British black gospel refers to Gospel music of the African diaspora.
Gospel music can be traced to the early 17th century,[1] with roots in the black oral tradition. Hymns and sacred songs were often repeated in a call and response fashion. Most of the churches relied on hand clapping and foot stomping as rhythmic accompaniment. Most of the singing was done a cappella.[2] The first published use of the term "gospel song" probably appeared in 1874. The original gospel songs were written and composed by authors such as George F. Root, Philip Bliss, Charles H. Gabriel, William Howard Doane, and Fanny Crosby.[3] Gospel music publishing houses emerged. The advent of radio in the 1920s greatly increased the audience for gospel music. Following World War II, gospel music moved into major auditoriums, and gospel music concerts became quite elaborate.
18th century
Perhaps the most famous gospel-based hymns were composed in the 1760s-1770s by English writers John Newton ("Amazing Grace") and Augustus Toplady ("Rock of Ages"), members of the Anglican Church. Starting out as lyrics only, it took decades for standardized tunes to be added to them. Although not directly connected with African-American gospel music, they were adopted by African-Americans as well as white Americans, and Newton's connection with the abolition movement provided cross-fertilization.
American Gospel strongly influenced the British Gospel Scene with people like Mahelia Jackson and Thomas Dorsey Listen here to Roy Francis joining the dots on exactly how Gospel music gained prominence in the UK. With over 30 years’ experience within television broadcasting, music and
production industry, former producer of BBC’s ‘Songs of Praise’ and
ground-breaking gospel music series ‘People Get Ready’ shown on Channel 4
in the 1980s.
Gospel Music
although a subgenre of black music in the UK today arrived in
England in the early post-war years, along with the large-scale
immigrant influx and their wide variety of musical tastes. Pioneers in
this field include an eight-piece a cappella family group from Trinidad
called the Singing Stewarts
-
Oscar Stewart, Ashmore Stewart, Frankie Stewart, Phylis Stewart,
Gloria Stewart, Timothy Stewart, Thedore Stewart and Del Stewart - who
were the first to appear on a major British record label in the late
1960s. They impressed many English audiences with their unique
interpretation of Negro Spirituals and traditional Gospel songs. Based in Birmingham in the Midlands they appeared on numerous radio shows and participated in the prestigious Edinburgh Festival, again increasing awareness of this genre.
In later years and decades when black people began to settle in the
UK, groups such as The Doyleys, Paradise, Lavine Hudson and the Bazil
Meade-inspired London Community Gospel Choir began to drive the music much further towards the mainstream and out of the comfort zone of the black churches.
The Singing Stewarts are featured in the book British Black Gospel: The Foundations of this vibrant UK sound
by Steve Alexander Smith. Huddersfield-born Smith was inspired to write
the book after spending time in the USA in the mid 1990s and witnessing
the best that Black Gospel could offer.
The book is the world's first to cover the underground British Black gospel scene and is published with a 13-track CD.
The first Black Majority Church in Europe was Founded in London. This was Sumner Road
Chapel founded by Rev Thomas Kwame Brem-Wilson in Peckham in 1906. Rev
Brem-Wilson, a business man and school master was born into a wealthy
family in Dixcove, Ghana around 1855. He immigrated to Britain in 1901
and founded Sumner Road Chapel known today as Sureway International
Christian Ministries in Herne Hill South East London. Rev Brem-Wilson’s
Church was an African Pentecostal Church and he was also involved with
the origins of the Pentecostal movement in Britain. This was because he
was friends with the likes of Alexander Boddy (the Anglican priest
that is recognised as the father of British Pentecostalism), Cecil
Polhill (one of the pioneers of Pentecostal missionary movement in
Britain), D.P. Williams and W.J. Williams (founders of the Apostolic
Church in Britain).
The next phase of the history of BMCs in London
was the founding of the League of Coloured Peoples’ started by Dr
Harold Moody. Although this was not a Church but it functioned as a
Para-Church agency that catered for the needs of Black people then.
Harold Moody was born in Jamaica in 1882 and he came to London in 1908
to pursue a career in medicine. He studied at Kings College Hospital
in London and qualified as a medical Doctor. Frustrated at the lack of
opportunity to practice medicine, he turned his attention to the
medical needs of Black people in Peckham. To this end, being convinced
by his faith, he started the League of Coloured People on 13th of March
1931 at the central YMCA, Tottenham Court Road.
