Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 17:27, 4 May 2023

Trevor Carter
Born	Trevor Clarence Carter 9 October 1930 Woodbrook, Port of Spain, Trinidad
Died	March 2008(2008-03-00) (aged 77) Archway, London
Occupation(s)	Seaman, educator, government official, glazier at Goldsmiths University
Organization(s)	Young Communist League (YCL); Caribbean Teachers Association; Caribbean Labour Congress; Notting Hill Carnival Trust; Black Theatre Co-operative; Hackney Community Relations Enterprise; War on Want
Known for	Leading British Communist and civil rights activist. Connection with the Notting Hill Carnival. Co-founder of Britain's first British-Caribbean carnival (1959). Co-founder of Caribbean Teachers Organisation/Association. Co-founder of Black Theatre Co-operative. Chair of Hackney Community Relations Enterprise. Head of equal opportunities for the Inner London Education Authority. Central role in the creation of the Swan Report, and Rampton Report.
Notable work	Shattering Illusions: West Indians in British Politics (1986)
Political party	Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB)
Spouse(s)	Corinne Skinner-Carter, m. 1955–2008 (his death)
Children	2
Relatives	Claudia Jones (cousin)
Honours	Recommended by the education authority for an OBE for his role in the Swann Report (rejected by Carter)

Trevor Carter (9 October 1930 – March 2008) was a leading British communist activist, educator, and black civil rights activist, most famous for co-founding the Caribbean Teachers Association and serving as the Head of Equal Opportunities for the Inner London Education Authority. Carter was the stage manager of the first British-Caribbean Carnival, held in St Pancras Town Hall, and later a Trustee of the Notting Hill Carnival Trust. His skills within the field of education led to Cheddi Jagan inviting Carter to Guiana to perform educational work in British Guiana. Several historians of British socialist movements have described Carter as "one of the Communist Party of Great Britain's (CPGB) most important black members" from the mid-1950s until 1991. Carter was the cousin of fellow black civil rights leader and communist activist Claudia Jones, and the husband of EastEnders actress Corinne Skinner-Carter, all of them playing essential roles in establishing the second largest annual carnival in the world, London's Notting Hill Carnival.

Carter was a lifelong communist activist, and a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) from his arrival in Britain in 1954 until the party was dissolved in 1991.

Early life

Trevor Clarence Carter was born in Woodbrook, Port of Spain, in the British colony of Trinidad, on 9 October 1930, the eldest of 12 children belonging to housewife Elene Carter, and her husband, cabinet maker Clarence Carter. His views and political beliefs were heavily influenced by some of his teachers who were Marxists, and by his father who was a trade unionist, the combination of which made a strong impression on Carter. Sometime during his childhood, he met a girl called Corinne, whom he married later in life.

At the age of 14, Carter left school and began working as a mess boy on a merchant ship, and during this time he travelled to New Orleans where he witnessed the brutality of segregation. His experiences with "Jim Crow laws" made him vow to never live in the United States. After working as a seaman and travelling through various parts of the United States, he decided to move to Britain to study architecture at Regent Street Polytechnic. In 1954 he arrived in London as a member of the Windrush generation.

Arrival in Britain and early activism

Several days after arriving in Britain, Carter joined the Young Communist League (YCL), the youth branch of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), a party that he would also join. He remarked that joining the British communists caused in him a "feeling of elation", similar to what Paul Robeson had experienced on visiting the Soviet Union and discovering there was no segregation. Later in life, Carter credited his time within the British communist movement for helping him to understand that the Mau Mau Uprising was an anti-colonial liberation struggle, and for making him more aware of Africa. Elaborating on his political alignment, he claimed that there was a lot of racism within local Labour Party branches and that this caused him and many other anti-racist activists to join the YCL and CPGB instead.

After arriving in Britain, Carter lived for several years with fellow Caribbean communist activist Billy Strachan, alongside Strachan's family. Carter described Strachan as his mentor. Both Strachan and Carter would play a small role in assisting Claudia Jones in creating the West Indian Gazette (1958–1965). Later in life, Carter recalled the Strachan family fondly, saying that he felt "a true affection in the Strachan family."

The CPGB was able to gain close contacts with Caribbean communists such as Carter through its support of the London branch of the Caribbean Labour Congress (CLC), an organisation described by the Labour Party and TUC as a "communist front" which enjoyed contacts with left-wing revolutionaries throughout the West Indies. Despite its independence from the CPGB, the British branch of the CLC was founded in 1948 with the help of CPGB activists, who allowed the CLC to print their newspaper, Caribbean News, free of charge.

