Episode 5: December 28th to January 3rd: UK's first hip hop star Derek B, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and the 1971 Ladywell petrol bomb attack

(upbeat music) Welcome to Black in Time, the podcast remembering pioneering people and defining moments from Black British history. I'm your host Liv and I'm a bit of a nerd. I started this podcast as a challenge to myself to find something that happened each day in Black British history. From births and deaths to events of national and international importance. Each episode, I'll look at the week to come and explore events that happened each day in history. Here's the events from December 28th through to January 3rd. (upbeat music) ♪ Oh, I'm in love ♪ ♪ I'm not above the date with a new karate ♪ On December 28th, 1940, a variety of performance by the forces sweetheart Evelyn Dove appears in the listings of the Midland Daily Telegraph, Coventry's first daily newspaper. Dove was born in London in 1902 to a Sierra Leonean Barrister father and English mother. At age 15, she attended the Royal Academy of Music graduating with a silver medal. The silver medal was an annual award given to the most distinguished student of the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music and the Guild Hall School of Music and Drama. Despite having a strong, contralto voice, the collar bar meant that Dove struggled to break into the classical music scene. Instead, she was welcomed into the cabaret and jazz scene with open arms. In the 1920s, Dove joined the Southern Syncopated Orchestra, SSO. The SSO was an all-black jazz group that was made up of members from across the globe. She also performed in Western Europe, the US and India. During the war, Dove became a fully fledged radio star and was one of the first black women singers broadcast on BBC radio. She joined the Trinidadian singer, Edric Coila, on a series called Serenade and Sepia which proved so popular that it was transferred to television. After her success with the BBC, Dove worked in cabaret in India, Paris and Spain. She returned to Britain and struggled to find work in the industry, tempting as a telephone operator. Before long, she was back on screens and later on stage. In December 1987, she died aged 85. On December 29th, 2018, an exhibition about the life and career of the UK's first hip-hop star came to an end. Derek B, the Woodford rapper, was a tribute to the artist who grew up in the area and hosted by Redbridge Museum. The exhibition consisted of photographs, music and memorabilia from Derek's life and career. Suggest who was Derek B? He was born Derek Bolland in January of 1965. Age 15, he began DJing and spent much of his early career on pirate radio stations such as London Weekend Radio and Kiss FM. His debut single, Rock the Beat, was a surprise success. It was followed by a further two singles that reached the UK Top 20. Derek B's first and only album, Bullet from a Gun, was released in 1988. It was one of the first successful hip-hop albums by a British artist and peaked at number 11 in the UK charts. Later that year, Derek B signed to Rush Artist Management and toured with Public Enemy and Run DMC to promote his album. He was the first British rapper to appear on top of the Pops and performed at Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday tribute concert. He also co-wrote the infamous Anfield Rap, released ahead of the 1988 FA Cup final between Liverpool and Wimbledon FC. Described as absolutely groundbreaking by the rapper Thai, Derek B died aged 44 in 2009. (gentle music) On December 30th, 2012, a blue plaque dedicated to Samuel Colleridge-Taylor was unveiled at Sixth St Leonard's Road in Croydon. This was the address that Colleridge-Taylor had died at 100 years earlier. He was Britain's foremost black classical composer whose career was cut short by pneumonia at the age of 37. To mark the centenary of his death, the Samuel Colleridge-Taylor Foundation organized a year-long series of events celebrating his life. Like Evelyn Dove, Colleridge-Taylor was born to a Sierra Leonean father and English mother. At age 15, he joined the Royal College of Music on a scholarship. Originally a student of the violin, he was soon drawn to composition instead. Colleridge-Taylor is best known for his trilogy of cantatas titled The Song of Hiawatha. The trilogy was based on the epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Away from music, Colleridge-Taylor was heavily invested in Pan-Africanism. He was the youngest delegate at the first Pan-African conference held in London and oversaw the musical arrangements. His cantata, The Song of Hiawatha, was later adopted by the American Civil Rights Movement in the 20th century. The blue plaque unveiled on December 30th, 2012, was installed by the Newby and Jack Community Trust. Since 2006, the trust has installed over 30 plaques, commemorating black and minority ethnic individuals who have made a recognisable contribution to the nation. (upbeat music) On December 31st, 2010, the World Festival of Black Arts came to an end. It was the third time the festival had been hosted and it returned to Senegal, the site of the first festival, which was held back in 1966. The first festival was known as Festman and was the brainchild of the then-president, Leopold Senghor. The festival was intended to mark the start of the post-colonial era and allow Africa to take its rightful place as the creator of culture. Participants came from over 30 countries in Africa and its diaspora. Among them were Duke Ellington, Amy Césaire and Josephine Baker. The second festival, known as Festac, was held 11 years later in Lagos, Nigeria. It was a show of worldwide black unity and self-determination and a catalyst for fellow Cutie's anti-government protests. Cutie had been a member of the Organising Committee for Festac, but resigned in opposition to an army general heading up the festival. Tasked with curating the 2010 festival was the British actor and playwright, Kwami Kweyama. It was his first role as an artistic director and he was appointed upon the recommendation of Baba