Mangrove Nine

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The Mangrove Nine were: Barbara Beese, Rupert Boyce, Frank Crichlow, Rhodan Gordon, Darcus Howe, Anthony Innis, Altheia JonesLeCointe, Rothwell Kentish and Godfrey Millett.

Following the post-war Windrush flux of immigration, West London’s black Caribbean community was populous and thriving, despite racial tensions and white supremacist groups being prevalent. In Notting Hill, where much of London’s black population was forced to live due to cheap rent, the Mangrove Hill restaurant was a centre for radical political discussion and a community hub for the Afro-Caribbean residents. However, it was the target of frequent violent police raids - between January 1969 and July of 1970, Mangrove was searched twelve times for drugs. None were found on any occasion.

On the 9th August 1970, supported by the British Black Panthers, over 150 black Londoners took to the streets and marched to the local police station, angry at the “terrorisation” of the restaurant owner, Frank Crichlow. They were met by over 200 police officers “lined in military formation” , and after violence broke out, the nine activists we now know as the “Mangrove 9” were charged with 39 crimes between them; including for “inciting a riot” .

What followed was a riveting, 55 day trial that would be a critical point in the British civil rights movement. Two activists, Altheia Jones-LeCointe and Darcus Howe, asked to represent themselves, becoming a symbolic image of activists directly challenging the British establishment and the very nature of the legal system. Using an American case study, the Mangrove 9 demanded an all black jury to decide the verdict (which was rejected but was a powerful point). Furthermore, the group based their argument on class struggle as well as race - attacking the court layout in how the judge had a higher post than the working class jury. Their criticisms of racism’s relationship with capitalism energised subsequent radical anti-racist movements.

All nine protestors were cleared of the main charge of inciting a riot, but the most significant outcome was the judge’s admittal of “evidence of racial hatred” by the police. This was the first time this had happened in the British legal system, and would inspire other activists to challenge it.

The impact of the Mangrove 9 cannot be underestimated, as even fifty years later the discussion of racism in the justice system and police remains incredibly relevant. Policies such as “stop and search” have been used on black people 9.6x as often as white people and black Britons make up 22% of the prison population. The issues raised by the Mangrove protestors such as the interaction of race and class, and the legitimacy of the British courts, are still worth discussing today. This year’s Black Lives Matter protests have dominated headlines and reminded us of the problems of police violence against black people. These are the same problems the Mangrove 9 protested in 1970, and their legacy remains significant as ever.