HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

David Thomas Pitt, Baron Pitt of Hampstead (3 October 1913 – 18 December 1994) was a British Labour Party politician,
general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...
and political activist. Born in
Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...
, in the Caribbean, he was the second peer of African descent to sit in the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
, being granted a life peerage in 1975, and was the longest serving Black Parliamentarian.


Early life and career

Born in St. David's Parish, Grenada, Pitt attended St. David’s Roman Catholic School and then the
Grenada Boys' Secondary School The Grenada Boys' Secondary School (GBSS) is a secondary school on the island of Grenada. Origins The Grenada Boys' Secondary School, initially known as St. George's Grammar School, opened on 2 February 1885 with ten male students at Mrs. Grey's p ...
, from where he won the Island Scholarship in 1932 to have further education abroad. He studied medicine at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
, where he was an active member of
Edinburgh University Socialist Society Edinburgh University Socialist Society is a society at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland which advocates a "more just and equal society, based on democratic control of the economy". The Society has existed in various forms since it was in ...
. He graduated with honours in 1938. He was always concerned for broader social issues. He witnessed the poverty of the working classes in the slums of Edinburgh and saw similarities to the rural poverty he witnessed as a child. Nicholas Rea, in the ''
British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...
'', said of Pitt: "it was in the slums of Edinburgh as much as in the Caribbean that he became convinced of the links between poverty, disadvantage, and ill health". In 1936, he joined the Labour movement. He returned to the Caribbean to begin his medical career, his first job being as district medical officer in Saint Vincent, followed two years later by a position in Trinidad as house physician at San Fernando Hospital. Continuing his passion for social justice alongside his medical career, and he established his own general practice in San Fernando in 1941 and that year was elected to the San Fernando Borough Council. In 1943, he became a founding member and leader of the West Indian National Party (WINP) – a socialist party whose main aim was to deliver political autonomy across the Caribbean. Under Pitt, the party demanded self-government for
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
, constitutional reform and the nationalisation of commodities industries such as oil and sugar.Arnold, Jennette
"Echoes of our past"
/ : A series of reflections by prominent black people", 2014.
After decades of campaigning, the people of Trinidad and Tobago were granted universal adult suffrage by the British Parliament in 1945. The first elections took place in 1946. WINP and others formed the
United Front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political and/ ...
with Pitt as one of the candidates. He was not successful but he continued his activism and in 1947 led a group of WINP members to Britain to lobby the Attlee government for Commonwealth status for a
Federation of the West Indies A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the co ...
. In 1947, Pitt again travelled to Britain and settled in London. He opened a medical practice in the Euston area of London and treated both white and black patients.


