Notting Hill race riots
Encyclopedia
The Notting Hill
race riots were a series of racially-motivated riot
s that took place in London, England over several nights in late August and early September 1958.
had seen a marked increase in Caribbean
migrants to Britain. By the 1950s, white working-class "Teddy Boys
" were beginning to display hostility towards the black families in the area, a situation exploited and inflamed by groups such as Sir Oswald Mosley
's Union Movement
and other far-right groups such as the White Defense League, who urged disaffected white residents to "Keep Britain White".
There was an increase in violent attacks on black people through summer. For instance, 24 August, a group of ten white youths committed a series of serious assaults on six West Indian men in four separate incidents. At 5.40am, their car was spotted by two police officers who pursued them into the White City estate, where the gang abandoned the car. Using the car as a lead, investigating detectives arrested nine of the gang the next day after working non-stop for 20 hours.
Just prior to the Notting Hill riots, there was racial unrest in Nottingham
, which began on Saturday, 23 August and went on intermittently for two weeks.
n husband Raymond at Latimer Road tube station
. They had shouted racial insults at him and were incensed when she turned on them. Seeing her the next night, the same youths pelted her with bottles, stones and wood and struck her in the back with an iron bar, until the police intervened and she was escorted home. Morrison later wrote an autobiographical book, Jungle West 11, which included details of her ordeal.
Later that night a mob of 300 to 400 white people, many of them "Teddy Boy
s", were seen on Bramley Road attacking the houses of West Indian residents.
The disturbances, rioting and attacks continued every night until they petered out by 5 September.
The Metropolitan Police
arrested over 140 people during the two weeks of the disturbances, mostly white youths but also many black people found carrying weapons. A report to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner
stated that of the 108 people charged with crimes such as grievous bodily harm, affray and riot and possessing offensive weapons, 72 were white and 36 were black.
to others. Each of the youths received five years in prison and they were to also pay £500.
The Notting Hill Carnival
was started by Claudia Jones
in January 1959 as a response to the riots and the state of race relations in Britain at the time.
The riots caused tension between the Metropolitan Police and the British African-Caribbean community
, which claimed that the police had not taken their reports of racial attacks seriously. In 2002, files were released that revealed that senior police officers at the time had assured the Home Secretary
, Rab Butler
, that there was little or no racial motivation behind the disturbance, despite testimony from individual police officers to the contrary.
Another, entirely unrelated, riot occurred many years later in 1976 at the conclusion of the Notting Hill Carnival after police arrested a pickpocket and a mixed group of both black and white youths came to his defence. The disturbance escalated and over 100 police officers were injured. Two notable participants in this riot were Joe Strummer
and Paul Simonon
, who later formed the London punk
band The Clash
. Their song "White Riot
" was inspired by their participation in this event.
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
race riots were a series of racially-motivated riot
Race riot
A race riot or racial riot is an outbreak of violent civil disorder in which race is a key factor. A phenomenon frequently confused with the concept of 'race riot' is sectarian violence, which involves public mass violence or conflict over non-racial factors.-United States:The term had entered the...
s that took place in London, England over several nights in late August and early September 1958.
Context
The end of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
had seen a marked increase in Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
migrants to Britain. By the 1950s, white working-class "Teddy Boys
Teddy Boy
The British Teddy Boy subculture is typified by young men wearing clothes that were partly inspired by the styles worn by dandies in the Edwardian period, styles which Savile Row tailors had attempted to re-introduce in Britain after World War II...
" were beginning to display hostility towards the black families in the area, a situation exploited and inflamed by groups such as Sir Oswald Mosley
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
's Union Movement
Union Movement
The Union Movement was a right-wing political party founded in Britain by Oswald Mosley. Where Mosley had previously been associated with a peculiarly British form of fascism, the Union Movement attempted to redefine the concept by stressing the importance of developing a European nationalism...
and other far-right groups such as the White Defense League, who urged disaffected white residents to "Keep Britain White".
There was an increase in violent attacks on black people through summer. For instance, 24 August, a group of ten white youths committed a series of serious assaults on six West Indian men in four separate incidents. At 5.40am, their car was spotted by two police officers who pursued them into the White City estate, where the gang abandoned the car. Using the car as a lead, investigating detectives arrested nine of the gang the next day after working non-stop for 20 hours.
