Reading the amazing and brilliant Patricia J. Williams' "Seeing a Color-Blind Future" for class, I came upon a reference to the Notting Hill Riots, a historical epoch in the UK of which I had somehow never heard. Post World War II, Carribean immigrants began moving to England in large numbers - by the mid-1950's, roughly 100,000. Race relations were awful and getting worse, particularly exacerbated by the battle between white families and "black" families for housing, a battle that was apparently exploited by unscrupulous landlords. On August 24, 1958, nine white men assaulted five black men throughout several low-income neighborhoods. After two weeks of unrest and protests, riots broke out on August 30th and continued through September 5th. It sparked a lot of conversation around the UK and led to advances in civil rights. Several violent incidents that followed are believed to have been the inspiration for the Notting Hill Carnival, a way of showing community spirit and unity. A nice answer, I think, to something ugly, although if papers have never been written on this subject using carnivals as a metaphor for race relations, I will eat my hat.
It should be noted that my hat 1) is super adorable and would therefor be a shame to lose and 2) looks quite like this fetching one on Miss Angelina and would therefor be quite difficult to eat, which I hope illustrates the seriousness of my assumption. And, you know, any excuse for an Angelina pic to brighten up a Thursday morning.
Racism and riots: apparently not just for Americans anymore!
Yeah I know - tell it to the French.
It should be noted that my hat 1) is super adorable and would therefor be a shame to lose and 2) looks quite like this fetching one on Miss Angelina and would therefor be quite difficult to eat, which I hope illustrates the seriousness of my assumption. And, you know, any excuse for an Angelina pic to brighten up a Thursday morning.
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