How a Racist Murder Started One of the Biggest Street Festivals in the World
The murderous origins of the Notting Hill Carnival.
The Notting Hill Carnival is one of the largest street festivals in the world. Since 1966, it has been held every year in the streets of the Notting Hill area of Kensington, London. It is organized by the British Caribbean Community. The costumes, the food, and the congregation go beyond the celebration of Caribbean culture. This celebration is written in the story of West London and has a very interesting but unfortunate history.
It is deeply connected to the life and death of Kelso Cochrane, a resident of Notting Hill in the 1950s. Kelso Cochrane was born in Antigua in 1926, an island in the Caribbean colonized by the British. Antigua had a plantation economy, and slavery was widespread. Even after the abolishment of slavery in 1833, the freed slaves did not receive any compensation for their work. The lack of work opportunities made most of the young men move to the United States or Britain.
Cochrane also moved to the US. But after his divorce from his wife, he was deported to Antigua as he had overstayed his residence permit. He made the decision to move to England in 1954, where he settled in Notting Hill. He had high ambitions and wanted to become a lawyer. He started…
