An English Heritage blue plaque commentating John Richard Archer, the first black man to hold a senior public office in London has been unveiled at his former home.
One hundred years ago this week, John Richard Archer was elected Mayor of Battersea, having won the ballot by a single vote.
Biographer Sean Creighton said Archer was “a key figure in the story of the Black contribution in Britain in the early part of the twentieth century”.
“Not only was he active in black politics, arguing for social justice and more rights within the African and West Indian colonies, but he represented Battersea’s white working class on the Council and the Board of Guardians, and he championed the rights of the poor, the unemployed and First World War ex-servicemen.”
The plaque has been erected at 55 Brynmaer Road, Battersea, Archer’s home during the major milestones of his political career, and was unveiled by Councillor Angela Graham, the Mayor of Wandsworth.
