Chris Braithwaite
By Christian Høgsbjerg
Published by On Our Own Authority! Publishing, 2017
102 pages, paperback
Chris Braithwaite (aka Chris Jones) was a black Barbadian seafearer who became a leading organizer of colonial seafarers in inter-war Britain. He played a critical role in the Pan-Africanist and wider anti-colonial movement alongside figures such as C.L.R. James and George Padmore. Historian Christian Høgsbjerg's concise biography recovers Braithwaite’s long over-looked life as a black radical and political trade-unionist, and suggests his determined struggle for working class unity in the face of racism and austerity retains relevance for us today.
Praise for Chris Braithwaite: Mariner, Renegade, & Castaway
"Through his scrupulous research of the compelling life and times of Chris Braithwaite, Christian Høgsbjerg has uncovered the vital contribution of a pioneering black activist and anti-colonial stalwart. Braithwaite's brave achievement should be on the curriculum of all our schools." -Chris Searle, Race & Class
"Scrupulously referenced and with appendices of selected writings by Braithwaite, and some rare photos of him, this short publication will be of interest to students and researchers of twentieth century imperial and labor history, particularly maritime history... Høgsbjerg's study keeps anti-imperialist activism, often marginalized in the historiography, firmly in the historical eye. It also reminds us that anti-racist and anti-capitalist struggles embraced by pioneering activists such as Chris Braithwaite are ongoing and unfinished." -Barbara Bush, Labour History Review
"Christian Høgsbjerg's 'biography from below' of West Indian seaman Chris Braithwaite opens a portal onto an dynamic Black and Red Atlantic world of work and politics. Here is an excellent contribution to a 'people's history of the sea.'" -Marcus Rediker, author of The Amistad Rebellion
