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Black and White Café

Coordinates:51°27′52″N2°34′57″W/ 51.4645°N 2.5824°W/51.4645; -2.5824
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

TheBlack and White Caféwas a café inSt Pauls, Bristol,in theUnited Kingdom,that opened in 1971, owned by the Wilks family.[1]The Caribbean food café had a reputation as a drug den and was raided more times by the police than any other premises in the country.

Events during a 1980 police raid on the café were a catalyst for theSt Pauls riot.[1]The café remained a centre for drug dealing and violent turf wars through the 1990s, with a peak in the early 2000s,[2]and raids also revealed weapons and illegal immigrants.[3]The Observerdubbed the café "Britain's most dangerous hard drug den".[2]

The café closed in 2004 under legal action as a result of new anti-social behaviour legislation[3]and was later demolished.[3]

Bertram Wilks

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Bertram Wilks is a well-known member of the Bristol community. Born inClarendon, Jamaica,in 1938, Wilks moved to the UK in 1959. He opened the Black and White Café in theSt Paulsdistrict ofBristolin 1971.[3]Wilks has been featured in the booksPolicing Notting Hill: Fifty Years of Turbulence,by Tony Moore,[4]andUprising! The Police, the People and the Riots in Britain's CitiesbyMartin Kettleand Lucy Hodges.[5]

Wilks is the father of singer-songwriter and producerEmmanuel Anebsa(born Stephen Emmanuel Wilks).

References

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  1. ^ab"Infamous cafe could close".BBC. 28 January 2003.Retrieved19 October2012.
  2. ^abThompson, Tony (8 February 2003)."Britain's most dangerous hard drug den".The Observer.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved27 March2017.
  3. ^abcdBennetto, Jason (25 June 2004)."Legendary Jamaican drugs cafe is closed".The Independent.Retrieved21 March2016.
  4. ^Moore, Tony; Lord Blair (Foreword) (1 July 2013).Policing Notting Hill: Fifty Years of Turbulence.Waterside Press.ISBN9781904380610.
  5. ^"Burnt out police cars, St Pauls riots, Bristol 1980".Flickr.Retrieved27 March2017.

51°27′52″N2°34′57″W/ 51.4645°N 2.5824°W/51.4645; -2.5824