Black Edwardians

This photograph depicts Guyanese born Caroline Barbour-James who settled in West London with her five children in 1906. Caroline's husband, John Barbour-James worked for the British colonial office which enabled him to travel the world as part of his work.
This is a studio photograph which was not common during the early 20th century as it was extremely expensive. Although the Barbour-James family were a middle class family who could afford such luxuries, they organised with many other members of the African-Caribbean community to end the colour bar. The colour bar was a system which discriminated against people on the grounds of race in areas such as employment and housing. One of the ways in which the Barbour-James family challenged the colour bar was by working closely with the League of Coloured Peoples. This organisation was founded by Jamaican born physician, Harold Moody in 1931. The organisation used various campaign methods such as publishing newsletters to disseminate information and organise meetings. The League of Coloured Peoples is a great example of how ordinary members of the community and prominent figures were able to organise together in order to achieve a common goal.