#RomaLivesMatter, too. Romani Anti-Racist Activism in Europe: from (De)politicization towards a Critical Turn

Abstract:Anti-Roma racism—also known as anti-Gypsyism or Romaphobia—has been traditionally overlooked by antiracist movements in Europe. The denial of race and racialization in the so-called ‘Roma issue’ has normalized and legitimized the scapegoating of and discrimination against the Roma, as well as shaped Romani activism. Critical Romani activists and scholars have recently challenged this ‘normalization’ and contributed to positioning anti-Roma racism in broader discourses around race, racialization and racism. Riding the wave of discontent and protests launched by the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, Romani activists urge for structural and institutional racism against the Roma to be recognized and prioritized on the European political agenda. Through the hashtag #RomaLivesMatter, activists re-politicize race and make (anti)racism and intersectional discrimination central into their political action and strategies. In this chapter, I reflect on these new directions and critical perspectives by retracing the continuities and changes that have characterized European Romani (antiracist) activism in the last fifty years (1971-2021). Namely, I focus on three main phases: (i) the emergence and consolidation of a global Roma civil rights movement, (ii) the Europeanization of Roma representation, and (iii) the ‘critical turn’, where post-colonial, feminist, intersectional and queer voices emerge.

Publication year:2026

Accessibility:Open

Review status:Peer-reviewed