‘Respect, Please!’: Investigating Race, Power and Language

This chapter explores some work carried out in 1986 with young Afro-Caribbeans in a London youth club. A group of young people, together with two youth workers and a sociolinguist spent some weeks exploring issues of racism, Black history and ethnic identity in relation to language, eventually producing a video on these topics which we entitled 'Respect, Please!'. Many club members have been involved with Charterhouse for a period of years; the Coffee Bar Club, a weekly discussion group for those aged 16 plus, had a core of regular attenders with highly developed skills and consciousness. It was this group which participated in the 'Respect, Please!' project. The 'Respect, Please!' project was an attempt to make change – on a small scale, for a few people – imaginable and possible.