Speaker 1: Hey, y'all, I'm Aaron Haynes. I'm the editor at large
Speaker 1: for The Nineteenth News, a nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender
Speaker 1: politics and policy. We look at where our democracy remains unfinished,
Speaker 1: where women, people of color, and queer people are still
Speaker 1: not included. And later this month, I'll be your host
Speaker 1: for a brand new podcast from the Nineteenth News and
Speaker 1: Wonder Media Network called The Amendment. More on that soon,
Speaker 1: but for now, I'm excited to be your guest host
Speaker 1: for this month of Womanica, this Black History Month, we're
Speaker 1: talking about revolutionaries, the black women who led struggles for
Speaker 1: liberation from violent governments, colonial rulers, and enslavers. These women
Speaker 1: had the courage to imagine radically different worlds and they
Speaker 1: use their power to try and pull those worlds into view. Today,
Speaker 1: we're talking about a woman who was at the forefront
Speaker 1: of radical black politics in Britain during the late sixties
Speaker 1: and early seventies. She stood trial for protesting police violence
Speaker 1: against the black community, and she was vindicated in the
Speaker 1: court of law. Let's talk about Althea Jones Lacointe. Althea
Speaker 1: was born in nineteen forty five in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Speaker 1: Her mother was a dressmaker and her father was a
Speaker 1: school principal, but those were just their day jobs. Outside
Speaker 1: of work, both were active in the People's National Movement,
Speaker 1: a political party that was founded by the man who
Speaker 1: would become Trinidad and Tobago's first Prime Minister. After gaining
Speaker 1: independence from Great Britain. As a child, Althea was already
Speaker 1: a burgeoning young activist. In nineteen sixty five, when Althea
Speaker 1: was just twenty years old, she left Trinidad to study
Speaker 1: chemistry at University College London. She wasn't exactly over the
Speaker 1: moon about leaving her home for the UK, but at
Speaker 1: the time, Britain was a big colonial superpower and studying
Speaker 1: there was seen as the best path to a high
Speaker 1: quality education. As soon as I was Anthea started class
Speaker 1: as she was bombarded with racism. At the beginning of
Speaker 1: the course. She went to an introductory meeting and the
Speaker 1: whole class stopped talking to stare at her. When someone
Speaker 1: mustered the courage to speak, they asked Althea if she
Speaker 1: was sure she was in the right place. This ostracizing
Speaker 1: experience shaped the way Althea viewed her new social and
Speaker 1: political reality in the UK. It wasn't just name calling
Speaker 1: our racial epithets. It was even deeper. There was an
Speaker 1: underlying sense of who belonged and who didn't. There were
Speaker 1: even special lists of landlords who would rent to black
Speaker 1: students and those who wouldn't. Later in life, Althea told
Speaker 1: a reporter quote, the whole thing is a physical, psychological,
Speaker 1: and emotional revolution that the human person has to make.
Speaker 1: Althea decided to take a stand against the inhumanity she
Speaker 1: was experiencing on campus. She got involved with student groups
Speaker 1: and protested her university's racist practices, and despite the obstacles
Speaker 1: she faced at school, she earned her PhD in biochemistry.
Speaker 1: It was already clear to Althea that the racist culture
Speaker 1: of the university was just a microcosm of greater British society.
Speaker 1: When she moved to England, it was a time when
Speaker 1: fascist groups were violently attacking communities of color. There were
Speaker 1: murders and riots white residents and the police regularly harassed
Speaker 1: their black neighbors. Through her work as a student organizer,
Speaker 1: Althea had connected with the British Black Panther movement. In
Speaker 1: the beginning, the British Black Panthers were a small group
Speaker 1: of radical black men who organized demonstrations and sent out
Speaker 1: a newsletter to promote their cause. One of the men
Speaker 1: in this group, Eddie Lacoint, would eventually become Althea's husband.
Speaker 1: Althea quickly became a core member. Many, including the local police,
Speaker 1: came to see her as a leader, though she has
Speaker 1: insisted the group was collectively lit Regardless, Althea got to work.
Speaker 1: She helped nearby schools teach black history and publish radical newsletters.
Speaker 1: She also canvassed to protest police brutality, discriminatory immigration legislation,
Speaker 1: and the economic oppression of people of color. The core
Speaker 1: group of Panthers also upheld a strict moral code and
Speaker 1: required that members study a selection of foundational texts, including
Speaker 1: the Black Jacobins. As the movement grew in popularity, resistance
Speaker 1: to it also increased. During this time, Althea and her
Speaker 1: fellow activists were subjected to intense government surveillance. The police,
Speaker 1: harassment and government surveillance reached fever pitch in nineteen seventy
Speaker 1: at the Mangrove, a restaurant in notting Hill. At the time,
Speaker 1: the Mangrove was a popular gathering place for members of
Speaker 1: the Caribbean community. It attracted many famous visitors and was
Speaker 1: known for being the site of black political activism. It
Speaker 1: was a place where the Black Panther movement would dine, discuss,
Speaker 1: and organize. It was also a place that faced frequent
Speaker 1: police rates. The cops claimed that there were drugs or
Speaker 1: criminal activity, though they never found any evidence of that.
Speaker 1: After several invasive police raids, the Black Panther movement took
Speaker 1: a stand. About one hundred and fifty people poured into
Speaker 1: the streets of notting Hill. The demonstrators peacefully headed toward
Speaker 1: the police station, calling out Black Power Chance. However, two
Speaker 1: hours into the protest, the demonstration took a dark turn.
Speaker 1: Seven hundred police officers were sent out to meet them
Speaker 1: and several resorts of violence to stop the march. Activists
Speaker 1: used makeshift weapons to protect themselves while the police beat
Speaker 1: and arrested people in the procession. Althea was one of
Speaker 1: nine people who were arrested for inciting a riot, among
Speaker 1: several other charges. This group became known as the Mangrove Nine.
Speaker 1: Althea chose to represent herself at the official court hearing.
Speaker 1: She was a compelling speaker and used the ensuing fifty
Speaker 1: five day trial to expose the corruption and institutional racism
Speaker 1: of the police force. In the end, the Mangrove nine
Speaker 1: were found not guilty. It was a huge victory for
Speaker 1: the black community and it was a strong message to
Speaker 1: the police and the British government using violence to dismantle
Speaker 1: anti racist activism is unacceptable. Althia stayed politically active in
Speaker 1: the movement until nineteen seventy four. After that, she turned
Speaker 1: to a more private career as a physician and research scientist,
Speaker 1: which she continues today. Surveillance and censorship kept ALTHEA from
Speaker 1: speaking openly about her involvement for many years. Because of that,
Speaker 1: many people still don't know how vital she was to
Speaker 1: the success of the movement. Althea's strong leadership and strategic
Speaker 1: brilliance helped the Black Power movement gain ground in Britain
Speaker 1: and forced a broader recognition of the institutional racism that
Speaker 1: people of color face all around the world. All month,
Speaker 1: we're talking about Revolutionary For more information, you can find
Speaker 1: us on Facebook and Instagram at Wamanica Podcast. Special thanks
Speaker 1: to co creators Jenny and Liz Kaplan for having me
Speaker 1: as a guest host. As always, we're taking a break
Speaker 1: for the weekend, so talk to you on Monday.