British African-Caribbean people

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

British Afro-Caribbean people
Antiguan British

British Afro-Caribbean people are a

ethnic group.[1] They are British people whose recent ancestors originate from the Caribbean, and further trace their ancestry back to Africa or they are nationals of the Caribbean who reside in the UK. There are some self-identified Afro-Caribbean people who are multi-racial. The most common and traditional use of the term African-Caribbean community is in reference to groups of residents continuing aspects of Caribbean
culture, customs and traditions in the UK.

The earliest generations of

Asian ethnic groups.[8] According to the National Library of Medicine, the average African Caribbean person has on average 20% European Admixture.[9][10]

Arriving in small numbers to reside in port cities in England and Wales since the mid-18th century, the most significant wave of migration came after

right of abode or indefinite leave to remain by the Immigration Act 1971, a series of governmental policies had caused some to be erroneously labelled as unlawfully residing in the UK in the 2000s and 2010s, which subsequently became known as the Windrush scandal.[11] The population has a diverse background, with origins in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, Dominica, Montserrat, British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cayman Islands
, Anguilla, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Guyana, and Belize.

In the 21st century, Afro-Caribbean communities are present throughout the United Kingdom's major cities, and the surviving members of this generation, sometimes called the Windrush Britons, and their descendants, constitute the multi-ethnic cultural group residing in the country. As there is no specific

White: White Caribbean', 'Mixed: Caribbean Asian' and 'Mixed: White Caribbean' are census categories which were also utilised.[12][13] In this regard, and illustrating complexities within African Caribbean peoplehood, there are notable examples of those with a parent or grandparent of African-Caribbean ancestry identifying with, or being perceived as, white people in the United Kingdom.[14][15][16][17][18]

Terminology

A glossary published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health with the intention of stimulating debate about the development of better and more internationally applicable terms to describe ethnicity and race, suggests a definition of Afro-Caribbean/African Caribbean as, "A person of African ancestral origins whose family settled in the Caribbean before emigrating and who self identifies, or is identified, as Afro-Caribbean (in terms of racial classifications, this population approximates to the group known as Negroid or similar terms)".[19] A survey of the use of terms to describe people of African descent in medical research notes that: "The term African Caribbean/Afro-Caribbean when used in Europe and North America usually refers to people with African ancestral origins who migrated via the Caribbean islands". It suggests that use of the term in the UK is inconsistent, with some researchers using it to describe people of Black and of Caribbean descent, whereas others use it to refer to those of either West African or Caribbean background.[20] Furthermore, as immigration to the United Kingdom from Africa increased in the late 20th century, the term has sometimes been used to include British residents solely of African origin or as a term to define all Black British residents, though the phrase African and Caribbean has more often been used to cover such a broader grouping.

The British Sociological Association's guidelines on ethnicity and race state that "African-Caribbean has replaced the term Afro-Caribbean to refer to Caribbean peoples and those of Caribbean origin who are of African descent. There is now a view that the term should not be hyphenated and that indeed, the differences between such groups mean the people of African and Caribbean origins should be referred to separately".[21] The Guardian and Observer style guide prescribes the use of "African-Caribbean" for use in the two newspapers, specifically noting "not Afro-Caribbean".[22]

Sociologist

Black British". This, he suggests, "appears to be a pragmatic and spontaneous (rather than politically led) response to the wish to describe an allegiance to a 'British' identity and the diminishing importance of ties with a homeland in the Caribbean".[23]

Census

There isn't one particular 'ethnic group' census category used by the

UK census
, which comprehensively describes or encompasses persons who are a part of, or identified with, the African-Caribbean community in the United Kingdom.

'Black Caribbean' is the category which recorded the highest population figures (associated with African Caribbean heritage) at the 2011 and 2021 United Kingdom censuses. 'Black Caribbean' is under a 'Black or Black British' heading in the census. 'Mixed: White and Black Caribbean' also had a significant recorded population within the country, denoting unquantified partial African Caribbean descent, as well as 'White' ancestry. This ethnic group category was listed under a 'Mixed' heading in the census.[24][25]

Other 'Mixed' subcategories which identify some form of Caribbean descent are 'Mixed: Caribbean Asian' and 'Mixed: White Caribbean'.

