"If there weren't race riots in Notting Hill I don't believe that we would have had the Notting Hill Carnival. If it wasn't for the murder of Kelso Cochrane, Carnival wouldn't have happened."
The late Political Activist and Broadcaster, Darcus Howe

Today, after the 2023 Notting Hill Carnival and the Notting Hill Carnival review meeting, Still We Rise in partnership with THINK -  https://thisisnorthkensington.wordpress.com/ - a collective of local residents and Carnavalists, petition the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea - https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/ Westminster Council - https://www.westminster.gov.uk/ and Notting Hill Carnival Ltd.  https://nhcarnival.org/ to: 

●     Extend the Carnival zone around North Kensington so that the sound systems and the route can be spread out to minimalize the risk of people getting crushed. 

●     Ensure that all bands and floats have security rope and that it’s strong enough. Some bands and floats didn’t have security rope in the 2023 Notting Hill Carnival – and the security rope for some bands and floats broke – putting band and float members at risk.

●     To include the history and roots of the Notting Hill Carnival on all carnival literature – not just the website. This will encourage Carnival attendees that are not familiar with the history to reflect upon why we host the event.

●     For all of the floats - bands and sound systems in the Notting Hill Carnival to respect the 72 second silence for the 72 victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. 

●     Quiet zones need to be mapped and communicated about effectively to ensure respect. 

●     Please ensure that the Carnival booklet (with a concise map of zones, parking restrictions, toilets) is distributed to all households in North Kensington and the North Westminster  within 2 miles of the Notting Hill Carnival zone a month before the Carnival - and involve resident volunteers if necessary to do this.

●     Provide additional toilet facilities further out and work with residents on security and fencing beforehand.

●     Hold meetings with residents in or near the Notting Hill Carnival Zone in advance to ensure that the relevant Carnival passes for the quiet and safety zones are distributed (involve volunteer residents, resident associations, RBKC Housing and housing associations). 

For more info or enquiries email stillwerise2023@gmail.com and w11northken@gmail.com 

The History of the Notting Hill Carnival

Kelso Cochrane was a 32-year-old, Antiguan born carpenter, and an aspiring lawyer, living in Notting Hill at a time when racial tensions were high. He died after a racially motivated attack on Southam Street – off Golborne Road – also in Notting Hill on May 17th 1959. 

Even to this very day, no one’s been convicted of his murder and a blue plaque marks the spot where it happened. 

His murder had a huge impact on race relations. Reportedly, there were over 1,200 attendees at his funeral, many of whom came to demonstrate solidarity and a show of defiance against racism locally. 

Activism was stepped up to Whitehall when it was felt that the investigation into the murder was complacent, and allegations of a police cover up began to circulate. 

The then Home Secretary, Rab Butler, made an appeal for witnesses in Parliament. Butler went onto launch a public inquiry into race relations. 

Much activity to ease racial tension within the Notting Hill community preceded Cochrane’s murder. 

This lead to a children’s street fayre organised by local resident and community activist, Rhaune Laslett. Laslett, a social worker, of Native American and Russian descent is reported to have said of her community and her event, “We felt that although West Indians, Africans, Irish and many other nationalities (that) all live in a very small congested area, there is very little communication between us. If we can infect them with a desire to participate, then this can only have good results.” 

As an established community activist with a history of addressing and easing inter-cultural tension in the locality since the violent race-riots of the 1950s. Laslett set of to include the local West Indian residents in her event. And it was this small community children’s street fayre back in the sixties that would morph into what is now known to the world as the Notting Hill Carnival. 

London based Trinidadian human rights activist, Claudia Jones, put on a BBC broadcasted indoor event called the ‘Caribbean Carnival’ at St. Pancras Town Hall back in 1959. This was a foreshadow of what was to come for Carnival upon British shores. 

An appetite for the indoor Caribbean Carnival began to grow as Trinidadian husband and wife booking agents Edric and Pearl Connor who alongside other partners including the West Indian Gazette began promoting indoor events in halls dotted around 1960s London. The West Indian Gazette was founded by Jones. 

Laslett invited well-known pan player Russell Henderson, who was accompanied by his pan band members Sterling Betancourt, Vernon “Fellows” Williams, Fitzroy Coleman and Ralph Cherry. The band was already very popular amongst the Caribbean community, having been regular attendees at the indoor events. 

As Laslett had intended,  many local Caribbean residents attended. Her vision of an outdoor multi-cultural community celebration was a huge success: the first event saw Henderson’s steelband weave its wave through Portobello Road as a trail of locals spontaneously gathered and danced in the street to the sound of the steel pan. And so in 1966, the Notting Hill Carnival was officially born.