Incarcerating the crisis: Prisons, race, and fascism in 1970s Britain

To mark Black History Month 2024, Dr Liam J Liburd explores the meaning of Black British history not just in terms of diversifying our historical subject matter, but as a theoretical approach.

He does so through a discussion of a disturbing episode in the history of Britain during the 1970s. In late 1977, Grassroots – newspaper of the British Black Power organisation, the Black Liberation Front – published a front-page article exposing prison officers in Wandsworth prison as members or supporters of the white supremacist organisation, the National Front.

At first glance, these reports of fascism behind bars seem apocryphal or hyperbolic. In fact, they represent both the expansive use of the term ‘fascism’ by black activists and a fragment of the history of the crisis in British prisons during the 1970s.

In exploring this crisis and black experiences of incarceration, Liburd finds accusations of British ‘fascism’ flourishing in the Prison Service within the context of a broader authoritarian shift in the British state during the 1970s. He journeys through the archives of black political periodicals, the anti-fascist movement, the prisoners’ rights movement, and the Home Office.

By using Black British history as a theoretical approach, the talk ultimately excavates the underexplored history of race and racism in British prisons in the late twentieth century. Reflecting on the role that the white supremacist movement played within a more broadly white supremacist society.

Throughout Black History Month we will celebrate the culture, history and achievements of black communities. It is an integral part of the university’s calendar of events and supports efforts to develop long-term cultural and institutional change, whilst celebrating the contribution of our staff, students and alumni.