Migration, Race & Empire – Manchester Historian

Manchester city is known for being culturally diverse. There are different reasons as to the source of Manchester’s diversity. Firstly, Manchester became diverse due to its extensive history of migration from different parts of Europe and the world. Secondly, Manchester was the world’s first industrialised city that drove the industrial revolution and this drew people from all over the world.

Len Johnson was a black British boxer and communist who competed from 1920 to 1933. He was born in Clayton, Manchester in October 1902. His father was from Sierra Leone, while his mother was born in Manchester. His ideas against racism caused him to take a public stand against discrimination & bigotry.

Olive Morris had attended the Victoria University of Manchester to pursue her degree in social and economic science. She studied there for three years, from 1975 to 1978. During the three years she co-founded two groups, the Black Women’s Mutual Aid Group, and the Manchester Black Women’s Co-operative, working alongside Elouise Edwards and Kath Locke. Whilst here in Manchester, she also campaigned for the eradication of tuition fees for overseas students.

The transatlantic slave trade, also known as the Euro-American slave trade, was the process by which slave traders transported enslaved Africans to the Americas, mostly through the Caribbean. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, there was a regular slave trade that used the triangular trade route and its Middle Passage, which lasted until the end of European imperialism.