Racism and fascism - new material (8)
01 November 1998
Review: Discourses of Antiracism in France. Catherine Lloyd. Ashgate (Aldershot) 1998, 277pp £39.95hb. In this distinctive and important contribution to the analysis of French anti-racism Cathy Lloyd makes a significant epistemological departure from existing literature in the field. In a clearly structured and thorough account of the roots and the growth of anti-racism, she adopts the standpoint that it is, or ought to be, more than the antithesis to racism. She is critical of literature which has ignored the need for specific contextualisation and which has tended instead towards either over-abstraction or empiricism.
Having clearly set out her theoretical standpoint Lloyd pursues the themes of discrimination, representation, solidarity and hegemony through, firstly, an analysis of four historical references (the Enlightenment and revolution; the Dreyfus legacy; antifascism and the traditions of the Resistance and Anti-colonialism) for anti-racism, and secondly, through an analysis of the building of French anti-racism since 1945. Throughout this two part analysis she maintains an emphasis on the positive projects and on the attempts by anti-racists "to define themselves as the norm and racism as the aberrant".
In conclusion, Lloyd posits anti-racism as "the centre of our hopes for a more tolerant society for the next millennium", again ascribing a project and rationale to anti-racism which in theory and in practice must go further than an opposition to manifestations of racism. This book will provide an important resource for the study of anti-racisms in France; one which clearly demonstrates the importance of a critical approach to social-scientific study.
European Race Bulletin (Institute of Race Relations) Bulletin No. 28 (October) 1998, pp38. Latest issue of the bulletin covers the period February to July 1998. Available from IRR, 2-6 Leeke Street, London WC1X 9HS.
Racial harassment support pack: a guide for victims. The Monitoring Group, 1998. This useful pack contains 8 leaflets covering the following areas: 1. Facts and figures about racial harassment; 2. What constitutes racial harassment; 3. Information about the Monitoring Group...; 4. Guidance in dealing with the police; 5. Guidance to seek support from the local authority; 6. Instructions for recording incidents; 7. Independent action you can take, and 8. Simple steps you can take to deal with emergencies. Available from: The manager, TMG, 14 Featherstone Road, Southall, Middlesex. Tel. 0181 843 2333.
UK race laws need fresh impetus. Labour Research Vol. 87, no. 11 (November) 1998, pp17-18. This piece considers the Race Relations Act 1968 which was the first piece of legislation to outlaw race discrimination in employment. It observes that "little has changed" since its introduction and argues that "fresh legislation is urgently needed."<