Power, Pride, and the Press: Claudia Jones

Power feels different when you can hold it in your hands—ink on paper, headlines on a newsstand, a community gathered on Brixton stairs. We revisit the West Indian Gazette and the force of Claudia Jones, tracing how a newspaper born from crisis became a cultural engine and a training ground for Carnival. The story begins in 1958 Britain—colour bars at pubs, landlords closing doors, employers saying no—and follows Claudia’s decision to build a people’s paper that informed, defended, and united the Caribbean diaspora.

We unpack the Gazette’s social gravity: politicians, authors, and activists passing through the office; Sam King moving bundles across the country; a readership large enough to irritate racists and encourage allies. The backlash—threats from a British Klan offshoot and vandalism—only underlined the impact. But we also sit with the operational truth: circulation spikes and cash dips, volunteers carrying dual jobs, and the hard pivot required to turn social influence into structural power. That contrast with later institutions like the Voice helps us explore why editorial courage must meet financial discipline to outlive a founder.

From there, the conversation widens to strategy. Under the Gazette’s sponsorship, the 1959 Caribbean Carnival reframed politics through culture and joy, even making it onto the BBC. Claudia understood that newspapers set agendas, but carnivals change the air people breathe. Across these threads—media, organising, celebration—we keep returning to a working definition of power: influence, leadership, and the capacity to effect positive change. It’s a lineage that still shapes Black British media and community life today.

If this journey reshaped how you think about Black British history, media, and Carnival, share the episode with a friend, leave a review, and subscribe so you don’t miss part two. Your support helps this story travel further.

Chapters

• 0:00 Setting The Theme: Power & Pride
• 0:53 Claudia Jones: Life Before London
• 2:05 1958 Britain: Context of Racism
• 4:10 Founding the West Indian Gazette
• 5:05 Social Influence and Cultural Hub
• 7:00 Voices, Visitors, and Circulation
• 8:40 Backlash: Klan Threats and Vandalism
• 10:05 Leadership vs. Balance Sheet
• 12:05 Volunteers, Staffing, and Sustainability
• 14:10 From Social to Structural Power
• 15:05 Carnival Beginnings and Strategy
• 17:00 Community Fundraising & Billboard Vision
• 18:20 Defining Power and Collective Strength

