Colonial House, North Shields
After World War Two, the region's Black communities remained part of northeast life.
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One major contributor to this was Charles Udor Minto.
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Minto came to North Shields in 1932. He was a boxer and born in Nigeria. He helped to run Colonial House in North Shields - a community hub for the Black community. It ran social events for the locals. Minto along with the organisation - The International Coloured Mutual Association - would help people who were in dispute with this employers.
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For his work, Minto was awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire) in 1949.
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Unfortunately Colonial House closed its doors in 1950. This did not stop Charles Minto continuing his work.
Conditions
Housing and education conditions in the 1950's were harsh for many people. Britain was in a post empire decline and the effects of World War Two on Britain and its economy were still being felt.
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Within Newcastle's immigrant communities, these conditions were often harsh and, due to racist attitudes, even worse and harder to escape.
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In these tough times, discrimination and racism were present. White workers complained and even went on strike at the thought of non-white workers doing better than them or 'taking' the jobs they thought 'belonged' to white people.
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However, in a study published in 1957 by Newcastle City Council, it makes this point
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'The immigrant tends to take to any job which the English find tedious, hard, and boring; for example, the immigrant takes to shift work on public transport. He does not therefore deprive the host community of their employment opportunity.’
Links to pre-World War Two
This report, by Newcastle Council makes the note that lots of the people of colour it spoke to had links to serving in the Armed Forces during World War Two or had come to the region before the was through the shipping industry.
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The northeast is one of many examples in the country that migration of Black people did not start with Windrush.
Dr King's autograph, given to Mrs Kane. Image courtesy of Peter Kane.
Important Acts
The openness of the 1948 British Nationality Act was closed off with The 1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act. which severely limited immigration from Britain's colonies in African and the Caribbean.
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Due to growing tensions and attacks on communities of colour in 1964, The Race Relations Act was passed. It banned racial discrimination and incitement of racial hatred. Despite this a growth of racism, in all its forms was growing in Britain.
MP - Chi Onwurah
We could give you thousands of people from our region from the Black communities from all over our region who represent our region and represent their heritage. Here we will look at a person you may well know. Check our the Over to You section to get you investigating more great people!
Chi Onwurah was born in Wallsend. Her father was a medical student from Nigeria when he came to the northeast. Chi lived for a short time in Nigeria, but came back home when war broke out.
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She went to Kenton school and later became an engineer.
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Chi Onwurah became a Member of Parliament for Newcastle Central in 2010
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