Black Britain: The History of The British Black Panthers.
Many people did not know there was a British branch of the Black panther party. Well there was. Inspired partly by the US Black Panthers, but not related to them. The BPP fought for the rights of Black people and ethnic minorities in the country.
It was founded by a Nigerian playwright Obi Egbuna in 1968, in Notting hill, London and lasted until 1973. Most notably members include, Barbara Beese, Beverly Bryan, Sonit Chopra, Farrukh Dhondy, Darcus Howe, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Neil kenlock, Altheia Jones leiconte(she led the movement after Egbuna, and others were arrested, charged and convicted on bogus charges of threatening police), Olive Morris, Liz Obi, Mala Sen, Vivian sundaram and David Udo. Black and south Asians activists were deeply involved in the group.
The movement comprised first and second generation immigrants from Britain’s former Carribbean, West African, and South Asians colonies. It was the first black panther organization outside of the US. Although they used plenty of the same symbolisms- military jackets, berets and raised fists, They were never officially a chapter of the American Black Panthers. The group began as a small organization after Stokely Carmichaels speaking tour of London in 1967.
Decades after the Windrush migration, The significance increase in Britain’s Black population(according to Blackpast) between 1961- 1964) From 300, 000 to 1 million led to racial tensions and discrimination against the Black community, This was what led to the Nigerian playwright Obi Egbuna to formed the BBP. (Pictured below with Peggy Ashcroft reading one of his plays on BBC. Photo: San Francisco Bay view). Also at a time, when a British politician named Peter Grifiths ran an election campaign with the slogan “if you want a nigger for a neighbor, vote labour” Black people who lived through that era in Britain knew what I’m talking about.
As reported earlier, Egbuna and other leading figures of the movement were later arrested, charged, framed and convicted on bogus charges of threatening police. Egbuna was found guilty, while in prison, Altheia Jones Leiconte, A Trinidad born PHD student at the University of London, (pictured below) became the leader of the BBP by 1970. Under her leadership, The Panthers became a highly effective community organization that also collaborated on white working class issues and fought British imperialism.
The high point of their activism was the defense of the Mangrove 9 restaurant, which was a central meeting place for Notting Hills Carribbean community. The police regularly harrased, and raided the Mangrove without ever finding drugs. The BPP helped organized a demonstration against the police which led to the arrest and charging of 9 black leaders for inciting riots. This was seen by many as an attempt by the British state to disrupt the growing Black Movement in Britain. The Mangrove 9 trial was Britain’s most influential Black power trial. BBP leaders such as Athiea Jones Leiconte and Darcus Howe represented themselves at the trial and demanded an all black jury as jury of their peers. The jury acquitted all 9 and for the first time, a judge publicly acknowledged there was evidence of “ racial hatred” within the London police. The judge was asked to retract that statement. The judge never did.
Other notable achievement of the BBP was organizing a March of 10, 000 people to protest against the Immigration act of 1971, which aimed at reducing Black immigration into Britain. The creation of a Youth league and the freedom Newspaper. The movement split into two factions in 1973 and ended soon after. Today it has many offshoots including British Black women’s group, Squatters right movements, and the race today magazine.
