Coming of Age : 1976 and the Road to Anti-Racism

“I am seriously
concerned at
the continued
disturbances
due to racial ill
feeling against
coloured men
in our large
sea ports.
These riots are
serious enough
from the point
of view of the
maintenance
of order in this
country, but
they are even
more serious
in regard to
their possible
effect in the
colonies…‟
Colonial
Secretary Lord
Milner
percussions for the European presence in the colonized world” 25
In the Caribbean, British governors were acutely aware of the
potential challenge to colonial rule posed by increasing black political
awareness, especially when it was combined with the return of
disaffected repatriated black Britons and ex- service personnel following
the seaport riots. In the metropole, Colonial Secretary Lord
Milner expressed similar anxiety: “I am seriously concerned at the
continued disturbances due to racial ill feeling against coloured men
in our large sea ports. These riots are serious enough from the point
of view of the maintenance of order in this country, but they are even
more serious in regard to their possible effect in the colonies...” 26
British newspaper editorials also expressed a fear that the seaport
riots could provoke disorder among the overwhelming black majority
in the colonies. The South Wales Daily News noted that since Britain’s
post-war obligations “to the dark races” were in the process of extension
via mandate under the Treaty of Versailles: “it is all the more
necessary to insist upon fair play and equal treatment to everyman,
whatever his colour…”. 27 This viewpoint was persuasively stated in an
editorial in the Liverpool Daily Post and Mercury on 11 June 1919: Careful
and commonsense handling of the “colour” disturbances is necessary
if what at present is little more than a local disorder is not to develop
into a serious Imperial problem. There would be infinite possibilities of
mischief if any idea gained ground in India and Africa that the isolated
conduct of riotous mobs represented the prevailing British attitude
towards the black members of the Empire who are in our midst. 28
Some of the more sympathetic white public reactions to the plight
of black people attacked during the riots also revealed a deeper concern
for the future of the imperial/colonial relationship. Perhaps predictably,
white-dominated Christian and humanitarian groups were prominent
in expressing these sentiments. Local Anglican clerics raised the
possible imperial repercussions of the rioting in a letter to Liverpool
corporation (council) in July 1919: “the racial riots, [are] … a blot upon
the fair name of the city, and a danger to the commonwealth at large…
calculated to hinder the progress of Christ’s kingdom at home and
abroad.” 29 John H. Harris, organising secretary of the Anti-Slavery
and Aborigines” Protection Society, demonstrated Britain’s imperial inter-connectedness
in an interview conducted at the height of the port
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