The introduction of Black Culture to Britain

Over history black culture has stemmed itself over here to England in a number of ways, although primarily many due to their descendants and slavery. Thousands of Africans were taken and used for labour in colonies all over the world, although not many made it to Britain. One of the earliest on record was Rev. George Cousens of Cradley Heath Baptist Church in 1837, and there are records of small communities in Cardiff, Liverpool and South Shields during the 19th Century. During the First World War about 15,000 were drafted in for work in factories to aid the war machine, and after the wars many more migrated to America, the U.K. and Europe to fill the losses in the labour market. In 1948, the British Nationality Act gave British citizenship to everyone living in a commonwealth country with full rights to settle in Britain.

One of the most notable turns was the first group of 492 immigrants to London in 1948 on board the MV Empire Windrush. It had come from Australia docking in Jamaica and had been advertised for cheap transport for people to work in the U.K. They were temporarily housed in Clapham South near Brixton, and although many only intended to stay for a few years the majority settled permanently.

Though they had been invited by the British government, naturally they were met by intolerance and racism from certain areas of society. Many were turned down housing due to shortage after the wars, which led to the first clashes between blacks and whites in Britain. These continued to worsen throughout the 1950′s. The Notting Hill carnival was created by the Caribbean community as a positive response to this, something which is still going traditionally today. By 1962 Britain passed the Commonwealth Immigrations Act restricting the entry of immigrants, and soon only those with work permits or parents born in the U.K. could gain entry. But black culture had already rooted, and an entire generation of Britons with Afro-Caribbean heritage now existed, contributing to a wonderfully bright and vibrant mix of cultures alive in Britain.

The recession and widespread unemployment in the 1970′s and 80′s were areas that seriously affected the less economically prosperous Black community, and caused widespread discrimination and poverty. Many riots were caused by oppressive policing, and before long the trouble got out of hand. The then Home Secretary, William Whitelaw, commissioned the Scarman report the find out the cause of the troubles. It highlighted ‘racial discimination and disadvantages’ in Britain and the need for change. This discrimination is still widely discussed by black music artists even today, especially in Hip Hop and Rap.

Unfortunately you cannot ignore the recent rise of gang culture and gun crime in Britain, which many blame on the ‘gangsta rap’ scene, although gun crime is on the rise all over the place and will be as technology gets better so do weapons. Tensions between racial gangs have always been heated. One I remember was in Birmingham in 2005 between the Asians and Afro-Caribbeans. My brother lived just round the corner, literally, at the time and he was advised by the police not to go out unless absolutely necessary. And I have to admit, I can see why people think the videos and lyrics glamorise gang culture sometimes. I’m sure the artist will say it’s a reflection of life but at times it just seems to highlight the bad stuff for the sake of it, focusing on the areas that show off power and money for no apparent good reason. Life’s not all doom and gloom, which I’m sure the majority of the Black population would agree with me on.

Centers across Britain have been set up to accommodate for the specific communities within the Black population and deal with any concerns about racial or social issues. These have helped link communities natonwide, helping them to grow into society naturally. Nonetheless, Afro-Caribbeans are still under-represented in national polotics, although with the appointment of Barack Obama as U.S. President I’m sure it’s not long before there are many more prospering in the political community.

The Afro-Caribbeans bought with them religious practices more common to North America; they chose to continue these religions, such as Seventh Day Baptism and Pentecostalism, as well was supporting new churches which act as social centres for the surrounding community. They played a pivotal role in establishing gospel choirs like the London Community Gospel Choir. Many others have converted to Islam, while a proportion practice
other religious beliefs such as Rastafarianism. The movement has managed to spread beyond the Afro-Caribbeans, being acquired by indigenous Britons as well as others.

