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George Padmore (28 June 1903 – 23 September 1959), born Malcolm Ivan Meredith Nurse, was a leading Pan-Africanist, journalist, and author. He left his native
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
in 1924 to study medicine in the United States, where he also joined the
Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
. From there he moved to the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
, where he was active in the party, and working on African independence movements. He also worked for the party in Germany but left after the rise of
Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
in the 1930s. In 1935, the USSR made a decisive shift in foreign policy: Britain and France, colonial powers with colonies in Africa, were classified as "democratic-imperialisms"—a lower priority than the category of "fascist-imperialist" powers, in which Japan and Germany fell. This shift fell into direct contradiction with Padmore's prioritization of African independence, as Germany and Japan had no colonies in Africa. Padmore broke instantly with the
Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (Ru ...
, but continued to support socialism.C. L. R. James, '' The Black Jacobins: Toussaint Louverture and the San Domingo Revolution'' (1963). Padmore lived for a time in France, before settling in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Toward the end of his life he moved to Accra,
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...
, where he helped shape the politics of
Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. ...
and the
Convention People's Party The Convention People's Party (CPP) is a socialist political party in Ghana based on the ideas of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. The CPP was formed in June 1949 after Nkrumah broke away from the United Gold Coast Convention (UG ...
.


Biography


Early years

Malcolm Ivan Meredith Nurse, better known by his
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
George Padmore, was born on 28 June 1903 in Arouca District, Tacarigua,James R. Hooker, ''Black Revolutionary: George Padmore's Path from Communism to Pan-Africanism'' (1967), p. 2.
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
, then part of the
British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were colonized British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Gre ...
. His paternal great-grandfather was an Asante warrior who was taken prisoner and sold into slavery at
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate ...
, where his grandfather was born. His father, James Hubert Alfonso Nurse, was a local schoolmaster who had married Anna Susanna Symister of
Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Ba ...
, a naturalist. Nurse attended Tranquillity School in
Port of Spain Port of Spain ( Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a munic ...
, before going to St Mary's College for two years (1914 and 1915). He transferred to the Pamphylian High School, graduating from there in 1918. After that he worked for several years as a reporter with the Trinidad Publishing Company. In late 1924, he travelled to the United States to take up medical studies at
Fisk University Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1930, Fisk was the first Afric ...
, a historically black college in
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...
. He had recently married, on 10 September that year, and his wife Julia Semper would later join him in America. She left behind their daughter Blyden, who was born in 1925 (and died in 2012). According to Nurse's instruction, she was named in honour of the African nationalist Edward Blyden of
Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It ...
. Nurse subsequently registered at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...
but soon transferred to
Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...
.


