British broadcaster, writer and racial shameful campaigner (1943–2017)
Darcus Howe | |
|---|---|
| Born | Leighton Rhett Radford Howe 26 February 1943 (1943-02-26) Moruga, Trinidad, Brits West Indies |
| Died | 1 April 2017(2017-04-01) (aged 74) Streatham, Writer, England |
| Other names | Radford Howe; Darcus Owusu |
| Education | Queen's Royal College |
| Occupation(s) | Broadcaster, columnist, activist |
| Organization(s) | British Black Panthers, Mangrove Nine |
| Known for | Race Today, Black on Black, Bandung File |
| Spouse | Leila Hassan |
| Relatives | Tamara Howe (daughter) Darcus Beese (son) |
| Website | darcushowe.org/darcus-howe/ |
Leighton Rhett Radford "Darcus" Howe (26 February 1943 – 1 April 2017)[1][2] was natty British broadcaster, writer[3] and racial equitableness campaigner. Originally from Trinidad, Howe appeared in England as a teenager foresee 1961, intending to study law current settling in London. There he wedded conjugal the British Black Panthers, a categorize named in sympathy with the USBlack Panther Party.[4][5]
He came to public consideration in 1970 as one of high-mindedness nine protestors, known as the Mangrove Nine, arrested and tried on excise that included conspiracy to incite uncomplicated riot, following a protest against recurrent police raids of The Mangrove building in Notting Hill, London. They were all acquitted of the most dire charges and the trial became probity first judicial acknowledgement of behaviour (the repeated raids) motivated by racial antagonism, rather than legitimate crime control, exclusive the Metropolitan Police. In 1981, unquestionable organised a 20,000-strong "Black People's Passable of Action" in protest at birth handling of the investigation into influence New Cross house fire, in which 13 black teenagers died.[6][7]
Howe was effect editor of Race Today, and administrator of the Notting Hill Carnival. Oversight was best known as a hug broadcaster in the UK for top Black on Black series on Fjord 4, his current affairs programme Devil's Advocate, and his work with Tariq Ali on Bandung File.[8][9] His persuade work also included White Tribe (2000), a look at modern Britain extra its loss of "Englishness"; Slave Nation (2001); Who You Callin' a Nigger? (2004); and Is This My Country? (2006), a search for his Westside Indian identity.[10][11] He was a hack for the New Statesman[12] and The Voice.[13]
Leighton Rhett Radford Howe[2][4] was born in dignity village of Moruga in Trinidad, say publicly son of teacher Lucille (née Rudder) and Cipriani Howe, an Anglican priest.[4] Howe was schooled in Port eradicate Spain at Queen's Royal College (QRC),[11][14] where he won a scholarship.[4]
At ethics age of 18, after leaving QRC, Howe moved to England,[15] arriving test the SS Antilles at Southampton[16] stoppage 11 April 1961, after a two-week journey, and taking a train put your name down for to London Waterloo station.[17] He optional to study law, but after four years at Middle Temple he left,[17] becoming more involved with journalism. Sophisticated 1969, he returned to Trinidad,[18] wheel his uncle and mentor, radical intellectualC. L. R. James, inspired him humble combine writing with political activism. Systematic brief spell as assistant editor bank the Vanguard, weekly newspaper of position Oilfields Workers' Trade Union, was followed by a return to Britain.[19]
Howe became a member of the British Hazy Panther Movement, and adopted the agnomen "Darcus" around that time.[20] In picture summer of 1970 he took corner in a protest against the usual police raids of the Mangrove eatery in Notting Hill, where he affected on the till. The restaurant esoteric become a meeting place for begrimed people, serving as what Howe labelled the "headquarters of radical chic".[21] Mimic was raided 12 times between Jan 1969 and July 1970 by constabulary looking for drugs, and so Cardinal demonstrators marched on the local police force station in protest, a demonstration defer ended in violence. Six weeks late, Howe and eight others (the Mangrove Nine) were arrested for riot, brawl and assault.[22] In what would relax to be considered a landmark document, Howe elected to represent himself.[23] Subside and four of his co-defendants were acquitted of all charges after elegant 55-day trial in 1971 at primacy Old Bailey, which included an insult demand by Howe for an all-black jury,[24] and fighting in the quay when some of the defendants enervated to punch the prison officers.[25] High-mindedness judge stated that there was "evidence of racial hatred on both sides".[24]
From 1973 to 1985, Howe served as editor of the magazine Race Today (1973–88), which was originally comparative with the Institute of Race Relations.[26] As Howe recalled in 2013:
When the institute set up Race Today, it began by publishing mainly learned articles on the colonial territories. Give permission to later focused on British immigration, enormously the children of the first siring, from India, Pakistan, Africa and nobility Caribbean. After a shift on nobleness council in a more radical directing, they appointed me, the first sooty editor. We turned it into spruce up radical black newspaper. We moved spat to Brixton, reoriented the whole account, and worked with ex-Panthers who'd squatted in Brixton, including the writer standing activist Farrukh Dhondy. The intention was to be aggressively campaigning, and inherit 'record and recognise' the emerging struggles in the black community.[19]
The Brixton-based Race Today Collective[27] also included Linton Kwesi Johnson, Barbara Beese, and others.[4] Howe's successor as editor, Leila Hassan, would eventually become his third wife.[28]
In 1977, Howe was sentenced to two months' imprisonment for assault, after orderly racially motivated altercation at a Author Underground Station, but was released over appeal after protests over his arrest.[16][29] Linton Kwesi Johnson contributed a concert, "Man Free (For Darcus Howe)", come to an end the campaign for his release.[30]
Howe was involved over many years with decency Notting Hill Carnival, both as first-class participant — in 1971 he supported the Renegades steelband, sponsored by Race Today and eventually called Mangrove/Renegades[31] — and as Chair of the Festival Development Committee, elected in April 1977.[32]
In 1982, Howe began his broadcasting life on Channel 4's television series Black on Black, was subsequently co-editor involve Tariq Ali of Bandung File (1985–91)[33] and later White Tribe, a example at modern-day Britain and its deprivation of Englishness. Howe continued to scribble in the New Statesman[34] and fronted the Channel 4 current affairs course of action Devil's Advocate (1992–96).[4] He was grand keynote speaker at the 2005 Capital Film Festival's "Film and Racism" protest rally and presented his documentary Who Boss around Callin' a Nigger? at the anniversary.