Political career in Britain

In the 1959 general election, he was the first person of African descent to be a parliamentary candidate, standing as the Labour Party candidate for the north London constituency of
Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...
. From the mid-1950s, Pitt had become involved in local politics. After delivering a speech at the 1957 Labour Party Conference, he was asked by
Roy Shaw Royston Henry Shaw (11 March 1936 – 14 July 2012), also known as Roy "Pretty Boy" Shaw, Roy "Mean Machine" Shaw and Roy West, was a property investor, author and businessman from the East End of London who was formerly a criminal and Categor ...
, the then treasurer of ''Tribune'', if he would stand for Parliament. The issues of race were injected into the campaign, and Pitt was defeated by the Conservative Party candidate, Henry Brooke. During the course of the campaign, Pitt received racist death threats, as did his family; however, despite the racist abuse, he refused to withdraw from the contest. He subsequently founded the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination. Two years later, in 1961, he was elected to the
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
(LCC) as member for Stoke Newington and Hackney North. He was elected to the successor of the LCC, the
Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...
(GLC), representing Hackney until 1973 and then
Hackney North and Stoke Newington Hackney North and Stoke Newington is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since 1987 by Diane Abbott, a member of the Labour Party who served as Shadow Home Secretary from 6 October 2016 to 5 April 2020. Abbo ...
until 1977. He was the first minority candidate to be elected to this position in local government. He was deputy chair of the GLC from 1969 to 1970, and in 1974 he was the first black person to become chair of the GLC. Pitt's second attempt to be elected as an MP came in
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
, when he was the Labour Party candidate for
Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...
. Although this had been seen as a
safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both. With such seats, there is very little chance of a seat changing h ...
for Labour, the Conservative William Shelton was elected. Racism was a factor in this election defeat as well, with an anonymous leaflet circulated during the campaign featuring the slogan: "If you desire a coloured for your neighbour vote Labour. If you are already burdoned icwith one vote Tory." In 1975, the Prime Minister,
Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...
, recommended Pitt's appointment to the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
as a
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
, and he was created Baron Pitt of Hampstead, of
Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...
in
Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
and of Hampstead in Grenada on 3 February 1975, the second peer of African-Caribbean heritage after Sir
Learie Constantine Learie Nicholas Constantine, Baron Constantine (21 September 19011 July 1971) was a Trinidadian cricketer, lawyer and politician who served as Trinidad and Tobago's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and became the UK's first black peer ...
.Greaves, Ric
"Grenada Heritage: Capture Grenadian Faces – Notable Grenadians"
The Website of the National Archives of Grenada, 3 October 2013.
As a member of the House of Lords, he played a leading role in campaigning for the
Race Relations Act 1976 The Race Relations Act 1976 (c. 74) was established by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to prevent discrimination on the grounds of race. The scope of the legislation included discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, eth ...
. He was outspoken on issues such as immigration policy, and in a debate on 24 June 1976 he noted, in part:
"...it is a myth, that the fewer the numbers f black immigrantsthe better the quality of race relations. That is a myth, and it is a myth that has inspired the 1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act, the Immigration White Paper of August 1965 and the Immigration Acts of 1968 and 1971. It is designed to placate the racialists, but it is a fallacy; for to the racialist or the anti-semite the only acceptable number is nought. The proof of what I am saying can be seen in the fact that the National Front admit that their major support lies in areas near to but not in areas of high coloured concentration. The reason for that is that ignorance leads to fear. Thus, when a person fears that his next door neighbour will in future be coloured he wants immigration stopped. However, you will find that the least hostility to coloured people is found among the whites who live next to, shop with, travel with, work with and play with coloured persons."
Pitt was a leader in the movement against
apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English:  , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
in South Africa, with protest meetings being organised from the basement of his surgery in North Gower Street, London. He was described as a black radical for suggesting that more ethnic minorities should apply to become police officers; this, ironically, angered many in the black community who felt that the police were institutionally racist. Pitt is quoted as saying: "Some black people regard me as an
Uncle Tom Uncle Tom is the title character of Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''. The character was seen in the Victorian era as a ground-breaking literary attack against the dehumanization of slaves. Tom is a deeply religious Chri ...
, while some whites regard me as a
Black Power Black power is a list of political slogans, political slogan and a name which is given to various associated ideologies which aim to achieve self-determination for black people. It is primarily, but not exclusively, used in the United States b ...
revolutionary. So I imagine I got it about right." In 1983, to mark his 70th birthday, The Lord Pitt Foundation was established. From 1985 to 1986, Pitt was the president of the
British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...
, which he described as his most valued honour.


Personal life

In 1943, Pitt married Dorothy Elaine Alleyne, whom he met in Trinidad, and they had three children: a son, Bruce, and two daughters, Phyllis and Amanda. He died in London, aged 81, on 18 December 1994.


Recognition and legacy

In 2004, he was named as one of "
100 Great Black Britons ''100 Great Black Britons'' is a poll that was first undertaken in 2003 to vote for and celebrate the greatest Black Britons of all time. It was created in a campaign initiated by Patrick Vernon in response to a BBC search for ''100 Greatest Brito ...
", as part of
Black History Month Black History Month is an annually observed commemorative month originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It began as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the Af ...
. In 2009, the annual "Lord David Pitt Memorial Lecture" at
City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
in London was initiated by
Jennette Arnold Jennette Arnold, OBE is a Labour Co-op politician who served as chair of the London Assembly for five terms. From 2004 to 2021, Arnold represented the North East constituency, comprising the London Boroughs of Hackney, Islington and Waltham ...
in collaboration with the British Caribbean Association. A plaque at 200 North Gower Street in Camden, London, commemorates the building where Pitt worked as a doctor from 1950 to 1984."Plaque: Lord Pitt of Hampstead"
London Remembers.


References


External links


Baron Pitt of Hampstead- Life Peers - UK Parliament Living Heritage
*Karen Rollins
"A revolutionary politician"
''Black Union Jack'', 17 February 2015. *Lea Ventre
"David Pitt"
''UncoverED'', Centre for Research Collections, University of Edinburgh. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pitt, David Baron Pitt Of Hampstead 1913 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago physicians Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Black British health professionals Black British politicians British general practitioners Deputy lieutenants of Greater London Grenadian emigrants to England Grenadian medical doctors Labour Party (UK) life peers Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Life peers created by Elizabeth II Members of London County Council Members of the Greater London Council Presidents of the British Medical Association Recipients of the Trinity Cross Trinidad and Tobago politicians