Ethnicity and Race in a Changing World: A Review Journal Volume 3 Issue 2 2012 Copyright © 2012 Manchester University Press While copyright in the journal as a whole is vested in Manchester University Press, copyright in individual articles belongs to their respective authors and no chapters may be reproduced wholly or in part without the express permission in writing of both author and publisher. Articles, comments and reviews express only the personal views of the author. Published by Manchester University Press, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9NR www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk ISSN 1758-8685 Ethnicity and Race in a Changing World: A Review Journal is a biannual journal, semi peer reviewed and freely available online. Those planning to submit to the journal are advised to consult the guidelines found on the website. The journal is created and edited by the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre, University of Manchester, J Floor, Sackville Street Building, Sackville Street Area, M60 1QD Telephone: 0161 275 2920 Email: [email protected] Ethnicity and Race in a Changing World: A Review Journal Volume 3 Issue 2 Winter 2012 Ethnicity and Race in a Changing World: A Review Journal Volume 3, Issue 2, 2012 Journal Editors: Emma Britain, University of Manchester Julie Devonald, University of Manchester Journal Sub-editors: Ruth Tait, University of Manchester Associate Editors: Professor Emeritus Lou Kushnick, University of Manchester The Editorial Board: Akwasi Assensoh, Professor, Indiana University Bloomington Alexander O. Boulton, Professor, Stevenson University Andrew Pilkington, Professor, University of Northampton and Director of Equality and Diversity Research Group Aubrey W. Bonnett, Professor, State University of New York Beverly Bunch-Lyons, Associate Professor, Virginia Tech Brian Ward, Professor, Northumbria University C. Richard King, Associate Professor, Washington State University Catherine Gomes, Dr., RMIT, University Melbourne Celine-Marie Pascale, Assistant Professor, American University Dana-ain Davis, Associate Professor, Queens College David Brown, Dr., University of Manchester David Brunsma, Associate Professor, Virgina Tech David Embrick, Assistant Professor, Loyola University Dorothy Aguilera, Assistant Professor, Lewis and Clark College Fazila Bhimji, Dr., University of Central Lancashire Glenn Omatsu, Professor, California State University H. L. T. Quan, Assistant Professor, Arizona Sate University James Frideres, Professor, University of Calgary and Director of International Indigenous Studies James Jennings, Professor, Tufts University Jo Frankham, Dr., CERES, Liverpool John Moore’s University Kris Clarke, Assistant Professor, California State University Laura Penketh, Dr., Liverpool Hope University Lionel Mandy, Professor, California State University Lisa Maya Knauer, Professor, University of Massachusetts Lucia Ann McSpadden, Coordinator of International Support and Adjunct Faculty, Pacific School of Religion Mairela Nunez-Janes, Assistant Professor, University of North Texas Marta I. Cruz-Janzen, Professor, Florida Atlantic University Melanie E. Bush, Associate Professor , Adelphi University Melissa Checker, Assistant Professor, City University of New York Michele Simms-Burton, Associate Professor, Howard University Mojúbàolú Olúfúnké Okome, Professor, Brooklyn College, City University of New York Monica White Ndounou, Assistant Professor, Tufts University Nuran Savaskan Akdogan, Dr. , TODAIE Paul Okojie, Dr. , Manchester Metropolitan University Pedro Caban, Professor, University at Albany Rajinder Dudrah, Dr., University of Manchester Richard Schur, Associate Professor and Director of Law and Society, Drury University Roderick D. Bush, Professor, St. John’s University Roland Armando Alum, DeVry University Saima Latif, Dr., University of Manchester Silvia Carrasco Pons, Professor, Universitat Autonoma De Barcelona Teal Rothschild, Associate Professor, Roger Williams University Thomas L. Blair, Professor, Editor, The Chronicle Thomas J. Keil, Professor, Arizona State University Traci P. Baxley, Assistant Professor, Florida Atlantic University Uvanney Maylor, Dr., University of Bedfordshire Willie J. Harrell, Jr., Associate Professor, Kent State University Zachery Williams, Assistant Professor, University of Akron Contents Editorial Statement: by Associate Editor, Professor Emeritus Louis Kushnick i Essays: ‘How can we help you?’ Hugh Greene and the BBC Coloured Conferences 3 by Darrell. M. Newton, Salisbury University Discourses of Race & Racism Within Environmental Justice Studies: An Eco- 17 racial Intervention by Perlita R. Dicochea, Santa Clara University Comment and Opinion: Race, the Other and Resident Evil 30 by Laura Wilson, University of Manchester Britishness in Bermondsey: Being and Belonging 35 by Sadia Habib, Goldsmiths Book Reviews 42 Ethnicity and Race in a Changing World: A Review Journal Editorial Statement This issue has an interesting range of subjects being discussed in the two essays and the Commentary piece. One theme is that of the construction of identity, in these pieces, in the UK. The essay by Darrell Newton, “’How Can We Help You?’: Hugh Greene and the BBC Coloured Conferences” is an historical analysis of BBC archives, which considers early attempts to shape BBC responses to post- war immigration from the Commonwealth to the UK. Sadia Habib’s Comment piece, “Bermondsey Being and Belonging”, addresses these issues in a contemporary setting in a multi-ethnic area of inner-city London. The other theme, Environmental Racism, is of great importance throughout the world and Perlita R. Dicochea’s essay, “Discourses of Race & Racism Within Environmental Justice Studies: An Eco-racial Intervention”, provides a critique of the existing literature and a model for future research. Although Sadia Habib’s piece is based on detailed interviews with two students, the perceptions of her interviewees about their lives, communities and identities, and of ‘Britishness’, are of great salience. She argues in her Conclusion, that the “students discuss the “racial” aspects of being British – and what this specifically means in their personal experience of Bermondsey. The students show us that any discourse on Britishness will inevitably highlight the complex relationship between family/home and identity/belonging. Lastly, the students are extremely articulate in voicing the ever evolving nature of Britishness, as well as its intricate mingling with multiculturalism”. Darrell Newton’s essay examines the cultural and ideological framework which shaped the BBC’s approach to the highly sensitive issues of race, immigration and xenophobia. He concludes that: ...racial formation and postcolonial difference continued to be a social construct, which subsequently became a way of comprehending and explaining these new citizens. However, West Indian settlers as the focus of these programmes often remained muted by comparison, able to offer little input on these representations and their ultimate affect upon the British public. These immigrants as settlers needed further opportunities as agents of change to tell their own stories and develop multiple narratives of the Afro-Caribbean experience; particularly through the seemingly liberal social framework of the BBC. Despite these limitations, Even if not fully acknowledged by these dominant producers as fundamental in their programming schema, management it to engage with these subjects, due in large part to constructs of postcolonialism, nationalism, and subjectivity. Simultaneously however, discourses of those West Indian cultures represented resonated within the gathering, and challenged constructs of Britishness and whiteness. Perlita R. Dicochea’s theoretical critique of the dominant view of Environmental Racism in the study of Environmental Justice includes a case study and concludes that there is a need for a new approach which she defines as an ‘eco-racial consciousness’ which ...may guide more captivating evaluations of race and racism as discursive and material forces allowing for the intentional consideration of the full spectrum of race-thinking and race-making as processes of power that are engaged by the more and less privileged within and beyond political borders and revealed in our complex, ever changing relationships with an equally dynamic and powerful natural world. We are pleased to be bringing such a valuable range of articles to our users and hope that many of you will share them with colleagues and we encourage. I Ethnicity and Race in a Changing World: A Review Journal Editorial note In this issue we feature the essay ‘How can we help you?’ Hugh Greene and the BBC Coloured Conferences by Darrell. M. Newton. This in-depth examination of the BBC’s approach to programming featuring Black and Ethnic Minority (BME) communities provides a window on the way in which BME communities were referred to, and treated, not just in the media, but by the general public. One of the most obvious expressions of this is the commonality of using the word ‘coloured’ to refer to Black people until the 1980s. The use of the adjective ‘coloured’ throughout the essay is in keeping with the use of the word as part of the name of the conferences discussed, but also in the everyday language of those involved in said conferences. The editorial team thought it important to retain the use of the word throughout the essay for these reasons. II Essays ‘How can we help you?’ Hugh Greene and the BBC Coloured Conferences by Darrell. M.