Members of the community were some of the pioneers of the underground pirate radio stations, which celebrated a mixture of black music whilst taking the time to have discussions giving the community a chance to have their say and get involved. In 2002 BBC Radio 1Xtra was set up to cater for the Afro-Caribbean music culture. These styles were bought to England during the mass immigration from the 1950′s to the 1970′s, and they quickly became popular in all of Britons cultural origins. The earliest was from that original ‘Windrush’ shipment, an artist already famous in his native Trinidad, ‘Lord Kitchener’. Immediately he got a booking in the only West Indian Club in London and before long he was performing in large showhouses and music halls. Musicians began to collaborate with each other, creating a jazz/calypso fusion.

Jamaican music styles reached Britain in the 1960′s, fast becoming the popular music behind young black culture. The success of mainstream Jamaican and Ska Artists propelled black music into mainstream cultural life. British Afro-Caribbean’s began putting their own influence on the changing styles of Jamaican music. This new sound inspired a fresh generation of youth, and sub genres and sound systems started popping up everywhere. The phenomenon that was Bob Marley transformed a Black British music industry, and his association with Rastafarianism influences scores of young to discover their true roots.

By the mid 1980′s, British Afro-Caribbean music artists were incorporating American Hip Hop and house styles, and began shaping Britain’s dance music culture. An explosion of musical styles was born, combining elements of European trance through to Jamaican dancehall. Afro-Caribbeans were at the cutting edge of the jungle and drum and bass scenes, and although the digital sound was most certainly revolutionary of it’s time it still had it’s black music roots evident, which it still does today.

The decline of Religion in Britain

“When I asked the Very Reverend David Edwards, the author of over thirty books on modern Christianity, for his assessment of the state of spirituality in England, he just told me bleakly that ‘The English have lost any sense of what religion is.” (Jeremy Paxman – The English 1998)

It’s not hard to tell religion is declining across Britain, not only because there are so many to believe in these days, but because there are other things to belong to and devote yourself to. In a 2001 census, less than half the population of Britain believed in God, yet 72% said they were Cristian, and 66% had no connection to any church at all. How does all this work? More people must practice their faith individually and without the importance of God, just the teachings. Just look at the figures below that show the decline of people belonging to religions over a space of 30 years in Britain:

1964   1970   1983   1992   2005

Belong to a Religion         74%     71%    55%    37%   31%

Does not belong                 3%      5%     26%     31%   38%

Source – British Social Attitudes (2006-07)

Those who ‘do not belong’ have got rid of the practical and theoretical underpinnings of their chosen beliefs, finally overcoming social pressure to state your religion. There are many who still say they belong, although they are in the process of discarding what they see as the norm. People often overstate their own faith, for whatever reasons.

In August 2006, of a poll of year 9 and 10 students in Cornwall, only 19% said that they ‘have a religious faith’. In 2007 the British Library found that nearly half of British teenagers are atheists. With figures like this it’s hard to ignore the signs traditional religious experiences are continuing to decline in British society. Even most of those who do profess to religion do not practice it, with Christianity bearing the brunt of this pattern. Does this mean it is just modern western society that’s losing its touch with their traditional religious experience? After all, England’s main religion is Christianity and that’s the one in most decline here. In fact, the U.S.A. is one of the only developed countries to still be predominantly religious. Many people are bought up to be ‘religious’ by their familys, and this tie can stick with them for life, even if they aren’t actually religious in the slightest. Does this show a sense of belonging that humans need even if they don’t actually believe in or practice the religion at all? As humans we will always claim to belong to something for peace of mind, so if all else goes wrong we have something to fall back on, to comfort us in our time of need.

We cannot overlook the fact we have such a diverse cultural society in Britain today, and this surely helps the decline of religion is society. With so much choice it becomes hard to decipher between religions, after all, which one really is the best? People have other things to follow in today’s society, sports, music, entertainment, fashion etc. Developments in technology almost certainly contribute. It’s easy to communicate almost anything to a worldwide audience, and media and advertising are altogether to persuasive in influencing our interests and lifestyles. After all, what would you choose given a church service on a sunday morning or a game of football at a premiership football ground? Sunday was traditionally a day of rest, but now a days you can walk into a town and nearly every shop will be open for business. People are motivated b other things now, in this case money, and Sunday is just another day to most.

