BRITAIN | ARTS + CULTURE
Shining a light on black London
The British city's long-hidden African and Caribbean cultures emerge. Ride a minibus and appreciate the sacrifice, the music, the past.
"I am an invisible man," says the nameless protagonist of the Ralph Ellison novel of that title, lamenting an American bias that minimizes blackness.
FOR THE RECORD:
London tours: An article in the Dec. 30 section about tours that focus on black culture in London said the Bank of England is in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It is in the borough of the City of London.
"I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me."
Although the black presence in London may also seem invisible, it whispers like an ageless wind beneath the streets and monuments of this ancient city.
All that kindles is not coal, and therein lies the irony of black London.
Black Boy Lane is named for a horse, not a human being. If you happen upon the "Black Plaque Guide to London" you'll find it's about crime and scandal, not community.
However black the cabs may be, the famous Black Taxi Tours don't really see the black side of the city. In fact, you won't find black London on any of the conventional tourist maps. Though Africans have lived in the city since Roman times, monuments that mark their presence are relatively few.
I began visiting the British capital while a college student in the mid-1970s and was surprised to discover a robust black community that guidebooks virtually ignored. Friends from the city's African, Caribbean and African American communities introduced me to reggae shows and "blue dances," the Caribbean cafes and nightclubs of Brixton, and the cuisine and cultural programs of the Africa Centre in Covent Garden.
What changes have occurred in the last 30 years?
Reggae act Steel Pulse became popular in the '70s; Jazzie B and Sade in the '80s; and supermodel Naomi Campbell and heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis in the '90s. Now 21st century artists Floetry and Corinne Bailey Rae have won their musical place in the sun.
Discovering black London still takes a bit of traveler's initiative (and at times a magnifying glass), but it now registers on the world's radar screen, and the rewards are worth the effort.
A plaque marks the Brook Street residence where Jimi Hendrix lived from 1968 to '69, another is at the north London home where Bob Marley lived during his 1970s exile from Jamaica. Both are English Heritage blue plaques, which commemorate famous people and events connected with a public place. People of color are represented by a mere handful of the more than 20,000 plaques awarded since the project was inaugurated 140 years ago.
But there are a few others: One commemorates 19th century Zulu King Cetshwayo, another marks performer Paul Robeson's home, and another, writer C.L.R. James' home. The house where Marcus Garvey, founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Assn., lived, worked and died on Talgarth Road is also marked.
Honorees are chosen by the governmental agency English Heritage based on nominations by the public. The building must still exist and the honorees must have passed the 20th anniversary of their death or centenary of birth to be considered, though they need not necessarily be British.
Thanks to the lobbying of local interest groups, recent nominees include actor Ira Aldridge, Mayor John Archer, writer and ex-slave Mary Prince, barrister Ladipo Solanke, army officer Walter Tull and poet Phillis Wheatley.
The borough of Southwark has established a blue plaque program to honor its own, among them actor Marianne Jean-Baptiste (starring in the "Without a Trace" TV drama), midcentury poet and broadcaster Una Marson and American vaudeville star Connie Smith.
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