‘Although our elders they had a very tough time, they did pave the way for a lot of us. And I think we should be grateful. As time has gone on it has become easier and if we think we’ve had it bad, if we’d lived in our parents time, only then can we complain and say we’ve had it bad.’
‘Some people just wanted their children to do well so their escapism would be through their children. Some parents came down a bit too hard on their children.’
Many of the Caribbean elders came over to England and had the worst jobs and the worst housing. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s there was unrest and life was difficult for these migrants. They received frequent racial taunts and abuse. In 1958, Britain experienced some of the worst racial violence the country had ever seen, beginning in Nottingham and continuing in London.
In 1965 in response to the growing unrest and the rise of the civil rights movement in the US, which had an enormous effect in Britain, the Race Relations Act was passed which made some discrimination unlawful. There were further amendments in 1968 and again in 2000.
Within the black community there are many elders with knowledge that ought to be passed down, traditions that should be recorded and kept and stories that should be told.
‘There are lots of things that get lost. A lot of West Indians know a lot of herbal remedies because they’ve got lots of bushes there……but if anyone asked me the name for them, I couldn’t tell them. My mother never gives me the name. It’s like a secret.’
‘When my daughter was about five years old, my mother gave me a little diary, smaller than A4. When I opened it, there were all these stories of Anancy. She’d written it and drew all the little images of Anancy and all the little creatures. I didn’t expect her to do that.’
The African Caribbean community has given much to improving the way of life in Britain and their effect can be seen throughout a whole range of different areas.
Artists
Yinka Shonibare, Steve McQueen, Chris Ofili, David Adjaye, Bruce Oldfield, Barbara Walker, Vanley Burke
Writers
Zadie Frost, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Benjamin Zephaniah , ,Kobena Mercer, Trevor Phillips, Ben Okri
Sports
Linford Christie, Colin Jackson, Tessa Sanderson, Cyrille Regis, Andrew Watson, Rio Ferdinand
Media
Moira Stuart, Sir Trevor McDonald, Naomi Campbell, Ekow Eshun
Musicians
Dizzee Rascal, Goldie, Jamelia, Beverly Knight, Craig David, Courtney Pine, Mad Professor, Tricky, Sade
Politicians
Lord Victor Adebowale, Baroness Valerie Amos, Oona King, Diane Abbot, Ozwald Boateng, David Lammy
