Digging at Roots and Tugging at Branches: Christians and 'Race Relations' in the Sixties Submitted by Tank Green to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in September 2016 This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. Signature: ………………………………………………………….. Page 1 Of 333 Page 2 Of 333 Abstract This thesis is a study of the ‘race relations’ work of Christians in the sixties in England, with specific reference to a Methodist church in Notting Hill, London. As such, it is also a study of English racisms: how they were fought against and how they were denied and facilitated. Additionally, the thesis pays attention to the interface of ‘religion’ and politics and the radical restatement of Christianity in the sixties. Despite a preponderance of sociological literature on 'race relations' and 'religion' in England, there has been a dearth of historical studies of either area in the post-war period. Therefore, this thesis is an important revision to the existing historiography in that it adds flesh to the bones of the story of post-war Christian involvement in the politics of 'race', and gives further texture and detail to the history of racism, 'race relations', and anti-racist struggles in England. Moreover, the thesis implicitly challenges the received wisdom of the decline of the churches in the sixties and shows an active engagement of Christians with politics. Using a wide range of private and public archives and interviews, the thesis takes a micro-study of the Notting Hill Methodist Church and places it within its wider contexts: how English Christians approached 'race' and 'race relations', what kinds of racialised political engagements existed in Notting Hill, and what kinds of racisms were expressed in England. The contextualised and detailed micro-study has enabled the thesis to capture the texture and depth which is needed to better understand 'race' and 'race relations' in post-war England. In doing so, the thesis sheds detailed light on some active 'civil rights' struggles in England and therefore challenges the received wisdom which views these struggles as being an American rather than an English (or British) story. Page 3 Of 333 Table of Contents Abstract.................................................................................................................3 Acknowledgements...............................................................................................5 List of Abbreviations..............................................................................................7 Introduction: Notting Hill, 'Race Relations', and the Myth of Tolerance................8 Chapter One: English Christians and 'Race Relations'......................................52 Chapter Two: The Notting Hill Methodist Church – A Church in the World.........................................................................................88 Chapter Three: Community Action in Notting Hill.............................................127 Chapter Four: Notting Hill Social Council – The Politics and Partnerships of the Church....................................................158 Chapter Five: Racism in England – The Postbags of Trevor Huddleston and Archbishop Ramsey.........................209 Chapter Six: The Notting Hill Ecumenical Centre and the World Council of Churches' Consultation on White Racism.......................240 Conclusion........................................................................................................300 Bibliography......................................................................................................310 Page 4 Of 333 Acknowledgements This thesis couldn't have been written without numerous conversations with several people over five and a half years in Philadelphia, PA, and some warm afternoons sat around the kitchen table of Mrs. Lucille Iffla in Stirling, Scotland. So first and foremost, I want to give thanks to those people for educating and enlightening me in ways I can't really quantify. Secondly, I must give many thanks to my supervisors: Richard Toye, Gajendra Singh, and Andrew Thompson. Your different perspectives and thoughts on the thesis have helped me immensely as has your enthusiasm and support. A special thank you to Andrew and Richard who were extremely patient with all of the twists and turns the thesis took in the first year. I am also very grateful to the Arts and Humanities Research Council for the financial support which made this research project possible. I must also extend a sincere and massive debt of gratitude to Notting Hill Methodist Church for being such an interesting place in the world. In particular, the generosity of time and insight given to me by Revd David Mason, Stephen Duckworth, and Brian Frost was invaluable. I hope that your generosity with me has resulted in a history which you recognise as truthful and faithful to your lives. Additionally, I must also deeply thank Revd. Eric Mustapha for granting me access to the church's attic; without that access, this thesis would have been a much poorer offering. Similarly, I would also like to thank the Kensington and Chelsea Social Council for the afternoon spent rummaging through their files. Thanks also to Jenny Bourne and Sivanandan for granting me an interview containing a vital spark. I am also grateful to the many archivists who have helped me navigate their holdings over the last three years. Thanks especially to the incredible kindness, trust, tea, and chocolate of Hans von Rütte and Anne-Emmanuelle Tankam at the World Council of Churches Archives. Thanks also to everyone at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Archives, the Cadbury Research Library Archives in Birmingham, Lambeth Palace Archives, Church of England Record Centre (special thanks to Simon Sheppard), and the technician at the BFI for his tea, biscuits, and banter. Page 5 Of 333 A deep debt of gratitude is owed to Kiri Kankhwende who gave me thoughtful, measured, considered, helpful, encouraging, and insightful feedback on the thesis. Finally, I want to give eternal thanks to e bond, whose friendship sustains me despite the oceans and years between us. Page 6 Of 333 List of Abbreviations BCC – British Council of Churches CARD – Campaign Against Racial Discrimination CRC – Community Relations Commission CRRU – Community and Race Relations Unit EHPP – East Harlem Protestant Parish GLC – Greater London Council LCC – London County Council NCCI – National Council for Commonwealth Immigrants NHMC – Notting Hill Methodist Church NHSC – Notting Hill Social Council PCR – Programme to Combat Racism PEP – Political and Economic Planning (Report) SCM – Student Christian Movement WCC – World Council of Churches Page 7 Of 333 Introduction: Notting Hill , 'Race Relations', and the Myth of Tolerance In 1958, the English designer Gerald Holtom invented the 'peace symbol' which was later to become the logo for CND; that same year saw major episodes of racialised violence by white people in Nottingham and Notting Hill, England.1 These two issues – nuclear war and 'race' – represent two of the enduring concerns of Christians during the sixties, but whilst the relationships between Christianity and the peace movement are well known, the involvement of English Christians with 'race relations' is less known.2 So we begin then in 1958, a year when an enduring symbol of peace was created, and a year which has become iconic in the history of English 'race relations' for the violence and antipathy it represents.3 Before the so-called 'riots', it is said that white English people tried to ignore 'race' and hoped that the non-European migrants would return from whence they came.4 There was at that juncture, no marked public 'race relations' discourse, although the white violence would change that, albeit only in some senses and only in some ways.5 1 The site of the London violence would more accurately be called Notting Dale. However, that name fell out of usage at about the same time as the violence, so the names Notting Hill or North Kensington will be used throughout the thesis. A third name for the locale was also used by black residents: The Grove. Mike Phillips and Trevor Phillips, Windrush: The Irresistible Rise of Multi-Racial Britain (London: HarperCollins, 1998), p. 106. Patricia Philo, 'Notting Hill Today', Kensington Post, 8 December 1967, pp. 18, 43. 2 Although there has been some focus on the Church of England in this area. See: Matthew Grimley, 'The Church of England, Race and Multiculturalism, 1962-2012,' in Rescripting Religion in the City: Migration and Religious Identity in the Modern Metropolis, ed. by Jane Garnett and Alana Harris (Farnham: Ashgate, 2013), pp. 207–221. Edson Burton, 'From Assimilation to Anti-Racism: The Church of England's Response to Afro-Caribbean Migration, 1948-1981' (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of the West of England, 2004). See also Rob Skinner's work for Christian involvement in anti-apartheid campaigning: The Foundations of Anti-Apartheid: Liberal Humanitarians and Transnational Activists in Britain and the United States, c.1919-64 (Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2010). 3 Christian involvement