ABSTRACT
Diran Adebayo reflects on his relationship with continental Europe as a youth before considering the black British cultural ecology in the years since the landmark Macpherson Report of 1999. He asks whether certain beliefs of European Enlightenment thought, its “best face”, might be harnessed to help move both a Europe that is currently being culturally contested and the work and presentation of Afro-European artists, activists, and other cultural practitioners in more fruitful directions. Noting the challenge posed to multiculturalism by the ascendant British “majoritarianism”, as discussed by Pathik Pathak, the author questions the emphasis placed by politicians on “cohesive” societies, arguing instead for the development and dissemination of a “minority–majority consciousness” more aligned to global trends and undercurrents.
