@theo-williams
Researching histories of anti-imperialism and Black radicalism. Author of: *Making the Revolution Global: Black Radicalism and the British Socialist Movement before Decolonisation*: https://www.versobooks.com/books/4073-making-the-revolution-global
📢 New out!
Theo Williams @theo-williams.bsky.social argues for Black activism in Britain to be viewed through a more global lens.
#activism #anti-colonialism #anti-racism #BlackLiberationFront #BlackPower #decolonization #neocolonialism #Pan-Africanism
Read here: doi.org/10.1017/S174...
Just published open access in @globalhistjnl.bsky.social
‘Inside the belly of the monster’: The politics of race in Britain, transnational anti-colonialism, and the Black Liberation Front
doi.org/10.1017/S174...
![Lawyers representing the Home Office said the proscription had had the intended effect of “disrupting PA’s [Palestine Action] pattern of escalatory conduct” and had “not prevented people from protesting in favour of the Palestinian people or against Israel’s actions in Gaza”.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xurjtu2wa2akyi64gab34ahg/bafkreihyyqj6fezrzwkasabsacn7cgjzahfo5dy6vwk4t6lkvc6r7kbizm)
Lawyers representing the Home Office said the proscription had had the intended effect of “disrupting PA’s [Palestine Action] pattern of escalatory conduct” and had “not prevented people from protesting in favour of the Palestinian people or against Israel’s actions in Gaza”.
This looks quite a lot like an assertion by the Home Office that it knew it was breaking the law, didn't care, and doesn't regret it.
My new book, An Injury to All: The Unmaking of the British Working Class, is now listed in Verso's trade catalogue for 2026.
You can find it here: versobooks.com/en-gb/pages/...
Thanks to @benjamin-bland.bsky.social, @liamliburd.bsky.social, @drrochellerowe.bsky.social and @samwetherell.bsky.social for their comments on a draft version!
The article, through a focus on the Black Liberation Front, examines anti-colonialism and Third World solidarities in Britain during the 1970s and 1980s. It argues for the importance of seeing Black activism in Britain through a global lens.
Just published open access in @globalhistjnl.bsky.social
‘Inside the belly of the monster’: The politics of race in Britain, transnational anti-colonialism, and the Black Liberation Front
doi.org/10.1017/S174...
JOB ALERT: amazing 4-year post in postwar British history and refugee studies at @uniofreading.bsky.social Humanities!
A post perfectly suited for someone working on political and social histories of race and migration in late 20c. Deadline 5 September.
jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
It's Publication Day for my article tracing Black women in famous British art.
'Black Modernist Muses in Jacob Epstein's Art'
Read full article here👇🏾
doi-org.eux.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/0961...
image: 'Roma of Barbados' Fitzwilliam Museum/Jacob Epstein
@womenshistoryrev.bsky.social
Welcome, friends! Come learn about our book and sign up for some exerpts, interviews and fun extras in the run up to its release: friendsincommon.substack.com/p/welcome-fr...
Transforming Nations and Identities in a Global World After 1945: CfP for the Global History Initiative's fall conference in Glasgow: rb.gy/f33c4p Deadline for proposals March 28
Looks like a great event coming up at Glasgow this October
#OtD 8 Mar 1917 defying union leaderships, women workers and housewives took the streets of St Petersburg against high prices and hunger. They were joined the next day by 200,000 workers, sparking the February Revolution stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1...
In the 1950s-60s, the African Association in Cairo became a hub for anticolonial activists from across the world.
@alexjwhite.bsky.social examines the role of transnational activists who shaped the anticolonial movement.
www.historyworkshop....
From the creation of lectureships to the closure of postgrad programmes, the last five years represent a tumultuous period within the study of #BlackBritishHistory
Join us for a roundtable: Black British History in 2025
🗓️ 6th March
⏰ 17:30
📍 IHR Wolfson Room NB01
www.history.ac.uk/events/black...
NEW PUBLICATION
My article 'Willing Conscripts' has just been published Open Access in @global-ih.bsky.social
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
The article examines how Black radical thinkers from 18th-20th centuries attempted to reconcile modernity and the African past.
1/4
This new modernity would, in Césaire's words, combine ‘the productive power of modern times’ with ‘the fraternity of olden days.’ For many Black radical thinkers, it was only through socialism that the contradictions of modernity could be resolved.
4/4
Modernity – while marked by racial-colonial divisions – was seen by many Black radicals to offer emancipatory possibilities. They saw actually-existing modernity as offering hollow and circumscribed equality, freedom and humanism, and sought to remake these values and fill them with meaning.
3/4
Kwame Nkrumah
Claudia Jones
Amílcar Cabral
Aimé Césaire
The article discusses Black radical thinkers like Aimé Césaire, Amílcar Cabral, Claudia Jones and Kwame Nkrumah to argue that if Black radicals have been 'conscripts of modernity' (David Scott), they have been modernity's willing conscripts.
2/4
NEW PUBLICATION
My article 'Willing Conscripts' has just been published Open Access in @global-ih.bsky.social
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
The article examines how Black radical thinkers from 18th-20th centuries attempted to reconcile modernity and the African past.
1/4
Marika was instrumental to the development of Black histories in Britain and elsewhere. She was also an important mentor to so many scholars. Her presence will be missed but her legacies will endure.
On 27 Feb my book comes out. It’s about how Liverpool’s recent history should change the way we think about modern Britain. On this thread every few days till then, I will tweet an extraordinary fact about Liverpool’s twentieth-century. Pre-order here: www.waterstones.com/book/liverpo...
Me posting envelope into red postbox. Morning sky.
Posting my ballot #UCU. Our HE branches are fighting for our lives. Alone we crumble, united we’re strong.
Please vote for me & for left/independent candidates. We need leadership prepared to uphold democracy, to organise, & who believe in collectivity as strength.
rhiannonforucuvp.wordpress.com
Photo of George Orwell
My chapter is about George Orwell, the politics of 'Britishness' / 'Englishness', and how these intersected (or not) with Pan-Africanism and anti-imperialism
Lots of other great chapters in there as well
2/
Front cover of Anti-racism in Britain, edited by Saffron East, Grace Redhead and Theo Williams Cover image shows an anti-racist demonstration in London in 1976
The online version of my new co-edited book *Anti-racism in Britain: Traditions, Histories and Trajectories* can be found here: www.manchesterhive.com/display/9781...
Institutional access required, I'm afraid.
1/
Our book is out! Get your library requests in for Anti-racism in Britain: Traditions, histories and trajectories, c.1880-present
& thank you to all who contributed to the volume, it was a pleasure working with everyone.
A reminder that next Friday 29 Nov I’ll be launching my book MULTICULTURAL BRITAIN in Birmingham, one of the book’s key case studies. Details of where and when 👇 Join us if you can!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/multicultu...
Starter Pack on Colonialism, Decolonisation & Race 👇. Interdisciplinary and not limited to academics. Set it up last week so I may have missed people who joined recently - pls let me know if you'd like to be added (or removed). ..Overlapping starter packs v.welcome!
go.bsky.app/NypyY8Q
I put together a new starter pack of people who do work on the history of socialism. Encompasses different aspects, tendencies, and eras, including recent years. Let me know if you have suggestions or would like to be added yourself.
4) I've also recorded a couple of podcasts about my research:
shows.acast.com/jacobin-radi...
newbooksnetwork.com/making-the-r...