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Boxing, Race and British Identity, 1945–1962

Martin Johnes Orcid Logo, MATTHEW TAYLOR

The Historical Journal, Volume: 63, Issue: 5, Pages: 1349 - 1377

Swansea University Author: Martin Johnes Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1017/s0018246x19000724

Abstract

This article provides new insight into the study of race relations and British identity by exploring attitudes to black boxers in the post-war period. With a formal colour bar on British championships operating until 1948, boxing had long been a site where racial prejudice and discrimination were ar...

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Published in: The Historical Journal
ISSN: 0018-246X 1469-5103
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2020
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa52440
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first_indexed 2019-10-15T14:31:52Z
last_indexed 2021-01-07T04:14:55Z
id cronfa52440
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spelling 2021-01-06T17:01:32.5334638 v2 52440 2019-10-15 Boxing, Race and British Identity, 1945–1962 8aa6d8da22a168889f76c9a5a6e5fa84 0000-0001-9700-5120 Martin Johnes Martin Johnes true false 2019-10-15 AHIS This article provides new insight into the study of race relations and British identity by exploring attitudes to black boxers in the post-war period. With a formal colour bar on British championships operating until 1948, boxing had long been a site where racial prejudice and discrimination were articulated and casually applied. But it was also a rare space where black men could be spoken about, discussed and celebrated without primary reference to their colour. This article argues that boxing reflected and contributed to the complex ways in which black people were received in British society. Small in number and generally not regarded as a threat to sport or wider society, British-born black boxers in the late 1940s were often accepted and celebrated. But as immigration increased during the 1950s and 1960s, and professional boxing declined as an industry, poor treatment and marginalisation became more common, especially for boxers from the Caribbean and West Africa. Above all, boxing highlights the ambivalence in racial attitudes that meant that even the most popular black fighters were rarely fully embraced as British heroes. Journal Article The Historical Journal 63 5 1349 1377 Cambridge University Press (CUP) 0018-246X 1469-5103 boxing, race, Britishness, national identity, racism, immigration 1 12 2020 2020-12-01 10.1017/s0018246x19000724 COLLEGE NANME History COLLEGE CODE AHIS Swansea University 2021-01-06T17:01:32.5334638 2019-10-15T09:45:21.8613376 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Culture and Communication - History Martin Johnes 0000-0001-9700-5120 1 MATTHEW TAYLOR 2 0052440-17102019103619.pdf 52440.pdf 2019-10-17T10:36:19.2570000 Output 198442 application/pdf Accepted Manuscript true 2019-10-16T00:00:00.0000000 Released under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License (CC-BY-NC-ND). true eng
title Boxing, Race and British Identity, 1945–1962
spellingShingle Boxing, Race and British Identity, 1945–1962
Martin Johnes
title_short Boxing, Race and British Identity, 1945–1962
title_full Boxing, Race and British Identity, 1945–1962
title_fullStr Boxing, Race and British Identity, 1945–1962
title_full_unstemmed Boxing, Race and British Identity, 1945–1962
title_sort Boxing, Race and British Identity, 1945–1962
author_id_str_mv 8aa6d8da22a168889f76c9a5a6e5fa84
author_id_fullname_str_mv 8aa6d8da22a168889f76c9a5a6e5fa84_***_Martin Johnes
author Martin Johnes
author2 Martin Johnes
MATTHEW TAYLOR
format Journal article
container_title The Historical Journal
container_volume 63
container_issue 5
container_start_page 1349
publishDate 2020
institution Swansea University
issn 0018-246X
1469-5103
doi_str_mv 10.1017/s0018246x19000724
publisher Cambridge University Press (CUP)
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Culture and Communication - History{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Culture and Communication - History
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description This article provides new insight into the study of race relations and British identity by exploring attitudes to black boxers in the post-war period. With a formal colour bar on British championships operating until 1948, boxing had long been a site where racial prejudice and discrimination were articulated and casually applied. But it was also a rare space where black men could be spoken about, discussed and celebrated without primary reference to their colour. This article argues that boxing reflected and contributed to the complex ways in which black people were received in British society. Small in number and generally not regarded as a threat to sport or wider society, British-born black boxers in the late 1940s were often accepted and celebrated. But as immigration increased during the 1950s and 1960s, and professional boxing declined as an industry, poor treatment and marginalisation became more common, especially for boxers from the Caribbean and West Africa. Above all, boxing highlights the ambivalence in racial attitudes that meant that even the most popular black fighters were rarely fully embraced as British heroes.
published_date 2020-12-01T04:04:48Z
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score 11.012678

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