Stuart Hall is often referred to as the ‘godfather of multiculturalism’. It’s a title that holds a lot of weight, but at the same time, there is no question that it’s one in which this late sociologist is more than deserving to carry. You only have to consider the many achievements of his life for evidence of this.
These achievements are, of course, extremely broad and centre around his impact on the academic, political and cultural debate in the UK beginning in the twentieth century. Whether people realise it or not, Hall was responsible for shaping the consciousness of what it means to be a part of modern-day multicultural society.
Hall’s views were crafted through many of his own experiences – including where he was born and the colour of his skin. These were two of the main components that would steer his life’s work – something that started during his childhood in Jamaica.
Stuart Hall – Understanding his Identity
While Hall’s greatest influence was felt across the United Kingdom, he was actually born in Kingston, Jamaica. We now recognise that there are many ways that he could have understood his identity at the time – such as through his upper-class upbringing or his race.
It’s true to say that Hall didn’t have a definitive single answer to fall back on when it came to the origins of his race as his family was derived from African, English, Portuguese Jewish and Indian descent. In his own family, he would come to realise that he had the darkest skin – something that steered his views quite substantially in those early years.
“I was always the blackest member of my family and I knew it from the moment I was born,” he would reflect in later life. Hall reminisced: “My sister said: “Where did you get this coolie baby from?” Not black baby, you will note, but low-class Indian.”
This realisation came during a time of pigmentocracy in the West Indies. This was, quite simply, the idea that society’s system was geared towards protecting those who had lighter skin. Nonetheless, Jamaica College was where Hall received his education – a facility that modelled itself on the school system in Britain.
Ultimately, he proved himself to be a skilled student and earned a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford. This would commence the start of his game-changing work in the UK.
New Ways of Thinking
When Hall touched down on British soil to study English in 1951, he did so as part of the Windrush Generation. This is generally defined as a period between 1948 and 1970 when nearly half a million people moved from the Caribbean to Britain. It created a melting pot of cultures never really seen in the country, which – while ushering in a period of some adjustment – also led to a need for new thinking.
Hall was ready to rise to this challenge. He initially began spreading his influence following the launch of the Universities and Left Review in 1957. This was a journal that featured ideas on the likes of world politics, culture and the economy. It ultimately merged with the New Left Review, a publication that remains both active and revered to this day.
It wasn’t until 1964 when his career would go down the path that he’s most known for: academia. This happened when he contributed to The Popular Arts, a book that outlined his stance that film should be studied. It was enough to catch the attention of Richard Hoggart, who was the founder of the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at the University of Birmingham.
This would present an amazing new opportunity for Hall – one that he would grab with both hands.
Earning his Reputation
Hall was invited to join the budding centre in the Midlands. He would then go on to prove instrumental in helping to expand the scope of cultural studies by presenting new ideas on how it should also deal with both race and gender.
He soon became an academic force that enlightened people to the benefits of taking largely ignored cultural forms more seriously. Hall did so as a powerful orator, one who had the ability to educate and persuade others. Ultimately, he was ensuring that race and gender were part of the conversation when people were discussing culture, power and politics.
Hall’s talents didn’t go unnoticed and he quickly rose through the ranks of one of the most innovative departments at one of the UK’s most prominent universities. In 1968, he actually took over from Hoggart as acting director. Then, in 1972, he became its director.
During his tenure at the university, he merged his own personal experience with his academic research to come up with thought-provoking theories that had never been expressed in the same kind of way. One of Hall’s most famous quotes is a great example of his theories that were known during this time.
He said: “Ways of identifying blackness are no longer black or white. It’s not a case of us or them, you can now be us and them; like them but different.”
An Unwavering Influence
There’s no denying that Hall commanded a powerful degree of influence in the latter years of his life. He was much sought-after in numerous spheres, with people clamouring to hear his thoughts on education, politics and society as a whole from the 1970s onwards.
He became a voice of criticism when it came to the state of the country under the Premiership of Margaret Thatcher and appeared in broadcasts such as the seven-part television series Redemption Song. During this time he never wavered when it came to campaigning for racial justice and served on bodies such as the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain.
It wasn’t enough for Hall to just have this well-earned influence. Instead, he continued to share it with others through his work at the Open University. In 1979 he was made a professor of sociology, in the process clinching a role that would allow him to keep sharing his wisdom.
Perhaps one of the best ways to fully understand his contributions is to look at the statement realised by Vice-Chancellor Martin Bean upon Hall’s death in February 2014 at the age of 82.
He said: “[Stuart Hall] was a committed and influential public intellectual of the new left, who embodied the spirit of what the OU has always stood for: openness, accessibility, a champion for social justice and of the power of education to bring positive change in peoples’ lives.”
There will only ever be one Stuart Hall, and – in a world of deeper and more consistent theories on race – he will always be known as the godfather of multiculturalism.