Key People

Enoch Powell & National Front

• ‘Rivers of blood’ speech

• Politician

• Criticised immigration from CW

• Called for immigrants to be sent back

• NF founded to oppose immigration only white people should be British citizens

Doreen Lawrence

• Efforts bring justice for son Stephen Lawrence

• 1993 Stephen Lawrence murdered racially motivated attack in London

• Police incompetent failing to find sons murderers

• Police institutionally racist

• 1998 Founded SL Charitable Trust: supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds & promotes social inclusion/diversity

British National Party

• 1982 founded

• Members opposed non-white migration to Britain

Marcus Rashford

• Footballer

• Used platform to advocate awareness on child poverty and hunger

• Campaigned free school means for children from low-income families

• Highlight issue on food insecurity and called for gov action

President Idi Amin Uganda

• Ordered expulsuon of 80,000 Indian & Pakistani people

• Significant impact on Ugandan economy and society

Paul Stephenson

• Led a group of demonstrators to city’s bus depot

• Demanded end of discriminatory policy and equal treatment for all passengers

• Boycott lasted 4 months

• Boycott widespread support from local community

• 1963 Bristol Omnibus Company announced end of discriminatory seating policy

1914-18 WW1

• 3 mil men from British Empire & 1 mil from India served on Allies side

• Thousands of lascars worked on merchant navy ships: bringing food & supplies to Britain

• British economy wholly prepared for war production

1989-45 WW2

• 8 mil men from British Empire & 2.5 mil from India served on Allies side

• Migrant seamen worked on merchant ships bringing food to Britain

• Cities and ports, factories and houses, road and rail links all damaged, bombed and destroyed

Empire CW & EU

End of Empire

• 1700-1900 British Empire strong

• After 1945 Britain couldn’t retain large parts of its empire

• Britain economy shattered

• Not afford money on retaining empire

• Many colonies developed own independance movements

The CW

• 1949 CW of Nations formed

• Membership meant countries gained independence could keep links with Britain and eachother

EU

• 1973 Britain joined European Economic Community (ECC)

• 9 members

• 2007: 23 members and ECC became EU

• 2016 British people voted to leave EU

Legislation

20th century progressed people felt too many migrants arriving

Parliament passed legislation on immigration and nationality

Limited number of people who could enter country

Time line

1905 Aliens Act - Only people with jobs and money migrate to Britain

1948 British Nationality Act - People in British colonies and former colonies given right to enter Britain and stay

1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act - Voucher system introduced, Only with valuable skill or who could get a job where shortage of workers: able get voucher and permission to migrate

1971 Immigration Act - Vouchers replaced with work permits for specific time periods, didn’t apply to British-born

1981 Nationality Act - Automatic right to stay in Britan no longer possible for non-British citizens

Race Relations Legislation

Aim to encourage better relationships between communities

Closely linked to legislation that limited immigration

Governemnts wanted immigrants to integrate into British society: believed only be done if immigration was limited

Timeline

1965 Race Relations Act - Made some types of racial discrimination illegal

1968 Race Relations Act - Discrimination in housing and employment made illegal

1976 Race Relations Act - set up commission for Racial Equality to use law to prevent racial discrimination and raise public awareness of racial injustice

1998 Crime and Disorder Act - introduced severe punishments if crime was seen as racially motivated

Why did Beligans migrate?

• Seek safety from war

• Free from occupation: invaded by Germans 1914

• 250,000 fled to Britain

• 1905 Aliens Act Suspended

• Most returned to Beligium 1919

• Looking for work in bombed cities

Why did Caribbeans migrate?

• Not enough migrants from Europe help rebuild

• Gov encouraged colonies to rebuild

• Work on buses and trains in London Transport System

• Work in NHS 1948

• Ship bringing migrants from Caribbean ‘Empire Windrush’ with over 800 migrants

Why did Germans migrate?

• Looking for work in bombed cities

• Disagree with governemnt war policy

• Enemy Aliens

• Britain had stable economic conditions

Why did Asians migrate?

• Empire and Common Wealth

• 1947 India & Pakistan: independence cause violence when country partitioned into India and Pakistan

• Thousands migrated to Britain

• 1967 Kenya had large Asian population: president asked all Asians in Kenya choose between being British and Kenyan

• 95,000 choose remain British

• 20,000 migrated to Britain (London & Leicester)

• 1972 Uganda Idi Amin ordered Asian expulsion but offered professionals to stay

• After failed negotiations British Gov offered Asians in Uganda either Indian or British passport

• 27,000 went to Britain (Leicester)

Why did Polish migrate?

• 160,000 fled to Britain

• Refused to accept Nazi occupation

• Seek safety from war

• 1905 Aliens Act Suspended

• Remained in Britain after 1945: Poland became communist state

• Looking for work in bombed cities

Why did Jewish migrate WW2?

• 1938-39 over 8,000 Jewish children travelled to safety to Britian

• Children escaping Nazi persecution

• Rescue mission called ‘Kindertransport’ due ro return home after war but most relatives died in Holocaust

What experience did Belgians have?

• 1914-18 welcomed

• Set up small businesses

• 90% returned to Belgium

• Charities funding homes for them

• 60,000 worked in Britain

What experience did Caribbeans have?

• 1981 Brixton London: Riots

• Accusations of police brutality against migrants

• Windrush generation badly treated by immigration officals who denied right to stay in Britain

• After media coverage and public uproar gov apologised and offered compensation

What experience did Germans have?

