| Black British |
Article Index for Black |
Website Links For Black |
Information AboutBlack British |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT BLACK BRITISH | |
| african diaspora | |
| ethnic groups in the united kingdom | |
|
Black British, also referred to as "English Black" is a term usually used to refer to black people in Britain, who come from a wide variety of African and Caribbean nations. HISTORY There is a history of black people in the islands for hundreds of years, the first possibly being soldiers of the Roman Empire . In late medieval times they generally came from the sea-faring community. One well-known Black Briton in history is Olaudah Equiano (also called Gustavus Vassa). He was a former slave who bought his freedom, moved to England, and settled in Soham, in Cambridgeshire, where he married and wrote an autobiography; dying in 1797. Other notable historic Britons with black roots include the composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor , born in Holborn in 1875, and the aristocrat Dido Elizabeth Bell Lindsay , born in the mid 18th century. Although technically there were ''never'' any slaves in Great Britain, with the Cartwright and Mansfield decisions ruling it impossible, the legal status of those brought to the islands remains opaque, to say the least. There were certainly up to 14,000 black people living in Britain by 1770, many working as servants without pay. However, despite the relatively large amounts of people with black origins in the country, the term Black British did not come into wide use until the second generation were born to post-war immigrants to the country. Although being born in the country made them British, due to the displeasure with which they were generally received by the white majority they were being born into communities that were relatively closed and centred, creating the roots of what would become a distinct Black British culture. INTEGRATION There is much controversy surrounding the politics of integrating Britain's black community. Today, rising gun crime in British cities, (especially Nottingham, London, and Bristol,) is considered by many to be linked to black gangs, particularly with Jamaican links, and it was reported recently that black people in London are four times more likely to be murder victims than white people, with those responsible for the murders and manslaughters also far more likely to be black. However, after several high profile investigations such as that of the death of Stephen Lawrence , the police are often labelled racist, by both those within and without the service, with Cressida Dick , the then head of the Metropolitan Police's anti-racism unit saying in 2003 that it was 'difficult to imagine a situation where we will say we are no longer institutionally racist.' {Link without Title} Conversely, often the black community itself is often held to task for automatically labelling any criticism as racist, thus making it difficult to honestly and directly approach the problems of integration. CULTURE It has taken many years for the Black British culture to develop and to become accepted in the mainstream, although there are still notable differences between Black Britons of different national backgrounds – but that culture has flourished until it has become an accepted and vital part of the culture of modern Britain, shared by those of all backgrounds. ALTERNATIVE USAGE: SIERRA LEONE Black British is also an identity of Black people in Sierra Leone who consider themselves British . Its origins go back to 1787 , when hundreds of London 's Black poor agreed to go to Sierra Leone only if they retained the status of British Subject s, to be defended by the Royal Navy . SEE ALSO
|
|
|