''Race Today'' was a monthly (later bimonthly) British political magazine. Launched in 1969 by the Institute of Race Relations, it was from 1973 published by the ''Race Today'' Collective, which included figures such as Darcus Howe,

Farrukh Dhondy Farrukh Dhondy (born 1944) is an Indian-born British writer, playwright, screenwriter and left-wing activist who resides in the United Kingdom. Education Dhondy was born in 1944 in Poona, India, where he attended The Bishop's School, and obta ...

Leila Hassan Leila Hassan Howe (born 13 June 1948) is a British editor and activist, who was a founding member of the Race Today Collective. She worked for the Institute of Race Relations and became editor of the ''Race Today'' journal in 1986. Hassan was al ...

and Jean Ambrose. The magazine was a leading organ of

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

politics in 1970s Britain; publication ended in 1988. __TOC__

History

''Race Today'' was established in 1969 by the Institute of Race Relations. From 1973 onward, the monthly magazine was under the direction of a breakaway organisation, the

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

-based ''Race Today'' Collective. This body aimed for a political rather than scholarly approach, based on a combination of

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

and radical anti-racism. The magazine's first editor under the new leadership was journalist and broadcaster Darcus Howe. Howe was much influenced by

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

ian Marxist

C. L. R. James Cyril Lionel Robert James (4 January 1901 – 31 May 1989),Fraser, C. Gerald, '' The New York Times'', 2 June 1989. who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J. R. Johnson, was a Trinidadian historian, journalist and Marxist. His works are i ...

, and under his tenure ''Race Today'' became a leading voice of Black political journalism in Britain. (James would later live his final years in the building that housed the office of ''Race Today'', at 165

Railton Road Railton Road runs between Brixton and Herne Hill in the London Borough of Lambeth. The road is designated the B223. At the northern end of Railton Road it becomes Atlantic Road, linking to Brixton Road at a junction where the Brixton tube stat ...

in Brixton, where a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

was installed by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

in 2004.)Leila Hassan, Robin Bunce and Paul Field
"Books , Here to Stay, Here to Fight: On the history, and legacy, of ‘Race Today’"
''Ceasefire'', 31 October 2019. A compilation of Howe's arguments in ''Race Today'' appeared in a 1978 pamphlet entitled ''The Road Make to Walk on Carnival Day''.

, later the author of a biography of C. L. R. James, began his writing career with ''Race Today'' in 1970. Another notable member of the ''Race Today'' Collective was Linton Kwesi Johnson, who joined the group in 1974. His first book of poems appeared the same year under the ''Race Today'' imprint, and he later served as the magazine's arts editor. The publication and its editor feature prominently in the song "Man Free (For Darcus Howe)" on Linton Kwesi Johnson's 1978 debut album ''

Dread Beat an' Blood ''Dread Beat an' Blood'' is the debut album by Poet and the Roots released in 1978 on the Front Line label. It was produced by Vivian Weathers and Linton Kwesi Johnson. The "Poet" is dub poet Johnson and "the Roots" are Dennis Bovell, Lloyd "J ...

'' with his then band

Poet and the Roots Poet and the Roots are a reggae band formed to record dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson's poems with dub backing tracks. The recordings were on the Virgin Records label.

. In the mid-1970, the ''Race Today'' Collective allied with the Black Panther Movement formed by

John La Rose John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, who had been the chairman of the Institute of Race Relations in 1972 and 1973. In 1978, the magazine's publication frequency changed from monthly to bimonthly. In 1985,

became the journal's editor; both the magazine and the ''Race Today'' Collective were discontinued in 1988. Described as "the most articulate organ of British Black politics in the 1970s", ''Race Today'' maintained close ties to the

Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean festival event that has taken place in London since 1966

. Race Today Publications was one of the organisers of the

International Book Fair of Radical Black and Third World Books The International Book Fair of Radical Black and Third World Books, often referred to as The Black Book Fair, was inaugurated in London, England, in April 1982 and continued until 1995, bringing together a number of Black publishers, intellectuals ...

, together with

New Beacon Books New Beacon Books is a British publishing house, bookshop, and international book service that specializes in Black British, Caribbean, African, African-American and Asian literature. Founded in 1966 by John La Rose and Sarah White, it was the ...

and

Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications (BLP) is a radical London-based publishing company founded by Guyanese activists Jessica Huntley (23 February 1927 – 13 October 2013)Margaret Busby"Jessica Huntley obituary" ''The Guardian'', 27 October 2013. and ...

.Sarah White, Roxy Harris and Sharmilla Beezmohun (eds), ''A Meeting of the Continents: The International Book Fair of Radical Black and Third World Books – Revisited'', London: New Beacon Books/George Padmore Institute, 2005, p. vi. In September 2019 the book ''Here to Stay, Here to Fight: A Race Today Anthology'', edited by Paul Field, Robin Bunce, Leila Hassan and Margaret Peacock, was published by

Pluto Press Pluto Press is a British independent book publisher based in London, founded in 1969. Originally, it was the publishing arm of the International Socialists (today known as the Socialist Workers Party), until it changed hands and was replaced ...

. ''Race Today'' (2020), a film documenting the Race Today collective and its influence, was directed by Wayne G. Saunders, with Jean Ambrose as screenwriter and Linton Kwesi Johnson in the cast.

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Race Today''
at the

Working Class Movement Library The Working Class Movement Library (WCML) is a collection of English language books, periodicals, pamphlets, archives and artefacts, relating to the development of the political and cultural institutions of the working class created by the Industr ...

''Race Today''
at the George Padmore Institute Black British mass media Bi-monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct political magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1969 Magazines disestablished in 1988 Black British history