Sources A, C and D give useful examples of the discrimination Black immigrants were subjected to in trying to find accommodation in Britain. All the sources support each other and suggest that Black people faced many difficulties in finding rooms and few were let to coloured citizens. Source D is particularly useful as it gives an insight into the governments attitude towards this discrimination.
Source A is not very constructive evidence, although it is a quote from a Black immigrant trying to find accommodation, the motive for this comment is unclear. It is unlikely that the author of the book ‘Windrush,’ got this quote directly from Lloyd Miller so it would be necessary to find out where this quote originated from before it could be described as useful evidence to a historian. The source shows just one perspective and can only be related to the area around Southampton where the ship ‘Windrush’ came into port which is likely to be where the immigrant had based his opinion on, the situation may have been different in other parts of the country.
As in Source A, Source C suggests that it was very difficult to find accommodation in Britain. The source gives examples of the types of signs landlords would display. Like Source A, it is not very reliable, the picture does not actually show these signs on display they are only given as examples at the side of the photograph. There is also no information given about who took the photo or for what reason, which would be necessary for a historian to be aware of. The photograph is not very useful in the fact that it does not actually show difficulties faced by the Black men featured in the source merely that they are seeking accommodation.
Despite these points the photo is of some use, it can be used to show the extent of discrimination. Both men are very well dressed suggesting money is not particularly an issue; this confirms that Black immigrants faced major difficulties in finding a room. The picture suggests that even the minority of Black immigrants with a fair amount of money had difficulties finding a room meaning most Black people would find it nearly impossible.
Source D would be the most useful piece of evidence out of the three, to demonstrate the difficulties Black immigrants faced in finding lodging in the 1950s. Although the Government did not officially consent to discrimination against Black immigrants, nothing was done to prevent it. Source D is an extract of a modern history textbook and refers to the lack of any laws to restrict prejudice in accommodation. This, a reliable source, is very useful to a historian investigating into the difficulties faced because it shows that landlords were not discouraged in anyway from this clear discrimination so there was no one that Black people could complain to about this prejudice. The source can be deemed reliable because a modern historian would have little reason to be bias and would be unlikely to use specific evidence to support a particular point of view.
Source D also refers to the exploitation Black immigrants could be subject to. The infamous ‘Peter Rachman,’ would not have been able to charge such ‘exorbitant’ rates if there had not been a shortage of rooms available to black people. Source C shows a large amount of advertisements; many of these were probably advertising rooms to let. Source C is evidence that there were not too few rooms but that most would not accept coloured people otherwise Peter Rachman would not have been able to exploit Black immigrants so effectively. Therefore these two sources together would be very useful to a historian investigating the difficulties faced by Black Immigrants at this particular time.
3. ‘In the period 1949-1959 Black immigrants faced only discrimination and prejudice from whites’. Agree or disagree?
It is not fair to say that all white people in Britain discriminated against Black immigrants in this time. It is true that many white people did and that Black people faced a lot of discrimination and prejudice, particularly in seeking accommodation and employment. However a minority of white people did not feel black people were inferior in any way.
At the time the general attitude towards Black immigrants was one of contempt. Many people of the time felt immigrants should not have been allowed into the country. The prejudice was not just down to racism, but also to do with a fear that immigrants would be cheap labour and that British people would lose their jobs or their wages would decrease because of this.
Most of the sources do support the statement; they indicate that all white people held the same views and disrespect for Black people. Although these sources support the statement none of them specify that white people only discriminated against Black immigrants, never showing any acts of kindness.
The remaining sources, E, F and G however, all act as evidence directly against the statement. Source E shows just one person’s opinion but this is still valuable evidence as it shows that even just one white person did not show prejudice, and this one person proves that not all white people ‘only’ discriminated against black immigrants. The source is similar to Source A and shows the same lack of information about it’s origin making it is fairly unreliable, but it is still useful evidence along side sources F and G.
Source F supports Source E which helps reinforce its reliability. Both sources refer to ‘acts of kindness by individual white people’, and prove the statement wrong. Source F is an extract from another modern textbook like Source D. So it can be assumed was written without bias.
Source G is a cartoon that featured in the Evening Standard, it is the strongest piece of evidence to prove the statement incorrect. The cartoon depicts white people as hypocritical, featuring three men hanging around in Notting Hill after dark, with knives and cigarettes. At the time it was drawn Notting Hill had a reputation for crime, violence and prostitution. The cartoon is explained with a simple, sarcastic excerpt, ‘They just ain’t civilised-like we are..!’. The citation implies that white people are hypocritical and have a false sense of superiority. This suggests that the illustrator of the cartoon held no prejudice against Black immigrants and therefore proves incorrect the statement.
As the cartoon is featured in the Evening Standard Newspaper it seems likely that the white people responsible for the publication of the newspaper were not prejudice towards Black immigrants either. It is true to say that since the arrival of the ‘Windrush’, the Evening Standard newspaper had not held prejudice against Black immigrants because on the day of the ship’s arrival the Headline of the paper was ‘Welcome Home’. Thus showing that the people responsible for the Evening Standard did not show discrimination against Black immigrants and rather welcomed them as British citizens referring to Britain as their ‘home’. It is therefore not true to say that coloured immigrants were faced with only discrimination and prejudice by white people.
