22 February 2017 - UK Government do not deny or confirm that the 17 detainees from Guantanemo Bay have been paid £20m in compensation for their detention without trial.

21 February 2018 -  South London grime superstar Stormzy does "the double" as he wins  best British male and best British album for Gang Signs and Prayer at the Brit Awards Ceremony held at the London 02 Arena. Then makes national news in freestyle criticism of the PrimeMinister Theresa May asking "Where is the money for Grenfell?".

19 February 1995 - Reigning Olympics 100m Champion, Linford Christie breaks  200m world indoor recordin a time of 20.25sec, aged 34 at a meeting in Liévin, France.

18 February 2003  - Lenford Kwesi Garrison, dies aged  just 59. He was named as one of the "Greatest Black Britons", according to a list produced by Every Generation Media. The Jamaican-born photographer and educationalist was  one of the founding members of the Black Cultural Archives (BCA), a lasting legacy that combines everything Garrison was passionate about.

Thanks to the Voice Newspaper for the above information. See also our Hall of Fame. 

17 January 2019 -New Research shows that  Black Britons and those of south Asian origin face “shocking” discrimination in the labour market at levels unchanged since the late 1960s.

A study by experts based at the Centre for Social Investigation at Nuffield College, University of Oxford, found applicants from minority ethnic backgrounds had to send 80% more applications to get a positive response from an employer than a white person of British origin.

A linked study by the same researchers, comparing their results with similar field experiments dating back to 1969, found discrimination against black Britons and those of south Asian origin – particularly Pakistanis – unchanged over almost 50 years.

The research, part of a larger cross-national project funded by the European Union and shared exclusively with the Guardian before its official launch, prompted concerns that race relations legislation had failed.

It echoes findings published as part of the Guardian’s Bias in Britain  that  people from minority ethnic backgrounds face discrimination when seeking a room to rent. In a snapshot survey of online flatshare ads the Guardian found that an applicant called Muhammad was significantly less likely to receive a positive response than an applicant called David.

With thanks to The Guardian for the above information

17 February 2015 - Abid Naseer, a man who plotted a terrorist attack on a shopping centre in Manchester in 2009, which would have reportedly only come second to the September 11 attacks in its impact, stands on trial in the United States.

16 February 2017 - HRH Prince of Wales makes an official visit to the new home of the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton and praises their work and contribution to developing the education and heritage contribution of peoples of African and Carribean descent.   

15 February 1954 -The Movement for Colonial Freedom was a political civil rights advocacy group founded in the United Kingdom in by Fenner Brockway.  It had the support of many MPs including Harold Wilson, Barbara Castle and Tony Benn. It also had backing among celebrities such as Benjamin Britten and in the universities. In 1970 the Movement was renamed Liberation

 14 February 1997 - The Daily Mail newspaper uses its front page to name the five men it says killed Stephen Lawrence. It invites them to sue if it is wrong.

13 February 1998 - Imran Khan (15) , Glasgow, Scotland dies eight days after being stabbed in street fight between a group of Asian boys and four white youths. Colin Gilmour serving seven years for his attempted murder, while his brother Craig was given two years for slashing a second Asian boy in the group.

12 February 1992 - Seal wins  Best British Video for Killer at the BRIT Awards

11 February 1985 - Sade Wins Best Album at the BRIT Awards with Diamond Life

10 February 2014 - Stuart McPhail Hall, FBA  a Jamaican-born cultural theorist, political activist and sociologist dies. See Heroes section for full biography. 

8 February 2021 - Death of Anthony Norman Collins at the age of 94.  He managed Rochdale between 1960 and 1967, becoming the first black manager in the Football League and leading them to the 1962 Football League Cup Final, their only major final appearance.

See Hall of Fame for Biography.

7 February 2018 - A cutting-edge scientific analysis shows that a Briton from 10,000 years ago had dark brown skin and blue eyes.

Researchers from London's Natural History Museum extracted DNA from Cheddar Man, Britain's oldest complete skeleton, which was discovered in 1903. University College London researchers then used the subsequent genome analysis for a facial reconstruction.

It underlines the fact that the lighter skin characteristic of modern Europeans is a relatively recent phenomenon. No prehistoric Briton of this age had previously had their genome analysed.

As such, the analysis provides valuable new insights into the first people to resettle Britain after the last Ice Age.

With thanks to the BBC for the above information.