The 1940s and 1950s saw the influx of
Caribbean families into the UK due to the invitation of the British
government asking them to come and help build the country after the
devastations of Second World War. This led to the formation of Caribbean
Pentecostal and Holiness Churches. The first of the Caribbean
Pentecostal Churches founded in the UK was Calvary Church of God in
Christ which started in London in 1948. Others soon followed such as
the New Testament Church of God (1953), Church of God of Prophecy
(1953), Wesleyan Holiness Church (1958) and New Testament Assembly
(1961) to mention a few. The first New Testament Church of God in
London was founded in the Hammersmith area in 1959. It was also during
the 1950s that the renowned late Guyanese missionary, Phillip Mohabir
came as a missionary to Britain. Phillip came in 1956 and started an
itinerant ministry in Brixton which included preaching in shops, pubs,
on the buses and from house to house. He also planted Churches in London
and outside London. He later pioneered the founding of West Indian
Evangelical Alliance (WIEA) in 1984. WIEA was later known as The
African Caribbean Evangelical Alliance (ACEA) which is now defunct.
The independence of African countries from
around 1957 onwards led to African diplomats, students, tourist coming
to Britain. When they discovered like the Caribbeans before them that
they were rejected by the British Churches and society at large, this
led to the founding of African Instituted Churches (AICs) in London.
The first of such Churches to be planted was the Church of the Lord
(Aladura) planted in 1964 by the late Apostle Adejobi in South London.
This Church has its headquarters (HQ hereafter) in Nigeria. Others
soon followed such as the Cherubim and Seraphim Church in 1965 (HQ in
Nigeria), the Celestial Church of Christ in 1967 (HQ also in Nigeria),
Aladura International Church founded by Rev. Father Olu Abiola in 1970.
Others include Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Mount Bethel founded by
Apostle Ayo Omideyi in 1974 (HQ in Lagos Nigeria), and Christ Apostolic
Church (CAC) of Great Britain in 1976 (HQ in Ibadan Nigeria). The
first of the Ghanaian Churches to arrive in England was the Musama
Disco Christo Church (MDCC) in London in 1980.
Finally, from around the 1980s and 1990s, there
emerged a new type of African Churches, Newer Pentecostal Churches
(NPCs). It is the explosive growth of these Churches particularly in the
1990s that has drawn the attention of scholars and currently the media
to BMCs. Some of these Churches are Deeper Life Bible Church founded
in London in 1985, New Covenant Church, founded in London in 1985/86,
The Church of Pentecost founded in London in 1988, The Redeemed
Christian Church of God (RCCG) founded in London in 1988, Trinity
Baptist Church founded in South Norwood in 1988, Christ Faith
Tabernacle founded in Deptford, London in 1989, Christian Victory Group
founded in London in 1991, Kingsway International Christian Centre
(KICC) founded in London in 1992 and many others. Newer generation of
Caribbean Pentecostal Churches also started in the 1990s such as Ruach
Ministries founded in London in 1994, Christian Life City founded in
1996 in London, Micah Christian Ministries founded in New Cross in 1998
and many more. It is now difficult to estimate the number of BMCs in
London as there many not registered as Charities or known. In addition,
the problem of using the building of established Churches or using the
pastor’s front room also makes it difficult. This means researching
into their history could be problematic. On the other hand some of the
BMCs like to be known therefore they are making their history available
through their websites and other printed media. In addition oral
history in the form of testimonies plays a vital role in telling their
stories.
The British afro Hair Care industry is worth approximately 4.2 billion today, there are 27 British Black Owned Hair Care Brands currently in the UK.
Hair care for blacks over the years for me has been a difficult topic, as a child I had no idea how to look after my hair and spent much of my childhood with a short back and sides or an afro, the only place I could buy black hair products was the Arndale in Manchester and during my late teens spent a lot of time relaxing my hair.
On moving to Hereford I found buying black hair care products extremely difficult and could only buy my hair care products from Gloucester 30 miles away or having a trip to Birmingham, I soon learned that braiding my hair was a better option.
For many years my hair remained braided until I moved back to Manchester where access to black hair care products was much easier and eventually the internet revolution made buying black hair care products as easy as a quick click of a mouse and the range of products overwhelming.
For the past 15 years I have been natural, choosing to stay away form all chemical processes and braiding and just wearing my hair as it comes and felt very comfortable in doing so, as my identity as a black woman has evolved, so has my confidence in having my natural born hair on display.
The history of Black Hair is a contentious issue for blacks and there is a movement called 'Natural Hair Movement', The natural hair movement is focused on encouraging women with African
ancestry to celebrate and enjoy the natural characteristics of their
kinky, curly, hair texture.
