Speaking Truth To Power

Max Farrar

Description

ARTHUR FRANCE is someone that the establishment would prefer to keep hidden from British history. But he has made history, and this book explains how and why. He was born and raised on the Caribbean island of Nevis and arrived in Leeds in the north of England in 1957. He soon began to organise members of the local Caribbean community into a united force for social progress and was awarded an MBE in 1997. But Arthur France is best known as the founder of the first Black-led Caribbean Carnival in Europe. This was in Leeds in 1967, but his idea for carnival was not merely sequins and feathers for him, Carnival was a symbol of Emancipation and a vehicle for changing people s lives. If Leeds is now a city that embraces diversity, it is in no small part due to Arthur France and his brothers and sisters in struggle. In telling Arthur''s story, author Max Farrar also reflects upon the struggle for justice and equality led by so many members of Britain s Black and Brown communities. It provides

Sujets

• Lettres et linguistique

Informations

• Publié par: Hansib Publications
• Date de parution: 13 octobre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781912662692
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

First published in Great Britain by Hansib Publications in 2022
Hansib Publications Limited
76 High Street, Hertford, SG14 3WY, UK
[e-mail]
www.hansibpublications.com
Copyright © Max Farrar, 2022
Cover photo © Max Farrar
ISBN 978-1-912662-67-8
ISBN 978-1-912662-68-5 (Kindle)
ISBN 978-1-912662-69-2 (ePub)
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
All rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.
Design Production by Hansib Publications Ltd
Printed in Great Britain
To all those who have put their bodies, minds and souls on the line in the struggle for the full emancipation of us all.
About the author
Dr Max Farrar has been involved in grass-roots politics in Leeds, UK, since 1968. In the 1980s, he worked in further and adult education at the Harehills and Chapeltown Law Centre. He also worked for the Runnymede Trust in London and as a freelance writer/photographer.
His PhD examining the Black-led social movements in Chapeltown in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, was published as The Struggle for Community (2002). Edited books include Islam in the West: Key Issues in Multiculturalism (2012) and Celebrate! Fifty Years of Leeds West Indian Carnival (2017), with Guy Farrar and Tim Smith, which includes his photos and text.
He retired from paid work in 2009 as Professor for Community Engagement at Leeds Beckett (formerly Metropolitan) University, where he taught and researched in sociology from the early 1990s.
Max Farrar is secretary to the Board of the David Oluwale Memorial Association, a registered charity which uses all forms of art and performance in communicating messages for inclusion, diversity and social justice.
See also: www.maxfarrar.org.uk www.rememberoluwale.org
CONTENTS
List of illustrations
PREFACE
By David Lascelles, Earl of Harewood
CHAPTER 1
Introduction: The Shock of the New
CHAPTER 2
Growing up in Nevis: Happy Days
CHAPTER 3
England: The Bad Mother Country
CHAPTER 4
It s All About Education
CHAPTER 5
Working for The Man
CHAPTER 6
A Political Life
CHAPTER 7
Black Power
CHAPTER 8
Emancipation: Making Carnival
CHAPTER 9
One Love, One Struggle
APPENDIX
Nevis and St Kitts: A History of Rebellion
INDEX
List of illustrations
Arthur France with Max Farrar, Nevis 22.1.2016 © Jane Storr
Ebenezer and Olga France Clan . Courtesy Arthur France
The Austin of England 1953, the model driven by Ebenezer France
Houses, old and new, in Mount Lily, 2017 © Max Farrar
Teacher Franklyn and Mrs Brown, at their home in Nevis, 4.3.2017. © Max Farrar
Sir Joseph France, receiving his Knighthood in 1996. Photo courtesy Ms Prudence France
Sorry, No Coloured
Wole Soyinka, in graduation costume, and his family in Nigeria
Arthur France, outside 15 Grange Avenue, Chapeltown, where he lived in the early 1960s, with his sister Elaine and her husband George Archibald, 24th March 2021. © Max Farrar
Arthur and his motorbike, 1960s. Photo courtesy Arthur France
The Leeds Technical College (later, Leeds Polytechnic s Engineering Department) c.1967. Photo: leodis.net
Arthur France, George Archibald and some of the UCA Supplementary school students, June 1974. © Dave Williams for Chapeltown News
Photo of front page of Chapeltown News
Mike Laxton, Kam Sngra, Veryl Harriott, Simon Horner, Dave Williams, Mike Standing and Norma Morgan. Photo © Leeds Library and Information Services at leodis.net . Courtesy Tom Williams
Vinod France, Tattra France, Prince Charles, Arthur France, with Brainard Braimah standing behind Tattra at Technorth, Leeds. Courtesy Arthur France
New housing in Ebor Gardens, Leeds, built by Wimpey, opened in July 1960
Arthur and Tattra outside Roscoe Methodist church, 21st August 1976. Photo courtesy Tattra France
Thousands of racist whites attacked Notting Hill s Caribbean citizens in the summer of 1956. The Daily Herald
Frank Worrell, Everton Weekes and Clyde Walcott, 1957
Arthur France and Maureen Baker, August 2003. © Max Farrar.
Prostitution out of Chapeltown demonstration, April 1975. © Max Farrar
Arthur France outside Leeds West Indian Centre, 24 March 2021 © Max Farrar
