Negroes in Britain

A Study of Racial Relations in English Society

K. L. Little

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781136244131
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

This is Volume XII in a series of twenty-one on Class, Race and Social Structure. Originally published in 1948, this volume offers a study of racial relations in English society, using language of the time.

PART I

THE COLOURED PEOPLE OF CARDIFF

CHAPTER 1

FIELD WORK METHODS

1. THE RESOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM

The Community Survey with which this book is concerned covers the coloured population of a large Welsh seaport city, mainly made up of the families of African, West Indian, and Arab seamen. In respect to the small size of the community covered (some 7,000 persons at the outside) the survey differs markedly from most of the studies reviewed in the introductory chapter, but the essential qualifications of a community as sociologically defined are satisfactorily fulfilled. The people concerned inhabit an area within the city limits of about one square mile in extent, and by their occupational background as well as by their racial, psychological, and geographical separation from the rest of the city may be regarded as sharing a common body of experience.

The purely methodological problem which arises out of this situation is at once simple and complex. It is simple in that the demarcation of the coloured people from the rest of the city’s inhabitants is obvious from nearly every angle. It is complex in that this community in its urban-dwelling and seafaring aspects shares to no small extent the occupational experiences, attitudes, outlook, and even the sentiments of the larger labouring class of which it is a part, and from which at the same time it is distinguished by race, and a fairly wide variety of language, religion and social custom. In other words, are we to look upon the problem as one of behaviour in an urban environment and no more; or as a study in race relations; or, indeed, as both?

After some empirical enquiry and consideration it was found that the most satisfactory way of meeting these rather comprehensive demands was to approach them from three angles; in terms of (a) the historical antecedents and occupational background of the community, (b) its social structure and general sociology, and (c) its relationship to and its position as part of the surrounding matrix of the larger British society. So far as (a) is concerned, the material was obtained mainly in documentary form. Reports of industrial surveys, contemporary literature, Cardiff City Council reports, newspaper files, records and reports on the shipping industry, and the publications and files of the League of Coloured Peoples provided a substantial basis for the writer’s own empirical knowledge of factors and conditions. The compilation of material on (b) called for the assembly of relevant social and economic data relating to the community and its environment. These data were obtained “in the field” almost entirely by means of anthropological methods of enquiry (see below). In (c), a much wider question is involved, and one which calls for a combination of all the above methods. It is a matter of deciding how far the sociology of the community has been and is affected by the cultural influences of British society, especially those of Cardiff itself. Such a consideration involved examining the British cultural heritage, more particularly in respect of popular attitudes and sentiments on the subject of coloured people and colour prejudice. It was soon found that the latter aspect, in particular—colour prejudice and its concomitants—played so large a part in shaping the general sociological situation, that it demanded more than a superficial explanation. This, in turn, called for further field work, in addition to the use of documentary material and contemporary literature, and included the use of questionnaires, the personal experiences and observations of the writer in lecturing and talking to some two dozen male and female Service units, further enquiries by W.E.A. students, acting on the writer’s instructions and suggestions, and his own periodic contacts with coloured communities in other parts of the country, in Liverpool, London, and Hull, and with the voluntary organizations serving them.

2. TECHNIQUE OF ENQUIRY

It may be of interest briefly to compare the general technique of enquiry used in this investigation with the methods employed among a rural people in, say, Africa. One of the more important disadvantages which the anthropologist working in Western society has to surmount is the fact that his subjects are out of sight for a large part of the day behind the walls of houses, offices, etc. In most pre-literate societies, everyday life is lived very much more in public. In the case of Loudoun Square, however, there was some compensation for this in view of the habit of the menfolk, in particular, of using the streets as a social centre. On the other hand, as succeeding chapters should show, there were reasons additional to the conventional ones which made the task of sociological enquiry into the coloured quarter of Cardiff a difficult one, an undertaking not to be attempted successfully in any official capacity. The main reason for this is the community’s bitter memory of its clashes with the townspeople, and of individual struggles to make a living in the face of white competition and opposition.¹ The community has been subjected to one or two previous “surveys”, and not a little journalistic inquiry and comment, some of it undoubtedly malicious.² References to the latter will be found in this study. On the whole, therefore, bearing in mind the history and recent experiences of the community, it is in no way surprising that inquisitive strangers should be regarded with suspicion. Unless he is already accredited in some way, a white man in the district may be looked upon with as much dislike as, and sometimes considerably more suspicion than, a coloured man is by members of the white public in an up-town area of the city. This matter obviously needs further clarification and some qualification, but it is a prefatory methodological point of some importance,¹ and one with which the writer himself was faced. It so happened that during the period of the enquiry he was invited by the Sons of Africa, the largest Negro association in the district, to address a general meeting of the community on the subject of an educational scheme for the benefit of the children. In the course of his talk, he suggested that possible sources of employment lay abroad in the Colonies, having in mind more particularly the existence of strong prejudice against coloured juveniles in Cardiff. His whole speech, as well as the suggestion itself, was at once interpreted, by almost every coloured man in the room who spoke in comment on it, as a proposal with sinister and ulterior implications, to secure the removal of the coloured people back to the Colonies. This reception² illustrated very clearly not only the existence of a considerable depth of resentment, but also the necessity for the investigator to get to know as much as possible of the historical antecedents of the sociological scheme before setting out to analyse it in its contemporary form.

In the present case, for example, he would be wise to have information ready to hand on various incidents and events of the 1919 racial riots; to appreciate thoroughly all the ramifications of the Aliens’ Order and Shipping Subsidy controversy (See below, pp. 85ff.); and, perhaps above all, to remove any suspicion that unwelcome publicity will follow closely on his visit. The community as a whole is under no misapprehension as to what a large portion of the town thinks of it, and is correspondingly resentful of any unwarranted attempt to pry into its affairs.