In the 20th century, hair for
Africans represented an individual’s age, ethnicity, religion, social
rank and status. Hair was taken groomed for those who understood social
standards and implications within the community, as it was significant.
Going into the African diaspora,
Afro hair was usually dressed according to the local culture. For
example in the 1960s, the Afro hair was represented as a political
statement, it became a symbol for the Black movement in
America and UK. The Afro represented Black power and integration in American
and UK political systems. Black women had many Eurocentric features and
hairstyles and during the movement the black communities created their
own standard of beauty. Hair then became their main icon which was a way
of challenging white-dominated mainstream media. During these times
Afro hair was distinguishable and an expression of Black pride, thus not
supporting societal norms.
Kathleen Cleaver of the Black Panthers explains here:-
More can be read about the Black Hair Movement of the 60's here.
To understand this train of thought you have to go back further in history, as I stated further up in this essay, in the 20th Century hair for Africans represented many things amongst them social rank and status so hair was an important part of an Africans identity.
In the 18th Century, British colonists deemed African hair as closer to sheep wool than human hair, setting the precedent that white hair is preferable — or good,
a racially charged notion in and of itself. After the emancipation of
slavery, many black Americans sought to straighten their hair to fit in. Madame C.J. Walker, the first black female millionaire, made her fortune selling products meant to straighten black hair as a way to help black women get ahead in society by fitting in aesthetically.
Even today the hatred of black hair goes beyond ignorant comments. In fact,
embracing natural hair can lead some women and men to lose their jobs or
face punishment at school. In March 2014, the U.S. Army issued a new policy
that banned traditional black hairstyles, including cornrows, twists
and dreadlocks. The regulations even described these styles “unkempt”
and “matted.” After months of backlash and a letter from the
Congressional Black Caucus, then-Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel reviewed
and subsequently rolled back the policy.
This is not confined to USA but also here in UK even recently as September of 2017 (this year) a boy was sent home from school for having Dreadlocks (see here) in January 2017 a woman was reported to have been told she could not have a job in Harrods if her hair was not straightened (see here)
White's have mandated appearance codes for blacks dictating how Black women should wear their for a very long time, the earliest, South Carolina's Negro Act of 1735, specifically set a standard of dress for the enslaved and free African
Americans" (ibid. 132). In 1740 amendments, South Carolina's slave code
further elaborated the dress regulations (Genovese, 1974:359). In 1786, while
Louisiana was a Spanish colony, the governor enacted a dress code which
forbade: females of colour to wear plumes or jewelry; this law
specifically required their hair bound in a kerchief (Crete, 1981:
80-81; also Gayarre, 1885: 178-179 and Wares, 1981:135). (More info here)
This internalized negative images carried through black generations created
from involuntary lives in a white supremacist culture. Some of these
codes were so specific that they targeted the types of patterns and
clothes that black people were able to wear, citing them as an effort to
help newly freed blacks “fit in” with their new environment. All the
while, the codes continued to limit the freedom of identity and cultural
expression that had been stifled through enslavement.
Throughout the history of Africa, hair has played an important part of the cultures, there are over 2000 distinct ethno-linguistic groups in Africa, the diaspora may be far removed but hold their roots in this important tradition and I feel it is a beautiful thing that despite the oppression and the turbulent journeys these generations of Africans have been forced through down the ages hair is still plays an important if not political role today. To finish please enjoy this beautiful website of Hair Styles in African Culture (Here)
During this Black History Month we are currently working on our Maths Techniques so I thought it was apt to write a little about Black Mathematicians.
Whilst I am a stickler for keeping UK Black History Month focused on UK Black History, I will have to stray from this focus for this topic of Black Mathematicians as even though these Black Mathematicians may not have all been from the UK or spent time in the UK, they certainly paved the way for Black Mathematicians today in the UK.
Africa is the home to the Worlds earliest known use of Mathematics and Calculation. Africans were using numerals, algebra and geometry in daily life, this knowledge spread throughout the world after a series of migrations out of Africa beginning around 30,000 BC and later following a series of invasions of Africa by Europeans and Asians (1700-BC- present).
The oldest Mathematical instrument is the Lebombo Bone, this is a baboon fibula used as a measuring device and named after it's location of discovery the Labombo Mountains of Swaziland. The device dates back 35,000 years, judging by its distinct markings it could have been used to track menstrual or lunar cycles or merely just used as a measuring stick.
More can be found out about this early African Maths from The Ta Neter Foundation which brings to light the ancient and medieval History of Africans in Africa.
