In 2008 America elected their first Black president: Barack Hussein Obama. For Obama, however, the road to the White House was paved with questions about racism in America. It spawned the racist Birther conspiracy (relating to whether or not Obama was born in the USA and thus eligible to serve as President) which more recently questioned the legitimacy of Kamala Harris to serve first as Vice President, and then as Democratic candidate for president.

One of the key progenitors of Birtherism was Donald Trump, who was voted in as President after Obama in a reactionary wave of racism. Obama also faced racism from within his own party during the Democrat’s 2008 primary. Race and racism were, therefore, foundational to Obama’s eight year term and continue to be central to debates surrounding his legacy.

Click the button below to explore a selection of articles and videos documenting aspects of Birtherism and Obama’s presidential term.

America: The Obama Years

Black Lives Matter began in response to the killings of individuals such as Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting of Black teenager Trayvon Martin in 2013, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi created the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter to highlight racism and racially motivated violence. In 2015, the hashtag #SayHerName was created to highlight racially motivated violence against Black women and to call out the tendency of media to sideline the experience of Black women in the context of police violence and anti-Black racism.

On 25 May 2020, George Floyd, a 45 year-old African American man, was murdered during an arrest following a claim that he used a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill as payment. Four police officers were part of the arrest, during which officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck and back for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, resulting in a fatal asphyxiation. Unfortunately, the death of Black men by law enforcement is not new in America, but Floyd’s murder and his dying cries of “I can’t breathe” caught the attention of the world, sparking global protests and civil unrest across America and other nations. More than 450 major protests were held in American cities and cities across Europe and Australia in what became known as the George Floyd protests. These demonstrations were protesting police brutality and racially motivated violence against Black people and formed a part of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Explore our selection of articles and media relating to the Black Lives Matter movement and the killing of George Floyd, as well as the ongoing legacy of this social justice movement.

Black Lives Matter

In 2016 Donald Trump was elected President of the United States of America, despite losing the popular vote by over 2 million votes. Trump has a long history of racism, including his accusations against the Central Park Five (five Black men who as teenagers were falsely found guilty of the rape and murder of a white woman, but who have subsequently been acquitted) and his role in the Birtherism movement. His campaign and first term as president proved to be no different.

Trump announced his presidential campaign in 2015 in a speech that launched his slogan, “Make America Great Again”, and introduced racist claims against illegal immigrants arriving from Mexico. This slogan became the MAGA movement, which cultivated racist ideas including the Great Replacement Theory. Racist violence was also a key part of Trump’s presidency. In August 2017 the white supremacist "Unite the Right Rally" took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, where various alt-right, neo-Nazi and white nationalist groups gathered and chanted racist and antisemitic slogans. The rally turned violent amidst clashes with counter protests, including Heather Heyer's murder after white supremacist James Alex Fields Jr. deliberately rammed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters. In 2020, when Trump refused to accept that he lost the presidency to Joe Biden, his election denials and vocal encouragement on social media led to a violent insurrection perpetrated by his supporters at the State Capitol on 6 January.

This list provides a selection of articles and media reports outlining key aspects of Trump’s history with racism, as well as the rise of racist and conspiratorial movements that thrived during his presidency.

Trump Part 1: Trump and The Rise of MAGA

Despite losing the presidency to Joe Biden in 2020, Trump decided to run again and in 2024 he beat Kamala Harris (who gained the Democratic nomination following Biden’s decision to drop out in July 2024), this time winning both the electoral college and the popular vote. Like his previous campaigns, his third attempt to become president was mired in racism, particularly involving claims against immigrants, contentious political rallies and the creation of a new racist birther conspiracy, this time directed not at Barack Obama but at Harris.

Immediately following his re-election, fears have been reignited that his second presidency will further embolden racists and that his administration will enact racist policies. Already, immigration and DEI programs are at the forefront of Trump's transition policies.

Click the button below to explore a selection of articles and videos relating to Trump’s third presidential campaign and the start of his second term as president.