• 1914 Germans declared ‘Enemy Aliens’ and were interned (in prison for political reasons)

• People attacked German shops and businesses

• Germans living in Britain not interned: fled to safety of Britain from Nazi Germany

• 1940 BUF disbanded when Britain at war with Germany

• Media fuel anti-german feeling

What experience did Asians have?

• 1918 sailors who joined Royal Navy couldn’t return to old jobs on merchant ships

• Shipping companies employed lascars: work for less money

• Riots on docks

• 2001 Burnley Lancashire: weekend of rioting triggered by dispute between Asian & White drug gangs

What experience did Poles have?

• 1947 Polish Resettlement Act gave Poles right to remain

• Polish communities gree in towns and cities

• Gained wide acceptance gradually

What experience did Jewish have?

• 1936 British Union of Fascists (BUF) held march through highly populated Jewish area

• Fight broke out in Cable street

• 1939 Jewish children arriving via Kindertransport welcomed

• Jewish children lived with strangers

• Some evacuees exploited and abused

• Emigrated to Canada and Australia

• Jewish children’s families died in concentration camps

What impact did Caribbeans have?

• Vital part in building Britains Transport systems

• 1968 London Transport employed 73,000 people

• 9,000 from Caribbean

• Employed Caribbeans as bus conductors,station staff and canteen workers

• Popularization of reggae and calypso

What impact did Asians have?

• NHS

• Trained overseas

• Communities became lively during religious festivals: Diwali, Eid ul-Fitr and Chinese New Year

• Colourful entrances in Chinatown attracted visitors

• Mosques built

• New foods: Chow Mein and Chicken Tikka Masala

What impact did Polish have?

• 14,000 poles joined RAF

What impact did Jews have?

• Change in urban environment

• Synagogues built

• Increased diversity in UK

What was the general impact of migrants?

• Show Racism the Red Card: charity working to stamp out racism in football

• Black Lives Matter: Protests against racially motivated violence, began in USA 2013 spread world wide after murder of George Floyd 2020

• Migrants renovated areas they lived in

• Politics

• Music

Case study - Bristol

After 1948 Caribbean migrants helped rebuild war damage in Bristol

1962 3000 migrants

Experiencing problems and prejudice

• Landlord refused to rent a black people

• Forced to live in bomb damage areas

• Family shared one house: slum housing

• 1960 Many Caribbean residence lived within few streets of each other believed it was safer to live close together in case of trouble

• White people believed Caribbean migrants taking their jobs: heightened intentions, especially in rise of unemployment

1963 The Bristol bus boycott

• 1955 transport and general workers union banned black and Asian people being hired as bus drivers or conductors in UK

• Bristol Omnibus company agreed: ban stayed in place for years

• Colour bar - refusing goods or services to people because of the colour of their skin

• 1963 The West Indian parents and friends association decided to challenge colour bar on the buses: his offer of an interview was withdrawn as soon as company was told he was Caribbean

• 1963 West Indian parents and friends association called on the black community to boycott Bristol buses

• Many white people joined in

• May 1963 Boycott march: national attention

• August 1963 company gave into public pressure and scrap ban

• September employed Indian bus conductor, progress slow

• Year after 1965 race relations act over 97.5% of Bristol bus drivers and conductors were white

Culture St Paul’s carnival

• 1968 carnival in St Paul’s brought residents and local activists

• Small affair: opened homes and gardens

• Played music and ate street food

• Held every year

• One day carnival celebrating African-Caribbean culture

• People from different communites take part and watch

• Help develop understanding richness of different cultures

Role of individuals

Roy Hackett

• Born in Jamaica

• Helped found the west Indian parents and friends association

• Organised Bristol bus boycott

• Organised St Paul festivals

Princess Campbell

• Born in Jamaica

• Trained as nurse

• Bristol’s first black ward sister

• Set up United Housing Association: help black people fond affordable housing

Barbara Dettering

• Born in British Guyana

• Teacher and social worker in St Paul’s for 18 years

• Supported WIDC

Case study - Asian migrants in Leicester

1945 Asian migrants in Leicester were very successful in business

Brought prosperity to the city

Why did Asians migrate?

• 1951 624 Asians living in Leicester

• 1981 Risen to 59,709 Asian migrants came to Leicester

• Many Asian people found help and support in Leicester

• British Asian welfare society helped new arrivals find jobs and homes

• Asians easily follow on religion

• By 1972: Leicester had places of religious practice

• Sought safety instability during Civil War that followed partition of India

What did Asian migrants experience?

• City council generally welcomed Asian migrants

• Local press worried about multiculturalism

• Prefer Asian community ti remain separate

• Praised Asian community for hard work and prosperity to Leicester

• August 1972 city Council told home office city was full up council run series of advertisements in Ugandan press discouraging Asians from going to Leicester

• National targeted Leicester organised march there to protest against immigration

• Trade unions worried that jobs would go to Asians instead of British people

• Asians had to take work, for which they were overqualified: generally paid less than white workers

What impact did Asian migrants have?

• 1967 Race Equality centre: founded based on Commision for racial equality: help thousands of migrants from Asia, Africa and Caribbean

• Asian migrants, successful business owners in Uganda brought experience and expertise

• 1994 1000 Asian owned businesses in Leicester

• 10,000 British Asian owned businesses in Leicester 10 years later

• Asian immigrants took over empty shops, selling clothing and food ‘golden mile’ Because of number of jewellers shops, thriving shopping area and tourist attraction

• Two major festivals held every year in Leicester