“Close friends (46%), a walk in the country (41%), music or poetry (24%) all are more inspirational than Jesus” (Mori poll results 2003 Aug 08-17)

So have we ever really been that in touch as a society with religion as many other places and cultures across the world? After all, power struggles between different sects of Christianity have always had major influences on our history, with the body of society swaying with the ‘crowd’, blending in to stay out of trouble. We did make our own church (C of E) when we disagreed with the Roman Catholics, only changing what suited us, which shows we cant have been that committed in the first place.

http://www.vexen.co.uk/UK/religion.html#BI_004

A brief history of Christianity in England

The first evidence of Christianity in England is around the late 2nd century AD. Merchants and soldiers from all over the Roman Empire stayed here so we will never know for sure who first introduced Christianity to England. The Romans did not agree with Christianity, and persecuted many believers, but in 313 Emperor Constantine granted freedom of worship to Christians. Not long after Christianity became widespread across England. But when the Romans left; civilisation broke down and the Saxons gradually took over, almost eradicating Christianity in England. It stayed strong in Wales and eventually spread to Ireland and Scotland, forming the Celtic Church that eventually led to the conversion of the Saxons to Christianity, and by the end of the 7th Century all of England was Christian.

In the middle ages religion was a vital part in everyday life, but by the 1520′s a divide between the English monarchy and the Pope was becoming evident, and ties between Rome and England were slowly but surely cut. In 1534 Henry VIII finally lost patience with the Pope, rejecting his authority for the final time and forming the Church of England. Although he essentially kept the basis of Roman Catholicism, Church’s now were all fitted standard with English Bibles and English speaking services, making it more open to the general person and community, no doubt spreading it’s popularity even further.

Around 1553 Mary took over as Queen of England. She had hated the changes made by Henry and immediately set about reinstalling Catholicism in England. She gained the nickname ‘Bloody Mary’ for burning Protestants, although this had the adverse effect as it drove people away from Roman Catholicism. When Elizabeth the 1st came to power she restored Protestantism to England, and although most of the Bishops and Clergy did not accept her and were removed, the general public did and Christianity continued to grow.

Throughout the 17th Century religion caused many clashes between the King and Parliament. Religion then was far more important then it is today, by law everyone was supposed to belong to the Church. Despite of this independent churches sprang up across England. A battle broke out to try and quash these independent churches, and a power struggle between Catholicism and Protestantism was fought over until the Bill of Rights (1689) declared that no Roman Catholic could become king or queen and no monarch could marry a Catholic.

Religion in the 18th Century declined somewhat, but by the end of the Century and early 19th Century, religious enthusiasm began to revive. Around this time Britain was transformed by the Industrial Revolution, and by 1881 two thirds of the population had moved from rural to industrial areas. New churches were built to accommodate for this.In 1829 the Catholic emancipation Act was passed, restoring the Catholics rights to become MP’s or hold public office. Although religion still played a big part in society, a survey in 1851 showed that only 40% of the population went to church, and by 1881 only a third attended church on Sunday. Organised religion in England was in decline by the end of the 19th Century, and continued to free fall throughout the 20th Century. People didn’t stop believing in God, they just stopped attending church. Spiritual interest is still strong throughout society, but with an emphasis on new age movement and the occult.

Now a days we live in a mixed, vibrant society with many religions and influences from many cultures. It is not Illegal to practice any religion, quite the opposite, although people are still persecuted for their beliefs all over the world regardless of the freedom to worship and believe in anything. And even then with all this freedom the large majority of us choose not to believe in anything in particular. It seems the community spirit and togetherness we used to share was lost during the revolution in Britain, something that has not ever returned to us fully again since.

http://www.localhistories.org/christian.html