Wartime hospitality and the colour bar
Wartime hospitality and the colour bar
The ‘peaceful invasion’ of refugees and allies during the Second World War included significant numbers of ‘coloured’ colonials responding to the needs of the merchant marine, munitions factories and armed services. It became apparent that war-time accommodation, hospitality and recreation for the new ‘coloured’ arrivals, primarily from the West Indies, could not be provided in discrete self-contained manner. Account had also to be taken of the long-term disadvantage and discrimination endured by the resident ‘coloured’ population, mainly West African. The League of Coloured Peoples and the recently formed Colonial Office Welfare Department both established a presence in Liverpool (where tensions were heightened by the arrival of black US troops) and extended their respective remits to consider the needs of long-term residents. The priority for both agencies remained colonial development, a project not to be hindered by adverse experience of the ‘colour bar’ for those in Liverpool, whether temporarily or permanently.
Keywords: Second World War, colour bar, West Indians, West Africans, black US troops, Colonial Office, League of Coloured Peoples
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