Elgie Bell

Who was Elgie Bell?

ELDRED BELL WAS A HUMAN PUNCH BAG TO THE WHITE RACIST POLICE OFFICERS

IN POLICE CUSTODY LAID BLOODIED IN CELLS ENDURED

WARDEN BRUTALITY INCARCERATED AT HIS MAJESTY'S PRISON (HMP) SERVICES 

WORMWOOD SCRUBS, PENTONVILLE, BRIXTON & ISLE OF WIGHT

FLIP THE WHITE SCRIPT

ELGIE BELL WAS EVERYTHING TO HIS WHITE MOTHER

SHE FOUGHT FOR YEARS TO PROTECT HIM FROM STATE SANCTIONED VIOLENCE

ELGIE BELL WAS THE BROTHER

of Christina Jordean, Social Justice Activist of Black Lives Matter UK

Eldred Bell was a person of mixed heritage, born to a Black father and White mother in 1948, a few years after World War II. His father had come to Britain to support the British war efforts many years before Windrush was established. The Windrush era marked the invitation of thousands of Black individuals from the Caribbean islands to assist in the post-war reconstruction of Britain, where they settled and became part of the community and full British citizens, (supposedly) with equal rights.

Eldred was born in England and lived majority if his life in Hackney. He also spent some years in Bournemouth before returning to Hackney and subsequently spending time in Tower Hamlets. Tragically, he passed away at the young age of 34, just three months before his 35th birthday.

Eldred led a challenging life in many respects. He was exceptionally intelligent, perhaps the brightest among his siblings. He was charismatic, tall, and handsome, possessing a deep appreciation for people of all backgrounds and cultures and could fit into almost all type of environments. Eldred had a diverse taste in music, enjoying genres like Jazz, Blues, Reggae, artists like Jimi Hendrix, as well as playing musical instruments like bongos and the saxophone. Despite his remarkable qualities, he faced personal struggles, trauma, and hardships throughout his life, due to his heritage and skin tone. Being Black and growing up in Britain during 40-50's wasn't easy. His untimely death was a profound shock to the family, as many had never experienced a loss of this magnitude before.

Prior to his passing, family and friends expected tragic news, such as his death either due to police brutality, on the streets and in a prison cell, or from a drug overdose. His family eventually received the devastating news of his demise caused by drug-induced misadventure, as recorded by the coroner.

Police brutality started when Elgie left school, this would have been at aged 14/15 in the 60's he became an easy visible target for the police practices of stop and search under SUS law ('while walking Black as we call it' - those who feel it know it). His mother confirms this with a mention in her 'Note Book'. "Since leaving school my son has been single out (by the police). Come for my son they never leave him alone" Into his mid-late teens, a worrying side of Eldred began to emerge, causing heartache not only for his family but also for himself. This troubling aspect, seemingly beyond his control, involved a struggle with drug abuse eventually drug addiction, including a reliance on anti-depressants and various other pills, often sourced often from his mother's prescribed medication, his GP and local lads in Hoxton, Shoreditch, and North London. Despite his repeated efforts to overcome this issue, with intermittent breaks the challenges persisted. It is not uncommon for people to self-medicate to escape trauma.

Reflecting on the origins of his personal struggles, it becomes evident how certain individuals, forces, institutions and circumstances influenced his life journey profoundly, directly and indirectly.

Eldred, Elgie Bell, was a well-loved figure among the locals who knew him back in the 60's and 70's. At that time, the concept of a Black community, as we recognise it today, was virtually nonexistent, and the Bell family stood out as one of the very few, if not the sole Black family in the neighbourhood. The Bells resided for a span of 27 years in modest 3-bedroom flats located at 52, 59, and 63 Allerton House on the Provost Estate, Murray Grove, Shoreditch, Hackney. It was not uncommon for neighbours to swap flats, resulting in the Bell family residing few times just a few doors down or balcony up, moving between 3 different flats and family who left home lived within close proximity during this time. The most cherished memories of this 7-sibling family were made during their time at 59 Allerton House, where they shared both love, laughter and sorrow together. While there were many joyous moments growing up in such a large family, they also faced significant challenges, often stemming from external sources. Eldred was the victim of brutality. This impacted on the entire family.

We always slept light waiting for the COPPER'S KNOCKS on the door from City Road Police, it was relentless and over a number of years, often without warrant cops entered the premises to tipping of his young sisters' upside down, while their mum pleaded "leave my girls bedroom alone". The regular raids were intended to intimidate, traumatise, and establish a strong sense of power and control. Occasionally the police would listen to the pleads of his mother. Some police officer understood that she was an honest woman just trying her best to raise her children. BUT the majority of coppers were on a power trip and none too pleased that a white woman had chosen a Black man over a white man and had 7 mixed race children! of them!

