Have migrants been welcomed in Britain since 1900?

DNA:

1. Take a guess - What is Malcolm X, famous US Civil Rights leader, doing in Smethwick (Birmingham) in 1965?
2. What does it mean to feel welcome in a new country? Give some examples.

Our big question: ‘What experiences have migrants had in Britain?’

This blue plaque was put up in 2012 in Birmingham.

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What does it suggest about the experiences of people of colour and migrants in Britain since 1900?

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When we think of segregation, we tend to think of America. Perhaps there’s a hidden story here.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFeGEi74Z5E

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TASK: As we go through each key moment, you have two jobs

1. Fill out the worksheet with the key information.
2. Fill out the graph to show how welcome you think migrants would have felt at the time.

Have migrants been welcomed in Britain since 1900?

1900

2020

1960

1930

1990

1910

1920

1940

1950

1970

1980

2000

2010

Very welcome

Very unwelcome

The Aliens Act - 1905

What was it?

• This Act introduced controls on immigration to Britain for the first time. The government said it was to stop “undesirable aliens” such as lunatics, criminals, or paupers coming to Britain
• In reality, it was mostly targeted at Jewish refugees who had began arriving in the 1880s due to pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe.

How were the Jews being treated?

• In the 1900s people turned against the Jews living in Britain due to racism and a lack of jobs. Newspapers wrote racist articles, and in Wales Jews were physically attacked.
• A group called ‘The British Brothers League’ were created. They said that Britain should not become "the dumping ground for the scum of Europe“. They were supported by some politicians who created the Aliens Act to try to get rid of the poorer Jews.

Britannia: "I can no longer offer shelter to fugitives. England is no longer a free country (1906)

1. In the box, summarise in 2-3 sentences, what the Aliens Act was and what was happening to migrants at the time.
2. Then, fill in your living graph.

EXT: Can you see any similarities or differences between the situation then and now?

World War 2

• During World War 2 many people from the British Empire helped Britain out.
• People in Britain from all over the world who wore a military uniform—signalling that they were fighting with or alongside the British—were generally welcomed

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One example is the Irish, who provided nurses and soldiers. Mary Morris was an Irish nurse working in England. After the war, she and her husband settled in Britain.

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In her diary, she wrote that during the war, 'We mingled with the multi-national crowd in the West End for a couple of hours. There are many Polish and Czech soldiers here at present’. She also wrote about 'a marvellous feeling of international camaraderie in London' and 'great friendliness'.

TASK:

1. On your sheet, summarise in 2-3 sentences, what it was like to be a migrant in Britain during World War Two.
2. Then, fill in your graph.

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The British Nationality Act - 1948

• When the British began building their Empire, they decided that everyone born in the Empire would be regarded a British citizen.
• Britain began losing her Empire after 1945. They then formed the ‘Commonwealth’. This was a group of countries that used to be part of the British Empire.
• This act meant that all those in the Commonwealth would continue to be subjects and could live and work freely in Britain.
• However, later this was slowly taken away when people felt uncomfortable with the number of immigrants coming to Britain.

Commonwealth of Nations logo

TASKS:

1. On your worksheet, summarise in 2-3 sentences, what the British Nationality Act was, and how migrants may have felt at the time.
2. Then, fill in your living graph.

The Bristol Bus Boycott - 1963

• In 1955, a passenger group for a bus company in Bristol passed a resolution that “coloured” workers should not be employed as bus crews, even though they could work in lower paid positions in the canteens.
• Inspired by the refusal of Rosa Parks to give up her seat on a bus in Alabama and the Montgomery Bus Boycott in the United States in 1955, a group of activists decided on a bus boycott in Bristol. Paul Stephenson was their spokesperson.
• It took several months but on 27th August the colour bar was finally ended.
• It was on the same day that Martin Luther King made his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington.
• The boycott was influential in passing anti-racist laws in 1965.

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On 17 September, Raghbir Singh, a Sikh, became Bristol’s first non-white bus conductor. A few days later two Jamaican and two Pakistani men joined him.

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1. Summarise in 2-3 sentences what happened during the boycott and how you think migrants would have felt at the time.

2. Fill in the living graph.

Smethwick’s racist election - 1964

• This was the backdrop to Malcolm X’s visit to Smethwick - In 1964, a delegation of white residents successfully petitioned the Conservative council to buy vacant houses to prevent non-whites from buying the houses. This, however, was prevented by Labour housing minister Richard Crossman, who refused to allow the council to borrow the money in order to enact their policy.
• A Conservative MP, Peter Griffiths MP campaigned and won using a racist slogan.
• Following the election result, a British branch of the Ku Klux Klan was formed, and Black and ethnic minority residents in the area had burning crosses put through their letterboxes.
• The Labour Party regained the seat at the 1966 general election.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXczxJ0NwdI

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TASKS:

Using the video and the information, complete your sheet and the living graph.

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The Race Relations Act 1968

• The Race Relations Act 1968 was the second of three laws related to race in Britain. This law made it made it illegal for someone to be refused housing, a job or access to services (like a mortgage) because of their ethnic background.

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• The law came in because there was a lot of anger and discrimination shown towards black and Asian immigrants who had come to Britain to work after World War Two, in particular.

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TASKS:

1. Have a go at doing the quiz on the link below, as a class:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/46310188

1. Now fill the sheet with a summary, and complete the living graph.

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Rivers of Blood - 1968

• Speech by Enoch Powell, a politician, calling for an end to immigration.
• The speech made Powell one of the most talked about and divisive politicians in the country
• It led to his dismissal from the Shadow Cabinet by Conservative Party leader Edward Heath.
• However, according to most accounts, Powell’s view on immigration was so popular that it may have been one of the main reasons the Conservative Party was able to unexpectedly win the 1970 election.

TASKS: Using the clip and the information, fill out your sheet and the living graph.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/clips/zp48sg8

TASK: Now, add to your living graph what we have learnt over the last few lessons:

• EU migration - Kasia & Gosia in the early 2000s
• Windrush generation (1948)
• Windrush scandal (2010s)
• Vince Reid (1950s)
• Jayaben Desai (1967)
• Sophia Duleep Singh (1910s)
• Jannett V Creese (1959)

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You need to do at least 3.

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Have migrants been welcomed in Britain since 1900?

You must use at least one of these words:

• Somewhat
• Mostly
• Varying degrees
• Entirely
• To a large extent
• To a lesser extent

Overall, migrants in Britain since 1900 ……………..….…..

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For example ………………..……………………………………...…..

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Similarly…………………………………………………………………….

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On the other hand, ………………………...…………….……......

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EXT: Can you identify any key turning points where the situation changed for migrants?