Black History Month: Samuel Edwards, Britain's first black newspaper editor
Born in 1858 in Dominica, Samuel Celestine Edwards was an editor, a scholar, a campaigner, and one of the people who brought the cause of anti-racism to Wearside.
Believed to be Britain's first black newspaper editor, he's one of the people UK is celebrating as we explore the many stories of black people in the country as part of Black History Month.
According to The Black Heroes Foundation, Celestine was educated at a chapel school in Antigua, stowing away on a French ship at 12 and becoming a sailor.
After spending some time traveling the world, he relocated to the United Kingdom, first to Edinburgh and then to Sunderland, where, according to Seagull City, a website dedicated to the city's literary and cultural heritage, he began working as an insurance agent, earning an impressive £80 per year at the time.
He had embraced the temperance movement and lectured in the city on the dangers of drinking after becoming a devout methodist while sailing.
He became a regular speaker at the new Assembly Hall on Fawcett Street, as well as speaking at the Bethesda Chapel on Tatham Street and at other venues around the city.
He became a regular speaker at the new Assembly Hall on Fawcett Street, as well as speaking at the Bethesda Chapel on Tatham Street and at other venues around the city.
There, he would speak on points of theology and argue passionately against imperialism and racism, in speeches which, according to the Sunderland Daily Echo in 1891, were "listened to with great attention".
Celestine then moved to London and his editing work began, helping former slave Walter Hawkins to write his autobiography, and becoming editor of Christian magazine 'Lux' and the anti-racist 'Fraternity' monthly magazine. He's believed to be the first black editor to have worked in the UK.
The power of his writing remains striking, and he delivered uncomfortable truths and powerful critiques of Britain's imperialist actions to the public.
Celestine worked tirelessly for his cause, even after a doctor advised him to slow down because his health was deteriorating.
In early 1894, he returned to Sunderland as part of a 'farewell tour' of the UK, speaking about the evils of slavery at the Coffee Tavern on High Street West, but also with pride and optimism for the future of free black people, saying, "To their future I look with confidence."
Celestine Edwards returned to the West Indies after supporters raised funds to allow him to reunite with his family, and died on July 25, 1894, when he was only thirty years old.
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