Harry Belafonte with Petula Clark

When I was a child we lived in Hull. We had a lovely Nigerian lodger who was studying at the university. My late grandmother was born in 1869, she asked my mother if he ate in the kitchen! My mother said no! He was a lovely gentle man, I remember that he wore long johns under his pyjamas, he must have been so cold!

I remember a nasty little ditty in a kid’s hopscotch game which I won’t repeat but I am sure many would know it. This would have been late 50 s,early 60 s. When I think about it, most ‘foreigners’ weren’t made welcome, wherever they came from. This was central London, too. Perhaps it was a hangover from the war when people were suspicious of each other ?

My mother was in the ATS in Liverpool during the war and spent some of her time teaching GIs to use radar. One of the officers told her and her friends not to fraternise with the black GIs. Fortunately her CO heard about it and said that his girls were at liberty to mix with who ever they liked

When we first rented a flat in 1970 I rang the prospective landlord who asked a lot of unsubtle questions about my husband's "nationality" because we had a foreign surname.

Thankfully, I had parents to whome, race and gender did not matter one jot, people were accepted for whom they were. I remember neighbours shunning a neighbour, a young girl for getting pregnant when not married, my mother took her baby clothes risking being ignored by neighbours too. People can be very cruel.

youtube.com/watch?v=gNtdCsWhFic&feature=share

My brother was a Stan Freberg fan and would play this constantly. It still makes me laugh!

It will, be my ear worm today, but a good one.

I wasn't allowed posters because it might have ripped the wallpaper 😁
Lucky you!

Your Mum sounds great! My mother used to sing all the time but not in a turban. I did not inherit her talent.

Callistemon21

^PS. I thought Belafonte was gorgeous^
He was such a handsome man, and still was as he got older.

Pre Beatle days I had a picture of him on my bedroom wall when I was about twelve - along with Cliff Richard and Elvis. A visiting school friend said she envied me because her mother would never allow her any posters let alone one of a black man!

We had recently returned to the UK from Aden and my mother, ever the theatrical, thought she was impressing the locals by wearing a turban and singing the Banana Boat song!

She really was quite bonkers. No cultural appropriation intended! 😂

PS. I thought Belafonte was gorgeous
He was such a handsome man, and still was as he got older.

So sad that another icon has died, he reached the age of 96
He was a wonderful singer, actor and became a human rights activist

RIP Harry Belafonte

The ‘no blacks, no Irish, no dogs’ signs were common right into the 1960s, paddyann, more than 40 years after Ireland became independent.

foxy my GGF was part of a stage act with his brothers who all later went to live in the US.He used to tell his GC about the no Blacks ,no irish ,no dogs signs on the boarding houses and drinking establishments in the North of England .My mother said they were hurt and angry but there was nothing they could do about it ,Ireland was still under British rule .It wasn't the same in Scotland .
His daughter ,my granny was a real firebrand ,a suffragette , a women who fought for rights and I believe it was her family's stories that gave her the motivation to "do something about it".
Thankfully she passed that attitude to her children and they to us .My GC are all very politically aware which makes me proud

growstuff

I remember listening to Harry Belafonte and watching Sidney Poitier in "To Sir with love" as a child and being mesmorised.

I'd had an insular childhood and don't even remember seeing a black person. I became aware that black people could be as talented as anybody else.

PS. I thought Belafonte was gorgeous and my mother was shocked.

ditto. A missionary from Africa came to my school when I was about 10. I had never seen a black person. I asked if I could touch his hair- and he bent down so I pressed on his head and went 'ooooh' and he smiled. I just cannot believe I did, but he accepted the naive and innocent request of a child with grace, and a smile.

And then yes, Sidney Poitier, and my mum areed.

grandMattie

I’m always surprised that the poor Irish never made a fuss about discrimination against them… viz. “no blacks, no Irish, no dogs”

Didn’t they?

The anti-war songs from the 1960s make me nostalgic too.

I remember listening to Harry Belafonte and watching Sidney Poitier in "To Sir with love" as a child and being mesmorised.

I'd had an insular childhood and don't even remember seeing a black person. I became aware that black people could be as talented as anybody else.

PS. I thought Belafonte was gorgeous and my mother was shocked.

Nice to see that clip from 1968, which certainly triggered some memories. I do remember the outrage it provoked in the States, where racial segregation was still very much alive, particularly in the South. Society in general has made some improvements as regards integration, but we still have a long way to go. "Ignorance is the Mother of intolerance".

I’m always surprised that the poor Irish never made a fuss about discrimination against them… viz. “no blacks, no Irish, no dogs”

I enjoyed that clip of Harry and Petula singing and hadn't noticed the skin colour until it was pointed out.

America was quite far behind UK I was already married with my first child when this happened There was such an outrage over there and although it wasn’t good here in so many ways ways we were accepted on both sides of the family Thankfully mixed marriages in both the families have followed
However I can tell many stories, almost unbelievable, now as we were still in the age of ‘No blacks, no Irish and no dogs’ and encountered many difficulties with peoples damned prejudices and fears

Lovely, G, thanks for finding and sharing. Really enjoyed my dip into the past.👍