British African-Caribbean community
The
British African-Caribbean (Afro-Caribbean) community is a term which generally refers to residents of the
United Kingdom who are of
West Indian descent or background, and whose ancestors usually in predominant part, were indigenous to
Africa. The largest proportion of the African-Caribbean population in the UK are of
Jamaican origin, others trace origins to smaller nations including
Trinidad and Tobago,
Saint Kitts & Nevis,
Barbados,
Saint Lucia,
Grenada,
Montserrat,
Dominica and
Antigua. As immigration to the UK from Africa increased in the 1990s, the term has been used to include UK residents solely of African origin, or as a term to define all
Black British residents, though this is usually denoted by "African
and Caribbean". The most common and traditional use of the term Afro-Caribbean community is in reference to groups of residents continuing aspects of
Caribbean culture, customs and traditions in the United Kingdom.
African-Caribbean communities exist throughout the United Kingdom, though by far the largest concentrations are to be found in
London,
Birmingham and the broader
West Midlands conurbation. Significant communties also exist in other population centres, notably
Manchester,
Nottingham,
Leicester,
Bristol,
Leeds,
Sheffield,
Luton,
Derby and
Cardiff. In these cities the community is traditionally associated with a particular area, such as
Chapeltown in Leeds or
St. Pauls in Bristol.
African-Caribbeans are primarily the descendants of
West Africans captured or obtained in trade from African procurers. They were then shipped by European
slave traders to the West Indies to
English,
French,
Dutch,
Spanish, and
Portuguese colonies founded from the 16th century. Since
World War II many African-Caribbeans migrated to
North America and to
Europe, especially to the
USA, the UK, and the Netherlands. As a result of the losses during
World War II, the
British government began to encourage mass
immigration from the countries of the
British empire and
Commonwealth to fill shortages in the labour market. The
1948 British Nationality Act gave
British citizenship to all people living in Commonwealth countries, and full rights of entry and settlement in Britain. Many
West Indians were attracted by better prospects in what was often referred to as the
mother country.
The ship
Empire Windrush brought the first group of 492 immigrants to
Tilbury near
London on June 22,
1948. The
Windrush was en route from
Australia to
England via the
Atlantic, docking in
Kingston, Jamaica. An advert had appeared in a Jamaica newspaper offering cheap transport on the ship for anybody who wanted to come and work in the UK. The arrivals were temporarily housed in the
Clapham South deep shelter in south-west
London less than a mile away from
Coldharbour Lane in
Brixton. Many only intended to stay for a few years, and although a number returned to rejoin the
RAF the majority remained to settle permanently. The arrival of the passengers and the image of the Caribbeans filing off its gangplank has become an important landmark in the history of modern Britain, symbolising the beginning of modern multicultural relations which were to change British society significantly in the following years. In 1998 an area of public open space in Brixton was renamed Windrush Square to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of the West Indians.
There was plenty of work in post war Britain and industries such as
British Rail, the
National Health Service and public transport recruited almost exclusively from Jamaica and Barbados. Though African-Caribbeans were encouraged to journey to Britain via immigration campaigns created by successive British governements, many new arrivals were to endure intolerance and extreme
racism from certain sectors of indigenous British society. This was to mark African-Carribbeans relations with the wider community over a long period. Early African-Caribbean immigrants found private employment and housing denied to them on the basis of race. Housing was in short supply following the wartime bombing, and the shortage led to some of the first clashes with the established white community. Clashes continued and worsened into the 1950s, and there were riots in cities including
London,
Birmingham and
Nottingham. In 1958, attacks in the London area of
Notting Hill by White youths marred relations with West Indian residents. The annual
Notting Hill Carnival was initiated in the 1960s as a positive response by the Caribbean community.
In 1962 Britain passed the
Commonwealth Immigrants Act restricting the entry of immigrants, and by
1972 only holders of work permits, or people with parents or grandparents born in the UK could gain entry - effectively stemming most Caribbean
immigration. Despite the restrictive measures, an entire generation of Britons with African-Caribbean heritage now existed, contributing to British society in virtually every field. Between 1951 and 1981 the number of British persons born in the West Indies had increased from 15,000 to 304,000.
