BBC faces outrage over racist speech broadcast
It has been widely denounced as one of the most divisive and racist public addresses made by a British politician in modern history.
Enoch Powell, a Conservative member of Parliament, gave what became known as the “Rivers of Blood” speech in 1968. In it, he attacked racial integration as a “ludicrous misconception” and “a dangerous delusion,” and predicted that “in 15 or 20 years’ time, the Black man will have the whip hand over the white man.”
The BBC was scheduled to broadcast the entire text on radio on Saturday night for the first time — read by actor Ian McDiarmid, who is famous for playing “Star Wars” character Emperor Palpatine — as part of a program analyzing the speech and its impact 50 years after it was delivered.
It has been widely denounced as one of the most divisive and racist public addresses made by a British politician in modern history. Enoch Powell, a Conservative member of Parliament, gave what became known as the “Rivers of Blood” speech in 1968. In it, he attacked racial integration as a “ludicrous misconception” and “a dangerous delusion,” and predicted that “in 15 or 20 years’ time, the Black man will have the whip hand over the white man.” The BBC was scheduled to broadcast the entire text on radio on Saturday night for the first time — read by actor Ian McDiarmid, who is famous for playing “Star Wars” character Emperor Palpatine — as part of a program analyzing the speech and its impact 50 years after it was delivered. The BBC was scheduled to broadcast the entire text on radio on Saturday night for the first time — read by actor Ian McDiarmid, who is famous for playing “Star Wars” character Emperor Palpatine — as part of a program analyzing the speech and its impact 50 years after it was delivered.