White Other census subcategory, may also denote partial or distant African Caribbean heritage.[13] Outside of censuses, there are notable examples of people with African Caribbean ancestry (often via a grandparent or great-grandparent) who are perceived as, or identified with, being white people in the United Kingdom.[14][15][16][17][18]

Demographics

Black or Black British Afro-Caribbeans as a population pyramid in 2021 (in England and Wales)
Ridley Road Market in Dalston, London, which sells African-Caribbean music, textiles, and food including goat meat, yams, mangos and spices.[26]

In the 2021 Census of England and Wales, 623,115 people classified themselves as 'Black Caribbean", amounting to 1 per cent of the total population.[25]

In the

2011 Census of England and Wales, 594,825 individuals specified their ethnicity as "Caribbean" under the "Black/African/Caribbean/Black British" heading, and 426,715 as "White and Black Caribbean" under the "Mixed/multiple ethnic group" heading.[24] In Scotland, 3,430 people classified themselves as "Caribbean, Caribbean Scottish or Caribbean British" and 730 as "Other Caribbean or Black" under the broader "Caribbean or Black" heading.[27] In Northern Ireland, 372 people specified their ethnicity as "Caribbean".[28] The published results for the "Mixed" category are not broken down into sub-categories for Scotland and Northern Ireland as they are for England and Wales.[27][28]

In the

UK Census of 2001, 565,876 people classified themselves in the category 'Black Caribbean', amounting to around 1 per cent of the total population.[29] Of the "minority ethnic" population, which amounted to 7.9 per cent of the total UK population, Black Caribbean people accounted for 12.2 per cent.[29] In addition, 14.6 per cent of the minority ethnic population (equivalent to 1.2 per cent of the total population) identified as mixed race, of whom around one third stated that they were of mixed Black Caribbean and White descent.[29]

Birthplace

Year of arrival (2021 census)[30]

  Born in the UK (64.4%)
  Before 1950 (0.1%)
  1951 to 1960 (4.4%)
  1961 to 1970 (10.2%)
  1971 to 1980 (2.0%)
  1981 to 1990 (1.7%)
  1991 to 2000 (5.6%)
  2001 to 2010 (6.4%)
  2011 to 2021 (5.1%)

The Census also records respondents' countries of birth and the 2001 Census recorded 146,401 people born in Jamaica, 21,601 from Barbados, 21,283 from Trinidad and Tobago, 20,872 from Guyana, 9,783 from Grenada, 8,265 from Saint Lucia, 7,983 from Montserrat, 7,091 from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 6,739 from Dominica, 6,519 from Saint Kitts and Nevis, 3,891 from Antigua and Barbuda and 498 from Anguilla.[31]

Detailed country-of-birth data from the

2011 Census is published separately for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In England and Wales, 160,095 residents reported their country of birth as Jamaica, 22,872 Trinidad and Tobago, 18,672 Barbados, 9,274 Grenada, 9,096 St Lucia, 7,390 St Vincent and the Grenadines, 7,270 Montserrat, 6,359 Dominica, 5,629 St Kitts and Nevis, 3,697 Antigua and Barbuda, 2,355 Cuba, 1,812 The Bahamas and 1,303 Dominican Republic. 8,301 people reported being born elsewhere in the Caribbean, bringing the total Caribbean-born population of England and Wales to 264,125. Of this number, 262,092 were resident in England and 2,033 in Wales.[32] In Scotland, 2,054 Caribbean-born residents were recorded,[33] and in Northern Ireland 314.[34] Guyana is categorised as part of South America in the Census results, which show that 21,417 residents of England and Wales, 350 of Scotland and 56 of Northern Ireland were born in Guyana. Belize is categorised as part of Central America. 1,252 people born in Belize were recorded living in England and Wales, 79 in Scotland and 22 in Northern Ireland.[33][34][32]

Based on a variety of official sources and extrapolating from figures for England alone, Ceri Peach estimates that the number of people in Britain born in the West Indies grew from 15,000 in 1951, to 172,000 in 1961 and 304,000 in 1971, and then fell slightly to 295,000 in 1981. He estimates the population of West Indian ethnicity in 1981 to be between 500,000 and 550,000.[35]