Eldred experienced a tumultuous period in his early teenage years when he became entangled in drug use. His mother recalls that soon after finishing school, he became a target for the police. By his early twenties, he had developed a serious drug addiction, consuming a variety of substances including barbiturates, synthetic drugs formerly prescribed for anxiety and depression, and occasionally cannabis. He would try any pill he could find, including his mother's antidepressants and weight-loss pills. During this challenging time, his mother faced her own struggles, by large raising seven children as a single parent in a society plagued by racism. The police would frequently show up at her door with arrest warrants, despite her clean record as a law-abiding citizen. On multiple occasions, she was taken into custody and confined in grimy, bloodied cells for a few hours in their relentless pursuit of her son.

Despite Eldred's fair complexion due to being bi-racial, he was unequivocally perceived as Black by law enforcement, as the lack of diversity in Britain made his skin tone from mixed heritage irrelevant; he was simply a 'Black Bastard' in the eyes of the police and local bigots alike, underscoring the prevalent disregard for Black lives during that era.

His social circle consisted mainly of white individuals aged in their late teens to early twenties who used drugs. Some, like Eldred, ended up battling addiction. However, Eldred's encounters with the police were markedly different from those of his white friends; he was subjected to violence while they were not.

There remains a disparity in police treatment of Black and white youth during stop and search, even when they are in the same group of friends and are stopped together.

While interacting with the police, Elgie's white friends had a drastically different experience compared to Black individuals. They often walked away unharmed and without facing charges when accompanied by Elgie. This stark contrast highlights the overt racism present in the policing system, which still exists today. Black individuals are disproportionately targeted; The police planted drugs on Eldred many times as they searched him. If they couldn't find drugs they would plant some, resulting in unjust charges, more beatings, and imprisonment. The disparity in treatment based on race was evident in actions.

As the eldest in the family, Eldred bore the brunt of targeted anti-Black racism from both the white community and the police. Being the oldest boy, he naturally took it upon himself to protect his siblings from local bullying. Whenever something went awry, the siblings of the family would call for their big brother, Elgie Bell, and just his presence was enough to make things right. Eldred was well-known and well-liked, desired as a friend by many.  His mother made a note of this in a diary written in 1960, but the diary of notes only discovered 24 years by Eldred's' (Elgie's) sister Christina after her mother's passing. Police harassment was a common occurrence for the Bell family, and Eldred faced police brutality regularly. These events loomed large and often felt like a daily part of life for the Bell family residing in Allerton House. These memories are forever shared and passed down, as is typical in families. The Black community of that time and decades since shares similar narratives but notes a shift in police racism from individual officers to institutionalised racism. Stop and Search became a routine for Eldred being stopped and searched while walking Black was a risk faced every time one walked out the door, all under the watchful eyes of racist officers exploiting the SUS law. This practice has persisted throughout Metropolitan Police history up to the present day however, the MERT have adapted how they discriminate using stop and search once the SUS law was repealed in 1984.

Years later, concrete evidence emerged to corroborate these accounts in the form of Eldred's late mother's diaries, discovered following year after her passing. These detailed records and reflections that date back to 1969, shedding light on the turbulent brutal state violence that unfolded during that era.

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Much of police brutality of this period from creation to 1980's was in blind sight and over time became increasingly covert after coming under public scrutiny and the setting up of Lord Scarman's Independent Custody Visitors Scheme. State violence went from brazen brutality dished out on the streets in communities to become hidden behind doors while in custody, detainees at police stations and in police cells, often white citizens, or detainees when in custody would escape police brutality on the most part, in contrast Black individuals would endure violence on the streets as well as when in custody, arrested, detained in custody. These discriminatory practices underscore systemic issues that need addressing, alas the MET still hasn't come to terms with the fact of institutional racism exists, that Black citizens matter, and the MET need to mature, update and reflect this in the service, policy and practices to receive the respect and consent it needs from Black citizens. This is the only way police will gain the trust the police and the co-operation it needs to police Black communities successfully. Policing is by consent and Black communities do not consent to unfair, unjust treatment primarily based on the colour of our skin.

1969 'Note Book'

Historical notes left behind, taken and published from a written account of a distraught mother notebook, namely Joyce Mary Bell on incidents of police brutality, racism and injustice against her Black son

Notes are brief, nonetheless clearly describes police state violence serving as a damning indictment referencing court appearances, police brutality, thoughts and feelings of a mother involving her beloved son Eldred Bell aka Elgie Bell.

A verbatim poignant account - Some sections of notes in handwriting are unclear and or without ending and still to be deciphered.

(PRAP) Police Race Action Plan - Improving policing for Black people 

The Plan was launched in 2020, following the murder of George Floyd and the resulting Black Lives Matter movement. The Plan sets out actions needed to build an anti-racist police service and address race disparities...

Appointment of new Police Race Action Plan Programme Director

Director Alison Heydari - PRAP programme director

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