The England riots first began as a peaceful protest in Tottenham in response to the death of Mark Duggan, a local man who was shot by a policeman in August 6 2011. This soon escalated into full on riots, quickly spreading to other parts of the country. During the aftermath of the riots, many theories were made to the different factors that sparked and led to the quick escalation of the riots. David Starkey, a famous British historian was invited to BBC’s Newsnight along with Owen Jones and Dreda Say Mitchell to speak about these factors. David Starkey through the use of allusion, generalization and biased language, in this interview, depicts black culture as the violent influence that instigated the riots in England in 2011. David Starkey …show more content…
speaks in a critical and judgmental style when discussing the manner in which black culture plays a role in the England riots. He achieves this through the use of epithet as he portrays the black community as a group who speaks in a specific “patois” and constantly listens to “rap music”. He also associates black culture with “destructive, nihilistic gangster culture” thus in effect offending black people. This leads to Dreda Say Mitchell who is of African origin, to question David Starkey’s knowledge of rap music and whether he believes rap music to be the cause of the riots. Starkey responses by saying that “it certainly glorifies violence” hence causing an indignant mood within the audience. This is said because rap music plays a major role in black culture and is often believed to be a form of self-expression. Therefore through this generalization, David Starkey is inadvertently depicting the black community as the source of the riots. Moreover, not only does David Starkey’s criticism offend the black audience of the interview, but others too like the labor MP Jeremy Corbyn who tweeted BBC asking, “why was racist analysis of Starkey unchallenged? What exactly are you trying to prove?” (Quinn). Furthermore, Starkey alluded to Enoch Powell’s speech, ‘Rivers of Blood’ from 1964 in order to support his claim that “whites have become black”. Enoch Powell was an MP who heavily opposed commonwealth immigration and anti-discrimination legislation. In his speech Powell warned that England would fall like the Roman Empire, defeated by an enemy that attacked from within and that the river Tiber, which run through Rome, would foam with blood. The enemy that he referred to were the immigrants more specifically those of other ethnicities as he believed that they would destroy British culture. David Starkey by alluding to Enoch Powell also speaks of a “profound cultural change” for which he explicitly blames on the influence of black culture. However Starkey believes that instead of resulting in an “intercommunity violence”, this cultural change has lead to the whites becoming black. Through this the manner in which Starkey equates black culture with violence can be seen as the audience gets the idea that the influence of black culture in society is what caused the outbreak of riots. In addition to this, David Starkey also employs the use of generalization and selective argument in order to further represent the black community in a particular way.
This can be seen especially in the selective and biased evidence that he choses as a supportive material for his argument that “whites are becoming black”. He refers to the TV host David Lammy as an “archetypical successful black man” whom he believes, speaks with a white accent. This associates success with being white hence causing outrage within the audience due to the undertone of white being linked to sophistication and goodness and black being linked to violence and backwardness. Moreover, Owen James, a fellow guest, also spots Starkey’s selectivity and points out that he is making a false analogy. However Starkey ignores James and continues on with his biased argument thus showing the audience his close mindedness. Additionally, David Starkey also claims that the other guest, Dreda Mitchell ‘speaks white’ by saying, “you don’t speak like them”. This, as she points out, further creates a sense of them vs. us hence leading to more riots and a divided country. Furthermore, Starkey claims that “a substantial section of the chavs have become black” and goes on to gives the example of the Olympic star bearer who uses slang, which he believes is representative of black culture, as she was caught looting. Again here it is possible to see the manner in which the black community is being equated with violence and the cause of the riots. This causes an indignant mood within the audience as Dreda Mitchell’s again reminds David Starkey patois language and rap music are fundamentally rich in
culture. In conclusion, there were some racial factors present in the riots due to the fact that it was a white police officer that shot Mark Duggan who was a black man. However it is not unfair to place the blame on the whole of the black community present in England. By doing so David Starkey is being explicitly biased as he is generalizing the effect of few to a whole population. Therefore he is representing the black community in a negative way. In this interview Starkey also often uses labels in order to depict black people in a certain way as well as to create a sense of them vs. us which in unwise in the dire state the country was in. Others also recognized this as Owen Jones, who challenged Starkey during the interview said, “David Starkey has had a very career-ending moment, but in the current climate, his comments are very dangerous” (Hastings). Starkey in turn was labeled a racist thus leading to the end of this career as a well-respected author and television speaker.
