Handsworth gave Britain roots reggae, dub poetry and a camera on its own community.
From The War Effort To The Factories
Caribbean men and women came to Birmingham during the Second World War to work in the city's munitions factories. After the war, rebuilding and growing industry needed workers, and recruitment from the Caribbean brought many more. Handsworth became the centre of Birmingham's African-Caribbean community, with Soho Road as its busy shopping street.
Handsworth Revolution
Steel Pulse formed in 1975 at Handsworth Wood Boys School, with David Hinds, Basil Gabbidon and Ronald McQueen in the first line-up. Their debut album, Handsworth Revolution, was named after the area, and they later became the first act from outside Jamaica to win the Grammy for Best Reggae Album, for Babylon the Bandit.
They were not alone. Pato Banton, Bitty McLean and Apache Indian all came out of Handsworth too.
Benjamin Zephaniah
Benjamin Zephaniah was born and raised in Handsworth, the son of a Barbadian postman and a Jamaican nurse who came to Britain in 1956. He called the area the Jamaican capital of Europe, and he became a celebrated dub poet and writer. In 2003 he turned down an OBE. He died in December 2023. In 2025 Birmingham City University renamed a building in his honour.
A Camera On Its Own Community
Vanley Burke was born in St Thomas, Jamaica in 1951 and joined his parents in Britain at 14. From his first studio on Grove Lane in Handsworth he photographed his community's life in Britain, and his first major show, Handsworth from the Inside, was held at the Ikon Gallery. His archive is kept by Birmingham City Council.
Carnival And Black Birmingham Today
Caribbean carnivals began in Handsworth Park in 1984, with a procession along Holyhead Road, and in 1995 the event moved onto the streets as the Birmingham International Carnival. Today Handsworth and Soho Road are still at the heart of Black Birmingham, and Black-owned brands from across the city are building on what those first families started.
Shop Black-owned businesses in Birmingham on CashBlack.
Photo Credits
Shops on Soho Road, Handsworth. Photo: Richard Law, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons The lake in Handsworth Park. Photo: Tanya Dedyukhina, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons