In light of the most recent controversy over the racist term 'Anglo-Saxon' I want to explain why it's important to have conversations about the existence of Black people, and wider cultural diversity, in early medieval England. THREAD 1/ https://twitter.com/FlorenceHRS/status/1384070588952506377

One of the falsehoods that the term 'Anglo-Saxon' perpetuates is that everyone in early medieval England was white. This is because 'Anglo-Saxon' as a white supremacist historical construct denoting ethnicity has always been synonymous with whiteness. 2/

When we discuss the 'Anglo-Saxon' period, we cement this idea of racial and ethnic homogeneity. This is compounded by evidence of Black individuals being supressed within a scholarly field that developed alongside imperialism and has remained largely white. 3/

When I talk about dropping 'Anglo-Saxon' from my vocabulary because it denotes whiteness, I often get the question 'well people from that time were white, right?'. Wrong. Black people existed in early medieval England. But it's not a surprise people don't know that 4/

Google image search 'Anglo-Saxons' and you will only see pictures of white people - from Victorian illustrations to modern reenactors. The lack of pictorial representation of POC in early medieval England is so bad I had to illustrate my own newsletter to represent these women 5/

Black pre-conquest people like the North Elmham and Fairford women, as well as the so-called 'Black Viking' of St Benet's York and famous influential figures like St Adrian of Canterbury will remain lost to us as long as we use terms that centre whiteness like 'Anglo-Saxon'. 6/

By changing our terminology we can change our perspective. By talking about early medieval England as a diverse society, populated by immigrants, connected via trade routes with Europe, the Middle East and Africa, we can undermine the far right's weaponisation of this history 7/

While researching this subject I came across an influential far-right blog about the York 'Black Viking'. The word 'Anglo-Saxon' was not used for him, despite it being used elsewhere all over the blog for people from the same period/area. A subtle othering because he was Black 8/

This brought to mind the recent radio conversation between a racist and David Lammy. 'Anglo-Saxon' was used as a synonym for a false white indigeneity that Black people can't possess. 'Anglo-Saxon' is a weapon of exclusion against Black people. We MUST change our terminology 9/

I did not get to these conclusions by myself, POC and antiracists in the field have been working tirelessly to drive these points home and we have to listen. For more resources about race in early medieval England see this wonderful bibliography: https://mrambaranolm.medium.com/race-101-for-early-medieval-studies-selected-readings-77be815f8d0f

For more info on the racism and inaccuracy of the term 'Anglo-Saxon' see this article, and also parts 2 and 3. And follow @ISASaxonists and @erik_kaars https://mrambaranolm.medium.com/history-bites-resources-on-the-problematic-term-anglo-saxon-part-1-9320b6a09eb7

https://twitter.com/FlorenceHRS/status/1384181614532460556?s=20