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From Slavery to Civil Rights: Black Rights Within the UK and US from 1807-2007

In 2007, the United Kingdom will commemorate the 200-year anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade' the beginning of the struggle for equality for both British and American blacks. White abolitionists were important campaigners in the abolitionist movement, especially within Parliament. William Wilberforce helped lead the campaign for slavery abolition by tabling anti-slavery motions for 18 years until the 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Bill. Africans and Black Britons also played significant roles in the abolitionist movement, including Olaudah Equiano and Ignatius Sancho. Equiano's autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (ISBN: 0142437166), provided a detailed and revealing account of the slave trade, and he later became a key member of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade and the principal spokesman of Britain's black community. Sancho became the first African writer published in Britain and the first African to vote in a British election. Following closely behind the UK, the United States passed legislation to ban slave trade in 1808.

Although the slave trade was officially illegal in both countries, it continued to flourish, which prompted more action from anti-slavery organisations. In 1833, the UK passed the Abolition of Slavery Act, which eventually granted freedom to all slaves in the British Empire. The US officially abolished slavery in 1865 after passing the Thirteenth Amendment. However, despite the official abolishment of slavery in both countries, blacks continued to face severe discrimination and inequality.

In the United States, race relations significantly deteriorated throughout the late19th and early 20th centuries. Blacks lost many of the civil rights that were gained during Reconstruction after the American Civil War. Racial segregation, voter suppression, and anti-black violence continued to pervade the country, especially the South, despite lobbying and litigation from traditional organizations like the NAACP. In the 1920s, Marcus Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and championed the "Back to Africa" movement, which gained support within the US and the UK. His work with the UNIA, which focused on black nationalism and demanded radial reforms, led to several international conferences and served as inspiration for later civil rights leaders, but did not lead to any sweeping reforms in either the US or UK.

In the US, blacks became more frustrated with the government's slow response to desegregation and race equality, and the Civil Rights Movement began in the 1950s. The Civil Rights Movement was characterised by direct action through non-violent resistance, and included boycotts, protests, and marches. In 1955, Rosa Parks, dubbed the 'Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement,' refused to sit at the back of the bus. Her protest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and launched Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the head of the civil rights movement. Black leaders like Dr. King and Malcolm X served as figureheads for the Civil Rights Movement, both in the US and the UK. After 10 years of work towards desegregation and racial equality by civil rights activists, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. All banned discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex, or national origin.

In the UK, immigration from the West Indies increased significantly during the 1950s, and the discrimination that black immigrants faced led to rising tensions among blacks and whites. Brutal race riots broke out in Notting Hill in 1958 between local West Indian and white residents, and in response, Claudia Jones put on the first Notting Hill Carnival to celebrate West Indian culture in spite of the racism and indifference in British culture. In 1959, the murder of Kelso Cochrane, an Antiguan immigrant stabbed to death by six white teenagers, sparked further work with civil rights after his death was dismissed by the government.

The UK government implemented immigration controls to limit the number of West Indians entering the country. Civil rights protests began in 1963 to bring attention to racial discrimination. Paul Stephenson followed the example of US civil rights groups and organised boycotts and pickets against the Bristol Omnibus Company, who refused to employ blacks as driver or conductors. The UK government faced continued pressure to adopt an anti-discrimination policy, and in 1965 passed the first Race Relations Act, which 'defined racial discrimination as treating one person less favourably than another on the grounds of colour, race, or ethnic or national origins' (Commission for Racial Equality). Two more Race Relations Acts were passed in 1976 and 2000 to provide broader equality, including housing and employment protection and promotion of racial equality. Despite these acts, race riots continued, specifically in Brixton in 1981.

In 2004, the UK government outlined plans for the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, which would replace the existing race, disability, and sex equity commissions, thereby modernising existing laws dealing with discrimination and equality.

By: Danielle Kasprzak, Student Intern, University of Minnesota, March 2006

Celebrate Black History Month in October!
Black History Is Everybody's History!

Black History Month recognizes the achievements and contributions of African and Caribbean people in the United Kingdom. Founded by Akyaaba Addai Sebbo in 1987, Black History Month is currently celebrated in schools, community forums, and public libraries throughout the UK.

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From Slavery to Civil Rights: Black Rights Within the UK and US from 1807-2007

Celebrate Black History Month in October!Black History Is Everybody's History!

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Celebrate Black History Month in October!
Black History Is Everybody's History!