1. Frank Gilbert Crichlow was a British community activist and civil rights campaigner, who became known in 1960s London as a godfather of black power activism.
12 Facts About Frank Crichlow
1. 2.
Frank Crichlow was a central figure in the Notting Hill Carnival.
3.
Originally from Woodbrook, Port of Spain, Trinidad, Frank Crichlow arrived in England in June 1953 on the SS Colombie, among the first wave of post-war immigrants from the Caribbean.
4.
Frank Crichlow lived in Paddington at first, working for British Rail, then formed the Starlight Four band in 1956.
5.
Frank Crichlow described it as a "school or university" for hustlers.
6.
In 1968, Frank Crichlow opened The Mangrove restaurant at 8 All Saints Road, Notting Hill, attracting both unwelcome police attention and celebrity visitors such as Diana Ross and the Supremes, Vanessa Redgrave, and Sammy Davis Jr.
7.
Frank Crichlow called the trial "a turning point for black people".
8.
Frank Crichlow went on to form the Mangrove Community Association to improve housing and services for ex-offenders, drug addicts, and alcoholics.
9.
Frank Crichlow was a central figure in the Notting Hill Carnival; his restaurant served for many years as the base from which activists, musicians and artists organised the event.
10.
Frank Crichlow's funeral took place on 27 September 2010 at St Mary of the Angels, Bayswater.
11.
Frank Crichlow appeared in the 1973 Franco Rosso and John La Rose documentary film The Mangrove Nine.
12.
In 2011, a blue plaque for Frank Crichlow organised by the Nubian Jak Community Trust was unveiled at the former site of The Mangrove in All Saints Road.