Communist Party

During his college years in the US, Nurse became involved with the
Workers (Communist) Party The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...
(CPUSA). When engaged in party business, he adopted the name George Padmore (compounding the Christian name of his father-in-law, Constabulary Sergeant-Major George Semper, and the surname of the friend who had been his best man, Errol Padmore). Padmore officially joined the Communist Party in 1927 (when he was in
Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
) and was active in its mass organization targeted to black Americans, the American Negro Labor Congress.Mark Solomon, ''The Cry was Unity: Communists and African-Americans, 1917–1936'', Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1998; p. 60. In March 1929 he was a fraternal (non-voting) delegate to the 6th National Convention of the CPUSA, held in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
.Russian State Archive for Socio-Political History (RGASPI), Moscow, fond 515, opis 1, delo 1600, list 33. Available on microfilm as "Files of the Communist Party of the USA in the Comintern Archives," IDC Publishers, reel 122. Padmore, an energetic worker and prolific writer, was tapped by Communist Party trade union leader
William Z. Foster William Zebulon Foster (February 25, 1881 – September 1, 1961) was a Political radicalism, radical American labor organizer and Communism, Communist politician, whose career included serving as General Secretary of the Communist Party US ...
as a rising star. He was taken to
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
to deliver a report on the formation of the Trade Union Unity League to the
Communist International The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by ...
(Comintern) later in 1929. Following his presentation, Padmore was asked to stay on in Moscow to head the Negro Bureau of the
Red International of Labour Unions The Red International of Labor Unions (russian: Красный интернационал профсоюзов, translit=Krasnyi internatsional profsoyuzov, RILU), commonly known as the Profintern, was an international body established by the Comm ...
(Profintern). He was elected to the Moscow City Soviet. As head of the Profintern's Negro Bureau, Padmore helped to produce pamphlet literature and contributed articles to Moscow's English-language newspaper, the ''Moscow Daily News''. He was also used periodically as a courier of funds from Moscow to various foreign Communist Parties.Solomon, ''The Cry Was Unity'', p. 178. In July 1930, Padmore was instrumental in organizing an international conference in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
, Germany. It launched a Comintern-backed international organization of black labour organizations called the
International Trade Union Committee of Negro Workers The International Trade Union Committee of Negro Workers (ITUCNW) was a section of the Profintern active during the late 1920s and 1930s that acted as a radical transnational platform for black workers in Africa and the Atlantic World. Histor ...
(ITUCNW). Padmore lived in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
, Austria, during this time, where he edited the monthly publication of the new group, ''
The Negro Worker ''The Negro Worker'' was the newspaper of the International Trade Union Committee of Negro Workers. It was called ''The International Negro Workers' Review'', when launched in 1928, but the name was changed in March 1931. It ceased publication i ...
''. In 1931, Padmore moved to Hamburg and accelerated his writing output, continuing to produce the ITUCNW magazine and writing more than 20 pamphlets in a single year. This German interlude came to an abrupt close by the middle of 1933, however, as the offices of the ''Negro Worker'' were ransacked by ultra-nationalist gangs following the
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...
seizure of power.Solomon, ''The Cry Was Unity'', p. 179. Padmore was deported to England by the German government, while the Comintern placed the ITUCNW and its ''Negro Worker'' on hiatus in August 1933. Disillusioned by what he perceived as the Comintern's flagging support for the cause of the independence of colonial peoples in favour of the Soviet Union's pursuit of diplomatic alliances with the colonial powers, Padmore abruptly severed his connection with the ITUCNW late in the summer of 1933. The Comintern's disciplinary body, the International Control Commission (ICC), asked him to explain his unauthorized action. When he refused to do so, the ICC expelled him from the Communist movement on 23 February 1934. A phase of Padmore's political journey was at an end. As a result of his membership in the Communist Party and working for it in the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and Germany, Padmore was barred from re-entry into the United States. He was a non-citizen and the government did not want to admit known communists.Solomon, ''The Cry Was Unity'', p. 177.


