Claudia Jones was a political activist who campaigned with great success for equal opportunities for black people.
Holding a firm belief that the most important factor in effecting change was to give a voice to those who needed it, she founded a newspaper, the West-Indian Gazette, in 1958, which focused primarily on Afro-Asian Caribbean news. In her own words, the paper stood for “full economic, social and political equality and respect for human dignity for West Indians and Afro-Asians in Britain, and for peace and friendship between all Commonwealth and world peoples.”
She was also a key founder of the Notting Hill Carnival, which has today become one of the biggest street festivals in Europe, chiefly a celebration of Caribbean heritage, arts and culture. Today, the event attracts over two million attendees each year. Claudia continued to campaign for equality in the United Kingdom until her death of heart disease and tuberculosis in 1964.
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