16-74 Aged White British and Black Caribbean Populations in High Deprivation Birmingham Wards [1991]. 291 Table 7.3: Types of Tenure and their Distribution in Low Deprivation Birmingham Wards [1991]. 292 iv Table 7.4: Types of Tenure and their Distribution in High Deprivation Birmingham Wards [1991]. 292 Table 7.5: Distribution of Ethnic Populations Aged 25-49 in Low Deprivation Birmingham Wards [2001]. 295 Table 7.6: Distribution of Ethnic Populations Aged 25-49 in Low Deprivation Birmingham Wards [2011]. 295 Table 7.7: Distribution of Ethnic Populations Aged 25-49 in High Deprivation Birmingham Wards [2001]. 296 Table 7.8: Distribution of Ethnic Populations Aged 25-49 in High Deprivation Birmingham Wards [2011]. 296 Tables 7.9, 7.10 and 7.11: Household Reference Person [HRP] of Ethnic Groups Aged 16 and Over and their Tenure in Low Deprivation Birmingham Wards. 304 Tables 7.12, 7.13 and 7.14: Household Reference Person [HRP] of Ethnic Groups Aged 25-49 and their Tenure in Low Deprivation Birmingham Wards [2011]. 306 Tables 7.15, 7.16 and 7.17: Household Reference Person [HRP] of Ethnic Groups Aged 16 and Over and their Tenure in High Deprivation Birmingham Wards. 308 Tables 7.18, 7.19 and 7.20: Household Reference Person [HRP] of Ethnic Groups Aged 25-49 and their Tenure in High Deprivation Birmingham Wards [2011]. 312 Tables 7.21, 7.22 and 7.23: Household Reference Person [HRP] of Ethnic Groups Aged 25-49 and their Tenure in White British Hinter Lands [2011]. 315 Tables 7.24, 7.25 and 7.26: Household Reference Person [HRP] of Ethnic Groups Aged 25-49 and their Tenure in Black Caribbean Hinter Lands [2011]. 318 v Table 7.27: Index of Multiple Deprivation Scores in Ethnic Hinter Lands [2011]. 319 Table 7.28: Educational Qualifications of Residents Aged 16-74 Living in Birmingham’s Good Lands, Bad Lands and Hinter Lands [2011]. 322 vi Abstract This thesis explores the impact that legislative changes have had on African Caribbeans competing in Birmingham’s market situations. It also assesses the extent to which educational and labour market success or failure might have influenced their contemporary spatial locations. A mixed methods approach is utilised to examine how the social class position, and spatial patterns, of the city’s African Caribbean population have changed since the early 1980s. The research provides a contemporary update of aspects of Rex and Tomlinson’s (1979) survey, and also Ratcliffe’s (1981) work, which was conducted in 1970s Handsworth. Despite successive anti-discrimination legislation, passed between 1965 and 2010, racist practices in the education, employment and housing markets have persisted. African Caribbean social and spatial mobility are examined in the context of social, political and ideological changes influencing the equality agenda, particularly where racial inequality is concerned. Shifts in the educational and labour market status of Black Caribbeans are articulated using Marxian, Weberian and Bourdieusian notions of social classes: as position, as situation and as disposition, respectively. Social mobility is measured according to the progress African Caribbeans have made in their efforts to obtain higher educational capital, and the extent to which they have exchanged them for occupations in the upper tiers of the labour market. African Caribbean spatial mobility is mapped between 1991 and 2011 and the movement of Birmingham’s Black population, from high to low deprivation urban spaces, is examined. Changes from renting to homeownership, are also analysed as indicators of improvement in Black Caribbean housing tenure. The critical race perspective, of interest convergence, is used to argue that the free market can be appropriated to ameliorate racism. However, it is also acknowledged that African Caribbean community organisations, and those sharing the same focal concerns, must pool their resources to achieve the aim of racial equity. vii 1. African Caribbean social and spatial mobility: A “race”1 analysis This research analyses the extent to which legislation, policies and practices may have enabled or constrained the social class status and spatial mobility of Birmingham’s African Caribbean2 population. The period of investigation is between 1981 and 2014. The social mobility of Black Caribbeans is analysed by comparing their progression in the educational and labour markets against those of their White British, and Mixed White and Black Caribbean (MWBC) peers. Spatial mobility is mapped by comparing disparities in residential patterns between the same ethnic groups in Birmingham’s housing market. The aim of this inquiry is to assess the extent to which legislative and social changes might have improved or inhibited the life chances of African Caribbeans, and to examine how they use their agency to negotiate the risk of immediate and future poverty. Although previous commentators (Rex and Tomlinson, 1979; Ratcliffe, 1981, Taylor, 1993, Gillborn, 2005, Andrews, 2013) have examined the community 1 Although “race” is a social construct and not a biological reality (Pilkington, 2003), racism has a tangible impact on the lives of Blacks actors who are pathologically labelled and Othered by virtue of their skin colour. Although the author may at times refrain from using ellipses to highlight the problematic meaning of “race”, its substantive reality is nevertheless acknowledged. 2 It is generally recognised that in 21st century social and political discourses, the nomenclature category Black is used in reference to a range of different ethnic groups (Hayton and Paczuska, 2000: 19).