The League of Coloured Peoples (LCP) was a British

civil-rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

organization that was founded in 1931 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

by Jamaican-born physician and campaigner

Harold Moody Harold Arundel MoodyDavid A. Vaughan London: Independent Press, 1950. (8 October 1882 – 24 April 1947) was a Jamaican-born physician who emigrated to the United Kingdom, where he campaigned against racial prejudice and established the League o ...

with the goal of racial equality around the world, a primary focus being on black rights in Britain. In 1933, the organization began publication of the civil-rights journal, '' The Keys''. The LCP was a powerful civil-rights force until its dissolution in 1951.

The beginning

, a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and devout

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, was frustrated with the prejudice he experienced in Britain, from finding employment to simply obtaining a residence. Through his involvement with the London Christian Endeavour Federation, Moody began to confront employers who were refusing jobs to black Britons. On 13 March 1931, in a

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road tub ...

, London, Moody called a meeting with the contacts he had made over the years. He was helped by

Charles H. Wesley Charles Harris Wesley (December 2, 1891 – August 16, 1987) was an American historian, educator, minister, and author. He published more than 15 books on African-American history, taught for decades at Howard University, and served as president ...

, an African-American history professor visiting Britain on a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

, who was a member of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...

(NAACP)."Harold Moody"
Making Britain, The Open University. On this night, they formed The League of Coloured Peoples.

Peter Fryer Peter Fryer (18 February 1927 – 31 October 2006)
''Spartacus Educational''. was an English ...

, '' Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain'', London: Pluto Press, 1984, p. 327. Its inaugural executive committee included: * Cecil Belfield Clarke of

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

* George Roberts of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

* Sam Morris of

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* Robert Adams of

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

Desmond Buckle James Desmond Buckle (29 March 1910 – 25 October 1964) was a political activist, journalist, trade unionist and Communist born in the British colony of the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana). Described as "an African communist in Britain",Adi, Hakim ...

of the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

Also present at the inaugural meeting was

Stella Thomas Stella Jane Thomas (later Stella Marke) (1906 – 1974) was a Yoruba Nigerian lawyer of Sierra Leone Creole descent. She received a law degree from Oxford University and in 1943 became the first woman magistrate in Nigeria. Early life and educati ...

, who would go on to become the first woman magistrate in West Africa. Other prominent members included C. L. R. James,

Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta (22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He was the country's first indigenous ...

and

Una Marson Una Maud Victoria Marson (6 February 1905 – 6 May 1965) was a Jamaican feminist, activist and writer, producing poems, plays and radio programmes. She travelled to London in 1932 and became the first black woman to be employed by the BBC d ...

Aims

At the inaugural meeting, The League of Coloured Peoples established four main aims, printed in each issue of ''The Keys'': * To promote and protect the Social, Educational, Economic and Political Interests of its members; * To interest members in the Welfare of Coloured Peoples in all parts of the World; * To improve relations between the Races; * To cooperate and affiliate with organisations sympathetic to coloured people In 1937, a fifth aim was added: * To render such financial assistance to coloured people in distress as lies within our capacity.

Activities

In addition to its primary focus, it was involved in other civil-rights issues, such as opposing the persecution of the

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

The colour bar in the workplace

From its inception in 1931 until the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the League's primary focus was eliminating the

colour bar Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Internati ...

(the restrictions placed on a group of people due to their race or colour) in the British workplace, in social life, and in housing. Throughout Britain in the 1930s, black people were refused service in many restaurants, hotels, and lodging houses. They also found it extremely difficult to find employment in many industries; the medical profession in particular drew the attention of the league, most likely due to founder and president

's personal struggles in that area. By 1935, a branch of the league focusing on equality in the shipping industry had grown to over 80 members. During the 1930s, The League of Coloured Peoples struck many blows for blacks in the workplace.

The Charter of Coloured People

The Charter of Coloured People "demanded full self-government at the earliest opportunity for people living under British colonial rule, and an end to discrimination on racial grounds in all spheres of public life in the UK."

During the Second World War

During the Second World War the LCP continued to highlight discrimination. Authorities organizing the evacuation of children from the big towns found it very difficult to find families who would take in coloured children, and the LCP lobbied against this. Moody died in 1947 at the age of 64, somewhat worn out by his efforts with the League. His successor as President was the surgeon Dr Robert Cole but Cole resigned in 1949 and within two years the League dissolved.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:League Of Coloured Peoples 1931 establishments in the United Kingdom 1951 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Black British history Civil rights organisations in the United Kingdom Opposition to antisemitism in the United Kingdom Organizations disestablished in 1951 Organizations established in 1931