Culture of Migration and Symbolic Violence: The Mobilities of Black and Racialised Italians in the UK

The migration trajectories and intra-European mobilities of Black and racialised Europeans have received limited scholarly attention, despite Europe’s large and diverse population of Europeans born to migrant parents and raised in Europe. Based on biographical research, this article focuses on Black and racialised Italians of African descent who migrated to the UK, examining their pre-migration experiences of racialisation and their motivation to leave Italy. Using the concept of symbolic violence , the article exposes how the association of Italian identity with whiteness and the normalisation of racism within Italian society shape participants’ experiences of growing up in Italy and their reasons to migrate. In their narratives, racial exclusion becomes a key driver of mobility, adding a racialised dimension to the established ‘ Italian culture of migration ’. The analysis illustrates how participants respond to this exclusion and actively reshape Italy’s evolving national culture, offering critical insights into the intersection of race, migration, citizenship and belonging.