Michael Manley

Available for over a year

Who is and isn’t black? What, in fact, is ‘black’? Who gets to decide? Writer Colin Grant examines the life of Jamaican politician Michael Manley and the extraordinary socio-cultural context of Jamaica as it emerged from colonial rule. Using Manley’s story, Colin explores the criteria by which we judge ‘blackness’ and argues that there's a much more nuanced approach required than the one usually employed. Colin draws on Manley’s life to argue that it is perfectly possible to be white-skinned and black. This is the last essay in the series ‘Thinking Black’ in which Colin explores the fascinating stories of five individuals who have each experienced or challenged the boundaries of race. He interweaves these lives with his own experiences and explores the complexity of some of the issues underlying the current debate around race and identity. Produced by Kirsty Pope A Far Shoreline production for BBC Radio 3