Ranikine’s addresses the light upon the failed judicial systems, micro aggressions, pain and agony faced by the black people, white privilege, and all the racial and institutional discrimination as well as the police brutality and injustice against the blacks; The book exposes that, even after the abolition of slavery, how the racism still existed and felt by the colored community in the form of recently emerged ‘Micro aggressions in this modern world’.
Solberg, Muriel. “’Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?’ – Rodney King”. 27 May 2011.
He points out that “When I dance”, I burse people to fight. Because black men are under the spotlight and things related to them attracts peoples’ attentions. Then he writes, “as I cross/ the street unlooking.” This shows the change in his attitude that he careless about causing another disruption. In this line, “I know all/ a movie needs/ is me/…”, he portrays himself causing troubles as most people presumed and wanting to be at the center of attention.
Racism had an impact on black men, from various sectors and individuals of being a racist that creates inequality. Black men are targeted by the police, the use of stop and search because of the suspicion of carrying dangerous weapons and illegal drugs. There is a corroboration that the police actions towards racism and race equality are seen with the over representation of black crimes. They are being labelled with different names such as Black on Black crime. These inequalities affect their lives because they find it difficult to fit in the society, suffer from poverty and being jobless. Despite of New labour’s new strategies to improve the criminal justice system and persecute racist offenders, the signs of increasing statistic rate of stop and search by police remains frequent based on Ministry of Justice 2013/14
The frequency of popular protest and rebellion in Early Modern England offers an insight into the nature of the social relations people maintained. P. Clark refers to the repetition of rebellion and popular protest as being ‘a recurrent phenomenon’ which spread throughout Europe in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth century. This implies that people thought there was a necessary cause to act in such a way, believing that change was possible to address their grievances. Additionally, Andy Wood further emphasises the ideology of the repetitive nature of popular protest and rebellion through the existence of a ‘shared tradition of popular protest’. This implies that there was a continuation in the motivations of those who chose to rebel. Many of the
...After giving the presentation there were many different views coming from the audience which were not expected. The audience did not hold the same views presented to them. The point addressed was about how Will Smith was the buffoon on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. They did not feel Will Smith was acting buffoonish, they thought he just brought comedy to the show. The audience seemed to focus on black people acting white rather than black people acting ignorant. They brought up the character Carlton, and how he acted white. When asked the question how they knew he was acting white they said he went to an all white school and was influenced by the way they acted. The audience also said Will criticized Carlton for acting white. They excused Will's buffoonish actions by saying white people were also made fun of through Carlton's character. This brings up the question how do we know what is characterized as acting "black" or acting "white", and what makes a show a "black" show or a "white" show. Again these questions revert back to the fact television shows have embedded stereotypes in our society. This makes people believe there must be a typical "black" person and "white" person.
His article was towards the reader of the The New York Times which would imply most of the American population. He would have had to write his article differently if his target audience was just African American because of the way he says, “St. Paul de Vence, France--The argument concerning the use, or the status, or the reality, of black English is rooted in American history and has absolutely nothing to do with the question the argument supposes itself to be posing.”(Baldwin paragraph 1). He mentions St. Paul de Vence which ties into trying to connect to people that speak French and then mention it in his article. Making his argument toward almost everyone that reads The New York Times because if it was just towards African American or even people that discriminate against African-American, his tone would reflect it. The language he uses is casual like when he says, “Now, no one can eat his cake, and have it, too, and it is late in the day to attempt to penalize black people for having created a language that..” (Baldwin paragraph 6) This type of language can connect to any reader, because of how he incorporates his message, also conveying his message in a light-hearted way. The words seem light-hearted based on the way he transitions from dialect being related to culture to talking about African American culture and how it is being overshadowed by American culture. When speaking directly
On the night of August 11, 1965 the Watts community of Los Angeles County went up in flames. A riot broke out and lasted until the seventeenth of August. After residents witnessed a Los Angeles police officer using excessive force while arresting an African American male. Along with this male, the police officers also arrested his brother and mother. Twenty-seven years later in 1992 a riot known as both the Rodney King riots and the LA riots broke out. Both share the similar circumstances as to why the riots started. Before each riot there was some kind of tension between police officers and the African American people of Los Angeles. In both cases African Americans were still dealing with high unemployment rates, substandard housing, and inadequate schools. Add these three problems with policemen having a heavy hand and a riot will happen. Many of the primary sources I will you in this analysis for the Watts and the LA riots can be found in newspaper articles written at the time of these events. First-hand accounts from people living during the riots are also used.
