Effects Of Immigrants In The 1950s And 1960s

The sources do not support the statement according to which immigrants were treated well during the 1950s and 1960s.
Most of the sources indicate that the immigrants were badly treated. Source A for example shows that in areas of employment, immigrants were not treated equally to the White Britons. The number of White Britons offered a job is 15, whereas for the Hungarians it is 10, and for Black Britons it is 1. Black Britons were statistically the most discriminated against, which was most likely due to skin colour; the number of Hungarians – who were white – offered a job was much higher, despite them also being immigrants. However, the Hungarians were still offered fewer jobs than the White Britons. This suggests that some of the discrimination …show more content…
Source C is unsupportive; it is from a speech against the ‘disadvantage experienced by many people in minority communities’. Although it may be hyperbole – it was said by someone who needed resources, which could mean they were exaggerating in order to gain support – it suggests that the problem existed to some extent, if it was being addressed. This is still applicable to the 1950s and 1960s: if discrimination existed a decade later, it must have been present …show more content…
The image is of a wall with ‘Powell for PM’ written on it in large lettering, and was published in a newspaper a month after Enoch Powell’s anti-immigration speech. The source would seem to prove that immigrants were not treated well, as the person who wrote the graffiti very passionately agreed with him. However, a black man in a suit is walking past the graffiti. The fact that he is well dressed suggests that perhaps some immigrants were treated well. Nevertheless, the photo appears to be staged; the man does not acknowledge the camera, which suggests that it was not taken naturally (as surely he would have been surprised at someone taking a picture of him if he had not been told beforehand that it would happen). This could mean that he was purposely well dressed for the picture, which means he may not accurately represent the majority of immigrants in the 1960s. The support for Powell is definitely true, demonstrated by the letters of support he received after his speech. The picture may have been taken for an article about the contrast between immigrants that were treated badly (shown by the support for Powell) and ones that were treated well (shown by the black man with the resources to buy a suit). This is reinforced by the fact that it was published a month after Powell’s speech, meaning that the newspaper may have been capitalising on the controversy present at the time. The source does not support the statement