Police asked Black Studies professor for help on ‘coconuts’ case before his own ‘house n*gro’ investigation

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A leading Black professor was asked to assist police in the case of a British Asian woman charged with a hate crime over a satirical placard months before being thrust into his own criminal investigation, The Independent can reveal.

Professor Kehinde Andrews, the UK’s first professor of Black studies, is being probed by West Midlands Police for malicious communications over a video in which he called right-wing commentator Calvin Robinson a “house n*gro” in a case we revealed on Monday.

It has emerged that the academic, 41, was approached by the Metropolitan Police in April to lend his expertise to a Crown Prosecution Service review into whether Marieha Hussain should be charged for her ‘coconuts’ placard.

Ms Hussain, 37, was arrested in April for a racially aggravated public order offence for carrying a placard depicting ex-prime minister Rishi Sunak and former home secretary Suella Braverman as coconuts during a demonstration.

Campaigners say that her protest is a legitimate means of criticising right-wing politicians. Expressions like “coconut” and “c**n” have been used as insults within Black and Asian communities to describe other people from minoritised communities who are perceived as being sympathetic with racist agendas – implying that the person is brown on the outside but Eurocentric on the inside.

“It shows the nonsensical nature of all of the cases,” Prof Andrews told The Independent.

“At one point I am an expert the police can contact on racist language, at the next I am being pulled up for a video where I share the same expertise.

“Not to mention that in that video I used coconut and directly called out a number of figures but have not been arrested for that.

“They have skipped over to the ‘house n*gro’ term only. It's completely farcical”.

Though Prof Andrews declined to participate, he advised that the CPS and police drop their investigation into Ms Hussain - but she was charged in May. On Friday she was found not guilty after a two-day trial at Westminster Magistrates Court.

During the first day’s hearing in Ms Hussain’s trial on Thursday, Shrenick Shah, an acting detective sergeant for the Met Police, told the court that he approached Prof Andrews for help because he is “one of the few people who would be able to comment” on use of the word coconut while “use of the word is a topic of public debate”.

Mr Shah explained that he came across Prof Andrews during a Google search and noted the academic’s position at Birmingham City University as Professor of Black Studies.

In Mr Shah’s email to Prof Andrews, sent on 9 April and seen by The Independent, he said: “Hello Mr Andrews, I am reaching out to you as I am investigating a person who has displayed coconuts in what is being treated as a racially aggravated public order offence.

“As part of the review by the crown prosecution service I have been asked to obtain expert testimony on the use of the term coconut as a racial slur and am hoping you may be able to assist in providing a statement.”

Following a brief telephone conversation between the two men that day, where the professor declined to participate in the review, he sent a follow-up email which stated: “Following on from our brief conversation today I wanted to outline why the use of ‘coconut’ is not a racial slur and therefore this matter should not be treated as a racially aggravated public order offence.

“I hope that you will share this with the CPS so that no more police or criminal justice time can be wasted on this matter.”

The email read: “Racial slurs are insults that are tied inseparably to the ‘race’ of a person and meant to demean a person solely based on their colour, (...)

“Coconut is a political critique that emerged from anti-racist and decolonial struggles. The most famous work is Franz Fanon’s Black Skin White Mask, which outlines how due to racist schooling and society Black and Brown people have to reject their various cultures in order to succeed in White society.”

The academic further cautioned the Met Police officer that Ms Hussain’s case does not reflect well on the force in the context of its well-documented issues with Black and Asian communities.

“The police already have a terrible history and present relationship with Black and Brown communities, for over-policing and harassing us,” Prof Andrews wrote in his email.

“Bringing these kinds of charges only exacerbates the tensions between communities and police. If the police and the courts are truly interested in repairing the damage and having any credibility with racialised communities then these kinds of investigations and charges need to be dumped immediately.

“It is frankly astounding that after the supposed awakenings from the BLM summer of 2020 that the police are pursuing these kinds of cases.”

This follows mounting criticism that UK police forces and the CPS lack the insight and cultural competence required to effectively deal with matters relating to race and intra-communal language.

Responding to Marieha Hussain’s case, a Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: “Our prosecutors reviewed this case carefully and concluded there was enough evidence for it to be presented to a court. The defendant has been found not guilty and we respect the judge’s decision.”

The Met Police were contacted for comment. West Midlands Police declined.