Black women activists in British history | Women’s History Month 2022

As we approach the end of #WomensHistoryMonth, we’ve put together a 'Black Women Activists in British History' series, a collection of the powerful experiences of Black women who campaigned for Civil Rights in Britain, and forged safe spaces for women's advancement.

Did you learn about any of these women in school? Teachers, how will you choose to embed their inspiring stories in your schemes of work?

Read on for more.

ALICE

KINLOCH

The African Association, 1897

Alice Kinloch was born in 1852 in South Africa, and spent many years fighting against oppression faced by Black people in southern Africa. She arrived in Britain in 1895, and co-founded the African Association in 1897, which later hosted the first Pan-African Conference in 1900. Alice was instrumental in rallying support for the fight against colonialism in Britain, and was one of the most influential Black woman active in British anti-imperialist politics at the time. The African Association she co-founded became a vessel for a global movement that moulded the liberation movements of the 20th century, and that continue to empower people of African descent today.

STELLA THOMAS

The League of Coloured Peoples, 1931

Stella Thomas was born in 1906 in Nigeria. She moved to the UK to study law at Oxford University, where she was active with the West African Students Union. Stella was one of the founding members of the League of Coloured Peoples (LPC) in 1931. Despite the LPC being an organisation most commonly associated with Dr Harold Moody, many women like Stella were key in it's formation. In 1933, Stella was called to the bar, becoming the first Black African woman called to the bar in Britain. In 1934, she was the only African woman to participate in a discussion at the Royal Society of Arts, where she criticized African colonialism.

AMY ASHWOOD GARVEY

The Afro Woman's Centre, 1965

Amy Ashwood Garvey was born in 1897 in Jamaica. She met her husband Marcus Garvey in 1914, with whom she co-founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). After divorcing from her husband, she moved to London in 1924, and went on to co-found the Nigerian Progress Union, which became one of the first African-led nationalist organisations to call for self-government. In 1965, Amy founded the Afro Woman's Centre, which was one of the earliest Black women’s organisation in the UK. Amy's work served to empower women through social, cultural and political advancement.

JOCELYN BARROW

Campaign against Racial Discrimination, 1964

Dame Jocelyn Barrow was born in Trinidad, and arrived in the UK in 1959 to pursue an English degree at London University. She later went on to teach in schools across London in the 1960s and 70s. Dame Jocelyn was a founding member of the Campaign against Racial Discrimination (CARD) in 1964, and helped pave the way for for the Race Relations Act of 1965 and 1968, which made racial discrimination within public services such as housing and employment, illegal in Britain. An educator and activist, Dame Jocelyn's work contributed to reforming of Britain's Civil Rights during the 1960s.

ALTHEIA

JONES-LECOINTE

The British Black Panther Party, 1968

Altheia Jones-Lecointe was born in 1945 in Trinidad. She came to Britain in 1965, where she studied chemistry at University College London.

Altheia went on to become an influential leader of the British Black Panther Movement of the 1960s. In 1970, she was one of nine protestors, known as the Mangrove Nine, who were arrested and tried following a protest against racial harassment and police raids of The Mangrove restaurant in Notting Hill, London.

The trial became the first judicial acknowledgement of behaviour motivated by racial hatred, rather than legitimate crime control, within the Metropolitan Police.

GERLIN

BEAN

The Black Women’s Action Committee, 1970's

Gerlin Bean was born in Jamaica, and moved to London in 1960. Gerlin was one of the earliest members of The Black Unity and Freedom Party (BUFP), founded in 1970. The BUFP was one of the first organisations of its kind to argue that the role of women in the movement was equal to that of men. In 1970, she was one of only 2 Black women at the National Women’s Liberation Conference at Oxford University. During this conference, she noticed the glaring differences between the issues facing Black and white women. Soon after, Gerlin launched the Black Women’s Action Committee, and opened the Black Women’s Centre in Brixton, which served as both a supportive and safe space for women.

KATH

LOCKE

Abasindi Co-op, 1980's

Kath Locke was born in Manchester in 1928. An active member of Moss Side community politics, she campaigned for teaching Black history, and persuaded Manchester City Council to commemorate the 1945 Pan-African Congress with a red plaque on the wall of Chorlton Town Hall. She also campaigned against the poll tax and educational materials which stereotyped and disenfranchised Black people.

In 1980 Kath Locke and Elouise Edwards launched the Abasindi Co-operative, a self-help women's organisation for Black women in Manchester. Within a few years, Abasindi was leading a variety of community projects out of the Moss Side People’s Centre, ranging from health support, youth engagement and supplementary education.

MAVIS BEST

The Scrap Sus Campaign, 1981

Mavis Best played a significant role in scrapping the infamous Sus laws of the 1970s & 80s. The Sus Law (Section 4 of the 1824 Vagrancy Act) was maipulated by police to racially profile, stop, search, arrest, detain and assault young black men and women.

Mavis spent many years working with other Black women in London to rescue children who had been detained by police from police stations. Following several demonstrations and years of lobbying with their 'Scrap Sus' Campaign, Mavis and her fellow activists were successful in getting the law scrapped in 1981. Mavis' leadership during the campaign played a major part in Britain's history of Civil Rights.