Kehinde Andrews

Kehinde Andrews
Andrews in 2020
Born
Kehinde Nkosi Andrews

January 1983 (age 43)
Alma materUniversity of Birmingham
OccupationsAcademic, author
EmployerBirmingham City University
Known forFirst Black studies professor in the UK

Kehinde Nkosi Andrews (born January 1983)[1] is a British academic and author specialising in Black studies. He was the first Black studies professor in the United Kingdom.

Early life and education

Andrews is of British African-Caribbean heritage.[2] He grew up in Birmingham, the son of a half-white English, half-Jamaican mother who was a university graduate and was born in Britain, and a Jamaican father who had come to the UK in his early teens.[3] Andrews earned a PhD in sociology and cultural studies from the University of Birmingham in 2011. His thesis was entitled Back to Black: Black Radicalism and the Supplementary School Movement.[4]

Academic career

Andrews is a professor of Black studies in the School of Social Sciences at Birmingham City University.[5] He is the director of the Centre for Critical Social Research, founder of the Harambee Organisation of Black Unity,[6] and co-chair of the UK Black Studies Association.[7] Andrews is the first Black Studies professor in the UK and led the establishment of the first Black Studies programme in Europe at Birmingham City University.[8][9][10]

Journalism, media appearances, and personal views

Andrews regularly appears in the media discussing issues of race and racism, colonialism and slavery, and British nationalism. He contributes to The Guardian,[11][12] The Independent,[13] New Statesman,[14] CNN,[15] OpenDemocracy,[16] and often appears as a guest on the BBC[17][18][19][20] and Good Morning Britain.[21][22][23][24]

In 2016, Andrews criticized universities in the United Kingdom for institutional racism, specifically the lack of diversity in students' assigned readings.[8]

In 2019, Andrews appeared on Good Morning Britain, where he argued that the Royal Air Force bombing of Nazi Germany constituted a war crime[25] and equated the racial views of Winston Churchill to those of Adolf Hitler.[26]

Andrews narrated the 2018 film The Psychosis of Whiteness, which explores race and racism through cinematic representations of the slave trade.[27]

In July 2019, Andrews criticized the idea that prominent non-white members of the Conservative Party automatically represent racial progress, saying that a "cabinet packed with ministers with brown skin wearing Tory masks represents the opposition of racial progress".[28]

In 2020, he was interviewed by the Los Angeles Review of Books discussing Malcolm X and the question of violence in Black radicalism.[29]

In June 2021, Andrews described Elizabeth II as "the number one symbol of white supremacy in the entire world".[30] Following her death in September 2022, he called for the abolition of the monarchy.[31]

In September 2024, Black political commenter Calvin Robinson reported Andrews to the police for allegedly using a racial slur against him.[32] The professor was investigated by the West Midlands Police who, following a voluntary interview with Andrews during which he explained his academic work, dropped the probe.[33] In an interview with The Independent, Andrews said, "'house negro' is a political critique and has never been used as a racial slur" and criticised the police for "criminalising Black and brown people" and the criminalization of Black thought.[32] Months before the police investigation, the Metropolitan Police had contacted Andrews for advice for a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) review for an investigation into an alleged hate crime, in which a British Asian woman held a placard depicting Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman as coconuts. Andrews declined to take part in the review, explained to the police why this use of 'coconut' was not a racial slur, and urged the police and CPS to drop the investigation. The police and CPS pursued the conviction but the woman was found not guilty.[34]

While critiquing books written by academics as a "con", Andrews said the work of many academics is "devastatingly bad" and stated one of his peers had written something so bad that "he writes like he has a brain injury".[35]

Selected works

  • Resisting Racism: Race, Inequality, and the Black Supplementary School Movement. London: Institute of Education Press. 2013. ISBN 9781858565156. OCLC 952965547.
  • Back to Black: Retelling Black Radicalism for the 21st Century. London: Zed Books. 2018. ISBN 9781786992789. OCLC 1038006618.
  • The New Age of Empire: How Racism and Colonialism Still Rule the World. London: Allen Lane. 2021. ISBN 9780241437445.
  • The Psychosis of Whiteness: Surviving the Insanity of a Racist World. Penguin Books. 2023. ISBN 9780141992396.
  • Nobody Can Give You Freedom: The Political Life of Malcolm X. New York: Bold Type Books. 2025. ISBN 9781645030706.