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Greetings and happy Black History Month. The theme for Black History Month 2025, if you didn't know, is Standing Firm in Power and Pride. Today's Standing in Power and Pride episode will focus on the power of Claudia Jones and her first of a kind black British newspaper, the West Indian Gazette. It's often touted as the first. However, before WIG, there were of course organizations that we have to acknowledge who were publishing newsletters, such as the Caribbean Labour Congress and Harold Moody's League of Colored People, which brought out the keys. But apparently none of these had reached the high street newsstands. Before we get started, on a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being very little knowledge and 10 being proficient knowledge, where would you rank your knowledge of Claudia Jones? My hope is that by the end of this episode, that knowledge, your number, would have grown. Briefly, before we get into the West Indian Gazette era, Claudia was born in 1915 and passed away in 1964. She was born in Trinidad and moved to New York at the age of eight. As a young adult, she began writing for weekly communist columns. As a member of the Communist Party US, she was sent to prison in 1948. And in total, she was sent to prison four times, eventually being deported first to Trinidad and then immediately to the UK in 1955. I know what you're thinking. Already movie worthy, right? It was around this time that Claudia produced her best known written work, which is an end to the neglect of the problems of the Negro Woman in 1949. If you haven't already, I would highly recommend checking that essay out as it's widely available online. That being said, with these podcast episodes, we have this one which will serve as part one where I focus on the West Indian Gazette era, and then part two will focus on the Caribbean carnivals. So let's start with the context and the concern. Claudia had been in the UK for just three years when she started the newspaper called West Indian Gazette or Whig for short. And she started it in March 1958. The reason why the concern is because it followed the racist violence against West Indian people in Notting Hill. To further understand the role of Whig at the time, I have to paint a picture of yesteryear. There were only about half a dozen or so black cricketers playing for the first class. In football, there were black football players at West Ham. There were no black newsreaders or DJs on the airwaves. In the late 50s in Britain, some white passengers would change seats on a bus if a black or quote unquote coloured passenger was bold enough to sit next to them. Some pubhouses still operated a colour bar, covertly or otherwise. Many employers would say that they did not hire quote unquote coloured or darkies, and that's if they were being polite. Landlords and landladies blame the fact that they could not rent a room to a coloured person because the white neighbours would object. The British Union of Fascists had a lorry draped in a union jack opposite the orange luxury coach station in Brixton, which is today Windrush Square. Why does this imagery still resonate in 2025? From there, their members would warn against the weakening of the British race through sexual liaisons. Brave white women who went out with coloured men were often insulted. It was a time when white passengers still rubbed their hands on coloured bus conductors' hair hoping for good luck. For several years, the walls opposite St. Matthew's Church in Brixton bore the legendary slogan Keep Britain white. Wig came out of necessity. It had a foundational role in developing the Caribbean diaspora in London. Now that you have the context, let's look into the power. When we look at the definition of power via blackhistorymonth.org.uk, it breaks it down the influence, the leadership, and the capacity to effect positive change. To do so, I will use the book Claudia Jones Life in Exile, which was published in 1999. I will be referencing from chapter 5, which is titled West Indian Gazette. So let's start with the influence, specifically social influence. This chapter is called Life at the Gazette. The office of the newspaper was always the vocal point of many activities. It was truly the cultural centre for black people in Britain. It was always a place alight with optimism for both the individual and the community as a whole. The Gazette community was unique. It attracted a far broader cross-section of black personalities than that of any high commissions, and the atmosphere was less formal. It's often said that many people and personalities were seen going up those steps in Brixton. You have Paul Robson of America and his wife, who was many things. You had many politicians in the caliber of Norman Manley from Jamaica. You had Eric Williams of Trinidad and Tobago, you had Chedi of British Guyana. You also had authors like George Lamming and Samuel Savlon, both of whom I've referenced their books in this podcast, one being The Lonely Londoner. I give those names not just to name drop but to build a picture. And the picture here is the social influence that no black newspaper since has had such an alliance. And that is because of the social influence of Claudia Jones. It continues, Claudia was loved and understood people more than she did the balance sheet. So a little bit of foreshadowing there in regards to her leadership. Back to her influence. She was completely at her most superb, at the mic, telling the audience just what they wanted to hear and what they should hear. And sometimes they were not the same. What I get from that statement is that she wasn't an appeasing people pleaser. I also want to encourage you, although I'm giving sections of the book, by no means is this the length and the breadth of the book. So if you are interested, I think I saw the book online for around about£15 or so. The next section I'm going to read is from Sam King himself, often touted as Mr. Windrush. If you don't know who he is, make sure you check him out because equally he could have his own podcast. He was a Jamaican-British campaigner and community activist. He first came to England as an engineer for the RAF during the Second World War. He then returned to Jamaica and came back on the Empire Windrush. Yes, he was actually on the Empire Windrush ship. He later became the first black mayor of Southwark and he transitioned on to be with the Ancestors in 2016 at the age of 90. This is what he had to say about Claudio Jones at that time. Sam King recalls, our first print run was somewhere in the order of 10,000. I took 1,000 and distributed them all over the country. You see, I still had my RAF contacts and we were still in touch. I accounted for 995 copies. I was immediately made circulation manager. That was typical Claudia. She was a doer and she recognized other people's efforts. Salute, Mr. Sam King. So to summarize, power member under power is influence, social influence. So West Indian Gazette at that time had 10,000 copies in circulation. She had politicians coming to visit her offices in Brixton. She had authors coming to visit her. She even had Malcolm X pictured with the newspaper Wig. When Claudia Jones was standing firm in power and pride, when you are standing firm in power and pride, naturally there will be those who want to test are you standing firm or are you merely standing? The difference being, am I able to persuade you, intimidate you, make you waver? For Claudia Jones, the fret came from the Klue Klutz Clan of Britain. In their letter, they wrote, My dear Mr. B Ape. Not a monkey reference, oh how original. Kindly post two copies of your paper to the above address every month until order to cease. Possibly you're wondering why we have so far failed to pay attention to your audacity in setting up this filthy hack trash of a paper. Pray good sir, we the Aryan race miss nothing. Close attention has been paid to every issue of this rag, and I do sincerely assure you the information gleaned has proven of great value to the clan. May we take this opportunity to wish your star star paper with every success while you are able to continue publishing it. Arian regards A dot as white man or whiteman. That