Education

Black Caribbeans are more likely than White Britons to have formal qualifications. In 2001, around 29% of White Britons had no qualifications, compared to 27% for Black Caribbeans. In 2011, 24% of White British had no qualifications, higher than the national average of 23%, compared to 20% for Black Caribbeans.[36][37]

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, a disproportionate number of Caribbean migrant children were (often wrongly) classified as "

Indian pupils to be officially excluded from school for disciplinary reasons.[40]

In 2004, 23.2 per cent of Black Caribbean pupils in England achieved five or more GCSEs or equivalent at grades A* to C including English and mathematics, compared with 41.6 per cent of White British pupils and 40.9 per cent of all pupils regardless of ethnicity. In 2013, the equivalent figures were 53.3 per cent for Black Caribbean pupils, 60.5 per cent for White British pupils and 60.6 per cent overall. Black Caribbean pupils from low income backgrounds tend to academically perform better than White British pupils from low income families.[41][42] Amongst pupils eligible for free school meals (used as a measure of low family incomes), Black Caribbean pupils outperformed White British pupils by 36.9 to 27.9 per cent for boys and 47.7 to 36.8 per cent for girls in 2013. A report published by the Department for Education in 2015 notes that "Black Caribbean and Mixed White & Black Caribbean students have...shown very strong improvement, from being half as likely [as] White British students to achieve the benchmarks of educational success in the early 2000s to near parity in 2013, although stubborn gaps do remain".[43]

Black Caribbean pupils have a higher university entry rate than White British students.[44]

Socio-economics

Socio-economic status is based on the type of work a person does, or what they used to do if they are retired. According to data based on the 2011 Census, 40.7% of Black Caribbeans placed in the top 3 socio-economic groups (higher/lower managerial, professional and intermediate). This ranked as the fifth highest combined percentage out of the 18 ethnicities featured.[45]

In terms of occupational class, research by Professor Yaojun Li finds that second-generation Black Caribbean men (i.e. those born in the UK or arrived before the age of 13) are more or less on par with White British men, while Black Caribbean women had a higher occupational class than White British women from the 1970s to the 1990s. Second-generation Black Caribbean women have now surpassed White British women.[46] Further research by Dr Richard Norrie of Civitas noted a growing Black middle class, with around 35.7% of Black Caribbean men in "middle class" jobs in 2020 (compared to only 7% in the 1970s/1980s). The corresponding 2020 figure for White British men is 35.8%. The report claims that this convergence is "testimony to the accomplishments of black Caribbean men, as well as the openness of British economic life".[47][48]

In 2007, a study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that Black Caribbeans had one of the lowest poverty rates among the different main ethnic minority groups in Britain. Of the largest non-white ethnic minority groups, Bangladeshis (65%), Pakistanis (55%) and Black Africans (45%) had the highest poverty rates. Black Caribbeans (30%) and Indians (25%) had the lowest rates. For families where at least one adult was in paid work, Black Caribbeans and Indians again had the lowest poverty rates of 10-15%, compared to around 60% for Bangladeshis, 40% for Pakistanis and 30% for Black Africans.[49] In 2011, a further comparison found that Black Caribbeans (with British Chinese and Indians) had lower child and adult poverty rates than Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and Black Africans.[50]

White Britons tend to have the highest net wealth. Estimates of Black Caribbean wealth vary, according to source. A 2020 report by the Resolution Foundation found Black Caribbeans have a median net family wealth per adult of £120,000 (higher than Chinese, Black African, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Other White), placing them in third place out of the major ethnic groups in the UK.[51] Civitas's study found that Black Caribbeans have an individual median wealth of £85,000 - again placing them in third place out of the major ethnic groups in the UK:[48]

Ethnic group Individual median wealth
White British £166,700
Indian £144,400
Black Caribbean £85,000
Chinese £67,300
White Other £53,200
Pakistani £52,000
Bangladeshi £22,800
Black African £18,100