Pan-Africanist

Although alienated from
Stalinism Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the the ...
, Padmore remained a socialist. He sought new ways to work for African independence from imperial rule. Relocating to France, where Garan Kouyaté was an ally from his Comintern days, Padmore began to write a book: ''How Britain Rules Africa''. With the help of former American heiress Nancy Cunard, he found a London agent and, eventually, a publisher (Wishart). It published the book in 1936, the year the publisher became Lawrence and Wishart, known to be sympathetic to communists. Publication of books by black men at that time was rare in the United Kingdom. A Swiss publisher distributed a German translation in Germany. In 1934 Padmore moved to
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, where he became the centre of a community of writers dedicated to pan-Africanism and African independence. His boyhood friend
C. L. R. James Cyril Lionel Robert James (4 January 1901 – 31 May 1989),Fraser, C. Gerald, '' The New York Times'', 2 June 1989. who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J. R. Johnson, was a Trinidadian historian, journalist and Marxist. His works are ...
, also from Trinidad, was already there, writing and publishing. James had started
International African Friends of Ethiopia The International African Friends of Abyssinia (IAFA), also known as the International African Friends of Ethiopia, was an organisation established in 1935 in London, England, to protest against Italian aggression against Abyssinia (see Second Ital ...
in response to Italy's invasion of Ethiopia. That organization developed into the International African Service Bureau (IASB), which became a centre for African and Caribbean intellectuals' anti-colonial activity. Padmore was chair, the Barbadian trade unionist Chris Braithwaite was its organising secretary, and James edited its periodical, ''International African Opinion''. Ras Makonnen from British Guiana handled the business end. Other key members included
Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta (22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He was the country's first indigeno ...
from Kenya and
Amy Ashwood Garvey Amy Ashwood Garvey (''née'' Ashwood; 10 January 1897 – 3 May 1969) was a Jamaican Pan-Africanist activist. She was a director of the Black Star Line Steamship Corporation, and along with her former husband Marcus Garvey she founded the '' N ...
. As Carol Polsgrove has shown in ''Ending British Rule in Africa: Writers in a Common Cause,'' Padmore and his allies in the 1930s and 1940s—among them C. L. R. James, Kenya's Jomo Kenyatta, the Gold Coast's
Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. ...
and South Africa's
Peter Abrahams Peter Henry Abrahams Deras (3 March 1919 – 18 January 2017), commonly known as Peter Abrahams, was a South African-born novelist, journalist and political commentator who in 1956 settled in Jamaica, where he lived for the rest of his life. Hi ...
—saw publishing as a strategy for political change. They published small periodicals, which were sometimes seized by authorities when they reached the colonies. They published articles in other people's periodicals, for instance, the
Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse worki ...
's '' New Leader''. They published pamphlets. They wrote letters to the editor; and, thanks to the support of publisher Fredric Warburg (of
Secker & Warburg Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...
), they published books. Warburg brought out Padmore's ''Africa and World Peace'' (1937), as well as books by both Kenyatta and James. In a foreword to ''Africa and World Peace'', Labour politician Sir Stafford Cripps wrote: "George Padmore has performed another great service of enlightenment in this book. The facts he discloses so ruthlessly are undoubtedly unpleasant facts, the story which he tells of the colonization of Africa is sordid in the extreme, but both the facts and the story are true. We have, so many of us, been brought up in the atmosphere of ' the white man's burden', and have had our minds clouded and confused by the continued propaganda for imperialism that we may be almost shocked by this bare and courageous exposure of the great myth of the civilizing mission of western democracies in Africa." The Biographical Note on the cover describes Padmore as European correspondent for the ''
Pittsburgh Courier The ''Pittsburgh Courier'' was an African-American weekly newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the mo ...
'', ''Gold Coast Spectator'', ''
African Morning Post The ''African Morning Post'' () was a daily newspaper in Accra, Gold Coast, published by City Press Ltd. Editorial and Pub. Its editor-in-chief in 1934 was Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, who later also founded several newspapers in Nigeria, including the ''We ...
