Shut the f*** up, you have no rights here: Critical Race Theory and Racialisation in post-7/7 racist Britain.

Abstract

The London bombings of 7th July, 2007 (7/7) were a pivotal moment in British society, not only because of the loss of life and injury, but because it was the first time Britain had been attacked by non-white British citizens. This point was underscored by Chancellor Gordon Brown when he stressed that ‘the uncomfortable facts’ have to be faced that the bombers were ‘British citizens, British born, apparently integrated into our communities, who were prepared to maim and kill fellow British citizens’. Here we assess competing explanations for the role of ‘race’ in contemporary society: Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Racialisation. Two central tenets of CRT are critiqued from a Marxist perspective, and the Marxist concept of racialisation is put forward as having most purchase in explaining manifestations of intensified Islamophobia and xenoracism in post 7/7 Britain.