The 1970s and 1980s were decades of comparative turbulence in wider British society, industrial disputes preceded a period of deep
recession and widespread
unemployment which was to have a serious effect on the economically less prosperous African-Caribbean community. Perceived societal racism, discrimination,
poverty, powerlessness and oppressive policing sparked a series of riots in areas with high African-Caribbean populations. These "uprisings" (as they were described by some in the community) took place in
St Pauls in 1980,
Brixton,
Toxteth and
Moss Side in 1981, St Pauls again in 1982,
Notting Hill Gate in 1982, Toxteth in 1982, and
Handsworth,
Brixton and
Tottenham in 1985. The riots had a profoundly unsettling effect on local residents, and also had a less tangible, but no less fundamental effect on the sense of certainty and security which citizens of all classes took to be a part of living in Britain. The era also saw an increase in attacks on all black people by white English people. The
Joint Campaign Against Racism committee reported that there had been more than 20,000 attacks on all non-indigenous Britons including Britons of Asian origin during 1985 [
1].
In the
UK Census of 2001 [
2], approximately 566,000 people classified themselves in the category '
Black Caribbean'. Out of a total
UK population of approximately 59 million, this amounted to slightly under 1% of the population. The Census category 'Black Caribbean' fails to distinguish properly between 'African-Caribbean' and 'Asian-Caribbean'. However, given the fact that other Asian groups were not included under the heading 'black' it is reasonable to assume that 'Black Caribbean' in fact corresponds to the category 'African-Caribbean' and that 'Asian-Caribbean' people were assumed by the census bureauocracy to be 'Other'.
The total so-called 'visible minority' population (including
South Asians, African,
East Asians, Mixed and 'Other') was stated as 7.9% of the UK population (4.6 million) - of which 'Black Caribbean' constituted just 12%. However, another 677,000 people (approximately 1.2% of the UK population) classified themselves as 'Mixed'. The census states that one third of this group have African-Caribbean and 'White' parents - which expands the demographic impact of the African-Caribbean community to about 1.4% of the UK population.
In 2001, 61% of African Caribbeans lived in London. With regard to unemployment, Men were three times more likely (14%), and women twice as likely (9%), to be unemployed than their 'white' counterparts (5% and 4%). African-Caribbeans were also found to suffer disproportionately lower
educational opportunities and be less likely to work either as self-employed or in managerial roles. The next UK Census is due in 2011.
 |
Dancers at the Notting Hill Carnival |
In many parts of Britain, African-Caribbeans have been recognised as being part of a distinct community. In the 1950s and 1960s
community centres and associations sprung up in some British towns and cities with an aim to serve African-Caribbean populations, alongside the community in general. These centres have often addressed issues that rise within the community, including perceived problems of
police harassment and concerns about the housing of black people, which was viewed as discriminatory during the early decades of mass immigration.
The centres also allowed African-Caribbeans to socialise without risking the potential racial discrimination and aggression of "unfriendly
pubs". Many of these associations appointed a Community Relations Officer whose role was liase between the community and wider British society including the
establishment. Other responsibilities included arranging social events, such as
festivals, carnivals and coach trips, which helped bring the communities together.
Although the community does not face any official or informal restrictions on
political participation, Britons of Caribbean origin are nonetheless under-represented in local and
national politics. British African-Caribbeans have long asserted that they encounter discriminatory barriers to most middle and higher status occupations as well as discrimination in hiring practices at all levels of
employment. There is also considerable evidence that African-Caribbeans experience differential treatment at the hands of public officials, the
British courts and penal system, and the
police. There is also evidence that the isolation of certain regional urban areas by financial institutions such as
insurance brokers, disproportionately effects the community to its detriment. Britain's
school system, despite recent changes, has been indicted on numerous occasions for racism, for undermining the self-confidence of all black children and maligning the culture of their parents. It its argued that these cumulative practices have helped keep the group at the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum.
Carnivals
African-Caribbean communities organise and participate in
Caribbean style carnivals throughout the UK. The best known of these is the annual
Notting Hill Carnival, now a multi-cultural experience, attracting 1.5 million people from Britain and around the world, making it the largest street festival in Europe. Other carnivals include the
Leicester Caribbean Carnival, the
Leeds West Indian Carnival and the
Birmingham International Carnival.
