Red and Black in Harlem and Jamaica: a book launch
When:
—
Venue:
Birkbeck Main Building, Malet Street
Thursday 19th June, 6.00pm followed by a wine reception
Room MAL B20, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street (entrance on Torrington Square), London WC1E 7JL
Book here (RedBlackHarlemJamaica.eventbrite.co.uk)
Red and Black in Harlem and Jamaica, edited by Peter Hulme and Leslie James, offers the first complete account of the life and work of Wilfred Adolphus Domingo (1889-1968). One of the most significant West Indian anti-colonialists of the twentieth century, Domingo was active in New York in the radical politics of the New Negro movement before committing himself to the struggle for Jamaican independence.
When W. A. Domingo died, the Jamaican ex-premier Norman Manley wrote that “no one in the world made greater sacrifices or suffered more for the cause he believed in—the cause of freedom for Jamaica and our escape from the bonds and fetters of British Imperialism.” Despite this claim, Domingo has remained a shadowy figure. This book brings him, at last, into the foreground of anti-colonial struggle in the Caribbean. Through a generous selection of Domingo’s writings from various stages of his life, the book illuminates his ideological tenets and political commitments, while the introductory material contains new biographical information that sheds light on Domingo’s early years as well as on his relationships with Marcus Garvey and the Communist movement.
W. A. Domingo was born and raised in Jamaica before moving to the USA in 1910. A Jamaican nationalist, socialist, and committed internationalist, he was part of an influential community of West Indian radicals active in Harlem’s New Negro movement in the early 20th century.
Speakers:
Catherine Hall is Emerita Professor of Modern British Social and Cultural History at University College London and chair of its digital scholarship project, the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery. Her work as a feminist historian focuses on the 18th and 19th centuries, and the themes of gender, class, race, and empire.
Peter Hulme is Emeritus Professor in Literature, University of Essex, and the author or editor of numerous books.
Leslie James is a Senior Lecturer in Global History at Queen Mary, University of London. She is the author of George Padmore and Decolonization from Below.
Kesewa John is a historian of liberation movements, intellectual history, and gender. Kesewa’s research and teaching explores transatlantic, multilingual linkages between Afro-Caribbean activists and the evolution and circulation of Black radical thought. Kesewa is particularly interested in the intersections of histories of Black feminist and Black radical Caribbean activism.
Copies of the book will be on sale at £15 (40% discount). Cash only
Facilitated by the Raphael Samuel History Centre. For information contact Katy (k.pettit@bbk.ac.uk)
Contact name: Katy Pettit
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