Between 1972-2020, of the largest ethnic minority groups in Britain, Black Caribbeans (and Indians) had the highest employment rates overall. For much of the 1970s, Black Caribbeans had the highest employment rates - even higher than the White ethnic group.[52]

Between 2004-2008 and 2013-2014, Black Caribbeans earned more than their White British counterparts.[53] In 2015, the Equality and Human Rights Commission conducted research into ethnic minority pay gaps between 1993-2014. The report found that UK born Black Caribbean men had closed much of the pay gap to White British males, while UK born Black Caribbean women consistently out-earned White British women.[54]

In 2019, Black Caribbeans had a higher hourly median wage than Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Black Africans, White other and the other Asian ethnic group. Black Caribbean women continued to earn more on average than White British women.[52]

Population distribution

The greatest concentration of 'Black Caribbean' people is found in London, where 344,597 residents classified themselves as Black Caribbean in the 2011 Census, accounting for 4.2 per cent of the city's population.

2011 UK Census
Birmingham was home to the largest Black Caribbean population, followed by Croydon, Lewisham, Lambeth, Brent and Hackney.

Region British Caribbean population Percentage of region's population Percentage of British Caribbean population
England 591,016 1.1% 98.7%
London 344,597 4.2% 57.6%
West Midlands 86,794 1.5% 14.5%
South East 34,225 0.4% 5.7%
East 33,614 0.6% 5.6%
East Midlands 28,913 0.6% 4.8%
Yorkshire and The Humber 23,420 0.4% 3.9%
North West 23,131 0.3% 3.9%
South West 15,129 0.3% 2.5%
North East 1,193 0.05% 0.2%
Wales 3,809 0.1% 0.6%
Scotland 3,430 0.1% 0.6%
Northern Ireland 372 0.02% 0.06%
United Kingdom 598,627 0.9% 100%

Religion

Religion England and Wales
2011[58] 2021[59]
Number % Number %
Christianity 441,544 74.23% 430,770 69.13%
No religion 76,616 12.88% 116,143 18.64%
Islam 7,345 1.23% 7,167 1.15%
Judaism 511 0.09% 650 0.10%
Buddhism 1,145 0.19% 1,251 0.20%
Hinduism 1,344 0.23% 798 0.13%
Sikhism 349 0.06% 108 0.02%
Other religions 4,065 0.68% 6,909 1.11%
Not Stated 61,906 10.41% 59,323 9.52%

History

Early pioneers

Photograph of Mary Seacole, taken for a carte de visite by Maull & Company in London (c.1873)

Beginning from the 16th century until the early 19th century, Africans were purchased by European slave traders and shipped across the Atlantic to work as slaves in the various European colonies in the Americas. Approximately 13 million Africans came to the Americas this way, to various locations such as Saint-Domingue, New Spain, Colonial Brazil and the Thirteen Colonies. Historians estimated approximately two million Africans were shipped to various British colonies in the Caribbean and South America. These slaves would be given new names, adopt European dress and Christianity, and be forced to work on plantations which produced cash crops to be shipped back to Europe, completing the last leg of the triangular trade. Conditions on these plantations were harsh, and many escaped into the countryside or showed other forms of resistance.[60]

One impact of the American War of Independence was the differing historical development of African-American and African-Caribbeans. Whereas the American colonists had legalised slavery via their colonial assemblies, slavery was never legal under British common law and was thus prohibited in Britain.[61][62]

The much lauded

black Briton Ignatius Sancho was among the leading British abolitionists in the 18th century, and in 1783 an abolitionist movement spread throughout Britain to end slavery throughout the British Empire, with the poet William Cowper writing in 1785: "We have no slaves at home – Then why abroad? Slaves cannot breathe in England; if their lungs receive our air, that moment they are free. They touch our country, and their shackles fall. That's noble, and bespeaks a nation proud. And jealous of the blessing. Spread it then, And let it circulate through every vein."[63] There are records of small communities in the ports of Cardiff, Liverpool, London and South Shields dating back to the mid-18th century. These communities were formed by freed slaves following the abolition of slavery in 1833.[64] Typical occupations of the early migrants were footmen or coachmen
.