Food
The earliest Caribbean immigrants to post war Britain found differences in diet and availability of food an uncomfortable challenge. In later years, as the community developed and food imports became more accessible to all,
grocers specialising in Caribbean produce opened in British
High streets. Caribbean restaurants can now also be found in most areas of Britain where West Indian communities reside, serving traditional
Caribbean dishes such as
curried goat, fried
dumplings,
ackee and salt fish,
plantain, steamed
cabbage and
rice and peas.
Religion
The influx of African-Caribbeans to the United Kingdom was accompanied by religious practices more common to the North American continent. In Britain, many African-Caribbeans continued to practice
Evangelical Protestant denominations including
Pentecostalism and
Seventh Day Baptism. African-Caribbeans have supported new churches in many areas of the country, which have grown to act as social centres for the community. The manner of worship in some of these churches is more akin to that of
African-American practices, rather than traditional
Anglican or
Catholic liturgy.
Gospel music also came to play a part in British cultural life. African-Caribbeans were instrumental in establishing British Gospel choirs, most notably the
London Community Gospel Choir. Some British African-Caribbeans continued to practice more marginal religious beliefs such as
Rastifarianism, which developed in Jamaica. The Rastifarian belief system, associated personal symbols such as
dreadlocks and cultural practices concerning
cannabis were to influence British society far beyond the African-Caribbean community. Many of the associated aspects of Rastifarian culture were picked up by both indigenous Britons and other ethnic groups residing in the nation.
Language and dialect
English being the
official language of the former British West Indies meant that African-Caribbean immigrants had few communication difficulties upon arrival in Britain. Although indigenous Britons were generally unused to the distinct
Caribbean dialects,
creoles and
patois (
patwah) spoken by many African-Caribbeans. As integration continued, African-Caribbeans born in Britain instinctively adopted hybrid dialects combining Caribbean and local
British dialects. These dialects and accents gradually entered mainstream British vernacular, and shades of Caribbean dialects can be heard amongst Britons regardless of cultural origin. This phenomenon was famously parodied by comedian
Sacha Baron Cohen through his character
Ali G.
Theatre, Film and Television
Talawa Theatre was founded in the 1970s by
Yvonne Brewster, their first production being
C.L.R. James's '
The Black Jacobins' - set during the
Haitian Revolution. The 1970s also saw the emergence of independent filmmakers such as
Horace Ove, the director of Pressure, among others.
Since the 1980s, the
Blue Mountain Theatre's productions have offered a more earthy style of populist comedy, often bringing over Jamaican talent such as
Oliver Samuels. In the 21st century,
Kwame Kwe Armah, the star of the
BBC's
Casualty series began writing for the
West End theatre. His play
Elmina's Kitchen was performed by the
Royal Shakespeare Company in 2003.
The profile of African-Caribbean actors on television (See
Black British actors) such as
Lennie James,
Judith Jacob and
Diane Parish has improved substantially since 1970s shows such as
Love Thy Neighbour (
Rudolph Walker) and
Rising Damp (
Don Warrington) when their role was often to act simply as either butt of, or foil to, racist jokes by 'white' characters.
Arguably the most influential programme in moving away from this formula was the 1989-1994
Channel Four barbershop sitcom
Desmonds starring
Norman Beaton and
Carmen Munroe.
Probably the biggest African-Caribbean name on the British stage is
Lenny Henry who began his career as a stand-up comedian but whose television sketch shows made him big enough to headline his own BBC sitcom
Chef! from 1993 to 1994.
The highest professional achievement by a British African-Caribbean actor to date (2006), was
Marianne Jean-Baptiste's 1996 nominations for an
Academy Award (
Oscar),
Golden Globe and
British Academy Award (
bafta) for her feature-film debut role in "
Secrets and Lies".
Literature
In 2004,
Angela Levy's novel
Small Island was winner of the 2004
Orange Prize for Fiction, one of Britain's highest literary honours. The feat was repeated in 2006 by
Zadie Smith for
On Beauty. Both British-born writers have used their family histories of migration from Jamaica in their work.
In 1984, the poet Fred D'Aguiar (born in London to Guyanese parents) won the
T.S. Eliot Prize, and in 1994 won the Whitbread First Novel Award for
The Longest Memory. Of course, it should be noted that, while Guyana is not part of the Caribbean, it does have close cultural and historical links, and was historically considered to be part of the
West Indies.
