The ENGLISH people in London during the 1940's , 1950's and the 1960's, could no longer ignore the fact that the number of black people in their midst was growing rapidly.

The outcry of the Daily Mirror, who at that time claimed to be the spokesman of the working class started their hate campaign.

Each day one would find racist editorials and other leading articles in most newspapers condemning the influx of black people, but the Daily Mirror was yesterday's counterpart to our present day Sun newspaper. The working class who read the Mirror Newspaper would call upon their government to stop immigration.

However public opinion was divided on this issue. At the same time 'The Daily Worker' and the 'Reynolds News' which was a Sunday newspaper spoke out loudly welcoming the new arrivals.

There were many debates in the British Parliment where the Tory party were viciously opposed to our arrival, with the Labour Party defending the black people and begging the employers to employ them.

Many things became apparent. The Communist Party began to hold various cultural evenings where black people would be invited. These black people for the first time began to find entertainment open to them mostly at weekends and quickly became allied to the Communist Party, and many of them became leaders and spokesman for Communism.

This was not to be left unchallenged as many other groups began to compete for the political and religious favours of the new arrivals.

Clubs such as the 'Commonwealth Club' and the 'All Nations Club' which were run by Church organisations began to spring up all over the centre of London.

For the first time the 'Colonial Office' decided they too had to help the new arrivals. An office was set up at No 15 Victoria Street, London SW1, headed by one Ivor DeSousa to look after our interests.

Now that our entertainment was catered for by voluntary means, and our interests recognised by the Colonial Office, we still had the problem of housing accommodation. This was much more difficult to overcome, as throughout London the people made it quite clear they had no intention of sharing their houses with black people.

The notice boards in shop windows, tobacconists and the windows of houses advertising rooms to let hurriedly changed their contents.

First it was 'Rooms to Let, No Irish, No Children and No Dogs', then it changed to 'Rooms to Let, No Coloureds, No Irish, No Children, No Dogs'.

The Jewish business people remembering their plight in the last war under Nazi Germany saw the suffering of the black people at that time as similar to that of the Jews. As most were business people they began to open the doors of the factories to us and gradually our presence began to disappear from the streets.

But the newly employed black people were no good to them when they clocked into work because of lack of sleep the previous night or day they were unable to carry out the duties they were paid for. The Jews helped further they began to buy large houses around London and would let them to one or two of their black workers who would occupy one or two rooms and let the rest of the rooms to their friends and other new arrivals. Sometimes it was four beds to a room to begin with and later on this arrangement developed into a shift system.

For a time all rents paid were handed over to the Jewish person who first bought the house in some cases the moment the mortgage of the house was paid off the deeds would be immediately handed over to the person who first took charge of the property.

Hence the only way black people could start to own houses was with the help of the Jews. As with everything else other people began to follow suit. We began to hear of houses in other areas such as Paddington, Bayswater and Nottinghill Gate, where large houses were bought and handed over to the black people to run.

What they did not realise was that although these people set out to help by exploitation, the black people were learning fast just how to exploit their own people.

If it was not for the help of the Jews who gave us a start we would have died of hunger. Before the Jews and others woke up to our plight it was the so called 'white women of the country who fought our battles and put themselves out in every respect allowing themselves to be mocked at, jeered at, and suffer many insults in their effort to help towards our sustenance.

Where were the black women then? They were thousands of miles away, as these white women helped us to eat, so that we could save our money to send home to Jamaica to help our families.

I could never justify white racism and could not live with it. Which is why I spent almost all my life fighting for its eradication. I have the same contempt for black racism, and shall speak out against it.