34 minutes | Nov 22, 2022

BONUS: Black GIs and their "Brown Babies"

Unlike white GIs, it was made virtually impossible for African-American servicemen to marry the women they met and fell in love with in the UK during World War Two. If these couples had children, those so-called "Brown Babies" were stigmatized and scorned - with many ending up in grim children's homes. 

Pausing the story of the Blackout Ripper - this episode examines the experiences of those Black GIs, their white partners and two "Brown Babies" - Leon Lomax and Terry Harrison - who have both spent decades trying to piece together their family histories. 

Professor Lucy Bland's work can be seen here: http://www.mixedmuseum.org.uk/brown-babies

Further reading:

Bland, Lucy. Britain's 'Brown Babies': The stories of children born to black GIs and white women in the Second World War. , 2019

Osur, Alan. Blacks in the Army Air Forces During World War II. , 1977

Schindler, David and Westcott, Mark ‘Shocking Racial Attitudes: Black G.I.s in Europe’, The Review of Economic Studies. , 2021

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Play
Like
Play Next
Mark
Played
Share