No Longer Forgotten: The British Black Panthers Story

Disclaimer: This article is written for educational purposes about British black Panthers and may include the opinions of the writer. It is accurate to the best of my knowledge but there may be omissions in this blog post. I reserve the right to change how I run and manage my blog and may change focus at any time.

A Brief Historical Background

Before the Windrush generation arrived in June 1948, black communities were dealing with racial discrimination and racism(even though we are still dealing with racism) from members of the white society.

In 1919, there were many attacks against black people that took place in London, Manchester, Hull and South Shields.

Before the racial discrimination law was passed in 1965, there was a legal yet racist practice called the colour bar which made it extremely difficult for black people to seek and apply for jobs and accommodation.

Who were the British Black Panthers?

A Nigerian playwright called Obi Egbuna created the British black Panthers in Notting Hill, West London in 1968. Influenced by the activists of the Black Panther Party in the USA, they adopted military jackets and black power fists without using any weapons.

The aim was to address police brutality and included the idea of political blackness. The British black panthers adopted the concept of political blackness because all non-white people are affected by racism, and they decided that it would be more suitable to refer to everyone as black in the organisation.

Another key difference is that there were Asian activists involved with the British black Panthers from the beginning such as writers and activists Farrukh Dhondy and Mala Sen. Unfortunately, the presence of the founder was cut short when he was arrested for allegedly threatening the police.

Who were the members of the organisation?

The organisation grew to 3,000 people but the main activists in the organisation were Altheia Jones-LeCointe, a Trinidadian PhD student who was considered the leader of the organisation, and Eddie LeCointe, an activist and later Altheia Jones’ husband.

And the late Olive Morris, an influential community activist and leader who joined the organisation when she was younger and defended squatter’s rights.

Other renowned members included Liz Obi, an activist and feminist who was a close friend of Olive Morris. Beverley Bryan, a retired lecturer, activist and writer who used to teach children at the Saturday schools and Darcus Howe, the late Trinidadian writer and activist who was involved in the Black Power movement abroad and in the UK.

Barbara Beese, an activist who was involved in the protest and in the Mangrove Nine Trial and Neil Kenlock, a photographer who captured the important events.

What was the Mangrove Nine trial?

The Mangrove Nine was a restaurant that was established by Frank Crichlow in 1968 in Notting Hill, a Caribbean restaurant that became a haven for the black community. The restaurant attracted famous people such as the late Jimi Hendrix, Nina Simone, and Diana Ross.

However, the restaurant was known to receive harassment from the police because they thought that a successful black-owned business must have been funded by criminal activities.

Mr Crichlow sought help from the British black Panthers and on the 9th August 1970, they led a protest with 150 people which turned violent and resulted in a trial. The trial lasted for 55 days and was successful because it exposed the racism in the police force.

It was nine activists that were arrested including Altheia Jones-LeCointe, Darcus Howe, Frank Critchlow, Godfrey Millet, Rothwell Kentish, Rhodan Gordon, Barbara Beese, Rupert Boyce and Anthony Innis.

What did the British black panthers achieve?

They achieved many things such as creating supplementary schools also known as Saturday Schools and creating their newspaper called Freedom News. These schools were instrumental in making sure that black children were taught their history and instilled a sense of black pride and self-confidence.

They had branches throughout England that were located in cities such as Manchester, Bristol and Nottingham. They established the Black Power Youth League which Olive Morris and Linton Kwesi Johnson were members of when they joined the organisation.

Why did the organisation end?

The British black Panthers split in 1973 and the members decided to embark on other projects. Each activist contributed their skills and experience which made the British black Panthers successful and necessary in the black community.

According to an article by Refinery29, Altheia Jones-LeCointe mentioned that she made sure that women had their voices heard in the organisation that there were discussions based on gender roles and that there was a need for a group dedicated to black women.

The split of the organisation included sexism which the women experienced and led Olive Morris, Liz Obi and Beverly Bryan to start the Brixton Black Women’s group.

Focus on Black Male Leadership

One thing that needs to be discussed more openly is the focus on black men during the civil rights and black power movements. This is an important conversation to have because we know that black women have contributed a lot to these movements and they are not always recognised.

Black women have contributed to different black power movements and have been involved in progressing the black community and there isn’t enough recognition to acknowledge the black women activists and educators. 

On the other hand, when we do learn about the black power movement in the USA, the recognition isn’t given to black women compared to black men.

The issue with Political blackness

It’s problematic to refer to everyone as black when they were not born as a black person. Yes, Asian people also suffer from racism, however the idea of referring to them as black isn’t helpful. It’s like giving away your race to people who are not black and psychologically it doesn’t make any sense.

Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoy reading about the British black panthers as much as I enjoyed researching them. It’s a shame that you don’t hear about them during school or in college.

Don’t forget to share this post and comment below about your thoughts regarding the British Black Panthers, political blackness, the focus on the men and not enough focus on black women in these black power movements and sexism.

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