Two new books by Gus John published by New Beacon Books

BLAZING TRAILS

Preface by Margaret Busby, published by New Beacon Books.

The 22 stories, obituaries and eulogies in this book weave together lives from a generation who dedicated themselves to the struggle for racial equality and social justice in Britain. Most were written by me; others have been included with the writer’s permission because together they help paint a picture of the person we knew and loved. All have been edited especially for this compilation.
Our eulogies and tributes were composed at the request of bereaved families and delivered at funerals. Whenever I was asked, it was an honour to conduct the funeral of my peers, as I did in the case of 10 of the people in this collection. I had a connection spanning many decades with these activists as they fought for racial and social justice, brought the truth about black lives to page or stage or screen, or campaigned to safeguard children’s rights and deliver their entitlement to quality education.
While those celebrated in this volume made a significant contribution to post-war British social history in their chosen professions and as political and cultural activists, they were ordinary folk who lived purposeful lives and did extraordinary things.

Available 12 July 2023

DON’T SALVAGE THE EMPIRE WINDRUSH

Don’t Salvage the Empire Windrush, as its title suggests, seeks to challenge the ever-encroaching Windrush narrative, which the state has adopted and is zealously promoting. Prof John debunks the notion that the arrival of the Empire Windrush on 22 June 1948 marked the beginning of the evolution and growth of multiracial Britain and the claim that the ‘Windrush generation’ rebuilt post-war Britain and made it prosperous again. It is a narrative that displaces the history of those settled black communities who struggled against racism and marginalisation in Britain since the 19th century, at least, and those who fought for national independence of the Black Commonwealth while building a global Pan-Africanist movement right here in Britain. It also erases the historical relationship between our presence here as a reserve pool of labour Britain had created as a consequence of African enslavement and colonial exploitation, which left the Caribbean region grossly under-developed and unable to withstand global economic challenges and the impact of climate change. Prof John critiques the creeping ‘Windrushisation of everything’ as a colonial and backward project which suits the designs of the British state, does nothing for Black Britain and represents the personal ambitions of one man, Samuel Beaver King, who had determined, even before he boarded the Windrush in Jamaica, that he would make that ship as iconic as the ‘Mayflower’.

Available August 2023