Benjamin Zephaniah is a well known writer and
dub poet. Zephaniah was born in
Birmingham to Jamaican parents. In 2003 he declined an
OBE, stating that it reminded him of 'thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalized'.
The UK also has a modest output of African-Caribbean
popular fiction, of which the most widely known example is '
Yardie', a
crime-fiction novel written by
Victor Headley in 1992 and published by
Steve Pope and
Dotun Adebayo of
Xpress books.
Media
The Voice newspaper is the primary African-Caribbean print media outlet in Britain. and was founded in the early 1980s by
Val McCalla. Other publications have included the
Gleaner,
Black Voice,
Pride Magazine and the
Caribbean Times.
Trinidad-born Sir
Trevor MacDonald is probably the community's best known journalist, having been the main presenter (newscaster) for the national
ITV network for over twenty years.
Other notable media figures include
Gary Younge,
The Guardian columnist and
Moira Stewart the veteran BBC news presenter. Trinidadian born
Darcus Howe has written in
New Statesman and fronted a number of documentary series including the
Channel 4 current affairs programme
Devil's Advocate. Much of Howe's work is related to the experiences of British African-Caribbeans and racism in wider British society.
However, in 2006,
Sir Ian Blair, the Chief Commissioner of London's
Metropolitan Police, joined a long list of commentators in branding the 'mainstream' British media as
'institutionally racist' for its alleged failure to offer a proper balance in reporting affairs related to the community.
The community has a strong tradition of 'underground' '
pirate radio' broadcasters, the most established being London's Lightning and Genesis, which play a mix of Ragga, Reggae, Bashment, Hip Hop and R&B.
In 1996,
Choice FM received a licence to broadcast in London and Birmingham with a remit to serve the musical tastes of the African-Caribbean community. It was sold to
GCap Media in 2005, althoug it retained its 'urban' music identity.
In 2004, the BBC established its digital broadcasting strand '
1Xtra' to focus on the 'black' music scene - which in effect means catering to the tastes of the country's African Caribbean youth.
The internet has afforded the community the opportunity to publish en-masse and there are now thousands of websites and blogs produced by or for African-Caribbeans in the UK such as the BBC's Family History page
Caribbean Family History.
Visual Arts
In 1999 the film maker
Steve McQueen (not to be confused with the Hollywood filmstar), won Britain's most prestigious art prize, the
Turner Prize for his video "Deadpan".
Previously, artists such as the Guyanese painter
Aubrey Williams had found that, despite achieving worldwide renown, it was difficult to find acceptance in the highest echelons of the art establishment.
However, perhaps the most influential African-Caribbean person in the British art world has been Dr.
Eddie Chambers. Alongside
Keith Piper the curator, artist, critic and academic founded the
Black Art movement in the late 1970s. Chambers worked with
Donald Rodney and
Sonia Boyce, both of whose work is represented in the permanent collections of the London's
Tate Britain museum.
Other African-Caribbean artists influenced by, or associated with Britain's Black Art Movement include
Faisal Abdu'allah,
Ingrid Pollard,
Kimathi Donkor,
Eugene Palmer and
Tam Joseph. The movement was also part of the impetus that led to the founding of
Autograph, the
Association of Black Photographers by
Mark Sealy.
Academia
African Caribbean academics are prominent in the arts and humanities. Professor
Paul Gilroy, author of
There Ain't No Black In the Union Jack, is one Britain's leading academics, having taught
sociology at
Harvard as well as
Goldsmiths College and the
London School of Economics. The cultural theorist Professor
Stuart Hall has also been highly influential since the 1960s.
Dr.
Robert Beckford has presented several national television and radio documentaries exploring African-Caribbean history, culture and religion.
Other prominent academics include Dr Lez Henry of Goldsmiths College, and Prof.
Harry Goldbourne, a former member of the radical group the
Black Unity and Freedom Party, who went on to teach at the
University of the South Bank.
Although there are hundreds of African-Caribbean teachers in the UK, it has been suggested that their under-representation in inner-city schools is a major factor in the failure, particularly of secondary-level schools, to achieve a satisfactory average of achievement for the community's children (see
Bernard Coard and the
Swann Report.
