1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: The Stay in History Class. It's a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hi again, Welcome to this day in History class, 3 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 1: where history waits for no one. Today is June. The 4 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 1: day was June nineteen twelve. Eustace Edward Ricardo Braithwaite was 5 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: born in Georgetown, British Guyana now Guyana, to Charles Eduardo 6 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:40,560 Speaker 1: and Elizabeth Martha Braithwaite. Braithwaite is best remembered for his 7 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:44,159 Speaker 1: book To Sir with Love, a memoir about teaching in 8 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:48,519 Speaker 1: the East End working class district of London. Braithwaite was 9 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:52,200 Speaker 1: a teacher, a pilot, a social worker, and a diplomat, 10 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: and his writing addressed racism and discrimination. Both of his 11 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 1: parents graduated from Oxford University, his other with a degree 12 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:03,320 Speaker 1: in history and his father with a degree in engineering. 13 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,759 Speaker 1: His father was a gold and diamond miner. Braithwaite grew 14 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: up as a part of the emerging black middle class 15 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:13,880 Speaker 1: in British Guyana. He attended Queen's College in Guyana, a 16 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: notable high school, and in nineteen forty Braithwaite began studying 17 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 1: at the City College of New York. He worked at 18 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:25,920 Speaker 1: an oil refinery in Aruba, then moved to Britain, but 19 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: soon he joined the Royal Air Force, where he served 20 00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:32,880 Speaker 1: as a pilot during World War Two. After the war ended, 21 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:36,479 Speaker 1: Braithwaite went on to attend the University of Cambridge, where 22 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 1: he got his master's degree in physics in nineteen forty nine. 23 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:43,759 Speaker 1: Braithwaite was planning on pursuing his career in engineering once 24 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:46,959 Speaker 1: he graduated, but he had a lot of trouble finding 25 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,320 Speaker 1: work as employers were rejecting him because of his race. 26 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: He said in his autobiographical book Reluctant Neighbors, making plans 27 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:59,680 Speaker 1: on the half realized stream of achievement as a physicist dreaming. 28 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: Then the bitterness of seeing the dream whittled away bit 29 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 1: by bit, day by day, in two weeks and months, 30 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 1: until the only place on the whole arid horizon was 31 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:14,239 Speaker 1: a mangie schoolhouse beside a bomb racked rotting graveyard, in 32 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 1: a smelly classroom with forty six foul mouth youngsters, white 33 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:23,800 Speaker 1: English youngsters. After striking out on getting a job and engineering, 34 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: he took a teaching position at a school in the 35 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:29,799 Speaker 1: East End of London. Britain was still recovering from the 36 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:32,959 Speaker 1: devastation the war had caused, and the East End was 37 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:38,679 Speaker 1: seriously affected by poverty, crime, overcrowding, dangerous working conditions and 38 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:42,959 Speaker 1: for sanitation. Most of braithwaite students were white and he 39 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:45,799 Speaker 1: was the only black teacher on the faculty at St George's. 40 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 1: The school was progressive, but the students were unruly and 41 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 1: Braithwaite faced many difficulties there. Still, he grew to love 42 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,880 Speaker 1: teaching at the school. His experiences at the school inspired 43 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:01,799 Speaker 1: him to write the book To Sir with Love, which 44 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 1: was published in nineteen fifty nine. The book is about 45 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:09,600 Speaker 1: Ricky Braithwaite, a Guyanese teacher in London's East End. In 46 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 1: the book, Ricky struggles to encourage the undisciplined working class 47 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:17,359 Speaker 1: students and gets feelings for a white teacher. To Sir 48 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 1: with Love tackled issues of race and class in London, 49 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:23,680 Speaker 1: and it was adapted into a movie starring Sydney Pointier 50 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:28,399 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty seven. In nineteen fifty eight, Braithwaite left 51 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: his teaching position and began working as a welfare consultant 52 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:35,480 Speaker 1: with the London County Council, specializing in working with immigrant 53 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: families from the Caribbean. His experience in this job led 54 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 1: to his second book, Paid Servant, a report about welfare 55 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:46,839 Speaker 1: work in London, which was first published in nineteen sixty two. 56 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: Paid Servant is about his experiences and finding foster homes 57 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: for children of color. Braithwaite wrote more books over the 58 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: course of his life, including A Kind of Homecoming, which 59 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:02,040 Speaker 1: is a memoir about his journey to Africa, Choice of Straws, 60 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 1: which is a mystery novel, and Reluctant Neighbors, a book 61 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: about a black man and a white man who interact 62 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 1: on a train ride. Braithwaite's book Honorary White, A Visit 63 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:15,240 Speaker 1: to South Africa talks about the relationships between blacks and 64 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 1: whites in South Africa. He wrote it after the ban 65 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 1: on his books was lifted in the country and he 66 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 1: visited South Africa as a so called honorary White, which 67 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:28,559 Speaker 1: granted him more privileged than black people there. But beyond 68 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:31,680 Speaker 1: his writing, Braithwaite was also a diplomat. He was a 69 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 1: human rights officer for the World Veterans Federation, an education 70 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:39,480 Speaker 1: consultant to UNESCO in Paris, the first permanent representative of 71 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:42,799 Speaker 1: Guyana to the United Nations in New York, and Guyana's 72 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 1: ambassador to Venezuela. He also taught at New York University 73 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:50,799 Speaker 1: and was a writer in residence at Florida State University 74 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:54,840 Speaker 1: and Howard University. After he turned one hundred years old 75 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: in twenty twelve and went back to Guyana, he was 76 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:01,720 Speaker 1: given the Casiqus crown, the country's highest owner. He died 77 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 1: in December. I'm Eve Stepko and hopefully you know a 78 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:10,080 Speaker 1: little more about history today than you did yesterday. Get 79 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: more notes from history on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at 80 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:18,840 Speaker 1: t d i h C podcast And if you have 81 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 1: not yet listened to another show that a host called unpopular, 82 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:24,160 Speaker 1: you can get it wherever you listen to this Day 83 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:27,680 Speaker 1: in History class. Thanks again for listening and we'll see 84 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 1: you tomorrow. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit 85 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:39,120 Speaker 1: the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 86 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:40,040 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.