Black London: The Imperial Metropolis and Decolonization in the Twentieth Century / Edition 1

by Marc Matera

Overview

This vibrant history of London in the twentieth century reveals the city as a key site in the development of black internationalism and anticolonialism. Marc Matera shows the significant contributions of people of African descent to London’s rich social and cultural history, masterfully weaving together the stories of many famous historical figures and presenting their quests for personal, professional, and political recognition against the backdrop of a declining British Empire. A groundbreaking work of intellectual history, Black London will appeal to scholars and students in a variety of areas, including postcolonial history, the history of the African diaspora, urban studies, cultural studies, British studies, world history, black studies, and feminist studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520284302
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	05/05/2015
Series:	California World History Library , #22
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	414
Sales rank:	715,677
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 5.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Marc Matera is Assistant Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the coauthor of The Women's War of 1929: Gender and Violence in Colonial Nigeria.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations

Introduction: The Imperial and Atlantic Horizons of Black London
1. Afro-metropolis: Black Political and Cultural Associations in Interwar London
2. Black Internationalism and Empire in the 1930s
3. Black Feminist Internationalists
4. Sounds of Black London
5. Black Masculinity and Interracial Sex at the Heart of the Empire
6. Black Intellectuals and the Development of Colonial Studies in Britain
7. Pan-Africa in London, Empire Films, and the Imperial Imagination
Epilogue

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

[Matera] successfully argues that these clubs helped to foment in their patrons a transformation from a narrow black nationalism into an inherently more progressive black internationalism.

The Times Literary Supplement

"A tremendous contribution and very much to be welcomed."

Anthurium: A Caribbean Studies Journal

"Black London represents a useful and engaging resource for those interested in Black Atlantic history and politics that moves beyond the usual figures and organisations."

Urban Studies Journal

"An important book."

JISCMail - Marika Sherwood

"[A] towering achievement. Black London is gratifying both for its careful attention to detail and its nuanced analysis of the political and social lives of the black intellectuals who lived in this mid-twentieth-century world... the resulting portrait is glorious." 

H-Net