Adam Elliott-Cooper, "Black Resistance to British Policing" (Manchester UP, 2021)

Jan 7, 2025

In this discussion, Adam Elliott-Cooper, a Lecturer in Public and Social Policy at Queen Mary University of London, dives into the compelling dynamics of Black resistance against British policing. He draws connections between colonial histories and modern systemic racism, revealing how movements like Black Lives Matter have emerged from past struggles. Adam highlights the critical role of black women activists and critiques the media's racial framing in crime narratives. Plus, he advocates for community-led reforms as alternatives to oppressive policing practices.

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ANECDOTE

Origins of Research

Adam Elliott-Cooper's work started through youth work in East London, where policing was a recurring concern among youth.
This led him to research activism and state racism, culminating in his book.

INSIGHT

Policing as an Entry Point

Policing serves as a gateway to broader social and political discussions.
It allows exploration of issues like class and racialization.

INSIGHT

Gender, Race, and Class in Resistance

Gender is crucial to understanding police violence, especially in colonial contexts where it's used to rationalize control.
Black women activists, often overlooked, offer key insights into how gender, race, and class intersect in policing.

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As police racism unsettles Britain's tolerant self-image, Black Resistance to British Policing (Manchester UP, 2021) details the activism that made movements like Black Lives Matter possible. Adam Elliott-Cooper analyses racism beyond prejudice and the interpersonal - arguing that black resistance confronts a global system of racial classification, exploitation and violence.

Imperial cultures and policies, as well as colonial war and policing highlight connections between these histories and contemporary racisms. But this is a book about resistance, considering black liberation movements in the 20th century while utilising a decade of activist research covering spontaneous rebellion, campaigns and protest in the 21st century. Drawing connections between histories of resistance and different kinds of black struggle against policing is vital, it is argued, if we are to challenge the cutting edge of police and prison power which harnesses new and dangerous forms of surveillance, violence and criminalisation.

Black Resistance to British Policing is a must read for all those who are interested in the history of the British Empire, its enduring legacies, and anti-colonial and anti-racist resistance.

Adam Elliot-Cooper is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Public and Social Policy at Queen Mary University of London. He is also co-author of Empire’s Endgame: Racism and the British State (Pluto Press, 2021). He sits on the board of The Monitoring Group, an anti-racist organisation challenging state racisms and racial violence.

Deniz Yonucu is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in the School of Geography, Politics, and Sociology at Newcastle University. Her work focuses on counterinsurgency, policing and security, surveillance, left-wing and anti-colonial resistance, memory, racism, and emerging digital control technologies. Her book, Police, Provocation, Politics Counterinsurgency in Istanbul (Cornell University Press, 2022), presents a counterintuitive analysis of policing, focusing particular attention on the incitement of counterviolence and perpetual conflict by state security apparatus.

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