19th century

Prominent African-Caribbean people in Britain during the 19th century include:

Early 20th century

The growing Caribbean presence in the British military led to approximately 15,000 Afro-Caribbean immigrants arriving in the north-west of England around the time of World War I to work in munitions factories.[66]

During the First World War, Sergeant William Robinson Clarke travelled from his native Jamaica and became Britain's first black pilot.[67]

The

Black British journalist, writing for the Workers' Dreadnought.[68]

World War II

Barbadian and Trinidadian pilots in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

In February 1941, 345 West Indian workers were brought to work in and around

West Africans who had settled in the area.[71]

The "Windrush generation"

After World War II, many Caribbean people migrated to North America and Europe, especially to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands. As a result of the losses during the war, the British government began to encourage mass immigration from mainland Europe to fill shortages in the labour market. Citizens from the former countries of the British Empire and Commonwealth also began to seek work in the UK,[72] though the government's preference was for European workers to fill shortages.[73] Kenneth Lunn writes that, "By promoting employment schemes for white European workers to fill existing labour shortages and by choosing to discourage, albeit in an informal manner, black workers from the Commonwealth, a clear set of preferences were displayed".[74] The Ministry of Labour was particularly opposed to recruiting labour from the Caribbean, arguing that "previously advertised shortages no longer existed. In labor sectors where shortages could not be denied, the ministry concentrated on demonstrating that colonial citizens would make unsuitable workers".[75] Nonetheless, the British Nationality Act 1948 gave Citizenship of the UK and Colonies to all people living in the United Kingdom and its colonies, and the right of entry and settlement in the UK.[76] Many West Indians were attracted by better prospects in what was often referred to as the mother country.

In 1998, an area of public open space in Brixton was renamed Windrush Square to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the ship bringing one of the first large groups of West Indian migrants to the United Kingdom.[77]

The first ships to carry large groups of West Indian people from Jamaica to the United Kingdom were the SS Ormonde, which docked at Liverpool on 31 March 1947 with 241 passengers, and the SS Almanzora, which arrived at Southampton on 21 December that same year, with 200 passengers.[78] However, it was the voyage of HMT Empire Windrush in June the following year which was to become well-known.

Empire Windrush arrived with a group of 802 migrants at the port of Tilbury, near London, on 22 June 1948.[79][80] Empire Windrush was a troopship en route from Australia to England via the Atlantic, docking in Kingston, Jamaica, in order to pick up servicemen who were on leave.[81] An advertisement had appeared in a Jamaican newspaper offering cheap transport on the ship for anybody who wanted to travel to the United Kingdom. Many former servicemen took this opportunity to return to Britain with the hopes of rejoining the RAF, while others decided to make the journey just to see what England was like.[81] Unlike the previous two ships, the arrival of the Windrush received a great deal of media attention and was reported by newspaper reporters and Newsreel cameras.[82][83]

The arrivals were temporarily housed in the

Clapham South deep shelter in southwest London, about two miles (three kilometres) away from Coldharbour Lane in Brixton. Many intended to stay in Britain for less than a few years, and some did return to the Caribbean, but the majority remained to settle permanently in Britain.[81] The arrival of the passengers became an important landmark in the history of modern Britain, and the image of West Indians filing off the ship's gangplank has come to symbolise the beginning of modern British multicultural society.[81]

The arrival of West Indian immigrants on the Empire Windrush was not expected or approved of by the British government.

British Prime Minister Clement Attlee complaining about excessive immigration. In the same month, Arthur Creech Jones, the Secretary of State for the Colonies noted in a Cabinet memorandum that the Jamaican Government could not legally prevent people from departing, and the British government could not legally prevent them from landing. However, he also stated that the government was opposed to this immigration, the Colonial Office and the Jamaican Government would take all possible steps to discourage it.[84]

In June 1950, a Cabinet committee was established to find "ways which might be adopted to check the immigration into this country of coloured people from British colonial territories." In February 1951, the committee reported that no restrictions were required.[85]