Whilst we do know that Africa is the birth place of Mathematics and we can pinpoint its origins, not much is actually known about individual Black Mathematicians before the Greeks who developed maths like Archimedes
a Greek who is known as the greatest mathematician of all time, although it is known that the majority of Greek Mathematicians studied in Egypt.
In modern Mathematics there has been and are some notable Black mathematicians although there has been no Black Winner of the Fields medal, the "Nobel prize of mathematics" which started in 1936 and non that could match the genius of Carl Friedrich Gauss 1777-1855.
Benjamin Banneker
(1731-1806) is often recognized as the first African American
mathematician; however, ex-slave Thomas
Fuller's (1710-1790) and the Nigerian Muhammad
ibn Muhammad's (16??-1741) activities predate Benjamin Banneker. None of these men had formal degrees.
Clifford Victor Johnson (born 5 March 1968 in London) is an English theoretical physicist and professor at the University of Southern California Department of Physics and Astronomy. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education listed Clifford Johnson as the
most highly cited black professor of mathematics or a related field at
an American university or college.
Katherine Adebola Okikiolu(born 1965) is a British mathematician is known for her work with elliptic differential operators as well as her work with inner-city children.
Elbert Frank Cox(December 5, 1895 –
November 28, 1969) was an American mathematician who became the first
black person in the world to receive a Ph.D. in Mathematics.
Euphemia Lofton Haynes (1890 - 1980), 1st Black Female Mathematics PhD she faced three obstacles in
becoming a PhD mathematician. She was female, she was Black and she was
in her 50’s.
Ali Mostafa Mosharafa (1898-1950) The first African to earn a
Ph.D. from the University of London in
1923 and 1924
David
Blackwell(1919-2010)At
the age of 22, becomes the seventh african american
to earn a Ph.D. in Mathematics (University of Illinois). He may
well be the greatest black Mathematician.
J.
Ernest Wilkins(1923-2011)At
age 19, becomes the eight african american
to earn a Ph.D. in Mathematics (University of Chicago). He is
certainly one of the greatest black
Mathematicians.
Clarence Ellis(1943-2014) is the first African American to earn a Computer
Science Ph.D
Abraham Manie Adelstein. (1916-1992) Mathematician, Scientist, Statistician, became became the United Kingdom's Chief Medical Statistician.
There are obviously many more but not as many as there should be to add to this list, especially British Black Mathematicians of which the reasons are discussed in the book Beyond Banneker by Erica Walker.
I love reading about the history of blacks in Britain, I come across all sorts of interesting bits of information, this website is one of my very favourites.
Created and researched by Historian Jeffrey Green based in South London, Jeffrey chronicles the life and times of Blacks in Britain from Andrew Bogle 1802-1877 a servant at the household of the Tichborne family and played a major part in one
of the longest and most controversial trials of the 19th century, to people such as Robert Branford, 1817-1869 who was a: London police superintendent, amongst the many others detailed in 180 separate entries of life in Britain for Blacks..
Jeffrey
Green offers a fascinating detailed insight into the lives of Blacks living in
Britain. Click on the picture above to find out more.
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography has published over thirty of his articles, and he has contributed to several American reference works
Some of my personal favourites within the stories are:-
They tell a fascinating tale of what life was like in earlier eras, how people lived in ways we would not expect from what we have been taught about history.
These well researched articles show us life lived up and down the country of ordinary people living extraordinary lives!
Black history month 2017 is upon us here in UK, this falls in October as opposed to Black History Month in USA which takes place in February. I generally cringe when this time of the year comes around. Not because I don't like the month, but because I love the month. The month is very revealing of current attitudes within society that ironically reinforce the continued importance of Black History Month.
October is a month of negative attitudes and bigoted comments that always surface during this time which always make me cringe and shows clearly why we certainly do still need to celebrate black history month. Carter G Woodson and Akyaaba Addai-Sebo reasons for starting Black History Month in their former formats are as relevant now as they where back in 1926 and 1987 when they started.
Historian Carter G Woodson was the creator of USA Negro History Week in 1926, himself a son of former slaves, a poor autodidact who went on to become a head teacher, political activist, Author, African American Historian amongst many other intellectual titles.