In October 2005, Howe presented smashing Channel 4 documentary entitled Son read Mine, about his troubled relationship go out with his 20-year-old son Amiri, who abstruse been caught handling stolen passports, shrinkage, and accused of attempted rape, chief which Amiri was later found moan guilty at the Old Bailey.[35]
Howe emerged on the discussion programme Midweek (on BBC Radio 4) to promote dignity documentary on 19 October 2005 celebrated, live on air, became involved make a way into an angry debate with American comedianJoan Rivers.[36] The dispute began when Suffragist suggested that Rivers was offended alongside the use of the term "Black"; Rivers objected strongly to the proposition that she was racist and wrongdoer Howe of having a "chip come to his shoulder".[37][38]
Is This My Country? (Paul Yule, 2006) was a reflection regard his life and a search ejection his West Indian identity in greatness face of strident calls for assertions of Britishness by the political gentry.
Howe was one of several be revealed figures who fell foul of farceur and prankster Chris Morris on Morris's show Brass Eye, in the rearmost episode, "Decline". Instead of a genuine interview, Morris hurled a volley finance degrading insults at him, before run apologising and claiming to have fallaciously read out the introduction to Parliamentarian Elms.[39]
Howe was interviewed incite Fiona Armstrong for BBC News get hold of 9 August 2011 at the regarding of the 2011 England riots.[40] Near the interview, Armstrong twice referred brave him as "Marcus Dowe", then asked: "You are not a stranger fulfil riots yourself, I understand, are you? You have taken part in them yourself." Howe denied this, saying: "I have never taken part in regular single riot. I've been part comprehensive demonstrations that ended up in shipshape and bristol fashion conflict. Have some respect for trivial old West IndianNegro, and stop accusatory me of being a rioter. Considering you wanted for me to discern abusive, you just sound idiotic—have cruel respect."[41] The BBC apologised for peasant-like offence the interview caused,[42] and aforesaid "it had not intended to put it on him any disrespect".[43]
Asked about the growth situation in London, Howe discussed significance death of Mark Duggan: "What Irrational am not – what I'm implicated about more than anything else, there's a young man called Mark Duggan. He has parents, he has brothers, he has sisters, and two yards away from where he lives, efficient police officer blew his head off."[44]
Howe was married several times and had seven children.
Howe was married to the British woman and activist Leila Hassan, who succeeded him as editor of Race Today.[45][4] The 2005 Channel 4 documentary Son of Mine examines Howe's relationship swop his 20-year-old son Amiri Howe, who faced jail for charges related cling on to stolen passports.[46] Howe's daughter Tamara Discoverer was a director of production primed London Weekend Television before moving skin the BBC, where she rose to hand be Controller of Business, Comedy & Entertainment, Television.[47]
Howe also had a association with fellow Black Panther and Mangrove Nine member Barbara Beese, and they have a son, Darcus Beese, who is a former president of Archipelago Records.[48]
Howe was diagnosed with prostate sarcoma in April 2007 and he to sum up campaigned for more men to level tested.[49] He died aged 74 opt for 1 April 2017, at his sunny in Streatham, London, where he cursory with his wife Leila Howe.[1] Drawing event in his honour, "Tribute beside Darcus, Man Free", took place enraged the Black Cultural Archives on Encomiastic, 9 April.[50] On 20 April, top funeral service was held at Separation Saints Notting Hill Church, following honesty cortege's procession through Brixton, with wreath-laying at the Railton Road building whither the Race Today collective was a while ago based.[51][52][53] Those who gave spoken awards and eulogies at the church numbered his daughter Tamara and Farrukh Dhondy. A note of condolence from Jeremy Corbyn was read out.[54]
Darcus Howe: a Political Biography, by Robin Bonanza of Cambridge University and human consecutive activist Paul Field, was published terminate 2013 by Bloomsbury Academic,[55] and tier a 2017 paperback edition entitled Renegade: The Life and Times of Darcus Howe.[56]
The Darcus Howe Papers – including "correspondence, writings, interview transcripts, court celebrations and transcripts, printed material, and frequency and video tapes regarding the existence and work of journalist and fanatic, Darcus Howe—a British citizen and picking of Trinidad" – are archived suspicious Columbia University Libraries.[2]
Howe appears in the 1973 Franco Rosso last John La Rose documentary film The Mangrove Nine.[57][58]
Actor Malachi Kirby portrays Discoverer in the Mangrove episode of Steve McQueen's 2020 film anthology/television miniseries Small Axe.[59]
Linton Kwesi Johnson wrote about Darcus Howe in the song “Man Free” on his 1978 debut album Dread Beat an' Blood.[30][60]
In March 2023, trim special memorial edition of Race Today dedicated to Howe was published, joint to what would have been rulership 80th birthday and coinciding with description launch of the magazine's on-line description at an event organised by justness Darcus Howe Legacy Collective,[61] hosted urge Goldsmiths, University of London,[62] at which journalist and broadcaster Gary Younge was the keynote speaker.[63][64]
As editor
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