The Los Angeles riots were a release of pressure that had build up from the innocent charging of Officer Laurence M. Powell and other Police officers that "Used excessive force" on Rodney King on March 3, 1991, but that was not the only reason.(8) In the words of a singer singing about the riots "They said it was for the black man, they said it was for the Mexican, but not for the white man, but if you look at the streets it wasn't about Rodney King, It's bout this f****d up situation and the f****n' police."(9) Did the riots even have anything to do with King? Was King a minor reason for this to happen, or did King put the level of pressure right over the top? Whatever way you see it, the fact is that on April 29, 1992, anarchy was set free in Los Angeles and before the papers could write about the happenings in this city of angels, the writing on the walls could tell it all.
On the morning of March 3rd, 1991 an African-American man led police on a high-speed chase through the city of Los Angeles. Approximately eight miles later police swarmed around the car and confronted the driver, who went by the name Rodney King. During the confrontation, officers tortured King until the point he was forced to seek medical care. A case was opened and the police officers were acquitted. This angered many people, specifically Blacks and led to the historical “L.A. Riots’’ , where they felt race had something to do with the case.
...te police officers of charges stemming from the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King. As a result of this verdict, thousands of citizens rioted for six days. Mass amounts of looting, murder, arson and assault took place.” Riots are one of the most common forms of mob mentality and are shown in this book several times.
In Malcom’s speech Malcom brings up a riot in New York City caused by police brutality. Malcom justifies the riots of his peers by saying in his speech “but they gave the impression of hoodlum’s vagrants and criminals, but this is wrong. The landlord is white, the merchant is white, and in fact the entire economy of the Black community is white.” Malcolm uses this ideology to justify the rioters breaking windows and causing trouble in their own community because they are not hurting themselves; however they are hurting the white population by destroying the white’s property. Since the time of the New York riots many other riots have occurred based on the same ideology, some of which have occurred within the last few years. In 2014 the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri sparked riots within the town of Ferguson and unrest throughout the nation. In this specific case it was found that the officer did not kill Brown based on race rather out of self-defense, regardless of the findings by the investigation the people of Ferguson continued to riot. In a more recent incident on April 18th 2015 in Baltimore the riots ensued because a man by the name of Freddie Gray was killed by police days earlier. In this instance the investigation found the killing to have been a murder; never the less, riots still ensued in Baltimore for multiple days protesting police
In White Teeth, Zadie Smith warns against the dangers of purism and letting cultural background completely shape one’s identity while simultaneously paying tribute to the rich heritage and beliefs of her characters. It is a cautionary tale for immigrants but is never dismissive of their past. Smith is merely advising against tunnel vision and stressing the need to adapt to one’s environment. She shows the beauty that can stem from adaptation while warning that an inability to do so will lead to one’s downfall. London plays an especially important role as the battleground where the past and the present clash; a melting pot with a large immigrant population and inevitable moral struggle.
Cincinnati riots of 2001 are some of the greatest reflections of racial discriminations resulting from ineffectiveness of security institutions sparking massive losses and stunted development. These riots pointed the great divide that undercut the American society. The case is a strong indication of unresolved personal feelings of superiority of whites over other people of color. This paper explores unresolved conflicts between blacks and whites using the conflict theory, conflicts for resources, ineffectiveness of institutions and how politics influenced the riots. In addition, the paper analyzes how the problem was resolved and the outcome of deliberations on the issue. It is the view of this paper that conflict from resources and the sense of threat to whites by blacks in the society was the underlying cause of the riots. The paper concludes by reiterating Martin Luther king Junior’s call for the coexistence of all people and their judgment to be based on their characters and not their skin color (Lan, 2009).
Physical appearances were not the only aspects that were mocked by the shows, they also mocked the way African Americans spoke. Blacks in the shows were often staged to appear illiterate and their dialogue significantly contrasted with that of their fellow white castmates. Lines such as “I believe dis is de place.” or “I’m gwyne to tell you”. ” (5), demonstrated the fact a stereotype that was perpetuated by the shows was that blacks were illiterate.