In November 1955, Carter's cousin, the communist activist and black civil rights leader Claudia Jones arrived in Southampton, England, where she was greeted by Carter and his fiancé (and later wife) Corinne. Jones, who was also born in Trinidad and once served on the National Committee of the Communist Party USA, had been imprisoned under the Smith Act for her communist beliefs and her support for African-American civil rights and was deported to Britain under the McCarran Act. Carter, along with many other veteran Caribbean communist activists, admired Claudia for her understanding of racial and class issues. She quickly became very close to the couple, and the three of them often collaborated on Caribbean cultural projects. On New Year's Eve 1955, Carter married Corinne Skinner at Christ Church, Hampstead.

In 1956, Carter was summoned by the British government to perform national service but did not want to take part in Britain's colonial wars, which were at the time happening in Malaya, Kenya, Ireland, Oman, and Cyprus. To help him avoid national service, British communist activist Palme Dutt arranged for Carter to instead travel to the Soviet Union. During his work for the CPGB and YCL, Carter first travelled to Moscow and then to Cuba where he met Fidel Castro. Another South American leader that Carter had met was Daniel Ortega. After hearing that his wife, the actress Corinne Skinner-Carter, had been badly burned on a film set, he returned to Britain to be with her. The couple subsequently moved to live in Hampstead.

Role in the creation of Notting Hill Carnival

In the aftermath of the Notting Hill race riots, and the 1959 murder of murder of Kelso Cochrane by white youths, Carter, Corinne Skinner-Carter and Claudia Jones were among a committee who sought to create a carnival to bring the London Caribbean community together. Their plans came to fruition on 30 January 1959, and Carter worked as the stage manager of the first British-Caribbean Carnival, held in St Pancras Town Hall. This event was the precursor to the Notting Hill Carnival, which would become one of the largest annual carnival in the world. Carter continued to support and promoted the Notting Hill Carnival, becoming involved in the annual celebrations for the remainder of his life. At one point he also served as member of the Notting Hill Carnival Trust.

Work in British Guiana

Hearing about Carter's work in the field of anti-colonial activism, led to famous left-wing politician Cheddi Jagan invited Carter to travel to British Guiana to help perform educational work. Carter worked in Guiana from 1963 to 1966 as a school teacher, Carter worked closely with the People's Progressive Party, a political party founded by Jagan. However, during his time in Guiana, the political situation became unstable and he returned to Britain.

Educationalist career and later work

Upon returning to Britain from Guyana, Carter enrolled at the College of North West London (then Kilburn Polytechnic) and began studying A-level Physiology, Sociology, and Economics. During the nights he worked for a telephone exchange in Covent Garden. Completing his courses, he enrolled at the University of North London (then Polytechnic of North London) in 1968.

Sometime during the 1970s, Carter was involved in the campaign to free the Mangrove Nine, a group of black activists who were charged with inciting a riot, only to all be acquitted.

After graduation, Carter became a qualified British teacher and began working at Brooke House secondary school in Lower Clapton, Hackney, and later became the school's Head of the Social Studies department. Alongside other black activists, Carter became one of the founding members of the Caribbean Teachers Association, which then led him to later become involved in the Rampton Report, which found that the British educational system had been failing black students. He contributed to another government educational reform white paper called the Swann Report, work for which he was recommended to receive from the Queen the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE/OBE) by the educational authority. However, Carter rejected the award, citing his anti-colonial and communist beliefs. In 1987, Carter wrote a chapter discussing the Swann Report for a CPGB publication titled Racism and schools: contributions to a discussion.

He joined the Inner London Education Authority as a Senior Education Liaison Officer, before being made their Head of Equal Opportunities. He was also the chairman of the Hackney Community Relations Enterprise, and co-founder of both the Caribbean Teachers Organisation and the Black Theatre Co-operative. He also gave voluntary assistance to War on Want.

In 1986 with the help of Jean Coussins, Trevor Carter wrote his magnum opus Shattering Illusions: West Indians in British Politics, a book which provided "a social and political commentary on the interface between Caribbean migrants and British society and politics from the Post War period up until the early 1980s." Published by the left-wing press Lawrence & Wishart, Shattering Illusions received a positive review from Paul Okojie of Manchester Polytechnic.

After the Communist Party of Great Britain dissolved in 1991, Carter joined the Labour Party and ran as a council candidate for Labour in Islington.

