Darcus Howe
| Darcus Howe | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Leighton Rhett Radford Howe 26 February 1943 Moruga, Trinidad, British West Indies |
| Died | 1 April 2017 (aged 74) Streatham, London, United Kingdom |
| Other names | Radford Howe; Darcus Owusu |
| Occupation | Broadcaster, columnist, activist |
Leighton Rhett Radford "Darcus" Howe (26 February 1943 – 1 April 2017) was a British broadcaster, writer, and civil liberties campaigner. Originally from Trinidad, Howe arrived in England as a teenager intending to study law. There he joined the British Black Panthers, a group named in sympathy with the eponymous US organisation. He came to public attention in 1970 as one of the "Mangrove Nine", who marched to the police station in Notting Hill, London, to protest against police raids of the Mangrove restaurant, and again in 1981 when he organised a 20,000-strong "Black People's Day of Action" in protest at the handling of the investigation into the New Cross Fire, in which 13 black teenagers died.
He was an editor of Race Today, and chairman of the Notting Hill Carnival. He was best known as a television broadcaster in the UK for his Black on Black series on Channel 4, his current affairs programme, Devil's Advocate, and his work with Tariq Ali on Bandung File. His television work also included White Tribe (2000), a look at modern Britain and its loss of "Englishness"; Slave Nation (2001); Who You Callin' a Nigger? (2004); and Is This My Country? (2006), a search for his West Indian identity. He wrote columns for the New Statesman and The Voice.
Leighton Rhett Radford Howe was born in Moruga, the son of teacher Lucille (née Rudder) and Cipriani Howe, an Anglican priest. Howe was schooled in Port of Spain at Queen's Royal College (QRC), where he won a scholarship.
At the age of 18, after leaving QRC, Howe moved to England, arriving on the SS Antilles at Southampton on 11 April 1961, after a two-week journey, and taking a train on to Waterloo station in London. He intended to study law, but after two years at Middle Temple he left, becoming more involved with journalism. In 1969 he returned to Trinidad, where his uncle and mentor, radical intellectual C. L. R. James, inspired him to combine writing with political activism. A brief spell as assistant editor on the Vanguard, weekly newspaper of the Oilfields Workers' Trade Union, was followed by a return to Britain.
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