The Colour of Class Book Launch

Thomson Reuters' Black Employee Network (BEN) & the Centre for Research in Race & Education held the book launch for The Colour of Class: the educational strategies of the Black middle classes on the 16th February 2015. The books authors are Nicola Rollock, David Gillborn, Carol Vincent & Stephen Ball.

The launch was sponsored by the Journal of Education Policy

Read attendees comments about the book launch below: 

'I enjoyed a really positive evening at the book launch for 'The Colour of Class', it was useful to hear about the book, the publishers and the sponsors for the event as well as having time to meet the authors.' Rukhsana Yaqoob.

'I had a wonderful evening yesterday and met – and renewed contact with – some wonderful people. (…) Thank you for signing a copy of your book; I shall cherish it!' Daniel Stone.

'I really want to congratulate you on your book launch and your effort to raise awareness of the black middle class in the UK' Brenda King, MBE.

 

Gary Younge'The dynamics of race and class are different. Each marches to the beat of its own drummer. But if they are separate at their root they are nonetheless symbiotic in their effect. To try to understand either separately is to misunderstand both completely, for even if they march separately they also often stride in lockstep. The challenge for Black middle class parents, as this important new book illustrates, is to navigate the complex terrain of privilege and prejudice, so that whatever advances they have made in their own lives are not erased in the next generation.' Gary Younge, Award-winning Guardian journalist and author. 

 

Kwame Kwei-Armah

'The Black middle classes are all but invisible in the UK. And while the assumption amongst the mainstream is that class trumps race, The Colour of Class goes some way to destabilizing this myth – this book reveals the quiet persistence of racism in British society and the extent to which the Black middle classes work to survive it.' Kwame Kwei-Armah, actor, playwright, Director of CenterStage (Baltimore, USA) & member of the advisory group for the Black middle classes research project.

Media Coverage  

Being Black and Middle Class, Barbados Nation UK Edition, 6 March 2015     

Book sheds new light on the silent black middle class, The Voice, 7 March 2015

Teachers 'expect less' from Black middle-class pupils, The Guardian, 5 June 2011 http://www.theguardian.com/education/2011/jun/05/teachers-black-middle-class-pupils-study

Being Black and middle class doesn't mean you face less prejudice, The Guardian, 5 June 2011 http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jun/05/black-middle-class-prejudice

For comments about the launch evening or to tweet about the book please use

#colourofclass