In 1998 Trevor Carter, a lifelong admirer of American political activist Paul Robeson, was interviewed for the documentary Paul Robeson: Here I Stand.

Carter died in early March 2008 at his home in Archway, London. His funeral was held on 18 March 2008, at St Augustine's Church, Highgate, with a eulogy titled "A Life with Purpose" being delivered by Professor Gus John. Jeremy Corbyn, at the time an MP for Islington, was a great admirer of Carter, describing him as a "hope and inspiration to many who were suffering appalling racism and discrimination as newly arrived workers from the West Indies."

In September 2009, at a ceremony organised by family and friends, a teak bench was dedicated to Carter's memory in Waterlow Park, Highgate.

See also

• Dorothy Kuya
• Charlie Hutchison
• Claudia Jones
• Len Johnson
• Henry Gunter
• Peter Blackman

References

1. ^ Wong, Ansel (October 2009). "National Discourse on Carnival Arts" (PDF). Carnival Village. p. 34. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2021. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 5 April 2023 suggested (help)
2. ^ Meddick, Simon; Payne, Liz; Katz, Phil (2020). Red Lives: Communists and the Struggle for Socialism. United Kingdom: Manifesto Press Cooperative Limited. p. 32.
3. K. Smith, Melanie (2015). "largest+carnival"&pg=PT214&printsec=frontcover Issues in Cultural Tourism Studies (ebook). Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781317664208. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
4. ^ Wroe, Simon (20 March 2008). "Trevor, a true fighter for equality". Camden New Journal. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
5. ^ "Carter Trevor". Encyclopedia of Communist Biographies. 25 August 2011. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
6. ^ Meddick; Payne; Katz (2020). Red Lives: Communists and the Struggle for Socialism. UK. p. 33.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
7. Horsley, David (2019). Billy Strachan 1921–1988: RAF Officer, Communist, Civil Rights Pioneer, Legal Administrator, Internationalist and Above All Caribbean Man. London: Caribbean Labour Solidarity. p. 14. ISSN 2055-7035.
8. Horsley, David (23 May 2019). "Billy Strachan's was a remarkable life". Camden New Journal. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
9. Horsley (2019). Billy Strachan 1921–1988. p. 25.
10. Horsley (2019). Billy Strachan 1921–1988. p. 16.
11. ^ "Claudia Jones, communist". Lalkar. April 2010. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
12. Schwarz, Bill, ed. (2013). West Indian Intellectuals in Britain (eBook). United Kingodom: Manchester University Press. ISBN 9781847795717.
13. Wong (2009). "National Discourse on Carnival Arts" (PDF). p. 24. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2021. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 5 April 2023 suggested (help)
14. "Woman's Hour: Claudia Jones". BBC. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2021. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 10 April 2023 suggested (help)
15. Horsley, David (1 December 2020). "The political life and times of Claudia Jones". The Morning Star. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
16. Wong (2009). "National Discourse on Carnival Arts" (PDF). p. 25. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2021. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 5 April 2023 suggested (help)
17. Jasper, Lee (4 December 2020). "The Mangrove: My University of activism". Operation Black Vote. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
18. Bunce, Robin; Paul Field (29 November 2010). "Mangrove Nine: the court challenge against police racism in Notting Hill". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2017. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2 May 2023 suggested (help)
19. Ebbutt, Keith; Pearce, Bert, eds. (1987). Racism and schools : contributions to a discussion. John Street, London: Communist Party of Great Britain. pp. 46–52. ISBN 9780714723648.
20. Carter, Trevor (1986). Shattering illusions : West Indians in British politics. Museum Street, London: Lawrence & Wishart. ISBN 0275927407.
21. Okojie, Paul (October 1987). "Book reviews : Shattering illusions: West Indians in British politics By Trevor Carter (London, Lawrence and Wishart, 1986)". Race & Class. 29 (2): 107–108 – via Sage.
22. "Trevor Carter". PBS. 30 July 1998. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
23. Wroe, Simon (6 March 2008). "Obituary | Activist and socialist who was an inspiration to all". Camden New Journal. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023.
24. Gulliver, John (11 September 2009). "The Bull, a man who got things done". Islington Tribune. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023.

`

• 1930 births
• 2008 deaths
• Black British activists
• British activists
• British communists
• Communist Party of Great Britain members
• People from Port of Spain
• Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United Kingdom
• Trinidad and Tobago writers