Our Heroines

Claudia Jones 1915 - 1964 Political Activist Started Notting Hill Carnival Birthplace: Trinidad

Claudia Jones was a world-renowned symbol of resistance to political tyranny, having been jailed in the USA during the McCarthy era for her Marxist views. She was subsequently deported arriving in Britain when the colonial Government of her native Trinidad refused to admit her. As a fighter against oppression and class exploitation she was of international significance and after her arrival in Britain she became active on the Left and among the minority communities. From this base she travelled to the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China.

Claudia Jones was born in Belmont, Port of Spain, Trinidad, on February 15, 1915. Due to the social and economic conditions prevailing in colonial Trinidad and Tobago during the early 1920s her family were forced to migrate to the USA where her parents and many other Caribbean people thought things would be better: that employment would be available, educational opportunities accessible and the standard of living higher. Unfortunately her parents did not find conditions in the US to be all they had hoped for. Housing conditions, especially for the black people were poor; job opportunities limited and opportunities for further studies rare for blacks in the racism-ridden society.

By the age of 18, Claudia Jones adopted Marxist-Leninism as the "philosophy of her life" and joined the Young Communist League. She was much influenced by Marcus Garvey from an early age. After the Second World War, Claudia concentrated on issues relating to anti-racism and black liberation, and in particular the special oppression of black women and the national liberation movements against imperialism. The fight against racism at this period was more forceful and positive in the face of continuous lynching of black people and the hypocritical US policies and practices they fought against in Europe. Both within the black community and in the Communist Party, Claudia's voice was heard.

Claudia Jones had two major interests, writing as a journalist and drama, both reflected in her political consciousness. For Claudia in her experience, the most important weapon in any struggle was the medium of information. She launched the "West Indian Gazette" and "Afro-Asian Caribbean News"in 1958 to achieve this aim. The "West Indian Gazette" was, in Claudia's own words, "a major effort designed to stimulate political and social thinking". She went on: "This paper has served as a catalyst, quickening the awareness, socially and politically of West Indians, Afro-Asians and their friends.

Claudia Jones was a black woman who understood the nature of her peoples' oppression. She also understood the truism that nothing moves unless force is brought to bear. She was a key participant in the decisions which led to the formation of the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination (CARD) launched after her death. According to Buzz Johnson, her biographer, "If we understand why Claudia and others were persecuted, why she joined the struggle, the importance of organising ability and skill and the very potent force of information as a weapon in the struggle and make practical use of these, our victory will come sooner"

Claudia Jones died in her sleep over the 1964 Christmas Holidays. Her remains lie in a grave next to that of Karl Marx in Highgate Cemetery, North London. Her presence and death in England tell us a lot about Caribbean people who have been removed forcibly from the African and Asian continents and even today still lead lives of utter despair under the domination of North American and European powers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/jones_claudia.shtml

http://5x5media.com/bhp/pages/cjones.shtml

http://www.preciousonline.co.uk/arts/june02/Claudia.htm

http://www.brothermalcolm.net/archivedsites/claudia_jones_exile.htm

http://purpleplanetmedia.com/bhp/pages/cjones-2.shtml

http://freespace.virgin.net/k.bacchra/claudiajones.htm

http://www.l-w-bks.co.uk/titles/archive/his_claudia.html

www.fiu.edu/~africana/claudia2.htm

http://history.binghamton.edu/resources/bjoh/WomnBlkTrad.htm

Claudia Jones - a story.
http://cambonli01.uuhost.uk.uu.net/forum/blackwomen/rsn/claudia.htm

Claudia Jones gravestone.
http://www.findagrave.com/pictures/9380.html