'', ''Panama Tribune'', ''Belize Independent'' and '' The Bantu World''. In 1941, Padmore argued that the British Empire should be transformed into "federated commonwealths based upon Socialist principles." Before
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, James left for the United States, where he met Kwame Nkrumah, a student from the Gold Coast who studied at Lincoln University in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
. James gave Nkrumah a letter of introduction to Padmore. When Nkrumah arrived in London in May 1945 intending to study law, Padmore met him at the station. It was the start of a long alliance. Padmore was then organizing the 1945 Manchester Pan-African Congress (designated the Fifth Pan-African Congress), attended not only by the inner circle of the IASB but also by
W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in ...
, the American organizer of earlier Pan-African conferences. The Manchester conference helped set the agenda for decolonisation in the post-war period. Padmore used London as his base for more than two decades. He and
Dorothy Pizer Dorothy Pizer or Dorothy Padmore (c.1906 – 22 November 1964) was a British working-class anti-racist activist, secretary and publishing worker. In the 1940s and 1950s she was the partner, supporter and collaborator of Pan-African activist and Com ...
, a white English writer and his domestic partner and co-worker, shared a flat that became a center for African nationalists. Padmore maintained connections across the world, sending articles to international newspapers and keeping up a correspondence with American writers and activists
W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in ...
and Richard Wright. The latter was then living in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
. At Padmore's urging, Wright travelled to the Gold Coast in 1953 to explore the buildup to independence; he wrote ''Black Power'' (1954). Before Wright left the Gold Coast, he gave a confidential report on Nkrumah to the American consul; later he reported on Padmore to the American Embassy in Paris. According to the embassy's account, Wright said that Nkrumah was relying heavily on Padmore as he made plans for independence. When Wright published ''Black Power'' in 1954, Padmore was finishing a book that he hoped would be both a history and blueprint for African independence: ''Pan-Africanism or Communism?'' It was his attempt to counter Cold War suspicions in Western nations that the African independence movements were fundamentally communist-inspired. As independence neared for the Gold Coast, the London community had splintered. In 1956 James had returned from the United States, but Padmore and Pizer referred to him with condescension in letters to Wright. Meanwhile, former Padmore ally Peter Abrahams published a ''roman à clef'' entitled '' A Wreath for Udomo'' (1956), which contained unflattering portrayals of the members of this London political community. George Padmore was identified by many as the model for the character "Tom Lanwood". But Padmore's alliance with Nkrumah held firm. From the time of Nkrumah's return to the Gold Coast in 1947 to lead its independence movement, Padmore advised him in long detailed letters. He also wrote dozens of articles for Nkrumah's newspaper, the ''
Accra Evening News The ''Accra Evening News'' was a daily newspaper established in the Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1948 by Kwame Nkrumah. The paper's appearance marked the foundation of the press in the country as a powerful means to mobilize people, and was followed b ...
,'' and wrote a history of ''The Gold Coast Revolution'' (1953). With Dorothy Pizer (who was a writer and secretary), Padmore encouraged the leader to write his autobiography. Nkrumah published his autobiography in 1957, the year the Gold Coast became independent Ghana. Padmore deputized for Nkrumah as best man when Sir Stafford Cripps' daughter Peggy married the anti-colonialist
Joe Appiah Joseph Emmanuel Appiah, MP ( ; 16 November, 1918 – 8 July, 1990)Eric Pace"Joe Appiah Is Dead; Ghanaian Politician And Ex-Envoy, 71" ''New York Times'', July 12, 1990. was a Ghanaian lawyer, politician and statesman. Biography He was born in K ...
, who was one of Nkrumah's closest allies at the time. Padmore accepted Nkrumah's invitation to move to Ghana, but his time there as Nkrumah's advisor on African affairs was difficult. He was talking with friends about leaving Ghana to settle elsewhere when he returned to London for treatment of cirrhosis of the liver. Padmore died on 23 September 1959, aged 56, at
University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lond ...
in London. A few days later, responding to rumours that the activist had been poisoned, his companion Pizer typed out a detailed statement about his death. She said that his liver condition had worsened in the previous nine months, before he sought treatment from a longtime physician friend. Due to his failing liver, he suffered haemorrhages that resulted in his death.Polsgrove, ''Ending British Rule,'' pp. 162–63.


