The Boxing Colour Bar

In British boxing the ‘colour bar’ was directly written into its constitution in 1911 following a proposed fight for the heavyweight title between the champion, the Black American Jack Johnson and the British white contender, Bombardier Billy Wells.

Racist ideas justifying the empire were prevalent, and opposition to the fight came most prominently from the Church, with lobbying from the Archbishop of Canterbury. Winston Churchill, as Home Secretary at the time, declared in September 1911 that the proposed fight was illegal and this decision came to act as a precedent in banning any high-profile fight between white and Black boxers in Britain.

Lord Lonsdale, (of Lonsdale Belt fame) president of the National Sporting Club, wrote  

‘So strong was the stand taken by the Home Office that the legality of all boxing was made conditional upon the non-arrangement of inter-coloured contests.’

The British boxing ‘colour bar’ was only repealed in 1947. 

Retirement From Boxing

By 1930 Johnson announced his retirement from the ring. He explained:

‘I am fed up with the whole business. I am barred from the Albert Hall, from the National Sporting Club and from all fights where this is big money. The prejudice against colour has prevented me from getting a championship bout, although I consider I am well worthy of one . . . I maintain that if a public vote were taken on the question of whether I should be allowed to take part in a championship bout there would be an overwhelming majority in my favour. I know in my heart that I shall never achieve those ambitions, so I am getting out of the game.’

Pan-African Congress Manchester

Len’s experiences, and a meeting with American singer, actor and activist, Paul Robeson, politicised Len who wanted to bring the different communities of Manchester together and fight injustice.

In October 1945 Manchester was decided on as the location for the Fifth Pan-African Congress. Black activism within the city and the connections between cotton, slavery, and Manchester’s radicalism, contributed to this choice. Len Johnson attended. Some people argue this Congress represented a major step towards African independence, with future African Presidents attending.

New International Society and Club and Community Politics

In 1946 Len helped create a new anti-racist space, the New International Society in Moss Side. The Society was initiated by Johnson and two working-class radicals in Manchester: Wilf Charles, a ‘young Moss Side steelworker’ and Syd Booth, a railway worker and ‘a wounded ex International Brigadier.

The society’s aims were described by Johnson as ‘true internationalism, colonial liberation, peace and the ending of race discrimination.’ Moss Side, according to Johnson, ‘with its separate racial groups of Africans, Indians, Irish and English, and the absence of regular interaction’ constituted a breeding ground for fascist propaganda.

 ‘It was on this background we decided that club premises were necessary to provide a place where people of all lands could meet fraternally, thus helping materially to create greater understanding between them.’

The Society’s work included

• Organising campaigns in defence of victims of racism, like the Trenton Six in America and against Apartheid in South Africa
• Fundraising and organising support for black children in Manchester
• Campaigning against separate racial lines at the Labour Exchange with a queue for ‘coloured men’ opposed by the Society
• Organising against Manchester Liners Ltd, who intended to rid its liners of all ‘coloured seamen,’ some of whom had served the company through two world wars. The work of the New International Society forced vociferous denials of racial discrimination from the company and a reversal of policy.

Sadly, without adequate financial support, the New International Society and its Club closed at the end of 1950.

Breaking the Colour Bar

In the post-war years, Len spent much of his time challenging unwritten ‘colour bars’ in Manchester. Such actions were part of a vibrant and dynamic politics led by Black activists in 1940s and 1950s Manchester.

For example, in 1953 Len, who was teetotal, was refused a drink by the licensee of the Old Abbey pub on the Greenheys Estate, saying he did not serve ‘coloured’ people. When Len objected, the police were brought in, and on their advice, he left the premises.  

The story was not unusual in post-war Britain. What was unusual was the response by Johnson and his friends in returning to the pub with around 200 protestors, both black and white. Four nights later the ‘colour bar’ was officially revoked and Johnson was invited back for a drink. It was not until the introduction of the Race Relations Act in 1965 that the licensee’s actions were made illegal.

For more info read The shameful history of the racist 'colour bar' in Manchester - and how a boxing hero made history by ordering a round in the pub - Manchester Evening News

Inspiring future activism

Len’s life has proved an inspiration to others throughout the decades since he died.

• The Working Class Movement Library in Salford holds a collection of archives from Len Johnson’s collection, including a scrapbook of newspaper cuttings which documented his boxing life.
• Two books, both now out of print, were written about Len’s life;
• A play was performed at Bolton Octagon
• Later the early beginnings of our campaign, a petition was launched in 2020 calling for a new statue to celebrate Len’s life in Manchester
• In 2021 Moss Side Fire Station Boxing Club awarded their first Len Johnson Community Cup.
• The Old Abbey pub commissioned a mural to remember Johnson’s legacy and the breaking of the ‘colour bar’ there.
• In 2021 a regular music night, ‘Breaking Barz’, was launched which celebrates Len Johnson’s resistance and promotes local artists.
• An annual ‘drink for Len’ is organised every October at the Old Abbey Taphouse.