You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
In this paper I use “Black” as in the same way as the British anti-racist movement; that is, as a political term that refers to all people of African, Caribbean, and Asian descent. However, as Afro-Caribbean, I cannot help but present issues from my own perspective.
Writing this paper in Black History Month, I have been struck by the lack of references in the media about the many positive contributions that have been made by Black people and their long-standing history in the UK. Although people think of Windrush as the beginning of Black presence in the UK, there has been a continuous presence since 1555 and Black people were here as far back as in Roman times. London audiences at Shakespeare's plays would have been familiar with Black faces. There was a great increase in the UK's Black population in the eighteenth century, as many were brought back by those connected to the slave trade as a mark of exotic wealth. There are many notable figures, such as Ira Aldridge, a famous actor in the nineteenth century who was finally permitted to play in the West End after the accolades heaped upon him elsewhere in the UK and in Europe forced the lifting of a thirty-year boycott. Another figure of note is Mary Seacole, who, despite her skill, was rejected widely when attempting to go to the Crimea to attend to soldiers. She ultimately funded herself. Although her reputation rivalled Florence Nightingale's at the time, she returned to England bankrupt and has been forgotten until recently. (See 100 great Black Britons website.)
My upbringing was privileged and sheltered. My father was a policeman and my mother was a music teacher. The first time I was allowed to go the cinema was with my older brother, and we saw Bill Haley's Rock Around the Clock. So many tried to get into the cinema they had to send in the Horse Guards. When we returned home my skirt was torn and my father was horrified. I was never allowed back to the cinema.
When it was suggested that I accompany my sister, w