Windrush75

TRIUMPH FOR BLACK PROTEST:

Eight members of the Mangrove Nine around the time of their landmark trial in 1971; below inset, the election of MPs Bernie Grant, Diane Abbott Paul Boateng and Keith Vaz helped change Britain’s political landscape; below left, Bristol Bus Boycott organiser Paul Stephenson, centre, with fellow organisers Audley Evans and Owen Henry of the government, Powell’s agenda was reflected in the legislation that was passed by such as the 1971 Immigration Act which restricted the ability of people from the Caribbean, Asia and Africa to emigrate to Britain whilst favouring white migrants.

In 1970, Black Power activists organised a march in Notting Hill to protest against police harassment and the repeated raids on the Mangrove Restaurant, a cultural hub founded by Frank Crichlow. Despite the raids, no evidence of illegal activity was ever found. Crichlow, a Trinidadian migrant and businessman, tried to address the situation through legal channels.

Darcus Howe, a young Black activist and writer who had moved to the UK from Trinidad to study law, played a prominent role in organising protests against the Mangrove raids.

Inspired by the American Black Panthers and his Trinidadian roots, he urged Crichlow to take more direct action to challenge the police’s actions.

Howe led 150 protesters on a peaceful march to Notting Hill police stations in August 1970. However, heavy-handed policing saw the march end in violence.

The subsequent trial of the Mangrove Nine attracted widespread public and media attention when Howe and another defendant, Althea Jones-LeCointe, chose to represent themselves. They also requested an all-Black jury. Although the request was denied two Black jurors were chosen.

During the trial, evidence of police brutality and racism emerged. After 55 days all nine defendants were found innocent of inciting a riot.

The jury rejected the police claims that The Mangrove was a criminal den.

Their acquittal marked a significant triumph for Black protest. The Mangrove Nine’s bravery and defiance in the face of heavy-handed policing empowered civil rights activists and others in the Black community with the knowledge that institutional racism could be successfully challenged.

When Bernie Grant and Diane Abbott became the first Caribbean heritage MPs to enter the House of Commons in 1987, it was heralded as an event that helped change the face of politics in Britain.

Along with their fellow newly-elected Labour MPs Keith Vaz and Paul Boateng, they blazed a path for other Black and minority ethnic MPs to follow.

It was a journey that had begun with the rise of the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 70s and the huge impact of the Mangrove Nine case.

It continued with trade union activism, anti-apartheid campaigns and a grassroots community response to cuts to public services and a growing race and class divide.

The riots of the 1980s were a turning point that awakened a disinterested Britain to the demands of marginalised Black communities.

The decade also saw the emergence of a powerful network of Black and minority ethnic councillors and council leaders pushing for the adoption by the major political parties, Labour in particular, of strategies to address racial inequality.

Black activists advocated for greater representation within the Labour Party leading to the launch of the Labour Party Black Sections in 1983.

Many of its leading lights were either born in the Caribbean or had parents from the islands.

This included people like journalist and activist Marc Wadsworth and Bill Morris who went on to become Britain’s first Black trade union general secretary when he was elected to lead the Transport and General Workers Union in 1992. During his illustrious trade union career, Morris tackled a number of issues that affected Black workers.

The relentless determination of visionaries like Claudia Jones, Paul Stephenson and organisations such as the Labour Party Black Sections paved the way for today’s Black and minority ethnic MPs.

However, as the country gears up to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Windrush generation, questions remain over the future of this movement.

The Black voluntary sector, which once served as a vibrant platform for aspiring activists, local councillors, and MPs, has suffered severe blows due to government funding cuts in recent years.

While there are some who believe that this has led to a fading of grassroots activism, others believe that a campaigning zeal lives on in a new generation of young people who share their ideas about creating a fairer and more equal society on social media.

They say that the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement in recent years following the 2020 death of George Floyd has ensured that the flame lit by the likes of Jones, Howe and Grant still burns brightly.