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The Been-To's The Black London eMonograph series The Been-to’s Notes on Black overseas students in 1960s London Thomas L Blair 1 The Been-to’s Publication Details The Been-to’s: Notes on Black overseas students in 1960s London Thomas L Blair 978-1-908480-52-1 Published in the e-Black London Monograph Series by Editions Blair e-Books 02 December 2015© No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both copyright owner and the publisher of this book. The greatest care has been taken in compiling this book. However, no responsibility can be accepted by the author and publishers or compilers for the accuracy of the information presented. Opinions expressed do not necessarily coincide with the editorial views of author or copyright holder Edition Blair. Editions Blair has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Every effort has been made to respect all copyrights and apologise for any that may have been unwittingly infringed. 2 The Been-to’s The Been-to’s Notes on Black overseas students in 1960s London Thomas L Blair This eMonograph shows that overseas students in London 1963 were first to plant the newfound spirit of Afro- Asian independence in London’s colleges, housing and social services. Superbly observed, The Been-to’s devised a range of coping strategies to counter race prejudice and achieve their education for independence and development. Relevant today, the findings over turn cherished assumptions about the structure and value of international education in Britain. – TLB, 02 December 2015 3 The Been-to’s Contents The push-and-pull factors Lost illusions Finding lodgings, paying the “colour tax” Trapped in no hope “coloured colleges” Limited apprenticeships and training Fostering babies to get ahead Life and living not easy Student unions for self-defence End piece Notes on the author and publisher of the Black London eMonograph series, imprint of Editions Blair 4 The Been-to’s The Been-to’s Notes on Black overseas students in 1960s London By Thomas L Blair March 1963 Colonised peoples have had token representation as students in Britain from the earliest times of British imperial history. It was a clearly established practice, by 1720, for concessionary companies and missionaries to send the sons of chiefs, maharajas and traders, to Britain, for training in British "manners and morals". Evidence shows there are 40,000 colonial or ex-colonial students in Britain, half of whom are Africans. For every 19 British students in higher institutions, there is one West African or Indian, and more than 10,000 of them come, each year, in search of further education and training. The push-and-pull factors The students come from all over the Commonwealth realm with a variety of backgrounds, customs and national status. By the 1960s, West Africans became the largest single national group. Four reasons account for the increasing numbers: • The war had interrupted the chances for study • New concept of the Commonwealth • Need for certain kinds of training • Urging of families and relatives Moreover, many come for personal advancement -"Unless you get a higher degree from Britain, you have no chance in your profession"; or because of their parents desires - "My father struggled through his life to make a place for himself and our family. When I left for school he said to me "I have laid the foundation stone, you have to build up the house! Students are not one monolithic group, however, their social economic and cultural backgrounds vary. They may be an elderly government official who comes to study banking procedure, a young woman who wants to be a nurse, an able Yoruba pupil urged by his expatriate teacher, to continue his studies, or a shy Muslim imam studying Islamic law. A student could be the sophisticated son of a traditional ruler, the favourite child of an impoverished peasant family, or the relative of a 5 The Been-to’s trader or minor civil servant. Many are Christians, a few are wealthy, some are poor, and most must exist on meagre family savings while studying in Britain. As to official status, most are unsponsored students from the British Colonies, West Africa and the Caribbean, see A.T. Carey, Colonial students, Secker and Warburg, 1956. Lost illusions The students entered in the halcyon days of national independence and liberation struggles. In large part, they are articulate representatives of their peoples and countries; future leaders of the nations of the world's proletariat. They are heirs to the mantles of presidents and statesmen -- Nkrumah, Kenyatta, and Azikiwe -- who have also passed through the crucible of student life in England. However, to the British, with few exceptions, they are all "coloureds", "aliens" and "colonials", doomed to the hostility and prejudice of citizens and the benign patronage of government. Therefore, the way coloured students are treated in London is an expression of the race-class relations in the city and between Britain and her colonies and newly independent states. Finding lodgings, paying the “colour tax” Picture the typical student, a male West African, aged 30 years, who comes from an urban suburb or small town. He arrives in London weighed down with his bags, clutching his cash “going away" present, excited by the thoughts of new adventures tinged with memories of his farewell. During his first few days, the intending student, let’s call him “Omar”, puts up at a British Council hostel and walks the streets, lost in the enormous impersonal city, “incredibly vast and ugly, studded with grotesque modem buildings, seething with men and women walking fast, scarcely taking notice of one another, under a dull grey sky". Inevitably, the “colour bar” restricts the search for permanent housing. The common refrain is "sorry, no coloured boys"; "the room was let this morning, after you called"; "I would not mind myself, but what would the neighbours say"; and brutally frank "Rooms -no coloureds". And when the student finds a room, it is often in an unfriendly house, charged with latent hostility. As a Nigerian student said, "I had a bed- sitting room in an old house with an elderly landlady, who loitered around the whole day, with a dog in her lap and stared at me with the frightened look of a dying person. She hung a placard on the wall which 6 The Been-to’s read: "Dog is a better friend than man." I left the ghostly atmosphere after a week, losing my rent for the week, which I had paid in advance”. Many speak of their bleak, beetle infested rooms in Hampstead, Camden Town and Earls Court, the dismal winter, the disapproving landlady, the poverty and the meagre meals, cooked over a gas stove. Like the coloured migrant worker, the student has to accept dilapidated accommodation at a higher price than whites will pay. He therefore pays more for less and the profit goes to the landlady or the estate agent. This is the colour tax, a symbol of the first-class price a coloured person has to pay for second-class accommodation, opportunities and services. It is a compensation extorted by whites for the "risks involved in associating with coloureds". Trapped in the no hope “coloured colleges” If lucky, a student will soon find lodgings, get accustomed to the food and customs of his new home and secure a place in a classroom. The participation of coloured students in English education is varied. At the present moment, few are in academies of fine arts, music or in university colleges. Banking, commerce and business courses are popular. They are well represented in law, education and nursing. Significantly, more than 80 per cent of the students are in technical colleges. "Coloured Colleges" are rapidly developing in London's technical institutions and the low standard of facilities, in these institutions ensure that aspiring students get a second-rate education. Why are "coloured colleges" developing? Our typical student, Omar, has not been able to get a government scholarship, arrives in London unsponsored and unannounced, and is unable to enrol in a university of choice. Unwilling to return home as a "been-to" who has failed, he gets a job and goes to night school to take the advanced level GCE to qualify for entrance to the university. [The US High School Diploma is an equivalent]. Soon Omar cannot handle the job and his studies, so he gives up the job and lives on his savings and continues to take the GCE program as a daytime student in a technical college. When he finally passes the GCE, more often than not, he finds that his score is not acceptable for admission to the university, so he then enrols in another technical college, so that he may take an external degree from the university. As the majority of Black overseas students find themselves in this position, their enrolment in technical colleges sky-rocketed. They are the vast majority in the student body in 2 technical colleges and almost half the student body in 6 others. 7 The Been-to’s According to educational authorities, these unsponsored, external students are a "submerged academic tenth" about which little is known and in whom there is little interest. External degrees are “education on the cheap" because the facilities for education are far below those of the university or even the provincial colleges.
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