Claudia Jones
Claudia Jones was one of the most important theoreticians in the United States Left. She was a prolific writer, thinker, organizer, and activist. Radicalized as a Black immigrant youth in New York City, Jones worked with youth civil rights organizations until, in 1936, she joined the Communist Party, USA (CPUSA). An organization she devoted nearly twenty years. Her work with the Party would lead to her eventual deportation to London in 1955. There she became a leader in Britain’s West Indian Community until her premature death in 1964.
“The Lady with the Lamp, the Statue of Liberty, stands in New York Harbour. Her back is squarely turned on the USA. It’s no wonder, considering what she would have to look upon. She would weep, if she had to face this way.”
— Claudia Jones
“A people’s art is the genesis of their freedom”
— Claudia Jones
Denise Lynn, Ph.D. 