In 1958 the Institute of Race Relations was established and Claudia Jones, one of Britain’s’ key black leaders, founded and edited the West Indian Gazette. That same year there were race riots in Nottingham and Notting Hill, and Kelso Cochrane, a West Indian carpenter, was murdered in Notting Hill by white youths. In 1959 the launch of a campaign in Britain to boycott South African goods led to the founding of the Anti-Apartheid Movement. An indoor event at St Pancras Town Hall in London was the beginning of Notting Hill Carnival. It took to the streets in the 1960s. In 1958, in the world of theatre, Errol John’s play Moon on a Rainbow Shawl (Royal Court Theatre, London) was the first major British production of the work of a black dramatist. That same year Edric Connor became the first black British actor to play a Shakespearean role when he was cast as Gower in Pericles at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford.
In the post-war years, with settlers coming to Britain from Africa and the Caribbean, liberal-thinking film makers began to explore racial conflict in Britain’s inner cities. In the first of these, Pool of London (1950), Bermuda’s Earl Cameron made his screen debut as a Jamaican sailor on shore leave in London. Earl said: “It was a fabulous part and I appeared all through the picture.” Throughout the 1950s and 1960s Earl gave memorable performances in a number of British films, including Sapphire (1959), Flame in the Streets (1961) and Guns at Batasi (1964). Actress Nadia Cattouse often worked with Earl: “We [black actors in Britain] had the highest regard for him. We all liked and admired him. He worked all the time, and gave each role tremendous dignity and humanity.” Earl’s most recent screen appearances have included The Queen (2007) with Helen Mirren. Says Earl: “My experiences of theatre, television and films have been wonderful. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I don’t look at myself as a great actor. Others can judge that.”
In the post-war years, with settlers coming to Britain from Africa and the Caribbean, liberal-thinking film makers began to explore racial conflict in Britain’s inner cities. In the first of these, Pool of London (1950), Bermuda’s Earl Cameron made his screen debut as a Jamaican sailor on shore leave in London. Earl said: “It was a fabulous part and I appeared all through the picture.” Throughout the 1950s and 1960s Earl gave memorable performances in a number of British films, including Sapphire (1959), Flame in the Streets (1961) and Guns at Batasi (1964). Actress Nadia Cattouse often worked with Earl: “We [black actors in Britain] had the highest regard for him. We all liked and admired him. He worked all the time, and gave each role tremendous dignity and humanity.” Earl’s most recent screen appearances have included The Queen (2007) with Helen Mirren. Says Earl: “My experiences of theatre, television and films have been wonderful. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I don’t look at myself as a great actor. Others can judge that.”
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