Best Neighborhoods To Find Culture

In 1948, the docking of the Empire Windrush signalled the dawn of modern Black British communities, which we see in London and all over the UK today, but Black people have been in London for centuries, and are recorded to have settled here in as early as the Roman period. Of course, the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and England’s damming role in it, played a large part in the presence of Black people in Great Britian. London became the European heart of the Slave Trade towards the late 17th century, and by 1760, there were between 10,000 and 15,000 Black Londoners. A government survey taken in 2018 suggests that 13.3% of Londoners are Black. 

To put it simply, Black people have been in London far longer than just in the last century, wrestling with institutional injustice to build the communities that we see today, leaving a cultural mark on the city like nowhere else in Europe. 

Here are some of the best neighborhoods to experience Black culture and history in London. 

Brixton

Brixton is one of the most significant places in the UK and Europe for Black culture. When HMT Empire Windrush docked in Essex in 1948, its Caribbean passengers, who were mostly Jamaicans, settled in Brixton, seeking accommodation and employment. Years later, the 1981 Brixton Riot famously protested the “sus laws” being used by police at the time, which allowed them to stop and search Black people disproportionately. Windrush Square, in the centre of Britxton, commemorates the Windrush generation who enriched the area. Here, you will find the African and Caribbean War Memorial and the Black Cultural Archives. Whilst in Brixton, you should be sure to visit Brixton Village, the outdoor and indoor markets where you will find many Caribbean food joints, hair shops and arts and crafts vendors. Take a stroll down Electric Avenue, the first road in the area to be lit by electricity, made internationally famous by the Guyanese born reggae artist, Eddy Grant’s hit song, Electric Avenue. Finally, do not walk past the mural of Bob Marley on the shutters of Bush Man Kitchen without taking a snap! Bob Marley had a significant presence in London, and this is just of many odes to him across the city. 

Peckham

Walk down Rye Lane, the centriole of Peckham, and you’d be forgiven for thinking you had been suddenly transported to Balogun Market in Lagos. Whether it’s the sound of butchers calling you in to buy meat, or being surrounded by keen hairdressers after you’ve walked out of a Black hair shop, coercing you to let them do your hair, Peckham will not leave you short of a story to tell. Peckham, a predominantly Black African and Caribbean area in London, has experienced a monumental shift in identity in the last five to ten years. Type it in on Google now, and you will probably get returns such as “coolest neighbourhood in London” or “trendiest rooftop wine bars.” However, you can find notable Black historical references, such as the plaque dedicated to political activist Walter Rodney in Peckham Square, or the Peckham Portraits in Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.

Notting Hill

Every year on the last weekend of August, before the Covid-19 pandemic, around 2 million people would take to the streets of West London for the Notting Hill Carnival, a vibrant celebration of Caribbean liberation. The carnival was born out of the strife for unity and freedom by the Windrush settlers who came to the area. Notting Hill has been a hub of mainly Black Caribbean community since the 1950s, though similarly to Peckham, it has become an artsy area, with vegan cafés sprouting up on every corner, and influencers lining up to take perfectly posed shots in front of the multicoloured houses on Portobello Road. However, Notting Hill is one of the most important places in London for Black history. It was once home to Island Records, where Bob Marley and the Wailers recorded their album Exodus. To learn more about the Black British history in Notting Hill, visit All Saints Road, where the Rum Kitchen now stands in the place of where the Mangrove once was, a Black-run restaurant which was subject to unjust, violent police raids, and meeting point for the famous Mangrove Nine.