concludes the letter. However, it's also important to know that the clan trashed the Gazette office. And these actions let us know that Claudia and the West Indian Gazette or Whig had the sphere of influence. They noted a concern, they addressed that concern and had social influence. And in the middle of that sphere is control. They were operating 10,000 copies, they had an element of control. They didn't answer to anybody. But with great power comes great responsibility. Let me elaborate. Part of that responsibility is leadership. Claudia was a loved leader. However, in order to move from social influence to structural influence, your organization, business, and idea has to be able to run without the founder. To become an institution like the voice newspaper, it has to outlive the founder. This is often a stumbling block for many black organizations, and unfortunately, WIG was no different as they had financial problems. Earlier, I shared a section that foreshadowed some of the financial problems. On page 144, it says this a circulation of 5,000 amongst a population of a quarter of a million and growing was not impossible, but the Gazette never achieved it. The circulation peaked at 30,000 during the winter of 1958, but as early as 1959, that figure had fallen drastically. Not even the murder of Kelso Cochrane in May 1959 had much effect, and the circulation settled back down at 10,000. Quickly, if you're unaware of who Kelso Cochrane is, I do have a previous episode speaking about his life and legacy. It continues.10 shillings for the 1958 Christmas edition of WIG, with a note at the bottom of the page stating that the November account must be cleared before a start can be made on the December issue. Naturally, with financial problems would come staffing problems. The Gazette never could afford to take on paid staff. In the summer of 1958, Theo Campbell introduced Donald Hines to Claudia. By the autumn, Hines' title and job description, according to the Gazette's masthead, was that of City Reporter. In early 1959, Ken Kelly, a young intellectual from Trinidad who wrote Crystal Clear Prose, and like Hines, he was busily writing his first novel, joined the Gazette and was designated staff feature writer. Neither Hines nor Kelly was paid. Outside of their commitments to the Gazette, Kelly worked as a typist for a news agency and Hines as a London transport bus conductor. So, yes, there are parallels to the 1950s and to 2025, where we've got our bios and we're juggling multiple plates because, as explained here, Donald Hines was a bus conductor but was also a city reporter, a guy who could do both multi-hyphenated, like a lot of our bios on Instagram. I digress. The fact that the Gazette could not pay salaries or expenses meant that its writers had to look elsewhere if their rents were to be paid, but no one could avoid Claudia's magnetic personality. Equally, there was a lot of support, numerous letters would flood in from well-wishers and especially from the growing black community, which held the Gazette as the people's paper. So, as a reflection, when I look through the history of our black newspapers, you have Claudia who is a fantastic writer, but by the omission of people who knew her at the time, she shied away from the balance sheet. Fast forward from the 50s to the 80s, and we have the voice. And interestingly, the voice is set up by Val McCallor, who was an accountant first. And that's why during this episode I've been making the clear distinction. When we look at the word power, it breaks down influence, which we've been talking about, and I've been talking about social influence. And we can still resonate with that idea of social influence today, right? But what the voice was able to cultivate over its 40 years is to go beyond just social influence, and they were able to move into structural influence. But despite the troubles in leadership, the third and final section of power, influence, leadership, and now it's the capacity to affect positive change. And the capacity to affect positive change starts with the 1959 Caribbean Carnival. If you're unaware, I recently created a GoFundMe for part two of the Notting Hill Historic Billboard Takeover for 2026, where Notting Hill Carnival will be turning 60. And for this, we have to go hard or go home. So I have acquired not one, but two of the largest billboards on the route. They are in fact the sister billboards. One will show Claudia Jones and the other will show Ronnie Laslett, both of the mothers of Carnival in London. Hence part of the reason for this podcast an episode. As of the time of recording this podcast, the GoFundMe is approximately about 65% complete. I'm looking to raise£2,700 for one of the billboards. That serves as fundraising round one. Once that's completed, I will move on to fundraising round two to secure the other one. But I'm hoping that I can get a sponsor for the second billboard. So the idea is that one will be funded by the community, which I think is important for everybody's involvement. So it's not about the I I I I but the we. And I'm hoping that for round two, an organization will see how we've powerfully mobilised, galvanized, and support the cause and vision. So if you're unaware of who Claudia is, why does she deserve a billboard at Ninehill Carnival? Well, in the chapter The Genesis of the Carnival, it says this in November 1958, just months after the riots, a Caribbean Carnival Committee was set up under the sponsorship of the West Indian Gazette. The committee must have worked swiftly and efficiently since on Friday, the 30th of January 1959, it was able to mount what was announced as the Caribbean Carnival at St. Pancras Town Hall in central London. The souvenir brochure, which you can see in the book, was published at the time it was announced, and the carnival was organized by the West Indian Gazette. The Carnival Cabaret was televised by the BBC between 10.45 and 11.25 pm. I believe there's a few clips on YouTube. The 1959 Carnival Souvenir publication also included the following statement. And there speaks the politics of Claudia Jones. She had called her friends and comrades to form the Caribbean Carnival Committee as a part of a complex strategy, socially, culturally, and politically. And that's how I feel today about Notting Hill Carnival. It's good to have the social, but we also need to acknowledge the cultural history and of course the political resistance. It then goes on. To conclude episode one, let's finish with the definition from blackhisturymonth.org.uk. Power represents the influence. We spoke about the influence of Claudia Jones, leadership, and the capacity to effect positive change, which we briefly touched upon in regards to her Caribbean carnival, but we're going to further explore in part two. The definition goes on, it acknowledges the visionaries, hey, Claudia, who led political Claudia, civil rights, and social movements, as well as those who have broken barriers in business, education, and the arts, Claudia, with the West Indian Gazette. Their legacies remind us that true power is not about titles. So it's not about just the West Indian Gazette or Claudia Jones or the Caribbean Carnival, but about collective strength. So it's about Sam King selling those copies and politicians coming and authors coming, etc. Courage and unity used to forge a more equitable future for all. Amen, a mean and a Shea. So before we go, when we got started, I asked yourself to give yourself a number on a scale from one to ten, one being very little knowledge, and ten being proficient knowledge. Where would you now rank your knowledge? True say solely part one, but where would you rank your knowledge of Claudia Jones now? My hope is that through listening to this, it has grown. So please let me know if it has indeed grown. If it has not, don't worry, don't worry. Round two or part two, rather, I'm going to be sharing with my live community first on Tuesday night at 9 pm GMT. Then once that live is going, I usually record of the weekend and then edit it together and then put it out before my live the following week. So this should be out shortly. Thank you so much for listening. I'm Kane Kawasaki. Happy UK Black History Month, and this has been the Blackwash.