The Legacy of Black Women’s Activism

The early experiences of Black women workers have been described as a ‘long catalogue of hardship’, providing the fertile soil for the growth of the activism portrayed within this book. As set out in Chap. 1 , the experiences described herein are channelled through the prism of the Abasindi Black Women’s Cooperative, a Manchester-based collective that drew its inspiration and resilience from these early workers, many of whom were Black women workers of the Windrush era (1940s–70s). Though the women were from Manchester, working class Black women facing similar hardships could be found in any of Britian’s cities and major towns. Many of these women worked in food production and packaging while others worked in the clothing industry which was notorious for sweat-shop conditions and low wages. Within the National Health Service, Black women were employed mainly as domestic cleaners and canteen workers. Those who wished to train as nurses were often rejected or channelled away from the State Registered training towards the lower status State Enrolled qualification. It was standard practice for migrant women to be recruited at the bottom end of the occupational ladder regardless of their abilities. Up until the 1960s, the literature on migration focused primarily on the experiences of men and little therefore is known about how these women workers experienced the downgrading of their skills and how they rose above relegation, as so many of them did. Here, we rectify a history in which these women were mostly hidden and in so doing, set out our proud lineage as activists. Never myopic, Abasindi also drew inspiration from women from outside of Britain including women from South Africa who were struggling against apartheid. In this chapter we explore these influences and describe the experiences and perspectives that fired up our refusal to accept victimisation.