Obituary - Dr. Jessica Huntley, Pioneer In Black Publishing, Cultural Activist And Revolutionary

OBITUARY

Dr. Jessica Huntley, Pioneer in Black Publishing, Cultural Activist and Revolutionary.

On 13^th October, as we celebrate Black History Season, Ealing has lost one of its most outstanding citizens. Guyanese – born publisher, Jessica Huntley, one of the founders of Bogle-L’Ouverture Publications (BLP) and the Walter Rodney Bookshop in West Ealing, passed away at Ealing Hospital at the age of 86.

Born on 23^rd February 1927, in what was then British Guiana, Jessica Huntley participated in the struggle for independence from British colonialism as well the injustices perpetrated by the post-colonial new regimes, as a young adult before moving to London in 1957 to join her husband, Eric. In 1962, their children Karl and Chauncey, with their maternal grandmother, joined the Huntleys in London. Jessica found herself embattling a new form of colonialism in the UK, which took the shape of discrimination in many areas such as housing, education and at the workplace. Jessica’s care of the family, increased by the arrival of daughter Accabre, did not detract her from becoming involved in social and political organisations and struggles of that era, such as the anti- apartheid movement and organised boycotts of South African products in the West Ealing branch of Sainsbury’s.

BLP named after Paul Bogle and Toussaint L’Ouverture developed from a landmark incident in October 1968, when the Jamaican government banned Dr. Walter Rodney, from returning to Jamaica, to resume his post as lecturer in African history at the University of the West Indies. The ban not only led to riots in Jamaica but also galvanised other activities in London including the formation of BLP. Their first publication was a collection of Rodney’s speeches entitled The Groundings with My Brothers. This ground-breaking production and the selling of African-centred/black greeting cards and posters was followed by How Europe Underdeveloped Africa also by Dr. Rodney gave BLP international recognition. The publishing house initially operated from their home at Windermere Road, and then later at Coldershaw Road, West Ealing. BLP went on to publish the works of Valerie Bloom, Cecil Rajendra, Linton Kwesi Johnson and Andrew Salkey among others. The business moved to commercial premises in 1974 in Chigwell Place, West Ealing. After the assassination of Dr. Rodney in Guyana in 1980, the shop was renamed Walter Rodney Bookshop and became a “literary and political Mecca”.

Apart from continuing to publish and sell a diverse range of books, it hosted book launches, poetry readings, school workshops, and seminars. Jessica offered specialist support and training opportunities for mainstream teachers to ensure their schools’ curriculum was culturally relevant, sensitive, and inclusive for black students. She was actively involved in the expansion of Saturday and supplementary schools and the emergence of parents groups and research projects. She provided general advice and advocacy, such as hosting a reception for the families of striking miners and helping to organise legal defence of youth arrested under SUS laws. Jessica was a founder member of Ealing Windrush Consortium and a member of the Southall-based Inquilab Housing Committee. In recognition of her outstanding work, Jessica has received many awards including Freedom of the City from the London Borough of Ealing, 2010 and an Honorary Doctorate from South Bank University, in 2000. In 2005, the London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) received the Huntley Archives, comprising documentation from Jessica and Eric, from 1952 to 2011.

The impact she has had on Ealing and beyond is immeasurable and we are particularly indebted to ‘Mother Huntley’ for inspiring authorship among the children and young people, to believe in one’s own narrative and identity as a vehicle for expression and social change. Books and archival material are indelible and transcend time and space, so are my memories of her love and laughter, jokes, wisdom and ‘cusses’ which I will miss. However, we should be forever thankful to Jessica Huntley for enhancing the aspirations and social mobility of generations of people.

She is survived by her devoted husband Eric, 2 of their children, 6 grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren.

Grace Quansah (aka)

Director of WAPPY and British Museum facilitator