The Notting Hill Riots of 1958
29 Aug 1958 to 5 Sep 1958
The Notting Hill riots of 1958 were a series of racially-motivated violent protests that erupted in Notting Hill between August 29th and September 5th. During that short time frame, white protestors attacked black homes and businesses, and the black community retaliated against them. To this day, the Notting Hill riots remain a significant event for the history of racism in Britain.
Several factors instigated the riots. Poverty ran rampant throughout Notting Hill, and the white working-class people living there had to compete with an influx of immigrants after the Second World War. Additionally, exploitative practices by the landlords of Notting Hill led to poor living conditions for its residents. Finally, racist groups like Oswald Moseley's Union Movement and the White Defence League spurred on existing racial tensions.
There is no single incident that started the riots. However, many attribute it to the assault of Majbritt Morrison, a white Swedish woman who was married to a Jamaican man. A group of white youths attacked Morrison, throwing milk bottles at her and striking her with iron bars. Later that night, 300 to 400 white people assembled on Bramley Road, attacking black homes and families. The black residents of Notting Hill fought back, resulting in nightly chaos that continued until September 5th.
When the riots concluded, the Metropolitan Police had charged 108 individuals with offenses. Of that number, 72 were white, and 36 were black. Judge Cyril Salmon sentenced nine white youths who had gone out hunting for black men to attack to four years in prison each. Legal circles regard Judge Salmon's verdict as an example of "exemplary sentencing." Tensions ran high between minority communities and the Metropolitan Police after the riots, a legacy of mistrust that persists in some small form to this day. The riots also led to the creation of the Notting Hill Carnival, which continues to this day.
Sources:
Bloom, Clive. Violent London: 2000 Years of Riots, Rebels and Revolts. New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, pp. 351–365, ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/purdue/reader.action?docID=652390#.
“Long History of Race Rioting.” News.bbc.co.uk, 28 May 2001, news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1355718.stm.
Travis, Alan. “After 44 Years Secret Papers Reveal Truth about Five Nights of Violence in Notting Hill.” The Guardian, 24 Aug. 2002, www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/aug/24/artsandhumanities.nottinghillcarnival....