Description:Submitted by Birmingham Stories
In 1949, the Birmingham Gazette ran a series of articles highlighting an episode of social unrest that took place in the Causeway Green hostel. The disturbances apparently involved Jamaican and Polish residents at the hostel. In a large newspaper article, it was Horace Halliburton who spoke out against the institutional prejudice and racism that had given rise to the conflict. The paper gives the following details of his life:
"From 1941 until 1944 he worked in the administrative section of the public works department in Jamaica and at the age of 19 emigrated to the United States. For several months he worked in American factories but went home in 1945 to resume employment in the engineering section of the Public Works Department. He came to this country in May of last year, spent six weeks in London, five months in Scotland and eentually arrived in Birmingham last November. He has knowledge of Latin and can speak Spanish fluently." (Birmingham Gazette, August 11th, 1949)
Halliburton's newspaper artical, entitled "I Protest Against the Colour Bar" was a powerful and courageous act of resistance in the face of racial and social discrimination. However, little else is currently known about the him or his time in Birmingham. How long did he stay in the city? Was he involved in any local organisations? What kind of work did he find in Birmingham? We currently do not know the answers to these questions.
Please get in touch with Birmingham Stories if you know more about the story of Horace Halliburton.(Note: more details about the 1949 unrest will soon appear on the 'Race and Racism' page of the Birmingham Stories website)