ABSTRACT
Deliberation surrounding race in Britain has often ridden in tandem with debates on disputed status and otherness. This has a legacy as far back as Elizabeth I, and as recent as the issues surrounding the European Membership referendum of 2016 and the shortcomings of the Hostile Environment Policy, both of which question the impact of Commonwealth migration and ideas of citizenship. In order to better understand the idea of race within a British context, one needs to reflect on the essentialist thinking that developed during the Enlightenment period, which was laden with theories and impressions that promoted racial hierarchies. These views bled through time and became imbedded in the infrastructure of British society. This has had an irreparable impact on the lives of black people in Britain, spanning both world wars and carrying through into the new millennium, where we still witness black populations being subject to racialised incorporation, and locked into tumultuous relationships with enforcement agencies, legislators and parliamentarians.