3. THE MAKING OF CONTACTS

From the purely technical point of view, therefore, the initial problem was that of making contacts, and contacts of the most profitable kind, since it was obvious even at the outset that any formal declaration of a sociological purpose would be met with considerable suspicion, and even active antagonism. Partly on this account, and partly for more conventional anthropological reasons, it was decided that little would be gained in the early stages of the inquiry by using the more or less direct methods of procedure, which, in this country, appear to have been the almost inevitable practice. Fortunately, a useful medium of contact was already available in the form of an anthropometric study of the “mixed” children, which the writer had official permission to carry out at the largest school in the district. This procedure in itself was by no means ideal as an entrée,¹ but it did at least afford an opportunity of gaining further introductions besides—what in the circumstances was extremely important—providing some explanation for the presence of a patently alien figure.² By these means, and by further introductions from one of the inhabitants of the district, the preliminary stages of contact, inquiry, and observation were undertaken as unostentatiously as possible. The investigators, namely the writer and his wife, were aided in their initial exploration by some slight knowledge of two African languages (though, unfortunately, not of Arabic), and West African customs and politics, and thus were able fairly soon to establish a reasonable basis of understanding and confidence. Visits were paid consistently, as far as was practicable, to all social and public functions in the district, e.g., weddings, meetings of men’s and boys’ clubs, churches, public houses, the local air raid warden’s post, cafés, shops, etc.; and conversations were sought with as wide an assortment of persons as possible. Those interviewed included not only the coloured members of the community, their wives and children, but also quasimembers, such as school teachers, clergy, and persons belonging to other social classes and living in other parts of the city. At the same time, an attempt was made to obtain some quantitative estimation of such factors as rent, domestic budgeting, size and type of house, and other general amenities. The technique ranged from direct questioning to the giving of a short talk on Danish household management by the writer’s wife under the auspices of one of the women’s clubs, and further talks by the writer to various assemblies of the men on scientific and other topics.¹ By these means, it was possible to gain a fairly concrete conception of the very varied sociology of the community, and of the main trend of its attitudes and interests. Data were checked, as far as possible, by further direct and indirect questioning. As will be clear, the process as a whole was one which required very careful handling, as much after recognition had been won as at the beginning. This was owing rather to factionalism than any other reason. Personal and group prejudices were almost as marked among some of the white residents in the district as among the more obviously divergent coloured sections. The small size of the community and its even more restricted geographical dimensions made movement from group to group or from house to house awkward at times and on occasions clandestine, and required a considerable amount of forethought in terms of appointments and public appearances. To achieve a satisfactory condition of rapport with all concerned, whilst avoiding at the same time the outward signs of affiliation with any, is not a simple task, particularly when it is evident that true and objective neutrality may win from everyone a modicum of respect, but from none actual confidence.

4. THE NATURE OF THE INTERVIEW

In general, therefore, the technique adopted was deliberately indirect in character, both in the making of contacts and in eliciting the information required. For example, in the course of an interview, particularly in the early stages of the inquiry, it was always sought to lead the conversation towards the subject in view rather than to introduce it directly. This procedure was not always easy or practicable, partly owing to some lack of English on the part of some of the persons interviewed, partly owing to the investigator’s ignorance of their languages, and it led not infrequently to redundance and repetitive analogy, although even this occasionally served a purpose in denoting some point of particular interest to the speaker and his group. Interest was sometimes stimulated by reference to some well-known topic, such as the Colour Bar itself, or to some controversial personality in the district, whilst reference to one’s own social background and interests served a certain though limited purpose.

In general, the investigators found a strong vein of friendliness amongst the individuals concerned, whether African, West Indian, White, Arab or “mixed blood”. This was all the more apparent when the persons in question felt assured of a sympathetic interest in their affairs, and it is a point which is strongly endorsed by other people who have had any length of sympathetic contact with the district. As will become more obvious from the subsequent sociological analysis, one of the main complaints of the coloured Loudoun Square inhabitant is that he is looked upon as something of an oddity by the world outside.¹ This is perhaps already sufficiently evident amongst the educated class of coloured people in this country, but it is interesting, though not altogether surprising, to find that the far less well-equipped type of coloured man is hardly less resentful of, and is certainly as much alive to, all the implications of colour prejudice and its concomitants. So far as the present inquiry is concerned, this point quite obviously constituted the greatest barrier to progress. Once it had been successfully broken down, however, confidence flowed more normally, and by the end of the study it was possible to reveal something of the real purpose of the investigator’s presence, and to ask for material assistance.¹

Apart from investigation within the community, a certain amount of field work was carried out in the city itself. Reference to calls at hotels and boarding houses is made elsewhere. In addition, in the course of assembling various statistical and other relevant data from the appropriate quarters, such as Public Assistance, Unemployment Assistance Board, Sanitation, Public Health, Housing, Police, Probation, and Education officials, and the local branches of the Seamen’s Union and Ministry of Labour, an effort was made to estimate the nature of the city’s official attitude towards the coloured folk. Such occasions require a more refined technique. The role of the caller as an investigator of social conditions is known, and there is a corresponding tendency to “resistance” on the part of the person interviewed. Often, he inclines either to give an answer which is “required”, or to act defensively in his own interest or that of his department.² It is a situation which requires careful psychological treatment and on which it is difficult to lay down any law. In his own case, the writer found that the technique of stimulated astonishment and alternate agreement and d...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• Part 1: The Coloured People of Cardiff
• Part 2: The Historical and Cultural Context of Racial Relations in Britain
• Appendix An Aspect of the Colour Bar in English Society
• Index