Colour Prejudice
Colour Prejudice in Britain. By Anthony H. Richmond. (Routledge and Kegan Paul. 18s.) THIS book sets out to describe and to analyse the experiences of a compact group of 345 West Indians who came to Britain over ten years ago to work in war factories, and it does this very well. What is of even greater interest, however, is the insight it gives into certain cultural attitudes of our own urban communities.
The West Indians in question were not all intelligent or highly educated,.although the first group consisted entirely of trained skilled workmen; but they were all astonished and bewildered by the ignorance and incomprehension with which they were commonly greeted. Their own comments read like nothing so much as the first reports of an anthropologist arrived in the midst of a savage tribe. They were complimented on having learned to speak English, were asked whether they were accustomed to wearing clothes, whether their women wore grass skirts.
It was not long before they came up against frankly hostile prejudices which were more painful to bear with equanimity. When they began to seek accommodation elsewhere than in Government hostels, they began to experience rebuffs: 'Everywhere we went someone would come to the door, usually a lady, and when she saw a black face at the door she gasped with surprise and either slammed the door or called out to someone to come quickly. One place we went to the lady actually fainted when she opened the door and saw us!'
These stereotypes of prejudice against negroes were most evident in the spheres of economic and especially of sexual competition. The author has interesting comments to make upon similarities and differences in British and American attitudes in these respects. From a multitude of first-hand accounts, he is able to show how the resulting conflicts were dealt with on either side; and here many of the observa- tions are frankly unflattering to the British citizens' behaviour. There were notable exceptions, workmen who 'stood by' coloured Work-mates who appeared to be victimised (and vice versa) and in one court case the Recorder made a spirited declaration of fair dealing: 'When people come here to risk their lives they are entitled to think they are coming to conditions of decency and order fit for the title of imperial in its best sense. If they find that what I am inclined to call a noisy and intolerant minority are not prepared to give them equal rights I think they have a right to be angry.' There is one passage of unrelieved gloom, which reveals that the standard of tolerance and understanding which had slowly been improving suffered a prolonged setback as a result of the arrival in Britain of the American forces. In deference to their prejudices, cafés, dance halls and hotels began to practise a colour-bar, and in spite of protests the situation did not improve again until the lavishly-spending Americans had gone. Even in post-war years episodes of violence and discrimination have shown that ordinary British citizens have a long way to go before incomers of alien race will be accepted as individuals, without having first to negotiate barriers of prejudice and suspicion: but an honest appraisal of the situation, such as this book gives, must help towards that goal.
G. M. CARSTAIRI
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