There was plenty of work in post-war Britain, and industries such as

Teddy Boys would sometimes attack black people in London.[80] Historian Winston James argues that the experience of suffering racism was a major factor in the development of a shared Caribbean identity among immigrants from a range of different island and class backgrounds. The shared experience of employment by organisations such as London Transport and the National Health Service also played a role in the building of a British African-Caribbean identity.[89]

Social Geographer Ceri Peach estimates that the number of people in Britain born in the West Indies grew from 15,000 in 1951 to 172,000 in 1961.[35] In 1962, the UK enacted the Commonwealth Immigrants Act, restricting the entry of immigrants,[72] and by 1972 only holders of work permits, or people with parents or grandparents born in the United Kingdom, could gain entry – effectively stemming most Caribbean immigration.[76] Despite the restrictive measures, an entire generation of Britons with African-Caribbean heritage now existed, contributing to British society in virtually every field, a generation celebrated in the 'Windrush 75 1948-2023 Souvenir Edition' of The Voice published in June 2023.[90]

Recession and turbulence, 1970s and 1980s

Dancers at the Notting Hill Carnival

The 1970s and 1980s were decades of comparative turbulence in wider British society; industrial disputes preceded a period of deep

Brixton and Tottenham in 1985.[94][95]

The riots had a profoundly unsettling effect on local residents, and led the then

1990s and 21st century

The police response to the 1993 murder of black teenager

In 2009, 1.2% of British children under 16 were Black Caribbean and 1.1% were mixed white and black Caribbean. Among those children who were living with at least one Caribbean parent, only one in five was living with two Caribbean parents.[98]

In 2015 Catherine Ross, who came to the UK from Saint Kitts as a child, founded the SKN (Skills, Knowledge and Networks) Heritage Museum, which became Museumand: The National Caribbean Heritage Museum, a "museum without walls" based in Nottingham.[99][100]

Windrush scandal

From November 2017[101] British newspapers reported that the Home Office had threatened Commonwealth immigrants who arrived before 1973 with deportation if they could not prove their right to remain in the UK. In April 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May apologised to leaders of Caribbean countries about the way immigrants had been treated,[102] promising compensation to those affected.[103][104][105] In what has become known as the "Windrush scandal", Home Secretary Amber Rudd initially denied the existence of, and later denied being aware of aggressive departmental deportation targets, but eventually resigned on 29 April 2018 after news outlets published documents indicating that she knew of the targets.[106] Prior to Rudd's resignation, Sajid Javid, her successor as Home Secretary, had expressed sympathy for the victims of the scandal, telling the Sunday Telegraph that "I thought, 'That could be my mum ... my dad ... my uncle ... it could be me.'"[107][108] Landing cards relating to earlier passenger arrivals in the United Kingdom had been destroyed in October 2010.[109] A public inquiry ordered by the House of Commons, titled the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, was published in March 2020.[11]

Genetics

Genome-wide studies

Genome-wide research of Afro-Caribbean people have shown that the grouping, on average, have 77.4% African, 15.9% European, and 6.7% Asian DNA. This 2010 study represented African Caribbeans living within the Caribbean.[110] Within the United Kingdom, men and women of African Caribbean origin or ancestry were also found to have around 13 percent of their DNA from sources other than Africa. In the research, only volunteers who had all four grandparents of Afro-Caribbean origin were sampled.[8] Researchers have been able to attribute this partly to historic European males' sexual exploitation of enslaved African women.[7]

Notable contributions

Academia

There are a number of African-Caribbean academics who are especially prominent in the arts and humanities. Professor

Goldsmiths College and the London School of Economics.[111] The Jamaican-born cultural theorist Professor Stuart Hall has also been a highly influential British intellectual since the 1960s.[112] Dr. Robert Beckford has presented several national television and radio documentaries exploring African-Caribbean history, culture and religion.[113]

Other prominent academics include Guyanese born Professor

Goldsmiths College. Prof. Harry Goldbourne is a former member of the radical group the Black Unity and Freedom Party who went on to teach at the University of the South Bank
.

