Claudia Jones

AFTER the global racial injustice protests in 2020, Camden Council made a commitment to make sure names, places, plaques and monuments are more reflective of the borough’s diverse history.

A school and a council estate have had name changes, and now a new community space at the refurbished Town Hall in Judd Street, King’s Cross honours Claudia Jones, the pioneering journalist who helped found the Notting Hill Carnival.

The Trinidadian-born activist, who lived in Lisburne Road, Gospel Oak, was active as the Windrush generation arrived in London.

She campaigned for equality and in support of Caribbean communities in London from the 1950s, setting up Britain’s first black newspaper, The West Indian Gazette.

In response to race riots at the end of the decade, she was a driving force behind the first “Caribbean Carnival” where people shared and celebrated the culture – an event held at the Camden Centre, attached to Camden Town Hall, with steel band and calypso dancing in 1959.

It ran at venues across London for five years, before growing into what is the Notting Hill Carnival. Information on her life can be found at the new room, which will be hired by residents, community organisations and school through the year.

Ms Jones died in 1964 and is buried in Highgate Cemetery.