Legacy

*After Padmore's death, Nkrumah paid tribute to him in a radio broadcast: "One day, the whole of Africa will surely be free and united and when the final tale is told, the significance of George Padmore's work will be revealed." In the ''
Pittsburgh Courier The ''Pittsburgh Courier'' was an African-American weekly newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the mo ...
'', George Schuyler said Padmore's writings had been "an inspiration to the men who dreamed of a free Africa". Padmore's physician friend,
Cecil Belfield Clarke Cecil Belfield Clarke (also known as Belfield Clarke) (12 April 1894 – 28 November 1970) was a Barbadian-born physician who qualified in the United Kingdom and practised near the Elephant & Castle in London. He was a Pan-Africanist and was on ...
, wrote the obituary that ran in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...
,'' describing Padmore as a writer who wrote books and studied them. Jamaican pan-Africanist and diplomat
Dudley Thompson Dudley Joseph Thompson, OJ, QC (19 January 1917 – 20 January 2012) was a Jamaican Pan-Africanist, politician and diplomat, who made a contribution to jurisprudence and politics in the Caribbean, Africa and elsewhere internationally. Early ...
wrote of Padmore in a letter to ''The Guardian'': "He was truly international and the entire colonial world has suffered a loss." *After a funeral service at a London crematorium, Padmore's ashes were buried at
Christiansborg Castle Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...
in Ghana on 4 October 1959.Christophe Wondji
"A Tribute to George Padmore, A Great Pan-Africanist"
''New Afrikan'' 77, 26 January 2014.
The ceremony was broadcast in the US by NBC television. As C. L. R. James wrote,
...eight countries sent delegations to his funeral in London. But it was in Ghana that his ashes were interred and everyone says that in this country, famous for its political demonstrations, never had there been such a turnout as that caused by the death of Padmore. Peasants from far-flung regions who, one might think, had never even heard his name, managed to find their way to Accra to pay a final tribute to the West Indian who spent his life in their service.
Staying on in Accra, Dorothy Pizer wrote a preface for a French edition of Padmore's ''Pan-Africanism or Communism''. She began research for a biography of Padmore. However, as she told Nancy Cunard, she was frustrated by his habit of having destroyed his personal papers and not having talked about his past. * The George Padmore Research Library, in the neighbourhood of Ridge, Accra, Ghana, is named after him. Kwame Nkrumah spoke at the opening of the building dedicated to Padmore as a memorial library on 30 June 1961. Nkrumah ranked Padmore as "one of the greatest architects of the African liberation movement ... dedicated to African union and liberty." * James, relocated to
Port of Spain Port of Spain ( Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a munic ...
, Trinidad, wrote a series of articles on Padmore for ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's ''The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
''. James also began collecting material for a biography but eventually produced only a slim manuscript, "Notes on the Life of George Padmore." For years James tried to publish his book ''Nkrumah and the Ghana Revolution''; the book was published in 1977 (London: Allison and Busby). In it, James omitted any reference to Padmore's own 1953 book on the Gold Coast revolution; his correspondence has numerous references to his idea that Padmore did not understand the revolution. * Ras Makonnen, who understood so well the importance of books about the African nationalist movement, published his own intimate account of the London-based community around Padmore, ''Pan-Africanism from Within'' (1973). James R. Hooker wrote a biography of Padmore, ''Black Revolutionary'' (1967). Padmore is the central figure featured in Carol Polsgrove's ''Ending British Rule in Africa: Writers in a Common Cause'', published in 2009. * In 1991, John La Rose founded the George Padmore Institute (GPI), based in North London, with the aim of "continuing the traditions which shaped his life: independent, radical vision and outlook connecting the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, North America and Asia." Educational and cultural activities, including talks and readings, take place at the GPI, which occasionally publishes relevant materials. It is an archive, educational resource and research centre housing materials relating to the black community of Caribbean, African and Asian descent in Britain and continental Europe. La Rose also founded the George Padmore Supplementary School in 1969. * On 28 June 2011 – 98 years to the day since Padmore was born – the Nubian Jak Community Trust unveiled a
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
at Padmore's former address, 22 Cranleigh Street in the
London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and S ...
, in a ceremony addressed by the High Commissioner of Trinidad & Tobago, the High Commissioner of Ghana, the Mayor of Camden, Selma James,
Nina Baden-Semper Nina Baden-Semper (born 1945) is a Trinidad and Tobago-born British actress best known for her role as Barbie Reynolds in the 1970s sitcom ''Love Thy Neighbour'', produced by Thames Television. Career Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Baden-Semper w ...
(related to Padmore's in-laws), and others. According to Cameron Duodu: "Many of the statements and pamphlets, as well as the correspondence with which leaders of the British colonies in Africa combated the policies of the Colonial Office in London, were drafted at the dining table of 22 Cranleigh Street. It was also the venue at which George Padmore organised the 5th Pan-African Conference in Manchester in 1945." *George Padmore Road and George Padmore Lane, in Hurlingham,
Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper had ...
,Open Street Map. are named after him.