6 February 2009 -Bashir Ahmad who made history when he was elected to the Scottish Parliament to represent the Glasgow region at the 2007 election,dies. He was the first MSP to be elected from Asian-Scots, Muslim and non-White backgrounds. See Hall of Fame for more information

5 February 2011 -David Cameron criticises "state multiculturalism" in his first speech as prime minister on radicalisation and causes of terrorism.

The Labour MP for Luton South, Gavin Shuker, asked if it was wise for Mr Cameron to make the speech on the same day the English Defence League staged a major protest in his constituency.

There was further criticism from Labour's Sadiq Khan whose comments made in a Daily Mirror article sparked a row.

The shadow justice secretary was reported as saying Mr Cameron was "writing propaganda material for the EDL".

Conservative Party chairman Baroness Warsi hit back, saying that "to smear the prime minister as a right wing extremist is outrageous and irresponsible". She called on Labour leader Ed Miliband to disown the remarks.

Meanwhile, the Muslim Council of Britain's assistant secretary general, Dr Faisal Hanjra, described Mr Cameron's speech as "disappointing".

4 February 1998 - Death of James Tossell,16,  in Kengfig Hill near Bridgend, Wales. 

James and his friend, Steven Gibbs, were racially abused and attacked by a gang of youths who threw bricks at Steven’s home where James and Steven had barricaded themselves. The flat was later set alight and James died. Charges against two youths were dropped because of insufficient evidence. The CPS also decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the officers involved in the investigation.

With thanks to the Institute of Race Relations for the above information.

3 February 2012 -The Football Association removes John Terry as Captain of the England national football team over allegations of racial abuse of opponent Anton Ferdinand during a match.  The England Manager, Fabio Capello later resigns over the decision.

2 February 2020 - A man shot is shot dead by police after he stabbed people in south London. He  had been released from prison in January 2020.

Sudesh Amman, 20, was released around a week ago after serving half of his sentence of three years and four months for terror offences.

He was under active police surveillance at the time of the attack on Streatham High Road, which police believe to be an Islamist-related terrorist incident.

Three people were injured but none are in a life-threatening condition.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the government would announce further plans for "fundamental changes to the system for dealing with those convicted of terrorism offences" on Monday.

He said the government had moved quickly to introduce measures strengthening its response to terrorism, including longer prison sentences and more money for police, following the attack at Fishmongers Hall, near London Bridge, in November.

1 February 2001 - Amryl Johnson dies (6 April 1944 – 1 February 2001) was a writer born in Trinidad who lived most of her life in Britain. Much of her work concerned the diasporic nature of her life and the hostility she faced in Britain.

See Hall of Fame for Biography

31 January 2015 - Black Europe – The Sounds And Images Of Black People In Europe Pre 1927   is launched by Bear Records of Germany.It is a 44-CD Box Set (LP-Size) with two 300-page hardbound books, 1244 tracks. Total playing time: 56hours 26minutes 27seconds. The collection is nominated for a Grammy Award.

The concept of the project states " Black men and women – long present in Europe – have long been overlooked as pioneering personalities in modern mass media. From the early years of the recording industry, people of African descent were featured on European phonograph cylinders, gramophone discs and in movies and still images."

30 January 1978 - Opposition Leader, Magaret Thatcher makes these infamous remarks that bought back echoes of Enoch Powells comments almost 10 years earlier:

"I think it means that people are really rather afraid that this country might be rather swamped by people with a different culture and, you know, the British character has done so much for democracy, for law and done so much throughout the world that if there is any fear that it might be swamped people are going to react and be rather hostile to those coming in." A few days later Ex-Primeminister Edward Heath crticises his successor as Conservative Party Leader for causing "...an uncessary national row"

29 January 2019 - Heavily pregnant MP Tulip Siddiq  who voted from a wheelchair a few weeks ago, has since given birth, was allowed to vote by proxy for the latest round of Brexit votes.

Tulip Siddiq told Politics Live presenter Jo Coburn her Hampstead and Kilburn seat had 22,000 EU nationals and she wanted to vote for them and herself in a series of votes on Tuesday night.

She said: "I asked for a proxy vote, which has never been done in Parliament before, and it happened last night for the first time."

With thanks to The BBC and The Guardian for the above information. 

28 January 1997 -Musician , Michael Menson is  found on fire on the North Circular Road, Edmonton, north London by the Police. The Police for some reason believed Mr. Menson set himself on fire despite the evidence given to the hospital by the victim this this was a racial attack by a group of men who also abused him. 

See Timeline 13  February 1997.