“It’s very hard to feel accepted when a whole country screams that they don’t want you here”: Minorities’ Experiences of the UK 2024 Summer Riots

Research on civil unrest often centres general populations, obscuring minority experiences. Understanding the experiences of marginalised groups becomes imperative when these periods are centred around marginalised identities, as with rising anti-immigration-based unrest. This qualitative study examines how ethnically and religiously minoritised adults in the United Kingdom experienced the Summer 2024 riots, a period marked by widespread anti-immigration sentiment, riots, and intergroup tensions. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews were transcribed and analysed using inductive, reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes captured participants’ accounts. First, governing meaning and order: platforms, news and local networks circulated warnings, rumours and corrections that shaped expectations and behaviour. Second, living on alert: perceived threat prompted safety planning, curtailed mobility and other micro-adaptations in daily routines. Third, legible bodies: visibility via phenotype, dress and religious symbols patterned uneven exposure, while limited “passing” afforded conditional protection. Fourth, conditional belonging: participants narrated ambivalence toward national symbols and calibrated when and how to express Britishness. Across interviews, respondents reported sustained emotional strain, cautious behavioural change and identity work structured by recognition and visibility. Findings highlight how online and offline environments intertwine to organise everyday life during unrest and suggest implications for platform governance, community safety planning and culturally responsive mental-health support.