Just prior to the Notting Hill riots, there was racial unrest in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, which began on Saturday, 23 August and went on intermittently for two weeks.
The riots
The riot is thought to have started on Friday 29 August when a gang of white youths attacked a Swedish woman, Majbritt Morrison. The youths had seen her the previous night arguing with her JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n husband Raymond at Latimer Road tube station
Latimer Road tube station
Latimer Road Station is a London Underground station in North Kensington on the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines between Wood Lane and Ladbroke Grove stations...
. They had shouted racial insults at him and were incensed when she turned on them. Seeing her the next night, the same youths pelted her with bottles, stones and wood and struck her in the back with an iron bar, until the police intervened and she was escorted home. Morrison later wrote an autobiographical book, Jungle West 11, which included details of her ordeal.
Later that night a mob of 300 to 400 white people, many of them "Teddy Boy
Teddy Boy
The British Teddy Boy subculture is typified by young men wearing clothes that were partly inspired by the styles worn by dandies in the Edwardian period, styles which Savile Row tailors had attempted to re-introduce in Britain after World War II...
s", were seen on Bramley Road attacking the houses of West Indian residents.
The disturbances, rioting and attacks continued every night until they petered out by 5 September.
The Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
arrested over 140 people during the two weeks of the disturbances, mostly white youths but also many black people found carrying weapons. A report to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner
Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service, classing the holder as a chief police officer...
stated that of the 108 people charged with crimes such as grievous bodily harm, affray and riot and possessing offensive weapons, 72 were white and 36 were black.
Aftermath
The sentencing of the nine white youths arrested during the riots has passed into judicial lore as an example of "exemplary sentencing" – a harsh punishment to act as a deterrentDeterrence (legal)
Deterrence is the use of punishment as a threat to deter people from committing a crime. Deterrence is often contrasted with retributivism, which holds that punishment is a necessary consequence of a crime and should be calculated based on the gravity of the wrong done.- Categories :Deterrence can...
to others. Each of the youths received five years in prison and they were to also pay £500.
The Notting Hill Carnival
Notting Hill Carnival
The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event which since 1964 has taken place on the streets of Notting Hill, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea , London, UK each August, over two days...
was started by Claudia Jones
Claudia Jones
Claudia Cumberbatch Jones was a Trinidadian journalist, who applied her skills to becoming a political activist and black nationalist through Communisum....
in January 1959 as a response to the riots and the state of race relations in Britain at the time.
The riots caused tension between the Metropolitan Police and the British African-Caribbean community
British African-Caribbean community
The British African Caribbean communities are residents of the United Kingdom who are of West Indian background and whose ancestors were primarily indigenous to Africa...
, which claimed that the police had not taken their reports of racial attacks seriously. In 2002, files were released that revealed that senior police officers at the time had assured the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
, Rab Butler
Rab Butler
Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, KG CH DL PC , who invariably signed his name R. A. Butler and was familiarly known as Rab, was a British Conservative politician...
, that there was little or no racial motivation behind the disturbance, despite testimony from individual police officers to the contrary.
Another, entirely unrelated, riot occurred many years later in 1976 at the conclusion of the Notting Hill Carnival after police arrested a pickpocket and a mixed group of both black and white youths came to his defence. The disturbance escalated and over 100 police officers were injured. Two notable participants in this riot were Joe Strummer
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...
and Paul Simonon
Paul Simonon
Paul Gustave Simonon is an English musician and artist best known as the bass guitarist for punk rock band The Clash. Recent work includes his involvement in the album The Good, the Bad & the Queen with Damon Albarn, Simon Tong and Tony Allen, released in January 2007...
, who later formed the London punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
. Their song "White Riot
White Riot
"White Riot" is a song by English punk rock band The Clash, released as the band's first single in 1977 and also featured on their debut album. There are two versions: the single version , and a different version on the UK album...
" was inspired by their participation in this event.
External links
- Newsfilm Online: Notting Hill Riot Special, ITN News, 5 September 1958.