Music
The period of largescale immigration brought many new musical styles to the United Kingdom. These styles gained popularity amongst Britons of all cultural origins, and also aided Caribbean music in gaining international recognition. The earliest of these exponents was the
calypsonian Lord Kitchener who arrived in Britain on the
Windrush in 1948 accompanied by fellow musician
Lord Beginner. Already a star in his native Trinidad, "Kitch" got an immediate booking at the only West Indian club in London. Six months later, he was appearing in three clubs nightly, and his popularity extended beyond the West Indian and African night club audiences, to include music hall and variety show audiences. Kitch's recording "London is the place for me" exemplified the experience of the "Windrush generation". Other calypso exponents began to collaborate with African
Kwela musicians and
British jazz players in the clubs of London.
In the 1960s Jamaican styles reached Britain, becoming the staple music for young British African-Caribbeans. Tours by
Ska exponents such as
Prince Buster and the
Skatalites fed the growing British-Caribbean music scene, and the success of Jamaican artists
Millie Small,
Desmond Dekker and
Bob and Marcia propelled Caribbean music and people into mainstream cultural life. British African-Caribbeans followed the changing styles of Jamaican music and began to produce homegrown music appealing to both Black and White communities. In 1969, the British African-Caribbean ska band
Symarip recorded "Skinhead Moonstomp", a song that was to have an effect on the British ska scene in ways that the band would could not have envisaged at the time. The sound and
rude boy imagery inspired a generation of white
working-class youth, which help spawn Britain's
multi-cultural Two-tone movement, and conversely also gave rise to white
skinhead groups.
As Jamaican ska gave way to the slower styles of
rocksteady and the more politicised
reggae, British African-Caribbeans followed suit.
Sound systems to rival those in Jamaica sprung up throughout communities, and 'Blues parties' - parties in private houses, where one paid at the door - became an institution. The arrival of Bob Marley to London in 1971 helped to spawn a Black British music industry based on reggae. His association with the
Rastafarian movement influenced waves of young people, who, reared in Britain, were beginning to want to discover their Caribbean roots. British Barbadian
Dennis Bovell became Britain's prominent reggae band leader and producer, working with many international reggae stars, and introducing a reggae flavour to the British pop charts with non-reggae acts such as
Dexy's Midnight Runners and
Bananarama. Bovell also worked with London based
Linton Kwesi Johnson whose roots rhyming and socio-political commentary over
dub beats made him the unofficial poet laureate of the British African-Caribbean community. British music with reggae roots prospered in the 1980s and early 1990s. British African-Caribbean artists
Musical Youth,
Aswad,
Maxi Priest and
Eddy Grant all had major successes, whilst the multicultural band
UB40 helped promote reggae to an international audience. Birmingham based
Steel Pulse became one of the world's foremost exponents of
roots reggae and accompanying
black consiousness, their acclaimed debut 1978 album
Handsworth Revolution becoming a seminal release.
British African-Caribbean music had been generally synonymous with Caribbean styles until the 1990s, though some artists had been combining or appropriating British and American musical forms for several decades. In the 1970s and 80's British African-Caribbean artists such as
Hot Chocolate and
Imagination became leaders of the British
disco,
soul and
R'n'B scenes. By the mid 1980s British African-Caribbeans were also incorporating American
hip hop and
House styles, becoming leading figures in Britain's developing dance music culture. This led to an explosion of musical forms. British artists created musical hybrids combining many elements including European
techno, Jamaican
dancehall,
dub,
breakbeats and contemporary American
R'n'B. These unique blends began to gain international acclaim through the success of
Soul II Soul and the multi-racial
Massive Attack. But it was in British
clubs that the new forms really blossomed. British African-Caribbeans were at the leading edge of the
jungle and
drum and bass movements of the 1990s, described by some
musicologists as Britain's first new musical genre in modern times. Though the fast tempo drums in addition to loud intricate basslines sounded fresh, Caribbean roots could still be deciphered. Two successful exponents of these new styles were DJ's
Goldie and
Roni Size, both of African-Caribbean origin. More recently, British African-Caribbean musicians and DJ's have been at the forefront of the
UK Garage and
Grime scenes.
