Black

Definition
The term is used variously to describe some or all people of African, Caribbean, South Asian and other Asian origin, and often mixed ‘race’ people too. The term is also used politically to unite people who are not white or who are likely to be subjected to racism.

Commentary
Black is a term which has several different meanings. Historically the term black was used by white people to define anyone who was not the same as them. The North American civil rights movement redefined it to refer to those people who suffered from and struggled against white racism, and whose cause was justice and equality. In Britain there was also an attempt to use this socio-political meaning to unite the victims of racism whatever the gradation of their skin colour. In recent years the all-encompassing version of ‘black’ has been replaced by terms such as ‘black and Asian’ or ‘black and minority ethnic’. It is still used in its broad, inclusive sense but is increasingly used to refer to people of African or Caribbean origin. More recently its use has been seen as divisive and unhelpful as some ethnic groups are still categorised by colour, such as black African or black Caribbean, while others, such as Asians, are categorised not by colour but according to national origins such as Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani or religion such as Sikhs and Jews.