Black voices

Through the lips of Black British Christians, we hear the stories and experiences first hand. Hostility, prejudice and cruelty were not uncommon, but there are also many glimpses of welcome and acceptance as they arrived in a foreign land.

Black people of African origin and descent have lived in Britain for man centuries. By the late eighteenth century an increasing number were active Christians. Long before Empire Windrush arrived in Tilbury in mid-1948, black Britons worked as doctors, ministers and political activities, as well as in non-professional roles.

They are little known and largely forgotten. Here they touchingly describe their lives, faith, work, families, hopes and ambitions, part of a rich and fascinating seam of British history that has been generally ignored. This intimate portrait will inform black Christians of their heritage, while helping white Christians to understand more about the diversity of Britain's cultural background.

David Killingray taught in schools and universities, specializing in the history of Africa and the Caribbean. He retired from Goldsmiths College, London in 2003 and is now an emeritus professor.

Joel Edwards is the General Director of the Evangelical Alliance. He previously served as General Secretary of the African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance.