Black History Month: 23 October 2020
Wilfred Denniston Wood, born in Barbados in 1936, became the Bishop of Croydon in 1985 and the first black bishop in the Church of England. Being struck by the harsh conditions that black immigrants had to undergo and by the problems of the inner city, Wood maintained an active interest in race relations and social justice in London. He noticed black youths being treated poorly and at times criminally by law enforcement. He condemned how young black people were systematically prevented from mounting the first rung of the career ladder due to severe racial bias. He witnessed the multiple barriers to housing for black families as they put up with abysmal living conditions and had little support from officials to fight their corner.
Thus, he used his authority to set up a fund to support black families in need, established a credit union to create sustainable ongoing income, opened Saturday schools to supplement education, formed a successful job club, and established a housing agency. He was a founder member of the Paddington Churches Housing Association and was appointed the Bishop of London's race relations office in 1966. He dedicated his life to not only faith but improving the lives within unfairly neglected black communities.
Want to learn more about Bishop Wilfred Wood? Click here for more information.
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