Notting hill

    Cards (19)

    • After WWII, Britain suffered bomb damage and a massive demand for housing, and lost nearly 30% of its wealth. Organizations like the NHS and London Transport needed workers.
    • Between 1945 and 1960, 1.5 million British people emigrated (left) to Australia or Canada for a better lifestyle so workers were needed from abroad to replace them.
    • The British Empire had existed for over 200 years, tying countries all around the globe to Britain and creating links between colonies and Britain through language, education etc. People in the Caribbean felt deeply connected to the 'Mother Country'.
    • Countries in the Empire had been exploited by Britain, so there were not enough jobs in the Caribbean and people made very low wages.
    • The 1948 Nationality Act was passed to give everyone in the British Empire and Commonwealth the right to live and work in the UK. This led to nearly half a million Caribbean migrants coming to Britain in the years 1948-1970.
    • Housing Problems

      • The Blitz destroyed many London houses so there was a serious shortage of housing during the 1950s. This was worse for Caribbean people because many white landlords refused to rent to them because of widespread racism.
      • In 1957, the government removed controls on rent, so landlords could charge as much as they wanted. They often split large houses meant for one family into many smaller flats called Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs), so that landlords could make more money. They often put a whole family in every room.
      • Peter Rachman was an infamous landlord who terrorised tenants until they moved out, in order to charge new tenants more. This included moving criminals into the building to live with them, turning off the water or even killing family pets.
    • Housing Solutions

      1. Pardner schemes: A group saved money together - each week, everybody contributed a certain amount of money, and the whole amount would be given to a different member each week. This helped people raise money for better housing.
      2. Self-help: Activists within the community helped others with housing problems. For example, Pansy Jeffrey, a nurse and social worker, was appointed by the Kensington Citizens' Advice Bureau to give advice to other migrants and help them find places to live.
      3. Notting Hill Housing Trust: Established in 1963 by the Reverend Bruce Kenrick. They raised money to buy houses as a Trust for Caribbean people with nowhere to live. Within five years, they had housed almost 1,000 people.
    • Caribbean Culture

      • Shops and markets: Caribbean migrants missed foods from home so Portobello Road Market began to sell Caribbean foods for the new local community. New Caribbean shops also opened, for instance on All Saints Road.
      • Restaurants and cafes: the 'colour bar' meant many restaurants and cafes in Notting Hill did not accept Black people. This led to new cafes being set up by Caribbean people, like Frank Crichlow who opened the El Rio cafe in 1959, which became a gathering place for the Caribbean community. In 1968, Crichlow opened The Mangrove on All Saints Road, which was visited by celebrities like Bob Marley and Muhammad Ali, but often raided by local police.
      • Nightclubs and music: the Metro Club opened in 1968 and was a youth club and community center as well as one of the only nightclubs for Black people. The queues to get in could be 400 people a night. People threw a lot of house parties and set up 'blues clubs' in their own houses. Caribbean sound systems became a common sight around Notting Hill. One of the most famous local DJs was Duke Vin, who took his sound system (The Tickler) to house parties to play reggae.
      • Pubs and shebeens: The Colville (known locally as The Piss House) was very unusual in serving both Black and white customers. It was one of the few pubs Caribbean migrants could visit; another very popular one was the Apollo on All Saints Road, one of the first pubs in London to serve Black people. Some Caribbean people ran 'shebeens', illegal bars and clubs in abandoned buildings or people's houses. People smoked, drank, gambled and listened to music like blues, ska and reggae. However, these were illegal so the police often raided shebeens and arrested people.
    • The Metropolitan Police was 97% white and male, and most police had little understanding of the Black community in Notting Hill. The police were known to target Black people unfairly, sometimes even planting evidence.
    • The Mangrove Cafe was raided nine times in under two years - police insisted that they were looking for drugs even though they never found any.
    • Kelso Cochrane was a young Antiguan man stabbed to death by a group of white young men. The police did not search the suspects' homes for weapons and nobody was ever charged.
    • Teddy Boys were gangs of young white men who often committed acts of violence. Many were known for attacking Black people in the streets.
    • Oswald Mosley, a politician who had supported Hitler, set up the Union Movement in 1948, a racist anti-immigrant party. He held meetings in Notting Hill, using the slogan 'Keep Britain White', which built up tensions before the riots. In 1959, he stood for election to be an MP in Notting Hill. His campaign was based on racism and accused Black migrants of being criminals and rapists. He barely received any votes and his career never recovered.
    • 30th August 1958: Notting Hill riots began for six nights. 400 white people attacked Caribbean homes, throwing petrol bombs and using weapons.
    • Some Black people tried to defend their homes during the riots by counter-attacking and were blamed for rioting although they fought in defense.
    • Roughly 100 people were arrested during the Notting Hill riots, and about two thirds of them were white.
    • Caribbean Activism

      • Claudia Jones: A Trinidadian activist who had been involved in the US civil rights movement. In 1958, she set up the West Indian Gazette, Britain's first major Black newspaper. This soon had over 15,000 readers. Jones used the newspaper to campaign against the colour bar and racist immigration laws like the 1962 Commonwealth Immigration Act, which limited Black immigrants.
      • Notting Hill Carnival: After the 1958 riots, Claudia Jones wanted to celebrate Caribbean culture and bring the community together. She organised a Caribbean Carnival in January 1959, including music, dancing and a beauty show to challenge white beauty standards. The BBC televised it and the Caribbean Carnival ran for five years. In August 1966, Rhaune Laslett who led the London Free School (a group encouraging unity in Notting Hill) turned it into an outdoor event by starting the Notting Hill Carnival, now the biggest street festival in Europe.
      • British Black Panthers: The political group the Black Panther Party (BPP) was set up in 1968 to fight racism and police brutality, help Black people with housing, and create a sense of pride in the Black community. They were led by Darcus Howe, Altheia Jones-LeCointe and Olive Morris. The BPP organised protests, ran educational sessions about Black history, and published newspapers to spread their ideas.
      • Mangrove Nine: On 9th August 1970, the BPP organised a protest against the unfair regular police raids of the Mangrove Cafe and over 150 people marched through the area shouting slogans about the police. Nine protestors, including Frank Crichlow and leaders of the BPP, were taken to court, accused of trying to start a riot. The Mangrove Nine spoke eloquently about police racism and brutality. The case gained huge media attention, and eventually the judge rejected all the major charges against the nine. The trial inspired many others to fight against institutional racism.
    • Using Sources: 1. What does the source tell us about the question (using quotes)? 2. Is the source accurate and therefore useful, based on your knowledge? 3. How does the provenance (who made it, when, why etc) make the source useful? 4. Overall, how useful is the source?
    • Source Options to Follow Up an Enquiry

      • Written memoir of someone specific, eg a local Caribbean resident/police officer/shebeen owner
      • Housing records
      • Article in the West Indian Gazette
      • Local police records