Flexible identities: exploring race and gender issues among a group of immigrant pupils in an inner-city comprehensive school

This paper explores, through the life histories of a group of first and sec ond generation immigrant pupils from the 'Asian' and 'African' diasporas, t he complex ways in which 'black' identities have evolved in British society over the past two decades. The phrase 'black identities' is used here not as a racially descriptive term but rather as a signifier of ethnic 'otherne ss'; to make distinct (from white society) and, at the same time, to unify the experiences of disparate groups of ethnic minority groups as marginals within metropolitan societies. Charting the life histories of a group of st udents in an inner-city comprehensive school in their own collective and in dividual voices, the paper provides a glimpse of their perceptions of their status as citizens, their views on cultural identity, and their dreams, as pirations, hopes and desires as young people growing up in contemporary Bri tish society.