Cleston Taylor
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Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers
Cleston Taylor | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1926 Colony of Jamaica, British Empire |
| Died | 2010 (aged 83–84) |
| Organization(s) | West Indian Committee of the Communist Party of Great Britain. Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers |
| Known for | Communist politics, trade union leadership |
| Political party | People's National Party Communist Party of Great Britain |
Cleston Taylor (1926–2010) was a communist and Black civil rights activist, political prisoner, and trade unionist, who was most notable for his activities in Jamaica and the United Kingdom.[1] Taylor was also a founding member of the British organisation Caribbean Labour Solidarity, and a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. He held close personal connections with many leading Black British and Caribbean civil rights leaders such as Billy Strachan, Trevor Carter, Richard Hart, and Claudia Jones.
Taylor was born in the year 1926 in the Jamaican parish of Saint Catherine.[1] His mother was a house wife and his father was a peasant farmer.[1] Taylor attended school until sixth form and travelled to the United States to find work.[1]
Taylor became attracted to communist political theory in 1945 following contact with African Americans in Toledo, Ohio, who taught him about anti-colonial struggles in Africa and how they believed that capitalism gave rise to anti-black racism.[1] Later he returned to Jamaica, where he met Marxist political activist Richard Hart and the British Marxist Dr Audley Lewis.[1] Both Hart and Audley had a profound effect on Taylor's political beliefs, inspiring him to join the People's National Party (PNP) and the PNP's trades union wing known as the Trades Union Congress.[1]
Trade unionism in Jamaica
Taylor organised a strike of sugar workers against the British Empire's occupation of Jamaica.[1] The strike was crushed by armed British troops and riot squads who tear-gassed and injured the workers organised by Taylor.[1]
Taylor was imprisoned for thirty days and then placed on trial by the British colonial occupation.[1] He was tried on a series of charges that carried a thirty-year sentence.[1] Despite being found innocent and the charges dropped, he was blacklisted from work and found it impossible to obtain stable employment.[1] During this time, Taylor was expelled from the People's National Congress along with all other left-wing and Marxist members due to the influences of the Cold War.[1] These events pushed him to move to Britain to find employment.[1]