which became an Act in 1962. The aim of this Act was not to put an end to black immigration but rather to control it. It represented an attempt to create a mechanism whereby the flow of immigrants both When the State introduces or tightens black immigration control, it says in effect that blacks are responsible for the economic and social degeneration of society. Blacks are used as scapegoats for the endemic slumps of the capitalist economy. Anti-black immigration legislation is usually accompanied by general racial conflict and a heightening of racial prejudice.
The basis on which racist organisations and the media manage to stir up white workers against blacks is by exploiting and reintorcing in the sense of insecurity felt by workers in capitalist society But widespread white working class racist attacks on blacks did not find their first expression in 1958. The little-known race riots of 1919 displayed a similar pattern of events and causes to those of 1958 and today.
Before the First World War, Britain had a small black population consisting mainly of sailors and unemployed sailors located in the port areas. But with the outbreak of war a labour shortage arose as industry was drained by the armed forces. The British Government turned to the untapped potential of the colonies Between 1914 and 1918 the black population expanded rapidly. Black workers from the colonies found themselves in the munition and chemical factories of the North and Midlands. But the boom which brought black labour to Britain was temporary. As James Walvin* 'At the end of the war, as