wecastonlineIn 1959, Trinidadian activist Claudia Jones organised a Caribbean carnival in St Pancras Town Hall in London in response to race riots, planting the seeds for Notting Hill Carnival, one of the world’s largest street parties.
Revellers on Monday, the second day of this year’s carnival, said Jones’ message of unity had never been more important, after racists riot in late July were sparked by false information online about the suspected killer of three young girls in a knife attack in Southport, northwest England.
“Everyone comes together (at the carnival). You see people from different countries just flocking together on the streets,” said Jocelyn Kuyaziwma, 28.
“I feel like (the carnival) is a step in the right direction in terms of what I would like Britain to be on a daily basis,” said Kuyaziwma, who lives in Wales, and came to London to be part of Mangrove Mas, one of the carnival’s oldest masquerade bands.
Matthew Phillip, the Notting Hill carnival’s chief executive, told Reuters the event was Britain’s biggest celebration of inclusion – “of the things we have in common, rather than focusing on our differences”.
The 56th edition of the carnival was expected to draw a million people to the streets of west London to celebrate the city’s diversity and its Caribbean community.
The carnival traces its roots to the hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Caribbean, known as the “Windrush” generation, who came to Britain between 1948 and 1971 to help rebuild the country following World War Two.
Their arrival was accompanied by racial tensions and the unfair treatment of Black people, with riots breaking out in 1958, including in the London district of Notting Hill, where many Caribbean migrants lived at the time.
“Notting Hill Carnival was born in response to racist riots,” race equality think tank Runnymede Trust said. “These events, and the divisive rhetoric which fuelled them, feel painfully relevant today.”
Jhen-I, a DJ at one of the carnival’s sound systems, said London was one of the most diverse cities in the world.
“So it is all about celebrating each other and always respecting each other,” he said.
‘IT’S ALL LOVE’
Over the years, the indoor event organised by Jones has developed into the vibrant celebration it is today of multiculturalism and of how generations of migrants and their descendents have contributed to British society.
