The Notting Hill Race Riots 1958 - source related questions and answers

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

Multi-cultural Britain Coursework Part Two

The Notting Hill Race Riots 1958

Question 1-

Source A is a piece from an article which appeared in Searchlight Magazine in 1999. The author is trying to convey that the Notting Hill race riots were a turning point in race relations in Britain.

This source was written by Gary Macfarlane who is most likely anti-Nazi as he wrote this article for an anti-Nazi magazine, this fact establishes that he is for race relations and immigration but might exaggerate how bad his right wing oppositions are. Another fact about this source is that it was written in 1999, over 40 years after the riots so he might have hindsight or evidence that would make this source more accurate. It is written in a powerful tone as it links the race riots to Hitler, one of the most racist men in history. In my opinion, the author wrote this article because he wanted people to know that it was not the whole of the British population that was racist but only some white and Nazi minorities and that black people, mostly youths, were starting to fight back to these minorities after years of torment.

I know that in most of the late 1950’s race relations in Britain were astonishingly poor. The British white population just could not accept foreigners coming and taking their jobs, houses and even women. For example, in 1958 a journalist interviewed a group of young white men, the conclusion from these men was that West Indians are liars and can’t be trusted. Another example is Sam King, ex-mayor of Lambeth, who came over on the ‘Windrush’ said that ‘There is racism’ but the fact that he was a mayor of a British county, with mostly white people, questions this. So there were white people who tried to prevent racism like the woman on the bus in Source A. For example, there was an Anti-National front demonstration in Manchester, the photo of this showed mostly white people taking part. Also there were many speeches from important people that supported immigration e.g. the Archbishop of Canterbury, who represents the Christian community said that immigrants regenerate Britain.

After looking at my own historical knowledge and Source A I think that Source A is quite an accurate interpretation of race relations in Britain in the late 1950’s because it describes how after the Notting Hill Race Riots in 1958 attitudes of most white people towards black people changed which I know is true but it is not accurate in the respect that it does not show how race relations were before the Notting Hill Race Riots occurred.

Question 2-

Source B is from an article which appeared in the Daily Mirror newspaper stating that ignorance ...

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Question 2-

Source B is from an article which appeared in the Daily Mirror newspaper stating that ignorance was the cause of the riots. This source was written in September 1958 and it is written in a very powerful way. We do not know who it was written by but the author probably wrote it to give his opinion and give a different reason for why the riots occurred rather than racism. This source is useful for showing that ignorance was the source of the riots but I know there were other causes such as racism, which questions its reliability.

Source C states that the trouble at Notting Hill was not caused by pure prejudices of race and colour but by competition breeding discontent. This source was written in 1958 by the Home Secretary at the time, R A Butler and it is written in a factual way. I assume it was written to say that British people are not racist, they are just competitive as he is a member of parliament, he wants to try and prevent Britain losing face. This source is useful for showing that competition was the main reason fro the riots but again we know there were other reasons which questions its reliability.

Source D is a British Historians interpretation of the race riots. This source was written by a British historian who may well have hindsight as he writes about the after shocks of the riots but we do not know the date it was written. It is written in a very factual way as I think its purpose was to show that after the race riots racism decreased and this shocked some people e.g. Oswald Mosley. This source is useful for showing that after the race riots support for racism and racist people was fewer.

Source E is a photograph of a black person seeking accommodation. It was taken in 1957 but we do not know who by. It was most likely taken to show how hard it was for a black person to find suitable accommodation because of the racism. This source is useful for showing how racist landlords were but the people in the photograph could just be actors pretending to be looking at the signs which could just be put there deliberately, which questions its reliability.

Source F is an extract from a book published by Tim Hebling who is a professor of History at Indiana State University (USA). We do not know when it was written but it was probably written to show that the racist conflicts in America was not the only racism going on in the world. This source is useful for showing that Britain was not the only country struggling to cope with black people entering their community.

Source G is an account of the riots by a Jamaican woman. It is written by Corrine Mark in an emotional way. I think she wrote this to put forward her view as a black woman living in the 1950’s and also to defend the ‘Black boys’. This source is useful for showing how dangerous it was for a black person living in London in the 1950’s.

Source H is a comment made in the 1990’s from Michael la Rose who was an immigrant and is now a Notting Hill Carnival Band Director. This source is written in quite a powerful way and I think it was written to put forward the fact that black people were not wanted in Britain, just needed. It is useful for showing that black people had to struggle with hostile racism.

Using my own knowledge I agree with source D because I know that after the Notting Hill Race Riots British peoples’ attitude changed towards racist people and they began to stick up for black people. My OHK also agrees with source E as I know that it was not easy for black people to find accommodation in the 1950’s as landlords did not want coloured people renting their homes. However, using my OHK I do not agree with source H because even though there was a lot of racism at the time not everyone contributed in making the black peoples lives a misery and he does not mention these people or that only a small minority were racist.

In conclusion I think that study sources B-H are quite useful for explaining why the Notting Hill race riots happened especially sources B, C and G. Source B is useful as it gives a possible reason for the riots-ignorance. Source C is useful also because it suggests another possible reason for the riots-competition. Source G is also useful as it describes the rivalry between the ‘Teddy boys’ and the ‘Black boys’ which is another possible cause for the riots. Finally, in my opinion the Notting Hill Race Riots were not caused by pure racism but by bitter rivalry between the black youths and white communities because only a minority of Britons were racist.

Bibliography:

History sheets

‘Immigration in the 1900’s’ - Peter Congall