Trevor Carter

Trevor Carter (9 October 1930 – March 2008) was a British communist party leader, educator, black civil rights activist, and co-founder of the Caribbean Teachers Association. He served as the head of equal opportunities for the Inner London Education Authority. He co-authored the 1986 book Shattering Illusions: West Indians in British Politics.

Writers on British socialist movements have described Carter as "one of the Communist Party of Great Britain's (CPGB) most important black members" from the mid-1950s until 1991. Carter was a communist activist, and a member of the CPGB from his arrival in Britain in 1954 until the party was dissolved in 1991. Cheddi Jagan invited Carter to British Guiana to work in education.

Carter was the stage manager of the first British-Caribbean Carnival, held in St Pancras Town Hall, and later a Trustee of the Notting Hill Carnival Trust. Together his cousin Claudia Jones, and wife, the EastEnders actress Corinne Skinner-Carter, they helped establish the second-largest annual carnival in the world, London's Notting Hill Carnival.

Early life Trevor Clarence Carter was born in Woodbrook, Port of Spain, in the British colony of Trinidad, on 9 October 1930, the eldest of 12 children of housewife Elene Carter, and her husband, cabinet maker Clarence Carter. Carter's "experiences in New Orleans at the height of racial segregation engendered a lifelong battle to improve race relations" according to Carter's obituary,

Arrival in Britain After travelling through various parts of the U.S., Carter moved to Britain to study architecture at Regent Street Polytechnic. Carter described Strachan as his mentor. Both Strachan and Carter would play a small role in assisting Claudia Jones in creating the West Indian Gazette (1958–1965). Later in life, Carter recalled the Strachan family fondly, saying that he felt "a true affection in the Strachan family".

Early activism Soon after arriving in Britain, Carter joined the Young Communist League (YCL), and later, the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). A 2019 article by Geoff Brown in International Socialism cites page 140 of Shattering Illusions where Carter says that his impression "was always that the left was genuinely concerned to mobilise the black community, but into their political battles", but because the left "never had time to look at our immediate problems ... blacks ended up in total isolation within the broad left because of the left's basic dishonesty." A 2010 article in Lalkar magazine cites page 62 of Shattering Illusions, stating that Carter thought racism not an "inherent and permanent feature" of the left, and that he "stayed in the Communist Party" believing "comrades could learn and change their attitudes". He adds that, "I don't think the party is dealing properly with racism and sometimes I get angry ... The Labour Party occasionally has enticed me, but I know that my political education couldn't improve anywhere but in the Communist Party." On New Year's Eve 1955, Carter married Corinne Skinner at Christ Church, Hampstead. This event was the precursor to the Notting Hill Carnival, which would become one of the largest annual carnivals in the world. Carter continued to support and promote the Notting Hill Carnival, becoming involved in the annual celebrations for the remainder of his life. At one point, he also served as a member of the Notting Hill Carnival Trust.

Work in British Guiana Cheddi Jagan invited Carter to travel to British Guiana, where Carter worked from 1963 to 1966 as a school teacher

After graduation, Carter became a qualified British teacher and began working at Brooke House secondary school in Lower Clapton, Hackney, and later became the school's head of the social studies department. work for which he was recommended to receive the Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) by the educational authority. he didn't agree with the Swann Report, but considered it constructive.

He joined the Inner London Education Authority as a Senior Education Liaison Officer, After the CPGB dissolved in 1991, Carter joined the Labour Party and ran as a council candidate for Labour in Islington. a book which Stevenson says provided "a social and political commentary on the interface between Caribbean migrants and British society and politics from the Post War period up until the early 1980s". The book was described by Ellis Cashmore as an "insightful analysis of African-Caribbeans in Britain since the 1950s" that "looks at the emergence of black resistance to British racism".

Later life and death In 1998, Carter was interviewed for a documentary about Paul Robeson entitled Paul Robeson: Here I Stand.

Carter died in early March 2008 at his home in Archway, London. His funeral was held on 18 March 2008, at St Augustine's Church, Highgate, with a eulogy titled "A Life with Purpose" being delivered by Professor Gus John.