The declared death of multiculturalism masks a return to assimilationist erasure of difference.

Evidence

I think the so-called declared death of multiculturalism is a route back to assimilationism. And assimilationism is a new way of dealing with difference, by way of erasing it. It might say, “only some of you can belong,” but “if you’re here, you must look and behave like us.” You must, in other words, liquidate all those differences that meant anything to you—erase them and become like us. And if you become deeply black English, yes, some of you can stay. — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 1154

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the assimilation vs pluralism axis the reader already draws on in the Islamophobia field, echoing the ‘only some of you can belong’ logic of racialized inclusion.
• DEFINE: Defines the contemporary assimilationism as a way of managing difference by erasure rather than exclusion — a key mechanism for the foundations toolkit.