I would like any information on the status of Black people in Edwardian England.

Hello lynnes,

Since you mentioned the Jeffrey Green book, you will probably be
interested in the following article, which deals in part with Black
people in Britain during the Edwardian era, as well as before and
after.

"BEFORE THE WINDRUSH.(black presence - UK before 1940s) (History
Today, Oct, 2000), by Jeffrey Green"
Looksmart
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m1373/10_50/66157032/p1/article.jhtml?term=

"Black People in Britain - Before the Windrush", by Jeffrey Green
The Black Presence in Britain
http://www.blackpresence.co.uk/pages/historical/jeff_green.htm

You should also browse the links on the following page:

"Black British History"
The Black Presence in Britain
http://www.blackpresence.co.uk/pages/history.htm

I hope that this information will be a good start for your investigation.

- justaskscott


Search terms used on Google:

"jeffrey green" "black edwardians"

I suspect that there were very few black people in Britain in
Edwardian times, so the question of their status probably never arose.

Certainly before WW2, there were very few black people around and most
English folk would have only seen them in Hollywood movies.

I don't think this is strictly true. The fact is that they were more
than likely the visible invisible within the society.  I do know that
there is a book written by Jeffrey Green called The Black Edwardians -
but I don't have the time to order this from the US or UK (I'm based
in Australia), and was hoping that there would be some information on
the web that I've as yet been unsuccessful in accessing.

These links may be helpful:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/beyond/factsheets/makhist/makhist_subjects.shtml#black

and

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/BlackPeople.htm

Great links, Freddy ...

Although two of the people on the Spartacus page were Indians and one,
Shapurji Saklatvala, became Britain's first Communist MP, in 1922.

I guess this quote would have still applied in Edwardian times: 

After the conference the Pan-African Congress wrote to Joseph
Chamberlain, the British colonial secretary, suggesting that black
people in the British Empire should be granted "true civil and
political rights". Chamberlain replied that black people were "totally
unfit for representative institutions". Sylvester Williams responded
to this by writing to Queen Victoria about the system "whereby black
men, women, and children were placed in legalized bondage to white
colonists". The letter was passed to Chamberlain who replied that the
government would not "overlook the interests and welfare of the native
races."

Fascinating stuff but, as I commented earlier, there were evidently
'very few' of them.

Freddy

Have just had another look at the Spartacus site and who did I find?

Mary Seacole!

I've often wondered who she was, because one address for Lambeth
Health is Mary Seacole House'.

So now I know!

Thanks.

Bryan

Mary Seacole on her way from London to Brighton:

http://www.black-history.org.uk/seacole.asp

Wow, Freddy, she actually came to Brighton!

And why not?

Quite a lady, I'm almost tempted to get her autobiography.

Bryan

Found several copies, including one in French:

Je suis une mal-blanchie. La vie aventureuse d'une cousine de l'Oncle
Tom (1805-1881)

What do you make of that?

Hi, Bryan

Why buy this book in French, if a paperback edition will be available
later this year?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140439021/qid=1075711923/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_11_5/202-5558469-7093402

Hope you'll find these links interesting:

"Mary Seacole Resource Page"
http://www.chriswillis.freeserve.co.uk/seacole.htm

"Mary Seacole Memorial Campaign in the House of Commons"
http://clivesoleymp.typepad.com/clive_soley_mp/2003/11/mary_seacole.html

BBCi:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/seacole_mary.shtml

"Who Was Mary Seacole?"
http://www.maryseacole.com/maryseacole/biography/

Regards,
Freddy

Hi, Freddy

I wasn't proposing to buy the French edition, because there's dozens
of 2nd hand English editions around.

I was just curious about the French title. 

Many thanks for your further links. The lady seems to be highly topical again.

Warmest regards

Bryan

Well, looking at the various ways the verb blanchir is being used,

http://www.francophonie.hachette-livre.fr/cgi-bin/sgmlex2?B.SCIP.BL0236400

the title "une mal-blanchie" seems to have more than only one precise meaning.

Regards,
Freddy