1. Breaking Through

The 1950s and 60s was a pivotal time for Black Britons.

In 1948, the Nationality Act was passed, which gave people from the Commonwealth the right to live and work in Britain if they wanted.

Britain was facing a huge shortage of workers after the loss of life after the Second World War, and Caribbeans specifically were encouraged to come to the UK in the hopes of a better life, better jobs, better opportunities and better wages.

They were promised a land where the streets were paved with gold, but instead were met with a barrage of struggle, prejudice and discrimination.

Racial tensions came to a head in 1958.

Relations between the newly settled Caribbean migrants and white working class were low.

Black people were denied job opportunities, refused affordable and livable housing, and were excluded from pubs and clubs.

The competition over basic amenities and poor living conditions increased racial tensions, which led to riots breaking out in Nottingham and Notting Hill.

In Notting Hill, the Teddy Boys attacked the homes of Afro-Caribbean families and assaulted them on the streets.

This went on for a period of two weeks.

A year later, Kelso Cochrane, a carpenter from Antigua, was brutally killed.

It was a racist murder, and not, as the police later claimed, an attempted robbery.

1958 is the same year that the Black and White Minstrel Show aired on the BBC.

At this time, there are only two TV channels, the BBC and ITV.

There had been a few earlier appearances by black people on British television, including A Man from the Sun, which is said to be the first depiction of the lives of black people in the UK.

It was a drama about the experiences of Caribbeans who had newly settled in the UK and featured Cy Grant, who is considered to be the first black person to be featured regularly on UK TV.

Other than that, black representation on British TV... was minimal.

And the way that black people were seen on TV was as caricatures on the black and white minstrel show.

This was a variety show on the BBC that ran for 20 years and at its peak brought in 16 million viewers per broadcast.

Can you believe it? Minstrels were considered professional entertainers that go back as far as the 12th century and usually played wind instruments and became integral parts of town guilds, European courts and noble houses.

Black minstrelsy is an American theatrical form which is a sub-genre of the minstrel show.

White performers would paint their face black and play the roles of ignorant, lazy, joyous black people.

This was made famous by Thomas Dartmouth Rice.

He created a minstrel persona embodying the character of an enslaved man and named the character Jim Crow.

Jim Crow became a common stage persona for white performers' blackface portrayals of African-Americans, which seeped over to the UK.