Samuel Jules Celestine Edwards (born late 1850s) was a Dominican editor, public speaker, author, and anti-racist activist.

Background

Celestine Edwards was born in Dominica. While scholars tend to agree that Edwards' birthday fell on 28 December, there is some disagreement about the exact year of his birth. One historian of

Black British history Black British people are a multi-ethnic group of British citizens of either List of ethnic groups of Africa, African or Afro-Caribbean people, Afro-Caribbean descent.Gadsby, Meredith (2006), ''Sucking Salt: Caribbean Women Writers, Migration, a ...

Peter Fryer Peter Fryer (18 February 1927 – 31 October 2006)
''Spartacus Educational''. was an English ...

, provides 1858 and possibly even 1859 as Edwards' birth date, while another,

Jonathan Schneer Jonathan Schneer (born August 9, 1948) is an American historian of modern Britain whose work ranges over labor, political, social, cultural, and diplomatic subjects. He is an emeritus professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology. In addition ...

, cites 1857.

International adventures

According to Edwards' autobiographical essays, published in the journals ''

Lux The lux (symbol: lx) is the unit of illuminance, or luminous flux per unit area, in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to one lumen per square metre. In photometry, this is used as a measure of the intensity, as perceived by t ...

'' and ''

Fraternity A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in ...

'', he left his native Dominica in 1870 and worked odd jobs on ships for a few years. He also spent some time in the United States. He then settled down in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, where he joined the

Primitive Methodist Church The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834). In the United States, the Primit ...

. After his stay in Scotland, he moved to London to study theology at King's College London. A rare 1888 photograph of Edwards, pictured among fellow Theology students and before he became famous, was discovered at King's College London Archives by Archivist Frances Pattman. Edwards was never ordained into the Church of England and remained a Methodist after his time at King's. He went on to study medicine at the

Royal London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and Tower Hamlets and ...

Public speeches and publications

During this time, Edwards became a well-known speaker for the Christian Evidence Movement. One of his most famous speeches, "Political Atheism", was published in 1889 by

John Kensit John Kensit (12 February 1853 – 8 October 1902) was an English religious leader and polemicist. He concentrated on a struggle against Anglo-Catholic tendencies in the Church of England. Life history Kensit, a bookseller from London, had in his ...

. Edwards also founded two magazines: "''weekly Christian Evidence journal"'' paper ''Lux'' in 1892, and the anti-racist ''Fraternity "Official organ of the Society for the Recognition of the Universal Brotherhood of Man"'' in 1893. According to

Peter Fryer Peter Fryer (18 February 1927 – 31 October 2006)
''Spartacus Educational''. was an English ...

, Edwards is the first known Black British editor. Edwards' work with ''Fraternity'' led him to a successful collaboration with

Ida B. Wells Ida B. Wells (full name: Ida Bell Wells-Barnett) (July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931) was an American investigative journalist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement. She was one of the founders of the National Association fo ...

during her first anti-lynching tour of the British Isles.

References

Blue plaque commemorating Celestine Edwards

External links

British Library
''Lux'' (London, England : 1892)

''Fraternity'' (London, England : 1893)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Celestine 19th-century British writers Antigua and Barbuda writers 1850s births Alumni of King's College London 1894 deaths Dominica writers Dominica activists