As noted in Wikipedia:-
Woodson noted that African-American contributions "were overlooked, ignored, and even suppressed by the writers of history textbooks and the teachers who use them."[16] Race prejudice, he concluded, "is merely the logical result of tradition, the inevitable outcome of thorough instruction to the effect that the Negro has never contributed anything to the progress of mankind."[16]
In 1926, Woodson pioneered the celebration of "Negro History Week",[17] designated for the second week in February, to coincide with marking the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.[18] However, it was the Black United Students and Black educators at Kent State University that founded Black History Month, on February 1, 1970.[19] Six years later Black History Month was being celebrated all across the country in educational institutions, centers of Black culture and community centers, both great and small, when President Gerald Ford recognized Black History Month, during the celebration of the United States Bicentennial. He urged Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."[20]
It was not until 1987 that Black History Month was first celebrated in London, United Kingdom. It was organized through the leadership of Ghanaian analyst Akyaaba Addai-Sebo, who had served as a coordinator of special projects for the Greater London Council (GLC) he created a collaboration to get it underway.
The inspiration for this came from his recognition of the failure within society of
such which made a child question his identity as an African or being black within UK society. The full fascinating interview and story can be found here (akyaaba addai sebo interview)
Black History month being in October has a few significant meanings:-
Addai-Sebo states in his interview:-
We decided on October as the month to celebrate black history because apart from its significance within the African calendar - the period of the autumn equinox in Africa - October is consecrated as the harvest period, the period of plenty, and the period of the Yam Festivals. It was the time in history when Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia for example were the cradle and breadbasket of civilisation. October is also a period of tolerance and reconciliation in Africa, when the chiefs and leaders would gather to settle all differences. This was also the time to examine one's life in relation to the collective and to see if the targets set for oneself and the group during the past year had been achieved or not. You know that Africa gave the world the calendar. Our ancestors built the Pyramids, knowing about mathematics, architecture and astronomy. October was therefore chosen because of these factors. Black history Month is a reconnection with our source.
This October we will see many lists of great black pioneers and influencers the most common that make the list are Nelson Mandela, Mary Seacole, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Marcus Garvey.
I want to give my top 10 celebrated heroes an airing too, so here is my list of my great Black British Influences;-
Lionel Ngakane - Born in Pretoria he created a film against a background media narrative suggesting ever-worsening racial tensions, Jemima + Johnny offered a refreshingly optimistic take on black/white relations in a post-riots Notting Hill. Jemima + Johnny won its director an award at the 1966 Venice Film Festival, the first black British film to be so honoured. The Film can be watched here in its entiretyhere
Ambrose Adekoya Campbell - Born in Lagos Nigeria, is credited with forming Britain's first ever black band, the West African Rhythm Brothers, in the 1940s. One of his last interviews was conducted by Nigel Williamson of Guardian in 2006, 6 months before Campbell's death. You can read his fascinating story here
Pastor G. Daniel Ekarte - Born in Nigeria opened orphanages for the rejected mixed race children or the then term of 'mongrels' resulting from the American GI and white women of Liverpool during the first world war, you can read more about his amazing work here
Francis Williams - Born in 1702 in Jamaica, William’s successes in mathematics and verse earned him recognition amongst his supporters. At the same time, there were deep prejudices held against him, against the colour of his skin, that would prevent him from taking up his deserved place in science and society. Read more here
Cyril Lionel Robert James (C.L.R.JAMES) - Born in 1901 James was a Historian, Socialist, Journalist. His works are influential in various theoretical, social, and historiographical contexts.. You can find out more about him here
Stuart Hall - Born in 1932 Hall was a Jamaican-born Marxist cultural theorist, political activist and sociologist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1951. You can watch the BBC video of Stuart Hall in his own words here
Dame Shirley Bassey - Born in 1937 Dame Shirley Bassey had a turbulent start to life (find out more here) her rags to riches fame is well deserved, she is multi award winning and generous philanthropist. (find some of her charity work here)
Margaret Busby OBE - Born 1944 Busby is a writer and editor who was also the UK's youngest and first black woman publisher when she co-founded Allison and Busby (find out more about her here)
Dr John Alcindor - Born 1873 Alcindor attended medical school in Edinburgh, graduating with first-class honours in 1899. He worked in many hospitals and in 1907 established his own practice in Paddington, one of the first black general practices in the UK. He was instrumental in the formation of the Pan African Congress (Find out more here)
Mary Prince - Born 1788 The first known British Black Woman to recount her narrative of slavery, Prince was recognised as a national hero of Bermuda, her narrative had a galvanizing effect on the anti slavery movement (learn more here)
Finally as a bonus and a tribute to the late James Berry, a pioneer poet from the Windrush generation, who sadly passed away June 2017. (see more about him here)