Ma, a leading Senegalese musician. Ma had seen several of Kweyama's plays and was seriously impressed. In just six months, Kweyama coordinated the festival's programme of 6,000 performers. He described the atmosphere in the artist's village as being like the UN. In an interview given to The Guardian, he said, "You sit in the cafeteria and Mauritians are jamming. "The Guadalupeans are giving impromptu readings. "It's artistic heaven. "Being able to take in the great art "and then being able to chill out with world-class artists "with my children has probably been "the highlight of my life so far." Citizens of the British Empire coming to the mother country with good intent. Prodded by public opinion, the Colonial Office gives them a more cordial reception than was at first. - On January 1st, 1949, the 1948 Nationality Act came into force. Prior to this, Commonwealth citizens were considered British subjects, but what rights this conferred were unclear. In 1946, Canada established its own Canadian Citizenship Act. This rattled Britain and led to the Commonwealth Conference of 1947, where it was agreed that Commonwealth members could legislate freely for their own citizenship while retaining Commonwealth citizenship. Under the 1948 Act, citizens were either a citizen of the United Kingdom and colonies, C-U-K-C, or a citizen of an independent Commonwealth country, C-I-C-C. Those who lived in places that were still part of the former British Empire were considered C-U-K-Cs. This included those living in the likes of Jamaica and Ghana, countries which had not yet become independent. On the other hand, those who lived in independent Commonwealth countries like India and Australia were considered C-I-C-Cs. Both C-U-K-Cs and C-I-C-Cs were Commonwealth citizens and eligible to live in the UK even after independence. They were also afforded access to the labour market, voting rights, entitlement to welfare benefits, and eligible to run for parliamentary office. However, after former colonies became independent, those originating from the newly independent country assumed the new nationality and lost their status as C-U-K-Cs unless retained through an ancestral connection. For example, early arrivals to the UK from the Caribbean, including some Windrush children, came as C-U-K-Cs. When their country of origin gained independence, they would then lose their UK citizenship and become citizens of the independent Commonwealth country. Following the 1948 Act, those who arrived in the UK were known as the freely landed, given total freedom of movement and allowed to work and live anywhere within the UK and its colonies. This would all be short-lived. Successive immigration laws limited those who could make claim to unrestricted entry and settlement in the UK. The notion that the British Empire was won and that all British subjects were free to enter the UK came to an end with Commonwealth Immigrants Act of 1962. - On this side, I think most rangio supporters excited by the appearance of Mark Walters. - Rangers creating a bit of history by having the first coloured player in the history. - On January 2nd, 1988, Mark Walters made his Scottish football debut with the club Rangers. The '70s and '80s saw an explosion of black players. By the end of the '80s, clubs without black players were in the minority. Prior to joining Rangers, Walters played for Aston Villa and was considered to be one of England's rising stars. In the late '80s, following the high-soul stadium disaster, English football clubs were banned from European competitions. This meant that Scottish clubs like Rangers found it easier to attract English players. Walters signed with Rangers on New Year's Eve of 1987 for half a million pounds and made his debut two days later. The match ended in a two-nil defeat and was marred by racism from the crowds. Bananas and other fruit items were thrown onto the pitch as were darts. Monkey noises and gestures were also made whenever Walters had or was past the ball. The club reacted swiftly, banning some season ticket members for the abuse aimed at Walters. During his time at Rangers, Walters made over 100 appearances and scored 52 goals. The club also won three league titles and two cups. On January 3rd, 1971, a party attended by over 100 people was targeted by white fascists. The party took place at number 47, Sutherland Road, in Ladywell, Lewisham. At approximately 1.30 a.m., four napalm-type bombs were thrown at people in the party. The first bomb was directed at a man called Renford Carty. The second was directed at Lee Roy Jackson, catching him in the face and spraying fire over other dancers. The third bomb was a direct hit on Cherry Jackson, who suffered second and third degree burns. Her face was badly burned and right arm infected. In total, 22 people were injured with severe burns to their body and face. 10 were hospitalised. Despite this, when members of the Black Unity and Freedom Party went to visit the victims in hospital, they were harassed by the police. Eight of them were arrested. This led to a march on Ladywell Police Station a few weeks later. Within days of the attack, two men were arrested and charged with arson and maliciously setting fire to a dwelling. This number grew to four. However, in the end, only two were jailed. The mainstream media dedicated very little attention to the incident and were criticised for this by Black activists. The blast on January 3rd, 1971, came almost 10 years to the day before the New Cross fire. It was one of a long line of racist and fascist attacks in Lewisham, all of which built up to the 1977 battle for Lewisham. You've been listening to "Black in Time". I hope you found today's episode as interesting as I did. For more information about any of the topics covered in today's episode, do check out the show notes. If you liked the show, please share it with a friend. Follow us on Instagram. @blackintime to track events from the past every day on that day. On next week's episode, we'll be talking about Black students at Cambridge, a rap duo from South London, and a campaign against racism in Britain.