`Black and Ethnic Minority' or `Asian, Black and Other Minority Ethnic': A Further Note on Nomenclature
In: Sociology: the journal of the British Sociological Association, Band 27, Heft 4, S. 671-673
ISSN: 1469-8684
While accepting that there is no `accurate' or permanent all-embracing nomenclature to describe minority ethnic groups in Britain, I argue in this paper that both the term `black' (a relatively long-standing radical formulation) and `black and ethnic minority' (the emerging sociological orthodoxy?) are problematic concep- tually, sociologically and politically. In making an alternative suggestion, I invite comments for improvement. Implicit in my argument is the suggestion that whatever phrase or term is used, sociologists have a responsibility to explain the assumptions on which any particular categorisation rests. Since I believe in the desirability of ethnic self-definition, I particularly welcome comments from members of groups oppressed on racial grounds.