In the Shadow of Enoch Powell: Race, Locality and Resistance

Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood speech in 1968 brought Wolverhampton into the national spotlight, but his unstable relationship with the town has been overlooked. This book explores the racialised dynamics of space during a critical moment in British history, tracing the ways in which Powell's words reinvented the town and uncovers highly contested local responses. It revisits the shadow of Powell in a contemporary period of new crisis and national divisions to reflect on racism and resistance from 1968 to today.

Format: Hardback
Length: 152 pages
Publication date: 19 November 2018
Publisher: Manchester University Press

Fifty years ago, Enoch Powell's iconic Rivers of Blood speech shook the nation, warning of an impending immigrant invasion in the once-respectable streets of Wolverhampton. This local fixation thrust the Black Country town into the national spotlight, yet the tumultuous relationship between Powell and Wolverhampton has been largely overlooked. Drawing from extensive interviews and archival material, this book delves into a rich local history, offering a lens through which to examine the speech and its racialized dynamics. What lay beneath the surface in Wolverhampton during this pivotal moment in British history? How did Powell's constituents react to this dramatic event? The research uncovers the ways in which Powell's words reinvented the town and unveils highly contested local responses. While Powell departed Wolverhampton in 1974, the book returns to the city to explore the collective memories of the speech, which continue to reverberate in the present day. In a contemporary context of new crises and national divisions, revisiting the shadow of Powell prompts us to reflect on racism and resistance from 1968 to the present.

Weight: 336g
Dimension: 149 x 224 x 11 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781526127372