Before the Windrush: Race Relations in 20th-Century Liverpool

by John Belchem

Long before the arrival of the 'Empire Windrush' after the Second World War, Liverpool was widely known for its polyglot population, its boisterous 'sailortown' and cosmopolitan profile of transients, sojourners and settlers. Regarding Britain as the mother country, 'coloured' colonials arrived in Liverpool for what they thought to be internal migration into a common British world. What they encountered, however, was very different. Their legal status as British subjects notwithstanding, 'coloured' colonials in Liverpool were the first to 'There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack'.

Despite the absence of significant new immigration, despite the high levels of mixed dating, marriages and parentage, and despite pioneer initiatives in race and community relations, black Liverpudlians encountered racial discrimination, were left marginalized and disadvantaged and, in the aftermath of the Toxteth riots of 1981, the once proud 'cosmopolitan' Liverpool stood condemned for its 'uniquely horrific' racism.

Before the Windrush is a fascinating study that enriches our understanding of how the empire 'came home'. By drawing attention to Liverpool's mixed population in the first half of the twentieth century and its approach to race relations, this book seeks to provide historical context and perspective to debates about Britain's experience of empire in the twentieth century.

Genres: Race, Nonfiction, History, Politics

288 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2014

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really excellent work detailing the oft-overlooked history of race relations in Liverpool, situating the topic particularly impressively with regard to how the Liverpool experience differed significantly from the rest of the UK. Belchem maintains an academic approach and avoids resorting to 'judging' Liverpool's position: although the issues facing Liverpool's minority communities were and are undoubtedly harsh, the author does not mirror what so many politicians have done in trying to hold up Liverpool either as an example to aspire to, or a depth never to be plummeted toward. Belchem's work is well-researched, and delves deeply into a range of topics using primary sources for the entire period. This is particularly impressive with regard to Belchem's writing on the pre-war era.

[Kevin McAvoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well researched dive in to the deep end of racism in Liverpool. Sadly after 400 years of blacks and whites intermixing