| Description | Press cuttings in this file consist of articles printed in local and national newspapers relating to the situation in Smethwick during the early 1960s, including reports about the town as a focus of immigration, the shortage of housing, and other social problems affecting people living there, and the exploitation of these by the prospective parliamentary candidate Peter Griffiths during his election campaign in 1964, contributing to tension between the white community and the immigrant community, many of whom were members of the Indian Workers Association. The file also contains coverage of the activities of the Indian Workers Association and the Co-ordinating Committee Against Racial Discrimination [CCARD] in Smethwick.
Articles consist of: report about apparent problems with 'vice' in the Spon Lane area of Smethwick 1963; housing issues in Marshall Street; tension between immigrant groups and the Smethwick branch of the 'Birmingham Immigration Control Association' 1961; calls for a police inquiry into attacks on a member of the 'Afro-Caribbean Circle' in Wolverhampton; the operation of a 'colour bar' in a West Bromwich public house; the work of the Co-ordinating Committee Against Racial Discrimination [CCARD] in Smethwick in the era of Peter Griffiths; letter to newspaper editor about the racist actions of Griffiths over the housing issue; the results of a 'colour bar' survey carried out by the Smethwick Young Socialists 1964; Smethwick council's rejection of a full time liaison officer to work towards integration of immigrant population and protests from the Indian Workers Association about Don Finney representing the Commonwealth Welfare Council 1963; Peter Griffiths' wife invites the wives of Avtar Jouhl and other members of the Indian Workers Association to tea 1962; letters to the 'Smethwick Telephone' about Peter Griffiths and immigrants 1963; election campaign between Griffiths and Patrick Gordon Walker; the work of Co-ordinating Committee Against Racial Discrimination [CCARD] and the operation of a 'colour bar' in Birmingham; letters to a Smethwick newspaper both supporting and criticising immigrants; the activities of Peter Griffiths and Don Finney in Smethwick; focus on the tensions raised in Smethwick by council proposals for a Pakistani family to move into a council flat and the extent of prejudice by the white community1961; letters to the 'Smethwick Telephone' protesting about immigrants and the views of the Co-ordinating Committee Against Racial Discrimination [CCARD] 1963; article by Avtar Jouhl about the operation of a 'colour bar' in Smethwick 1963; Peter Griffiths election campaign; Indian Workers Association protest about a BBC programme dealing with the 'colour problem in Smethwick; Ku Klux Klan activities in the West Midlands 1965; opinion articles focusing on racial tension in Smethwick; the policies of the Smethwick Conservatives; the operation of a 'colour bar' in places of work; the difficulties faced by immigrant children in schools; article about the morals of Irish and Pakistani immigrants and their apparent involvement in prostitution in the 'News of the World' 1961; Fenner Brockway's report on attitudes towards immigrants in Birmingham; focus on immigrant staff at NHS hospitals; Indian Workers Association campaign to protect immigrants in Wolverhampton against racist violence.
The file also contains two later articles about Enoch Powell and government measures to deal with Commonwealth immigration. |