Black History Month – Honouring the Heroines Of The UK’s Civil Rights Movement
The theme for Black History Month 2023 is ‘Celebrating our Sisters,’ honouring the contributions of black women across the world in tackling racism, sexism and inequality.
To mark Black History Month, we’re shining the spotlight on some incredible women who have had a huge impact on the UK civil rights movement.
The UK’s Civil Rights Movement
In the 1950s and 1960s, Britain experienced a civil rights movement that was as impactful as the movement in the United States. Whereas many of us are familiar with the events that played out across the pond, our own civil rights struggles are often excluded from the national conversation.
The contributions of women to the UK civil rights movement cannot be underestimated. We want to take this opportunity to celebrate these incredible women and all they have achieved.
Amrit Wilson
Amrit used her position as a writer and journalist to challenge issues around race and gender in Britain and South Asian politics.
Her book Finding a Voice: Asian Women in Britain allowed UK-based Asian women to share their experiences and uncover the challenges they face related to racism and sexism.
Amrit was also a founder member of Awaz, the UK’s first Asian feminist collective.
Altheia Jones-LeCointe
Altheia is best known for leading the British Black Panther Movement after coming to the UK from Trinidad to study for a PhD in biochemistry.
She was committed to ensuring that the rights of black women and girls was at the heart of the movement. In 1970, Altheia was one of the nine protestors arrested and tried on charges that included conspiracy to incite a riot, after protesting repeated police raids of The Mangrove restaurant in Notting Hill.
Jocelyn Barrow
Jocelyn lobbied for race relations legislation in the UK between 1964 and 1967. She was a founding member of the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination, whose activities led to the creation of the Race Relations Act of 1968. She later became the group’s vice-chair.
Jocelyn was the first black woman to be appointed as a governor of the BBC. She was awarded an OBE in 1972 and went on to become the first black woman to receive a DBE.
Olive Morris
Olive passed away from cancer at just 27 years old, but during her life she made a huge contribution towards racial and gender equality, squatters’ rights and housing in the UK civil rights movement.
As well as being a key figure in the British Black Panther Movement, Jamaican-born Olive co-founded the Brixton Black Women’s Group and the Organisation of Women of Asian and African Descent in the 1970s.
Mavis Best
In the 1970s, Mavis’ activism was instrumental in the abolishment of the UK’s Sus law – based on the 1824 Vagrancy Act. The law was often manipulated by police officers to stop, search, arrest, detain and assault young black people.
Black Lives Matter And The UK Civil Rights Movement
In recent times, the UK’s civil rights movement has been inspired by Black Lives Matter, a movement founded in the United States by three amazing black women – Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi.
Following several tragic deaths of black people at the hands of law enforcement, Black Lives Matter was born to challenge the racism, discrimination and inequality experienced by black people in the United States. ⁸
There may not be an official Black Lives Matter organisation in the UK, but smaller groups and individuals across the country have taken up the cause and use Black Lives Matter as a mechanism for confronting racial injustice here in the UK.
The Future
Black History Month 2023 reminds us that the UK civil rights movement is alive and well. Inspirational black women both here and abroad have inspired individuals and organisations to campaign for change and act towards building a more equitable society.
Promoting change can be hard and is often met with resistance and pushback. But if we come together with like-minded people who share our values and ambitions, we can give our cause the momentum it needs to gather strength to make change happen.
