User:SunTunnels/Death of Milton King

Milton King (d. March 4–5? 1951) was a Barbadian seaman who was beaten and killed by Cape Town police in 1951 after he intervened on behalf of customers being harassed by two constables in a café in District Six. King was arrested and died two days later in jail, likely from a fractured skull received in a severe beating. One policeman was charged with culpable homicide [and another...], but the only publicly-known punishment resulting from legal proceedings was a fine of [pounds]10 [inflation].

King's murder, and his killers' light sentences, made international headlines, particularly in the Caribbean and London.[Cite newspapers] According to some historical scholars, the ensuing protests and boycotts constituted the beginning of the international anti-apartheid movement. Four years later, Barbados became one of the first countries to impose international trade sanctions on South Africa.

Context
Milton King was a Barbadian man who worked as a seaman aboard SS Strategist, a ship owned by the Harrison Line. In 1951, the Strategist had been sailing between the United Kingdom and the Union of South Africa when she docked in Cape Town, where King went ashore on March 3.

Arrest and death
On the night of March 3, 1951, two Cape Town Constables named J. J. Groenwald and Johannes S. K. Visser entered the café and [...]

Investigation
In Barbados, the colonial Government first heard of King's death on March 31 and subsequently began its own investigation, focused on bringing the killers to justice and on providing adequate compensation to King's children. The House of Assembly was told by Ernest Deighton Mottley on May 15 that the Governor of Barbados, Alfred Savage, was informed about the incident and was urged to take the matter up with the Secretary of State for the Colonies. On May 22, Hugh Gordon Cummins addressed the House of Assembly on behalf of the Government, saying he was authorized to confirm that an investigation was taking place. However, due to British jurisprudence laws and jurisdiction issues, all the Barbadian Government could really do was call for High Commissioner for Southern Africa to pursue its own investigations thoroughly and justly.

Reactions
Strategist returned to Barbados on June 28, anchoring in Carlisle Bay. Crew members who disembarked that evening wore black ties in honor of their deceased crew mate.