The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1908-10-08
LONDON INVADED BY NEGROES
Absence of Race Prejudice Makes Life
Pleasant There.

England is being invaded by Ameri.
can negroes, who suddenly have
realized that they suffer in that coun-
try from none of the disabilities at
taching to their race and color in the
United States. Thousands of them
have gone there in the last year or
two and thousands more are going
The invasion began in force about a
year ago. The first negroes to go were
variety artists and athletes, who found
that they were well treated there.
1t is hard to obtain any estimate Of
the actual numbers of American ne
groes now in England. An official OF
the American embassy declares that
last winter the embassy had hundreds
of applications from negro citizens OF
the United States, who were stranded
in England, to be sent home. The en-
bassy, of course, has no funds for this
purpose, but the officials did what
they could to help and many who went
over to capture the variety stage in
England worked their way home in
ing to Baltimore or New Orleans.
This year, the same official declares,
there are at least 5000 American ne
groes in England, and 1000 of them
arrived this year. A trip to some of
the leading watering places on the
English coast will lead one to think
that the estimate is much smaller
than the actual number. The "busker'
is an institution at Margate, Rams
gate, Southend and other watering
places where the Londoners of the
middle and working classes run down
| for the weekend or for few days
| holiday. The "busker" usually is a
broken.down actor or music hall man
who makes his living singing AMI
! dancing on the sands, depending or
the generosity of the holiday makers
for his reward. The native "busker"
has been almost driven off the sands
by the American negro.
The black face" comedian act long
| has been a favorite with the Dusk
| ers," but the comedians" were white
men made black by liberal applica-
tions of burnt cork. This year the
black men are the real thing and the
entertainment" which they offer has
changed. Instead of the sentimental
ditties of the London music halls the
"buskers" are rendering the coon
songs" of New York and Chicago,
and the "nigger melodies of the plan
tation days. The sentimental semi
military songs, so popular in America
about the time of the Spanish-Amer-
ican war, are also great favorites at
present on the Margate sands.
There is no prejudice among the
lower class home-staying Englishmen
and women against the negro. The
colonial Englishman regards him much
as the American does, but to the cock
ney or his prototype of the provincial
cities every man whose skin is not
white is a native" He draws no
distinction between the negro and the
high class Hindoo, and receives them
both on terms of perfect equality. He
will eat with the negro, drink with
him, and the women will go even fur
ther, they will marry him.
A negro quarter, although not very
we'll defined, is already springing up
in London. 1t lies in Soho among the
tangle of narrow streets inhabited by
men of every nationality under the
sun, except English, and there are
one or two restaurants where fried
chicken, sweet corn and other delica
cies dear to the negros heart can be
obtained Another center is in the
maze of courts and alleys behind
Fleet street.