Works

* ''The Life and Struggles of Negro Toilers'' (London: Red International of Labour of Unions ''Magazine for the International Trade Union Committee of Negro Workers,'' 1931) * ''Haiti, an American Slave Colony'' (Centrizdat, 1931) * ''The Negro Workers and the Imperialist War Intervention in the USSR'' (1931) * ''How Britain Rules Africa'' (London: Wishart Books, 1936) * ''Africa and World Peace'' (Foreword by Sir Stafford Cripps; London: Martin Secker and Warburg Ltd, 1937) * ''Hands Off the Protectorates'' (London: International African Service Bureau, 1938) * ''The White Man's Duty: An Analysis of the Colonial Question in the Light of the Atlantic Charter'' (with Nancy Cunard) (London: W. H. Allen & Co., 1942) * ''The Voice of Coloured Labour (Speeches and Reports of Colonial Delegates to the World Trade Union Conference, 1945)'' (editor) (Manchester: Panaf Service, 1945) * ''How Russia Transformed Her Colonial Empire: A Challenge to the Imperialist Powers'' (in collaboration with Dorothy Pizer) (London: Dennis Dobson, 1946) * "History of the Pan-African Congress (Colonial and Coloured Unity: A Programme of Action)" (editor) (1947). Reprinted in
Hakim Adi Hakim Adi is a British historian and scholar who specializes in African affairs. He is the first African-British historian to become a professor of history in the UK. He has written widely on Pan-Africanism and the modern political history of ...
and Marika Sherwood, ''The 1945 Manchester Pan-African Congress Revisited'' (London: New Beacon Books, 1995) * ''Africa: Britain's Third Empire'' (London: Dennis Dobson, 1949) * ''The Gold Coast Revolution: The Struggle of an African People from Slavery to Freedom'' (London: Dennis Dobson, 1953) * ''Pan-Africanism or Communism? The Coming Struggle for Africa'' (Foreword by Richard Wright. London, Dennis Dobson, 1956)


Citations


Further reading

* Baptiste, Fitzroy, and Rupert Lewis (eds), ''George Padmore: Pan-African Revolutionary''. Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers, 2009. —Essays on Padmore. * Edwards, Brent Hayes. '' The Practice of Diaspora: Literature, Translation, and the Rise of Black Internationalism''. Cambridge, MA, and London:
Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the reti ...
, 2003. * Høgsbjerg, Christian
"A forgotten fighter"
'' International Socialism'', no. 124 (2009). * Hooker, James Ralph. ''Black Revolutionary: George Padmore's Path from Communism to Pan-Africanism''. London: Pall Mall Press, 1967. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1967. * James, Leslie, ''George Padmore and Decolonization from Below: Pan-Africanism, the Cold War, and the End of Empire''.
Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains off ...
, 2014. * Makonnen, Ras. ''Pan-Africanism from Within''. Kenneth King (ed.), Nairobi, London, New York:
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...
, 1973. * Polsgrove, Carol. ''Ending British Rule in Africa: Writers in a Common Cause''. Manchester:
Manchester University Press Manchester University Press is the university press of the University of Manchester, England and a publisher of academic books and journals. Manchester University Press has developed into an international publisher. It maintains its links with t ...
, 2009. . Reprint 2012, * Solomon, Mark. ''The Cry was Unity: Communists and African-Americans, 1917–1936'', Jackson:
University Press of Mississippi The University Press of Mississippi, founded in 1970, is a publisher that is sponsored by the eight state universities in Mississippi. Universities * Alcorn State University * Delta State University * Jackson State University * Mississippi Stat ...
, 1998. * Weiss, Holger. "The Road to Hamburg and Beyond: African American Agency and the Making of a Radical African Atlantic, 1922-1930.
Part One.

Part Two.

Part Three.
Comintern Working Papers, Åbo Akademi University, 2007. * Weiss, Holger. "The Hamburg Committee, Moscow and the Making of a Radical African Atlantic, 1930-1933.
Part One: The RILU and the ITUCNW.

Part Two: The ISH, the IRH and the ITUCNW.

Part Three: The LAI and the ITUCNW.
Comintern Working Papers, Åbo Akademi University, 2010.


External links



Marxists Internet Archive Marxists Internet Archive (also known as MIA or Marxists.org) is a non-profit online encyclopedia that hosts a multilingual library (created in 1990) of the works of communist, anarchist, and socialist writers, such as Karl Marx, Friedrich En ...
, www.marxists.org./ —Selected writings by Padmore.
The George Padmore Institute
London. www.georgepadmoreinstitute.org/
George Padmore collection
fro
Princeton University Library. Special Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Padmore, George 1902 births 1959 deaths 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago historians 20th-century journalists 20th-century male writers African diaspora literature Comintern people Fisk University alumni Howard University alumni Male non-fiction writers Marxist writers Members of the Communist Party USA New York University alumni People from Tunapuna–Piarco Trinidad and Tobago communists Trinidad and Tobago journalists Trinidad and Tobago male writers Trinidad and Tobago pan-Africanists Trinidad and Tobago people of Ashanti descent Trinidad and Tobago people of Ghanaian descent