Oct 25, 2024
Black History Month is an annual celebration dedicated to recognising the achievements and contributions of Black people throughout history, and amplifying Black voices.
The 2024 Theme of Black History month is ‘Reclaiming Narratives’. This year, we’re sharing with you the history of the influential activist, Claudia Jones, and the incredible impact she has had on the US and UK.
Claudia Jones’ life story in many ways resonates with the theme of reclaiming narratives.
She is well known for her involvement in founding Notting Hill Carnival, but her story goes beyond this.
So, grab a cuppa, and discover more about the life of Claudia Jones.
Before moving to the United States in 1924, Claudia Jones lived in Port of Spain, Trinidad. She was born there on February 21, 1915, when Trinidad and Tobago were part of the British West Indian colonies (1) (6). It’s worth mentioning that after moving to Harlem, New York, in 1924, Claudia contracted tuberculosis, and her health suffered from this point onwards.
In New York, Jones experienced first-hand the hard realities of racial and economic oppression. This deeply influenced her activism, which focused on challenging gender inequality and racism. Claudia believed that the liberation of Black women was essential for that of all oppressed people (6).
In the 1930s, Jones became involved with the Communist Party in the US. Here, she advocated for the rights of Black women, workers, and the broader Black community. At just 25, in 1941, she became the National Director of the Young Communist League.
Jones challenged the male domination in the Communist Party (CP), yet this vocal criticism didn’t stop her from becoming one of its most valued members. She also went on to be appointed editor of the “Negro Affairs” unit of the Daily Worker in 1945.
Claudia Jones worked to challenge and raise awareness of oppression and racism which was denying Black women participation in work, among other impacts. She believed that white Communists had a responsibility to support Black women’s autonomous struggles, and advocated for this work to be done. She spoke into the notion that Black women faced a kaleidoscope of race, class, and gender exploitation and her work focused on attempting to raise awareness within wider society on this issue. She argued that addressing this ‘triple oppression’ was vital to achieve true equality (6) (8).
The 1950s were a time of state sanctioned, publicly normalised segregation. She explained that even when Black women could participate in work, the roles they could secure offered far lower wages compared to those available to white women (7); highlighting the racism in recruitment, systemic inequality, and other barriers including classism and sexism which contributed to this.
Further exasperating Black women’s oppression was their exclusion from labour unions, with roles such as domestic workers being denied membership to trade unions. It was Black women who were disproportionately working in these roles, and so this created an unfair lack of support network for Black women who were engaged in the workforce.
Claudia said about this: “It is incumbent on the trade unions to assist the Domestic Workers Union in every possible way to accomplish the task of organizing the exploited domestic workers, the majority of whom are Negro women. Simultaneously, a legislative fight for the inclusion of domestic workers under the benefits of the Social Security Law is vitally urgent and necessary.”
Jones’ work to challenge the political and economic status quo in the US, led her be exiled to Britain in 1955; She’d lived in New York for 31 years. Her political ‘radicalism’ meant she was seen as a threat to the existing socio-economic system, and so removed from it. An excerpt from an FBI report, in December 2, 1942, refers to her “criminal” activities and that she was ‘considered one of the ablest young communists in the United States.’ She was imprisoned many times on over inflated charges of supporting government overthrow during the 1950s.
Some women of colour fighting for worker’s and women’s rights of the time, such as Maida Springer Kemp, were not treated with the same degree of punishment as Claudia Jones, in that they were able to stay in the US. Maida Kemp, for example, became a board member of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union and ran for political office during the ‘50s.
One example of Jones’ activism in the US was her support for Rosa Ingram. A widow and mother of fourteen, who was wrongfully arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment on false murder charges in 1959. Jones not only rallied to her support but convinced many CP members to also rally and support her cause. She organised a campaign to gather one million signatures and sent the petition to President Truman (6). Jones’ efforts, alongside other activists, eventually led to her release within a year of her original imprisonment.
Following her deportation to the UK, she was met with a racist and oppressive government. In addition to this, the British Communist Party was mostly hostile to Black participation in the movement. According to Connie Johnson in ‘Reclaiming Claudia Jones’, “Out of desperation, Jones turned to the support of London’s Caribbean community, where she was met with open arms.” (7) Jones went on to launch her own newspaper, The West Indian Gazette, creating articles on civil rights.
In August 1958, when Claudia Jones lived in Vauxhall, there were riots involving racial attacks and the tragic murder of a Black carpenter in Notting Hill. Jones’ response was to launch the Notting Hill Carnival in 1959 to repair race relations in Britain (7). The carnival is now world famous, and attracts millions of attendees, with 2 million attending in 2024, alongside 40,000 volunteers.
Despite the goal of the carnival as the unification between Black and white people in Britain, and its symbolism of Black resistance, in the 70s the London Metropolitan Police, and British establishment fought against it (including certain local authorities, and segments of the media).
In 1976, Black residents fought white police officers in the infamous Notting Hill race riots. Connie Johnson wrote that: “According to [the] chairman of organizers of London Notting Hill Carnival Ltd., “Carnival was always seen by the state and the establishment as something that they wanted to stop because they saw it for what it was—a form of cultural resistance.”” (6)
Notting Hill Carnival’s modern commercialism may hide its original aims, but many still honour the original purpose.
Claudia Jones was an influential force in her lifetime. It is a sad fact that when Claudia Jones died in 1964, she did not hold citizenship in any country.
That, if for no other reason, is why Jones is an exemplar of the extent of racial and political injustice present in US and UK during her lifetime. Despite her significant contributions to civil rights, journalism, and community organising, she was denied full recognition and rights in the countries where she made these contributions; where she lived and worked.
Claudia Jones is buried in London adjacent to Karl Marx in Highgate Cemetery. As Connie Johnson says, “unlike Jones, Marx never had to fear racism or violent retaliation because of his skin colour.”
Claudia Jones defied oppression, racism, sexism and classism, and risked her life to do so.
She died young, at just 49; resulting from heart complications exasperated by her struggle with TB. Today, we celebrate her contributions to ending inequality in the US and UK, and her lasting contributions to this work. We look to her inspiration, passion, and dedication to ending systemic inequality in our own work.
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