Since the earliest waves of migration from the West Indies, British African-Caribbeans have integrated into indigenous British life in many different fields. Few more so than at the sporting level. British African-Carribeans are well represented in traditional British pastimes such as
Football and
Rugby, and have also represented the nation at the highest level in sports where Caribbeans typically excel in the home countries such as
Cricket and
Athletics. Some British African-Caribbeans have gone on to become international sports stars and top global earners in their chosen sporting field.
Boxing
British
Boxers of Caribbean descent have dominated the national boxing scene since the early 1980s. In 1995
Frank Bruno, whose mother was a
Pentecostal laypreacher from Jamaica, became Britain's first
heavyweight boxing champion in the 20th century. Bruno's reign was shortly followed by British born Jamaican
Lennox Lewis who defeated
Evander Holyfield and
Mike Tyson to become the world's premier heavyweight during the late 1990s. Middleweights
Chris Eubank (who spent his early years in Jamaica) and
Nigel Benn (of Barbadian descent) both claimed world titles and fought a series of brutal battles in the early 1990s. In the
Sydney Olympics of 2000
Audley Harrison (who has Jamaican heritage) became Britain's first
heavyweight gold medalist. Other Boxing champions from the British African-Caribbean community include the Welterweight
Lloyd Honeyghan nicknamed '
Ragamuffin Man' in reference to his Jamaican roots, who defeated boxing super-star
Donald Curry in 1986 .
Cricket
Cricket has long been a popular pastime amongst African-Caribbeans in both the West Indies and the United Kingdom, though this has waned somewhat since its peak during the 1960's-1980's. After the period of widespread immigration, tours of England by the combined
West Indian cricket team became near cultural celebrations of Caribbean culture in Britain, particularly at cricket grounds such as
The Oval in
South London. Almost all the great
West Indian cricketers became regular features of the
domestic county game, including
Garfield Sobers,
Vivian Richards and
Michael Holding. In turn, British cricketers of Caribbean origin also began to make an impact in English cricket. In the 1980's-1990's players including
Gladstone Small (born in Barbados),
Devon Malcolm (born in Jamaica) and
Phillip DeFreitas (born in
Dominica) represented
England making significant contributions to the side.
Football
One of the first and most successful African-Caribbean players to play in the
English Football League was Jamaican-born Lloyd 'Lindy' Delapenha, who played for
Middlesbrough between 1950-57. Though it was the 1970s before African-Caribbean players began to make a major impact on the game.
Clyde Best (
West Ham 1969-1976), born in
Bermuda, paved the way for exciting players such as
Cyrille Regis (born in
French Guyana) and
Luther Blissett (born in Jamaica). Blisset and Regis joined
Viv Anderson to form the first wave of black footballers to play for the
England national team. Although the number of players of African-Caribbean origin in the English league was increasing far beyond proportions in wider society, when black players represented the English national team, they still had to endure racism from a section of England supporters. Cyrille Regis was actually booed when he first played and scored for England at
Wembley simply because he was a black.
By the 1980s the British African-Caribbean community was well represented at all playing levels of the game.
John Barnes, born in Jamaica, was arguably the most talented player of his generation and one of the few footballers to win every honour in the domestic English game including the
PFA Players' Player of the Year. Although Barnes played for England 78 times between 1983 and 1991 his performances rarely matched his club standard. Subsequently, Barnes identified a culture of racism in football during his era as a player, and outside commentators have questioned whether this contibuted to his lack of international success. Players of African-Caribbean origin continued to excel in English football, in the 1990s
Paul Ince - whose parents were from
Trinidad - went on to captain
Manchester United,
Liverpool F.C. and the English national team.
At the turn of the millennium, British born players of African-Caribbean descent constituted between 10 and 15 % of the English league. In the 2006 World Cup,
Theo Walcott, the 17 year old striker of English and Jamaican parents became the youngest ever player in the England squad - a side which included African-Caribbean talent in every department, goal-keeping, defence, midfield and attack.
*
Black British*
Caribbean British *
Sus law*
UK topics**
Immigration to the United Kingdom**
Ethnic minorities and the National Identity Card* Afro-Caribbean newspapers
**
New Nation **
The Voice (newspaper)