Trump Part 2: The Return of the Cult of Trumpism

On 23 June 2016, the UK voted in a referendum to leave the European Union. This vote was the culmination of decades of anti-EU or “eurosceptic” campaigning and anti-immigration sentiment promoted by right wing groups and politicians. The campaign was led by the UK Independence Party (UKIP), Vote Leave (designated the official lead organisation for the Leave campaign) and figures such as Nigel Farage. The UK officially left the EU 31 January 2020 in what is now known as Brexit.

The Leave campaign was accused of using and promoting racism, xenophobia and anti-immigrant rhetoric, and several studies have shown that the vote for Brexit led to a rise in race and religious hate crime across England and Wales.

Click the button below to explore a selection of articles exploring the rise of UKIP and post-Brexit racism.

Brexit

In 1987 Diane Abbott was the first Black woman elected to the UK Parliament as Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington. A trailblazer, Abbott was recently reelected in 2024, becoming the longest serving Black MP and assuming the title of Mother of the House (an honorific title given to the longest serving woman MP in the House of Commons). Since her first election, more Black women have been elected to Parliament, and 2024 also saw the Conservative Party choose Kemi Badenoch as their leader. Yet, despite this progress, Abbbott and other Black Women MPs have been continually subjected to racist and misogynist abuse. In 2017 a study revealed that she receives half of all of the abusive tweets sent to women MPs.

Below you will find a selection of news articles and videos highlighting the role of racism and misogyny in UK politics, from Diane Abbot and the recent Toy donor row involving racist comments directed towards her and other instances of racism experienced by Black women in politics.

Diane Abbott and Misogynoir in UK Politics

The summer of 2024 saw race riots spread across the UK. The genesis of the riots was a tragic and violent mass stabbing event that happened in Southport on 29 July in which three children were killed and ten other adults and children were injured. Claims and conspiracies were soon proliferated by the far right speculating upon the race, religion, immigration status and motive of the attacker, many of which were quickly proved to be false. Conspiracies were boosted on social media by prominent far-right figures such as Tommy Robinson, and the next day, 30 June, saw far-right anti-immigration protests that quickly escalated into riots and social unrest.

From 30 June until 5 August, islamophobic and racist attacks, arson, and looting took place in cities across the UK including Southport, London, Belfast, Manchester, Hull and Leeds. Mosques and immigration centres were frequently the centre of attacks, and in Rotherham a Holiday Inn hotel housing asylum seekers was the site of violent demonstrations culminating in an attempt to set the building – and its occupants – on fire.

Click the button below to explore a selection of articles and videos relating to the race riots, examining the foundations and roots causes, the riots themselves, and also the aftermath.

The UK’s Race Riot Summer (2024)

In 2018, the Windrush political scandal broke in the UK. The scandal centres on a group of British subjects known as the Windrush generation who had moved to the UK primarily from Caribbean countries before 1973, but who had subsequently been wrongly detained, denied legal rights, threatened with deportation or even wrongly deported.

The Windrush generation was named after the first group of West Indian migrants who arrived in the UK on ships like the Empire Windrush in 1948. These individuals were from British colonies and were encouraged to come to Britain in order to help with labour shortages following the Second World War. The British government encouraged this immigration, and in 1948 passed the British Nationality Act which gave citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKC) status and the right of settlement. As such, many individuals did not have any legal documents because they did not need them upon entry to the country.

Subsequently, however, in the 21st century many individuals of the Windrush generation and their family members were affected by the “hostile environment” of the Home Office led by Theresa May, then Home Secretary. The “hostile environment” made staying in Britain as difficult as possible, and included the confiscation of documentation, the implementation of extra checks by employers and landlords requiring individuals prove their legal right to remain, and fines as well as the threat or enforcement of deportation and the denial of re-entry.

Click the button below to explore a selection of articles and videos relating to the Windrush generation and their legacy.

Windrush and Britain’s Hostile Environment