His first intention had been to give details of Liverpool black "firsts", but he kept unearthing new candidates, so decided on those who had made an early impact on society - the pioneers. Although it is not fashionable to mention it, prejudice has long stalked Liverpool's black community, with those of mixed ancestry invariably being lumped together as "black". Many now live in Liverpool 8, but it is wrong to think of that as a ghetto. People with black ancestry have settled all over Merseyside. In 18th century Liverpool, black faces seem to have been regarded with curiosity rather than hostility, though the port's role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade was already established. Work could be found in commerce, manual jobs, domestic service and at sea. However, by the late Victorian era, when the European powers were "scrambling" for Africa, the prejudice was deep and so it has remained until recent times. Now Ray is fingering a photograph, taken early last century, which features a band of minstrels, beautifully dressed for the stage. They were called the Jamaican Choir and sometimes the Native Choir of Jamaica, though it is unlikely that many, if any, of them actually came from Jamaica. At that period, white audiences would have resisted the notion of British blacks being stars, so a"native" name would have been more acceptable. Among the group is William Masters, the son of a sailor, who was born in 1887 in Hopwood Street, in Liverpool. Using the stage name George Stretton, he was for a while leader of the singers. Ray is not sure where Masters is on the photograph, though he feels that he might have been the guitarist on the left. Why? Well, he appears paler than the others, which would suggest the mixed parentage typical of Liverpool, but it could just be the lighting. Even so, they are true to themselves, unlike the white entertainers, who charcoaled their faces in a parody of black minstrels. This is a rich history with many twists, embracing what was for long the second city of the British Empire. Ray is proud to be telling it. A lengthy role of honour >> | 
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