Acting and entertainment

The 1970s saw the emergence of independent filmmakers such as Trinidadian-born

Pressure, among others.[114] London's Talawa Theatre Company was founded in the 1985 by Jamaican-born Yvonne Brewster, their first production being based on C. L. R. James's historical account of the Haitian Revolution, The Black Jacobins.[115] Since the 1980s, the Blue Mountain Theatre's productions have offered a more earthy style of populist comedy, often bringing over Jamaican artists such as Oliver Samuels.[116]

While

Channel Four barbershop sitcom Desmond's, starring Norman Beaton and Carmen Munroe. In 1982, Peter Davison, who is of Afro-Guyanese and English descent, was the then-youngest-ever actor to play the Doctor in Doctor Who.[14]

One of the biggest African-Caribbean names in

Afro-Jamaican and English descent.[15] Another Big Brother contestant, Alison Hammond, has appeared on many television programmes and in 2020, ITV announced a shake-up of This Morning presenters, with Hammond replacing Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford on a Friday, presenting alongside Dermot O'Leary.[119]
Hammond is of Afro-Jamaican descent.

Another big African-Caribbean name is

Who Do You Think You Are?
.

Other television personalities and presenters include

.

The highest professional achievement by a British African-Caribbean actor was

James Bond films and James "One" Shade in the Resident Evil film series.[126][127] Marsha Thomason, who is of mixed Jamaican and English heritage, has appeared in Disney's The Haunted Mansion, opposite Eddie Murphy, and US television series Las Vegas, Lost and White Collar.[128] Ashley Walters, of Jamaican ancestry, played the role as Antoine in Get Rich or Die Tryin'[129] David Harewood, who is Barbadian descent, played David Estes, Director of the CIA's Counter-terrorism Centre in the highly successful television series Homeland. He also played a lead role in the popular American superhero TV series Supergirl.[130] Harewood was honoured with the Variety Outstanding Achievement Award in recognition of his work and success in both the U.K. and U.S.[131] Lashana Lynch featured opposite Brie Larson in 2019's Captain Marvel and played the role of Nomi, the secret agent who replaces Craig's retired Bond in No Time to Die.[132] Lynch won a BAFTA for her role in No Time to Die, thanking her Jamaican parents while accepting the award.[133] Adrian Lester, who is of Jamaican descent, featured in the political blockbuster Primary Colors, directed by Mike Nicholls and co-starring John Travolta, Kathy Bates, Billy Bob Thornton and Emma Thompson. This part earned Lester a Chicago Film Critics Association award nomination for "Most Promising Actor".[134]

Art and design

Tate Britain, which houses works by Donald Rodney and Sonia Boyce

One of the most influential African-Caribbean people in the British art world has been Prof.

Eddie Chambers.[135] Chambers, along with Donald Rodney, Marlene Smith and curator, artist, critic and academic Keith Piper, founded the BLK Art Group[136] in 1982, when they were initially based in the West Midlands. According to Chambers, significant artists such as the Guyanese-born painters Aubrey Williams and Frank Bowling and the Jamaican sculptor Ronald Moody initially found that, despite achieving worldwide renown, it was difficult to find acceptance in the highest echelons of the art establishment.[137] Chambers worked with Donald Rodney and Sonia Boyce, both of whose work is represented in the permanent collections of the London's Tate Britain museum. In 1986 the Hayward Gallery presented the exhibition The Other Story
, which provided a survey of African-Caribbean, African and Asian artists working in the UK.

Other African-Caribbean artists of note include

Black British
culture.

Music

In 1983,

African-Jamaican parents, who had been members of funk group The Cool Notes,[143] and Tina Barrett, who has African-Guyanese and English ancestry.[144] Melanie Brown was an integral part of the 90s girl group The Spice Girls, reportedly the best-selling female group of all time. Brown was born to a father from Saint Kitts and Nevis. Leigh-Anne Pinnock is a member of Little Mix, one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. Pinnock has Barbadian and Jamaican
ancestry.

Afro-Barbadian, English and Irish ancestry.[17] Nilüfer Yanya has the same background, and also Turkish heritage.[145] Other Grammy nominated British-Caribbean artists include Joan Armatrading, Aswad, Craig David, Eddy Grant, Lianne La Havas, Leona Lewis, Mahalia, Julian Marley, Musical Youth, Nao, Maxi Priest and Jorja Smith
.

Politics