References

  1. ^ "Kehinde Andrews". Still We Rise. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Time for BAME voices to be heard". Black History Month at UHB. University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. October 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Professor Kehinde Andrews: oration". University of Bath. July 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
  4. ^ Andrews, Kehinde N. (October 2010). "Back to Black: Black Radicalism and the Supplementary School Movement" (PDF). University of Birmingham.
  5. ^ "Black Studies". Birmingham City University. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Organisation of Black Unity". Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  7. ^ "Black Studies Association". Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  8. ^ a b Ross, Alice (23 October 2016). "Universities do not challenge racism, says UK's first black studies professor". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  9. ^ "University to launch Europe's first Black Studies degree". Birmingham City University. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  10. ^ Ali, Aftab (19 May 2016). "Birmingham City University becomes first in Europe to offer black studies degree". The Independent. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Kehinde Andrews". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  12. ^ Andrews, Kehinde; Green, Leah; Rinvolucri, Bruno (18 January 2017). "The west was built on racism. It's time we faced that". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  13. ^ "Kehinde Andrews". The Independent. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  14. ^ Andrews, Kehinde (12 October 2017). "Claudia Jones's transnational radicalism". New Statesman. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  15. ^ Andrews, Kehinde (19 April 2018). "Racism is as British as a cup of tea". CNN. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  16. ^ Andrews, Kehinde (10 February 2016). "Confronting the brutal reality: how to teach the legacy of transatlantic slavery". openDemocracy. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  17. ^ "'We should not stand for the British anthem'". Newsnight. BBC News. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  18. ^ "A radical vision of a new Africa". BBC Ideas. BBC Radio 4. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  19. ^ "This Flag Has Been Adopted By The Far Right". Don't Turn Around. BBC Three. 19 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  20. ^ "'The West is built on racism'". Newsnight. BBC Two. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  21. ^ "Should the Word 'Empire' Be Removed From the Honours?". Good Morning Britain. ITV. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  22. ^ "Cambridge University Launches Inquiry on How They Profited From Slavery". Good Morning Britain. ITV. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  23. ^ "Are Portraits of The Queen Offensive?". Good Morning Britain. ITV. 5 August 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  24. ^ "Is It Offensive to Quote Churchill?". Good Morning Britain. ITV. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  25. ^ White, Megan (22 January 2019). "Academic slammed after calling bombing of Nazi Germany a 'war crime'". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  26. ^ Doody, Kieran (10 June 2020). "Piers Morgan clashes with GMB guest over comparing Churchill to Hitler". WalesOnline. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  27. ^ "The Psychosis of Whiteness". IMDb. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  28. ^ Andrews, Kehinde (25 July 2019). "Don't be fooled by Johnson's 'diverse' cabinet. Tory racism hasn't changed". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  29. ^ Evans, Brad (1 June 2020). "Histories of Violence: Why We Should All Read Malcolm X Today". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  30. ^ White, Nadine (12 June 2021). "Dr Kehinde Andrews: UK's first Black Studies professor says his own university is institutionally racist". The Independent. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  31. ^ Andrews, Kehinde (13 September 2022). "Opinion | I Don't Mourn the Queen". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  32. ^ a b White, Nadine (10 September 2024). "Black professor faces police probe after calling Calvin Robinson 'house n*gro'". The Independent. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  33. ^ White, Nadine (1 October 2024). "Police drop 'house n*gro probe into Calvin Robinson critic professor". The Independent. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  34. ^ White, Nadine (15 September 2024). "Police asked Black Studies professor for help on 'coconuts' case before 'n*gro' probe". The Independent. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  35. ^ Singh, Anita (29 May 2025). "Books written by academics are a con, says professor". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
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