Chapeltown, the cricket club, the carnival and a city that learned to remember David Oluwale.
Settling In Chapeltown
Most of Leeds's African-Caribbean community arrived between the end of the Second World War and the early 1960s, and many of the first Jamaicans to settle were ex-servicemen. Chapeltown became the heart of Black Leeds. The Jamaica Society, with its headquarters on Chapeltown Road, formed the Leeds Caribbean Cricket Club in 1948, described as the first Caribbean cricket club in the UK.
Carnival, 1967
Arthur France, a Leeds University student from St Kitts and Nevis, proposed a Caribbean-style outdoor carnival run by people of Caribbean origin. With Ian Charles, the teacher Gertrude Paul and others, he made it happen in 1967. Five contestants entered the first Carnival Queen show, and the procession went from Potternewton Park to Leeds Town Hall.
Leeds West Indian Carnival still fills Chapeltown and Harehills every August Bank Holiday weekend, with the parade leaving from and returning to Potternewton Park on the Monday.
Remembering David Oluwale
David Oluwale was born in Lagos around 1930 and came to Leeds in 1949, a city with a big textile and clothing industry. In April 1969 he was last seen running from police officers towards the River Aire, where he drowned. In 1971 two officers were found guilty of assaulting him.
Leeds has chosen to remember him. The David Oluwale Memorial Association became a charity in 2012, a blue plaque went up on Leeds Bridge in 2022, and in January 2023 the city opened the David Oluwale Bridge over the Aire.
Black Leeds Today
Chapeltown is still where Black Leeds gathers. The Leeds West Indian Centre is known for its club nights, and Black-owned food spots, barbers, salons and brands are part of everyday life across the city.
Shop Black-owned businesses in Leeds on CashBlack.
Photo Credits
Chapeltown Road, Leeds. Photo: habiloid, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons The Leeds West Indian Carnival, 2023. Photo: Lloyd Tudor, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons The David Oluwale Bridge over the River Aire, Leeds. Photo: Mtaylor848, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons