Kehinde Andrews | |
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![]() Andrews in 2020 | |
Born | Kehinde Nkosi Andrews January 1983 (age 42) |
Alma mater | University of Birmingham |
Occupation(s) | Academic, author |
Employer | Birmingham City University |
Kehinde Nkosi Andrews (born January 1983) [1] is a Jamaican academic and author specialising in Black studies. He was the first Black studies professor in the United Kingdom.
Andrews is of British African-Caribbean heritage. [2] He 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. [3]
Andrews is a professor of Black studies in the School of Social Sciences at Birmingham City University. [4] He is the director of the Centre for Critical Social Research, founder of the Harambee Organisation of Black Unity, [5] and co-chair of the UK Black Studies Association. [6] 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. [7] [8] [9]
Andrews regularly appears in the media discussing issues of race and racism, colonialism and slavery, and British nationalism. He contributes to The Guardian , [10] [11] The Independent , [12] New Statesman , [13] CNN, [14] OpenDemocracy, [15] and often appears as a guest on the BBC [16] [17] [18] [19] and Good Morning Britain . [20] [21] [22] [23]
In 2016, Andrews criticized universities in the United Kingdom for institutional racism, specifically the lack of diversity in students' assigned readings. [7]
In 2019, Andrews appeared on Good Morning Britain, where he argued that the Royal Air Force bombing of Nazi Germany constituted a war crime [24] and equated the racial views of Winston Churchill to those of Adolf Hitler. [25]
Andrews narrated the film The Psychosis of Whiteness, which explores race and racism through cinematic representations of the slave trade. [26]
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". [27]
In 2020 he was interviewed by the Los Angeles Review of Books discussing Malcolm X and the question of violence in Black radicalism. [28]
In June 2021, Andrews described Elizabeth II as "the number one symbol of white supremacy in the entire world". [29] Following her death in September 2022, he called for the abolition of the monarchy. [30]
In September 2024, Andrews was investigated by police for using a racial slur against the Black political commenter Calvin Robinson. [31]
Whilst 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". [32]