So what exactly was the “brown baby problem?

On December 7, 1941, America found itself at war. A million Black Americans served in the armed forces, with half of these serving overseas in places like Britain. Many formed relationships with local women and history records the events of what was then known as the Brown Baby Problem…

The government perceived that the colour of their skin would tarnish their opportunities for development in Britain and they would struggle to “fit in.”

When the Black GI’s first came to England they felt liberated from their Life in the USA. However this did not last long when the white GI’s arrived here they were adamant that the Black American soldiers should be treated in Britain exactly as they were in the United States. US troops imposed their segregationist views as if it were a condition of their supporting the allied war effort. So the United States Visting Forces Act, was enacted by US congress in Aug 1942. This stipulated that Black soldiers abroad were subject to the same restrictions and racial segregation as in their home country. So the luggage of racism was transported across to Britain as if part of American military supplies.

The British government came up with a solution send these babies to the US to live with their fathers or adoptive Black families, or the children could be put into homes run either by local authorities or by voluntary organizations. Any fostering or adoption that might then follow would mean that at least some of the “brown babies” would not be totally institutionalised.

Interracial Marriage Denied

Black soldiers in uniform were only allowed to marry white British women with the permission of their commanding officers (and this permission was almost always withheld), they were forbidden from entering official whites-only areas in public places and were subjected to a host of other racial bans which British society had never encountered before.

At the same time, with most eligible white men away in the services and few Black women available, the ‘Tan Yank’ was a hit with many local white women. They found the Black troops fascinating and appreciated their attentiveness and good manners. To them, the Black GI was less bombastic and complaining than his white counterpart. Numerous contemporary surveys and pieces of research support this. An opinion of one twenty year old girl, who said at the time was that the “Blacks were marvelous – treat you as if you are something rare and precious – don’t take you for granted as Englishmen do.”

Women accused of ‘chasing’ Black soldiers were ostracised by the Americans and branded as prostitutes. Consequently many British girls were forced, under pressure, to drop their boyfriends. For those who didn’t and were determined not to allow racism to get in the way of their love, their romances were curtailed when the soldiers were sent away. Marriage was usually out of the question – white officers almost invariably refused permission. Although there were no specific regulations against mixed marriages the reality was that in around twenty states in America in 1946, they were unlawful.

Brown Babies Fate

It seemed that, although a few were adopted when they were very small, the majority of the children were destined to spend childhood and adolescence in statutory or voluntary children’s homes. They were ‘pushed through the system’, being moved from home to home. While some may have had positive experiences, others suffered miserably.

For some of the ‘brown babies’, it was not until they were in their late teens and early twenties that they were able to deal with the combined issues of race and illegitimacy which had caused them much torment as children. However, most simply did not know where they belonged.

As many of them have grown up, suffering prejudice and identity crises, they have become increasingly curious about their roots. Only some of the children can pinpoint the exact moment when they learned about the circumstances of their births. There are those who can ask their mothers and hope that they will be forthcoming. However, many mothers refuse to give any information about their children’s fathers, for fear of opening old wounds.

The Impact

For those women who gave birth to Black children and chose to keep them within their own families the impact was trans-generational. From that time on their family became a mixed race or minority family, within their own culture. Their decision not only impacting on themselves and the child, but on their parents, siblings and extended family.

Some never married but chose to devote their lives to raising their children often in a hostile environment and without the benefit of financial support. Others, married men whom they did not love to provide a father for their child, often with disastrous consequences for them and the child.

The children who have tried to find out about their fathers have met with mixed success. Some have searched fruitlessly for thirty years before finally giving up, while others have discovered all they want to know about their fathers and their families on the other side of the Atlantic after just a few weeks. Still others have stopped midway through their quests for fear of rejection. For many, the process of searching is the only way that they can deal with their colour and the circumstances of their birth and upbringing.

It was not until 1990 the National Personnel Records Centre (NPRC) refused to provide identifying information to war babes searching for a GI father, on the grounds that it was a breach of the Freedom of Information laws. In the late eighties with the support of the Public Citizen Litigation Group in America, Shirley McGlade and an or”War Babes” filed a law suit against NPRC and the Department of Defense, on the grounds that the information sought was legally available within the FOI Act. In November 1990 a settlement was reached, with NPRC agreeing to a number of demands including that they release information about the city, state and date of whatever addresses are contained in the records of the GI. If the father is deceased the entire address is to be released.

The need for legal action to obtain information which in fact should have been available to those searching for GI parents, raises the broader issue of the rights and responsibilities of governments, servicemen and the children they father. The lives of British women who gave birth to ex-nuptial children were never the same.

So even if they these children don’t find what they want, for some it is still a worthwhile journey.