ABSTRACT
Anti-racism is an ill-defined and changing concept. For some the term denotes any opposition to racism, ranging from organised protest to individual acts of resistance through a refusal to adopt white supremacist assumptions (Aptheker, 1993). For others anti-racism describes a more systematic perspective that provides both a theoretical understanding of the nature of racism and offers general guidance for its opposition through emancipatory practice (Mullard, 1984). The former, broad conception of anti-racism is among the most common understandings internationally, while in Britain the latter more specific usage is dominant. Anti-racism has achieved a degree of public recognition in Britain beyond that attained in most other countries. For this reason I shall begin by using the British case as a vehicle for describing anti-racism in education, especially in relation to the sometimes complementary, sometimes conflicting understandings of multiculturalism. I shall broaden the focus later in the piece, particularly with reference to newly emerging discourses of critical anti-racism and praxis.
