Case Study 12: Ethnic Minority Rights and Protest

Why did race and ethnicity become a major cause of protest in the 20th century?

* During WWII, Britain appealed to the empire for troops, millions answered-RAF pilots from the Caribbean, 2.5 million volunteers from India
* Job fayres were held to secure work for immigrants before they travelled- interest free loans were granted
* ‘Windrush Generation’- 1940/50s immigrants
* British Nationality Act (1948)- granted the right to come to Britain and gain citizenship to 800 million commonwealth people

1940s

* Immigrants were not provided with adequate housing- usually old air raid shelters
* Landlords advertised for ‘NO COLOURED’ or ‘NO BLACK’; leading to overcrowding in houses that did allow coloured and black people
* Not all immigrants were treated equally based on skill and race

1940s/50s

* Sharp increase in non-white residents in areas like London
* This led to segregation in areas and ‘white flight’ from areas
* General protest about race and immigration from groups like the Teddy Boys

Teddy Boys

young jivers dressed in Edwardian style that attacked and bullied immigrants

August 1958

Notting Hill Riots- groups of white youths led attacks in West Indian immigrants and wider riots of 400 rioters followed

* Tension turned into violence in Notting Hill

White Defence League

an openly racist political and militant group that use marching tactics similar to the Nazi SA. They set up their headquarters in Notting Hill

1960s

Race and immigration becomes a political issue. Elections became more dominated by immigration and those who didn’t support reform lost

1962

* Peter Griffins- tory candidate who ran an openly racist campaign in Smethwick won the election
* Commonwealth Immigrants Act- Non-British immigrants had to apply for a work voucher to demonstrate their skill before moving to Britain; foreign qualifications not recognised

1965

* Race Relations Act- prevents racial discrimination in housing and employment
* Malcolm X visits Smethwick to show his support

1968

* Commonwealth Immigrants Act- extended 1962 Act to include those with a British citizenship unless they have a parent or a grandparent born in the UK
* Enoch Powell gave the ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech which stated immigration as a threat to British identity and economy- 74% agreed

1970s

National Front (far right group)- 20,000 members in the 1970s. Main focus was repatriation- “send them back”

1971

Immigration Act- replaced work vouchers with temporary work permits. Supported voluntary repatriation to the Commonwealth. Chain migration still allowed

1976

Race Relations Act- extended definition of discrimination to any practice that disadvantaged a racial group

1977

* National Front march through the diverse area of Lewisham; many saw it as a police failure
* Police used new ‘stop and search’ or ‘sus’ laws to search anyone on the street- black people much more targeted

1981

* Police launch ‘Operation Swamp 81’ in Brixton to target crime
* leading to the Brixton Riots and the Scarman Report (report concluded no institutional racism in the MET police)
* Led to the setup of the Police Complaints Authority

1993

Murder of Stephen Lawrence and lack of response from MET led to huge protests and legal challenges

2010

Equality Act (protected characteristics)

Significance

* Demonstrates shifting causes of protest; as the world changes and migration between countries grow- race and cultural identity has become a key cause of protest
* A minority group in the UK (immigrants) have fought with many successes to make the UK a fairer and more diverse place- Equality Act
* The UK has changed and become more diverse in the post 70 years as a result of migration, diversity and laws about equality
* Racial protests and discrimination still happens today and it’s an ongoing issue