A Black History Month exhibition celebrating black culture and its influence in the Church today. Featuring black African and Caribbean clergy in the Diocese of Oxford telling their inspiring stories of faith and resilience.
Read the stories with portraits
During the Second World War, people from Africa and the Caribbean were among those who served in the British forces in Europe and worked in munitions factories in Britain. After the war, there was a shortage of labourers needed to rebuild the country.
In 1948, the British Nationality Act gave British citizenship to all people living in Commonwealth countries and full rights of entry and settlement in Britain. Migrants arrived from Africa, the Caribbean and South Asia, along with other Commonwealth citizens, to live and work in London and the UK. Because of the widespread racism at the time, those who were teachers and other qualified professionals found that their British qualifications were rejected. Many, therefore, had no choice but to go into unskilled labour.
In the areas covered by the Diocese of Oxford in the Thames Valley, these communities worked for companies such as Mars and Horlicks and car dealerships in areas like Slough. They also became drivers of public transport. In Reading, they worked for Gillette, Huntley & Palmers, and Huntley Boorne & Stevens. Some of the professionals reluctantly retrained and gained the same qualifications discounted previously. Many of the women worked in the hospitals and later trained as nurses.
As people entered the UK, they naturally moved to areas where their country folk lived. For example, in the Thames Valley area, there were more people from the islands of St Kitts & Nevis and Anguilla in Slough, whilst Reading became home to the largest population of Barbadians in the world outside Barbados. It is often said jokingly that Reading is the capital of Barbados. The town is twinned with Speightstown, Barbados. The Vincentians (those from St Vincent) settled in High Wycombe. Jamaicans scattered throughout the diocese after moving from places like Wolverhampton, Birmingham, and Derby. There are African communities dispersed throughout the Thames Valley region.
For many of these communities facing various challenges, their resilience has borne from their faith. This exhibition tells the stories of just a few of them.
Read the stories with portraits | Watch the playlist on YouTube