Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 18/Sep 10:06

Caribbean militant and Pan-Africanist

MALCOLM NURSE was born in 1903 in the rural village of Arouca, but his childhood and teenaged years were spent in a middle-class suburb of Port of Spain. Nurse attended the prestigious St Mary’s College in Port of Spain. At the age of 19 years he briefly served as a reporter for the Trinidad Guardian. Due to frequent arguments with the newspaper’s editor, Nurse resigned and in 1924 departed for the US. He would soon adopt the alias of George Padmore in 1927. He was interested in pursuing a career in medicine and later law and attended Fisk University, the University of New York and Howard University. During a visit of the British ambassador to Howard, Padmore embarrassed the dignitary by publicly protesting against the suffering of Africa under British rule. The young Trinidadian was expelled but it marked a watershed as Padmore had begun the life of a fearless and militant revolutionary. While working among blacks in Harlem, Padmore edited a newspaper, the Negro Champion (later known as the Liberator). He decided to join the Communist Party in 1927 and began contributing articles to the Daily Worker in New York. He also worked with the Communist Party’s American Negro Labour Congress. In 1929, Padmore decided to migrate to Moscow in the Soviet Union and began lecturing on the trade union activities of blacks in the US. During 1930-1935, Padmore is credited for the global organisation of the black working class. Padmore was appointed head of the International Trade Union Committee of Negro Workers (ITUC-NW), which was the arm of the Red International of Labour Unions or Profintern. In June 1930, the ITUC-NW began publishing the Negro Worker, which Padmore edited. This newspaper was read by thousands of blacks in North America, Europe and the Caribbean. Ideological differences contributed to Padmore’s disillusionment with communism and the decision to relocate to Hamburg, Germany. In 1935, Padmore moved to London (England) and reunited with his childhood friend and fellow Trinidadian – CLR James. Padmore continued a career as a journalist and published articles in working class and black publications as the Crisis and Chicago Defender and the Baltimore Afro-American. In TT, his articles were read in the Clarion, the Vanguard and The People. Issues addressed included self-government, racism, imperialism and trade unionism. Padmore’s role as a voice for the oppressed and exploited working class is evident in his books and pamphlets – The Life and Struggles of Negro Toilers, How Britain Rules Africa and Africa and World Peace. While in London, among his friends were Eric Williams (of TT), Paul Robeson (of the US), Amy Garvey (wife of Marcus Garvey), and Jomo Kenyatta (of Africa). Padmore’s phenomenal organisational ability resurfaced after the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935. He assisted James, who formed the International African Friends of Ethiopia. This anti-imperialist group was transformed in March 1937 to the International African Service Bureau (IASB) by Padmore, who served as chairman. Marcus Garvey, the Jamaican Pan-Africanist, was an influential leader among blacks. However, Garvey’s failure to support the striking workers in Trinidad during the strikes of June 1937, resulted in harsh public criticisms from James and Padmore at Hyde Park in London. By 1944, the IASB had been dissolved and Padmore, along with other Pan-Africanists, formed the Pan-African Federation (PAF) in England. Among Padmore’s illustrious friends was WEB Du Bois of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in the US. In 1945, Padmore, writing from the headquarters of PAF, invited Du Bois to send a representative to the historic Fifth Pan-African Congress, which was to be held in Manchester, England. Furthermore, he informed Du Bois of the trade union activities in the British West Indies and the support given to the Jamaican strike in 1946. In June 1945, Padmore assisted in organising the All-Colonial People’s Conference held in London. He also maintained regular contact with the West African Students' Union. By 1946, Padmore was instrumental in establishing the London-based Asiatic African Unity Committee comprising Indians and Africans with the intention of building a united front against imperialism. Furthermore, he had a close fraternal relationship with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru of India, the external department of the National Congress and the All-India Students' Congress. Interestingly, though Padmore was a staunch Pan-Africanist and pro-black, his work embraced other ethnic groups. This could be a lesson for many people in 2025 who promote division and believe they should support only one ethnic group, religion or movement. The post Caribbean militant and Pan-Africanist appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.