When Arthur met Mohammed Ali, at the Park Lane Hotel, London, 24 April 1984. © Hansib Publications. Courtesy Arthur France
Arthur France performing on the road at Leeds West Indian Carnival in 2015. © Guy Farrar
Carnival pioneers: L-R: Calvin Beech, Arthur France, Rashida Robinson, Ian Charles, Willie Robinson, at the 50th anniversary Carnival, 2017. © Max Farrar
Arthur and Mahalia France at LWI C in 1977. Courtesy Arthur France
1974 Carnival committee members outside Cowper street school, L-R: Vince Wilkinson, Hughbon Condor, Hebrew Rawlings, Arthur France, Kathleen Brown, George Archibald. © Max Farrar
Arthur France and Inspector Roy Exley at Leeds West Indian Centre, 1992. © Max Farrar
Carnival Queen with Arthur France at LWIC in August 1975. © Max Farrar
L-R: Susan Pitter, Cllr Bernard Atha (Lord Mayor of Leeds), Dudley Nesbitt, 2001. © Max Farrar
Members of the Nevis delegation to the 2017 Carnival celebrations in Leeds Civic Hall, including the Premier, Vance Emory, Abonaty Liburd (Director of Culture), Keith Scarborough (Premier s Ministry), Vernon Richardson, Dis and Dat (Calypso King), Nevis Cultural Group including the Sugar Hill String Band, Cllr Jane Dowson, Cllr Angela Wenham, Cllr Alison Lowe, Cllr Mohammed Rafiq, Rehana Minhas, Rashida and Willie Robnson, Calvin, Hyacinth, Angela and Karen Beech, Veronica and Tyrone Samlal Singh. Arthur France is in the back row. Photo © Sylvester Meade
Standing up to racism: Arthur France and Calvin Beech in 2017. © Christian H gsbjerg
Arthur France and troupe on stage at LWIC, August 2015. © Max Farrar
The Big Breakfast: Tattra, Vinod, Mahalia, Arthur and Asha France at Channel 4 TV, 1995. Photo courtesy Arthur France
Vinod, Arthur, Tattra and Asha France after Arthur s MBE ceremony, 14th June 1997. Photo courtesy Arthur France
Some of the family in 2003, L-R (back row) Fritz, Vinod, Modassa, Asha. L-R (front) Cathy, Tattra, Arthur, Mahalia with baby Halima. Photo courtesy Arthur France
Arthur and Tattra France s Family Tree. Drawing © Sketch (Lloyd Herah). Courtesy of Arthur France.
Map of Saint-Christophe and Niévès (St Kitts and Nevis) showing location of Mount Lily
The map of Nevis in 1870, showing Mt Lily Village
Map illustrating the Triangular Trade
Hard labour in the cane fields of St Kitts, 1903. Source: USA Library of Congress
A Bill
PREFACE
I know it doesn t seem likely, but I first met Arthur France at a fashion show. It was a student graduation event held, for reasons that escape me now, in a marquee outside Harewood House. We were introduced by Fabian Hamilton MP, whose constituency, before they changed the boundaries, then included both Harewood and Chapeltown. I knew of Arthur of course, as a major figure in Leeds West Indian community and the founding father of Leeds Carnival, but as I have got to know him better over the years I ve come to realise he is also far more than that. He is one of those rare people who truly embodies what he believes and whose beliefs grow out of his own direct experience.
This was brought home vividly when my wife Diane asked Arthur to open an exhibition by the Antiguan artist Frank Walter in the Terrace Gallery at Harewood House, timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Leeds Carnival in 2017. Walter was a true eccentric, who lived the last fifteen years of life as a recluse in a remote hut on his native island, making over 5,000 paintings and compiling a massive 25,000 page autobiography, which included descriptions of his time in Leeds in the 1950s, working in menial jobs despite his qualifications, suffering from the unthinking and widespread racism of the time. Arthur spoke, powerfully and movingly, of his own experiences of Leeds at that time and how things had changed - for the better, he said, but still with room for improvement. Speaking of his own life, Arthur shone a light on Frank Walter s that no art critic, however eminent, ever could.
Arthur was also responsible for persuading my dear friend Geraldine Connor to come to Leeds. I worked with Geraldine to produce her epic piece of musical theatre, Carnival Messiah, in a huge big top in the grounds of Harewood House in 2007, part of the commemoration of the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade. Arthur s support and through him that of Leeds Caribbean community was crucial to making this happen. After Geraldine s untimely death in 2011, I was proud to stand alongside him in urging the city to honour her appropriately. There was an emotional funeral service at St Aidan s in Chapeltown and an exhilarating Gala performance at what was then still called the West Yorkshire Playhouse.
Leeds Carnival has become a regular highlight of the year for me, always featuring Arthur s famously shoulder-juddering high-five greeting and Max Farrar s ritual photograph. Carnival has gone from strength to strength and it was very strange and very sad that 2020 was the first and let s hope the last time it hasn t been able to take place. Bad weather, prejudice, violence and lack of funding have all threatened it in the past and have all been overcome. But the corona virus has meant that all the things the spirit of carnival embodies - inclusiveness, camaraderie, a celebration of what brings us together, not keeps us apart - have had to be temporarily suspended. But I have no doubt that Carnival will be back, stronger and more vivid than ever, with Arthur embodying its heart and sou