Research in Action: What does race teach us about class?
Journalist and author Symeon Brown used the British Library while researching The Good, the Black and the Boujee, his exploration of Britain’s Black middle class.
14 October 2026Combining original research with historic works by Black writers and thinkers, Symeon Brown examines what race and class can tell us about power, social mobility and Black life in Britain today.
Journalist and author Symeon Brown in the British Library Reading Rooms. © Symeon Brown.
At the time when I started the research for the book, I was trying to reconcile two things that could be described as contradictory. You had the Black Lives Matter protests, a huge movement against racial inequality. But at the same time, you also had a celebration of what was called ‘Black excellence’: we saw a lot of high-profile Black figures appear to break glass ceilings and also had the most diverse Parliament in UK history. These two things seemed to be in conflict. So what was true?
What does the rise of ‘Black excellence’ mean for everybody? Does it speak to wider racial equality or class equality? And if it doesn't, why not?
I thought there was a new conversation happening around race that class was essential to understanding.
Audio described version: How Symeon Brown Researched Black British History
Talking about race without talking about class
For me it was about saying, let's look at class at the heart of Black experience, and let's look at race as a big part of class too. What does that begin to illuminate and reveal about things that we think we understand, which we may not?
There have been numerous reports looking at differences between Black Caribbean boys and Black African boys. Sometimes ethnicity actually obscures something more significant, which is class. You also need to look at people’s class backgrounds, which are largely hidden behind ethnic groupings.
What does that tell us about how power functions? How is it that some groups of people are able to wield more influence on public policy? How are some groups able to gather more material resources or perform better in education?
Race and class are entwined. But we've been talking about race without talking about class, and talking about class without talking about race.
Separating data from opinion
I think in this era, in the age of social media and the internet, we're not short of vibes-based discourse. People can say whatever they want to say.
But if you're looking to produce a body of work which is really rooted in truth, you need to pursue that with a rigorous methodology.
The research was really, really challenging. Firstly, because there's hardly any data around the Black British middle class. Many people said it did not exist. So I had to do original data collection. I did surveys of well over 1,000 Black professionals, gathering a hugely rich collection of data to begin to examine it.
I also wanted to read historic work written by Black thinkers over the years and examine how class and the Black experience had shifted. For me, it was about looking at the research, looking at what had been published previously and understanding the historical traditions that I was examining.
And to do that, there's no better place to come than the British Library.
Out of print doesn’t mean out of reach
There are some books that are, of course, out of print. If you're not willing to pay hundreds of pounds online, then you have to go to a library that holds them.
One of my favourites that is here that I couldn't acquire was Journey to an Illusion by Donald Hinds. He's a figure who I think people should know a bit more about. A very diligent writer, very funny. He's written a historical book which really captures what we now call the Windrush generation and their experience.
History books can be very dry, but this is not one of them. It's the kind of history that really comes to life.
Donald Hinds was working as a bus conductor when he wrote a piece in the press that was picked up by an agent and they said, ‘Hey, would you like to write a book?’ Otherwise, he may never have been published.
Donald Hinds, Jamaican-born writer, journalist and former London transport worker. © TfL from the London Transport Museum collection
I think it's a shame that the book has almost been forgotten from popular imagination. One of the things with Black British history is that the Black British canon and key thinkers and key writers have not been remembered the way that they should have been. So many of the stories, so many of their lives, have made such a huge contribution to our understanding of what it is to live in this country. For me, it's about remembering them.
But Journey to an Illusion is here in the British Library. And so I would like to tell people: look, come and read it. It's great.
Adding to the record
A lot of what my book was trying to do was to gather social history, connect it to this particular moment and then ultimately pass it on.
I was trying not only to gather but also to critique. And I was trying to pass on some memory, because there's so much history that the book draws on; books and works that are here, things that I think people should know about.
It was an act of memory, but also, I guess, public service.
And now my book is here too. Let's see if in 60 years someone's like, ‘Oh, you should read this book, The Good, the Black and the Boujee. It's out of print now...’
That's one thing I do like about books. A book printed, bound, you know, is here forever.
© John Murray Press
As told to Fiona Stubbings.
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