Reversing the Gaze:Wasu, The Keys and The Black Man on Europe and Western Civilization in the Interwar Years, 1933-1937 by Brittony Chartier A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario ©2012 Brittony Chartier Library and Archives Bibliotheque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du 1+1Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-94595-7 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-94595-7 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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Canada Abstract Three black journals ( Wasu, The Keys and The Black Man) published in London during the interwar years are the focus of this thesis. Previously, they have been studied by historians for the light they shed on the activities of the organizations that sponsored them. In contrast, this thesis considers how those writing for the journals met their political needs and assisted Africans and people of African descent to engage with the white world that surrounded them by constructing images of Britain, Europe and Western civilization. This thesis illustrates the role of print in allowing blacks in Britain to reclaim a sense of power that was otherwise undermined by racial discrimination. Acknowledgements “For, what have we, that we have not been given.”1 This thesis has benefitted from the love and encouragement of my family and friends and the insight and patience of two committed supervisors. From the beginning, I have had wonderful examples to follow: my dad’s work ethic, my mom’s passion for learning and the standard she set while earning her Masters of Social Work and, too, my brother’s resolve to always do the right thing the right way. I am forever indebted to my family and the love they continually share. My supervisors, Dr. Bennett and Dr. Walker, helped me to harness my love for learning and channel it into a thesis. Dr. Bennett, a thoughtful and generous spirit, had to endure wordy and dense first drafts. She, too, always left her office door open for discussions about my thesis or anything interesting I may have read. (Unfortunately, I happen to think everything I read is interesting and yet she never turned me away.) Dr. Walker’s encouragement and passion for African American history was inspiring. Even while on sabbatical in Boston, Dr. Walker made herself available and her insight and careful reading helped bring out points that I had buried. Thank you to you both. I would be amiss if I did not mention St. Lawrence University. While completing my undergraduate degree I met my mentor and a friend, Dr. Elizabeth Regosin, who taught (and still teaches) me about the gifts of learning and loving what you do. I also had the pleasure, and benefit, of getting to know Dr. Hansen, Jake Dillon, Joe Marsh, Dr. Gabriel, Dr. Exoo, Dr. Draper, Mare MacDougall and Chris Wells, all of whom are wonderful people and teachers. Coach Marsh, thank you for teaching me that it is okay to 1 Jake Dillon, Blasted Apes!! (Bloomington, IN: 1st Books, 2003), vi. iii be a nerd. Finally, it is at St. Lawrence University that I met Ben, my amorfati, who has supported and loved me through this thesis process. Thank you to you all. Table of Contents Abstract.....................................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgements................................................................................................................iii Table of Contents.................................................................................................................... v Introduction..............................................................................................................................1 Chapter One...........................................................................................................................18 Chapter Two......................................................................................................................... 43 2.1 Wasu......................................................................................................................... 43 2.2 The Keys....................................................................................................................62 2.3 The Black Man..........................................................................................................80 Chapter Three..................................................................................................................... 100 3.1 Wasu on The Italo-Ethiopian Conflict ..................................................................I ll 3.2 The Keys on the Italo-Ethiopian Conflict .............................................................123 3.3 The Black Man on the Italo-Ethiopian Conflict .................................................. 131 Conclusion............................................................................................................................142 Bibliography........................................................................................................................ 147 v Introduction Far from a homogenous grouping, Africans and people of African descent living within the British Empire in the interwar years were crosscut by “competing nationalisms, classes and ideologies.”2 When they arrived in London, however, their diversity was often overlooked as West Indians and West Africans were identified as “black”, a designation that had a specific meaning within British society.3 Indeed, black workers, students, professionals and intellectuals in Britain lived against a backdrop of popular opinion that largely interpreted dark skin as a badge of inferiority and as grounds for a second-class citizenship.4 Undeterred by this racial discrimination blacks in Britain founded organizations and engaged in a myriad of social, cultural and political activities, many of which have been the subject of historical study.5 Crucial to these historical investigations have been the era’s black journals. Very few scholars, however, have engaged with London’s black print culture as a topic of study and, when they have, they have not conceptualized the journals’ pages as a 2 Winston Janies writes that, “[t]he black presence in twentieth-century Britain was never homogenous or static” and was an identity further complicated by competing nationalisms, classes and ideologies. See Winston James, “The Black Experience in Twentieth-Century Britain,” in Black Experience and the Empire, ed. Philip D. Morgan and Sean Hawkins (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 348. 3 Ibid., 348. 4 Historian Jinny Prais’ work on the citizenship of black Britons reveals that, “a person bom within the British Empire could be classified as a British Subject, a British protected person, or a Commonwealth citizen. The four countries in British West Africa were divided between a colonial area (usually near the coast) and protectorate areas. West Africans bom in the colonial areas were British subjects. Their status as British subjects gave them the right to travel throughout the United Kingdom without a visa. West Africans bom in the protectorate areas were British protected persons and could not travel to the U.K. without a visa. Most students who studied abroad were British subjects, though their status as British subjects did not entitle them to the same rights as British subjects bom in the U.K. or the dominions.” See, Jinny Prais, “Imperial Travelers: The Formation of West African Urban Culture, Identity, and Citizenship in London and Accra, 1925-1935,” (PhD diss., University of Michigan, 2008), 18. 5 Hakim Adi, Winston James, David Killingray, Roderick Macdonald, Marc Matera, Jinny Prais and Anne Rush have each published on the