Over-policed and under-protected: the Black community and legal activism in London, 1965-1975

Following a call for workers from the Caribbean to come to Britain to rebuild the metropolis after the Second World War, the Black community in London grew considerably. Despite being British subjects through birth in a British colony, Black Britons experienced racism, violence, and harsh policing. By the mid-1960s, inspired by Malcolm X and the Black Power movement, activists established legal services to promote the civil rights of Black people and to address the limitations of state services – a “welfare state from below”. Crowd-funding techniques were used to organise 24-hour telephone lines to connect people with legal support and advice on arrest. This voluntary work influenced later campaigning to reform police practice from the 1970s: issues which remain live in the 21st century.