2.4.5 The Black Caribbean Community

Those from the Caribbean islands of: Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Windward Islands, Barbados, Trinidad. One of the major significant factors for the history of Caribbean settlement was Britain's active recruitment of labor to help the war effort: 8,000 men were recruited to serve in the RAF, foresters were recruited from British Honduras to work in Scottish forests, workers were recruited to work in the munitions industry. However, the post war movement from the former British West Indies to Britain is most often linked to the arrival of 417 Jamaicans on the 'Empire Windrush' in 1948 or to the arrival of 100 Jamaicans on the 'Ormonde' a year earlier. By the time of the 1951 Census there were about 17,000 persons born in the Caribbean living in Britain, the movement to Britain acted as a 'replacement population' filling gaps left by the upward mobility of the White population. Migration sustained significant parts of the service industries in Britain, including The NHS and the transport system. The language is not an issue as with the Asian community, with English being the main language across all the communities, religion - Christianity, Jehovah's Witnesses, Rastafarians - not a huge dividing force amongst the groups - again unlike the Asian community where religion is a strong divider. The Black Caribbean community is probably seen as the community that in one way is most integrated into the UK - through its acceptance and success in music, sports, entertainment, media and business. Black Caribbean women are seen to be more successful and have higher rates of self-employment that many other ethnic minority groups. These are an emerging new middle class that has a strong community network, strong Christian principles and are committed to improving education, employment and achievement within their community. However, the social and economic issues that exist within the Black Caribbean community have led to a broadening gap between the community and the 'establishment': the Black Caribbean community have higher levels of unemployment as a whole, 54% of Black Caribbean families are lone parent families, where Black Caribbean women have similar employment rates to White women (72%), young Black Caribbean men have very high unemployment rates. [10]

2.4.6 The Black African Community

Black Africans have a long history of residence in the UK, well before the more recent period of large-scale immigration in the 1960s. The history of their migration differs significantly from those immigrants who were recruited directly for employment. Well-established African communities existed in the seaports of Liverpool, London and Cardiff as far back as the 1940s. Since the post-independence period of the 1960s there has been a marked increase in the number of Africans traveling to the UK for higher education and technical training. The wealth and prestige associated with studying abroad has been one of the key drivers for the African community's migration to the UK - they are 'students who stayed'. Back in 1991, Black Africans were the most qualified ethnic minority group in Britain, with over 26% of the population over 18 years of age possessing higher qualifications. Traditionally there were quite clear career aspirations and targets for the Black African communities. The principal fields of qualification were: management studies, nursing, sociology, education, clinical medicine, engineering, accountancy and law. Within this, there are also clear gender differences, with women outnumbering men in nursing and education. With 53 potential countries of origin, and varied social backgrounds, the Black African population is characterized by diversity, both internally and in comparison with other ethnic groups. The current UK population of Black Africans are largely from: Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Somalia. Language is a differentiator amongst the communities, with each country of origin having its own mother tongue. However, the social structures of the communities that migrated to the U.K. and the strong educational influences that have played a part in the migration have meant that English is now the dominant language amongst the communities. The two main religions practiced by the African communities in the UK are Christianity and Islam. Both have very strong links into the communities and are a reflection of the cultural traditions that bind the groups together. [7]

This chapter includes information about the communities of ethnicity. From that it is seen what great impact ethnic minority communities have on the country. The food the British eat, the music they listen to, the clothes they wear and how they relax have all been influenced by the widely diverse range of cultures which make up Britain. The quality and breadth of the arts and popular culture have been enriched through the contribution of individuals from many backgrounds and traditions. British music, cinema and television, theatre and literature all owe a debt to the creative and talented input from the many people who have come to settle here over the years.

Non British born Black, Asian and other minority ethnic individuals and communities are also making their mark on the new face of Britain as a centre of style, fashion and pioneering ideas in culture and the arts. Londoners speak over 300 languages other than English. Widely spoken languages include Punjabi (spoken by 52% of British Asians), Urdu (32%), Hindi (27%), Gujarati (25%), Bengali, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Vietnamese. Many European languages, such as Turkish, Spanish, Portuguese and Greek are also spoken. These languages are thriving through newspapers and other print media, broadcasting, theatre and the arts.

Britain's urban youth culture influences youth across the world. This culture owes much to the ethnic diversity of Britain's young people, which they can draw on and fuse together, resulting in a unique crossover of ethnic and cultural influences. Youth culture is an important influence on the arts and culture, at home and abroad. The clothes on London's streets appear on Paris catwalks; the sounds young people create in dance clubs and warehouse parties end up on the music charts.

The impact of ethnic minorities is also noticeable in the sheer variety of ethnic foods available in Britain today. Ethnic food is now a part of the everyday British diet, whether it's eating at home or eating out. [4]

3. Today's Population in the UK

3.1 Migration Waves

Migration has become a widely spread problem in the whole UK. Millions of people come there to earn money or even to settle there. From the beginning of the 15th century until the 20th the balance of emigration was markedly outward due to colonial expansions. During the 19th century over 20 mln people left Britain for destinations outside Europe, mainly in the Commonwealth and the United states.

But since 1930s the balance of Migration for Britain was inward. Many emigrants began to return. The dismantling of the Empire has been a gradual process accompanied by the great inflow of people to Britain. Right up until 1962 the citizens of the huge area of the former Empire had the automatic right to live and work in Britain. [8 p. 84-85]

Many Irish people came to England in 1845 to escape famine, to find work. Most of the roads, railways and canals built in the 19th century, were made by Irish workers. The greatest wave of immigration was in the 1950s and 1960s. Many companies needed people for unskilled or semi-skilled jobs. Britain advertised and many people came from the Caribbean islands, from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Hong Kong. People came here in search of better life, political or religious freedom. British government and people regarded this as a threat to the health of the nation: it increased unemployment, worsened living conditions. It was in these circumstances that the Government introduced the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 which gave it power to restrict the number of people from the Commonwealth, especially from the Irish Republic. Another Act was passed in 1968 and still another in 1971. The last has sharply reduced the number of people allowed to stay in Britain. [9 p. 72]

Traditionally Britain gave a lot of emigrants to the rest of the world. During the period from 1836 till 1936 about 11 million people left the British Isles. This mass emigration especially in the 19th century was a movement of ruined peasants, and the unemployed. The people hoped to find new opportunities and happiness on new territories. The migrants went mainly to North America (the USA, Canada), Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, to other lands in Asia and Africa. They settled there, spreading the economic, political and cultural influence of Great Britain, as well as the English language, which became the state language of many countries.

Mass emigration from Great Britain stopped during and after World War I, when many countries had to limit immigration. After the 1950s and in the 1960s many people entered Britain especially from the West Indies, Asia and Africa and settled permanently in the country. They made an important contribution to the development of the economy and the public services. British monopolies took great profits from the exploitation of cheap migrant labour. Today there are also groups of Americans, Australians, Chinese and various European communities living in Britain. In the last generation British society has therefore become more multiracial as people from almost all parts of the world have made a permanent home in the country.

Table 3.1. Timeline: Immigration to Britain

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