(Re)Imagining Black Britishness: Identity Politics, Belonging and Celebration in A Portable Paradise and Assembly
Multicultural identities are integral to defining notions of ‘new Britishness,’ yet are rarely acknowledged in the British cultural narrative. This article demonstrates how Roger Robinson’s A Portable Paradise (2019) and Natasha Brown’s Assembly (2021) represent Black Britishness by employing counter-hegemonic images. Rather than solely a festive act, celebration is connected to identity politics by highlighting the lived experiences of marginalised subjects. Whereas Robinson offers a poetic account of collective displacement, Brown provides a Woolfian exploration of belonging. In turn, this
article underscores the cultural response towards recent sociopolitical discussions around race in Britain, deconstructing what is deemed celebratory in society.