Augustine Gregory John

aka Professor Gus John

KS2

• Gus John was born in the Caribbean Island of Grenada.
• He won an educational scholarship and travelled to Trinidad and Tobago to study.
• Later he moved to England and became a Dominican Friar.
• Gus John had a number of different jobs including doing youth work, being a gravedigger, and he is a writer of several books on equality and education.

KS3

• Gus John was born Augustus Gregory John in 1945 in Concord, Grenada. His parents were peasant farmers.

• Gus John won a scholarship to study and travelled to Trinidad and Tobago where he studied religion and philosophy.

• In 1964 Gus John moved to England where he became a Dominican Friar.

• John trained as a youth worker, and also worked as a gravedigger while continuing his academic and activism work.

• John is a writer and co-author of several books on equality and education.

• In 1989 John became the first Black/African Director of Education in Britain.

• In 2000 Gus John was voted one of the ‘100 Great Black Britons’, and in 2016 he was chosen as one of the 30 Most Influential Contemporary African Leaders globally.

Characteristics Studious, courageous, committed, determined, practical, influential.

KS4

Born
11 March 1945 in Concord, Grenada

Died
_

Time Period
20th Century + 21st Century

Geographic Location
Grenada, Trinidad, UK, Europe

Nationality
Grenadian, British

Activity Highlights

• Activist and academic.

• Youth worker.

• Gravedigger.

• 1964 - 1967 Dominican Friar

• Writer and co-author of several books on equality and education.

• 1979 - Had a portrait painted by Brian Shuel, which was subsequently added to the collection in the National Portrait Gallery.

• 1989 - Became the first Black/African Director of Education in Britain.

• 1991 - Founder trustee of the George Padmore Institute.

• 1997 - Appointed advisor on race and inclusion to former British Home Secretary, Jack Straw.

• 1999 - Co-founded the Community Empowerment Network (CEN)

• 2000 - Voted one of the ‘100 Great Black Britons’.

• 2016 - Chosen as one of the 30 Most Influential Contemporary African Leaders globally.

• Professor Gus John has worked and studied in a number of locations in the UK including Hackney, Doncaster, Manchester, Leicester, Oxford, Glasgow and Salford. Professor John has been committed to promoting racial equality and social justice in Britain since 1965. He was involved in the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination (CARD) in the 1960s; this national organisation lobbied for change against discrimination through legislation. The work of CARD members led to anti-discrimination legislation being enacted in parliament. With John La Rose, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Leila Hassan, and Darcus Howe he was a key member of Race Alliance Today; this organisation included the Black Parents Movement and the Black Students Movement.

• Professor John has worked for Local Authorities, central Government, and European organisations with a particular focus on equality and diversity training, project management, organisational change, policy development, facilitation, implementation and impact assessment.

• Professor John has written and co-authored several books on equality and education: Race in the Inner City (1972) – published as a result of a two year study in Birmingham for the Runnymede Trust; Because They’re Black (1971); Murder in the Playground (1989); Education for Citizenship (1992); The crisis facing black children in the British schooling system (2004) – this book is subtitled as a call to independent action by black students and black parents. John is constantly working with individuals and communities to establish ways of breaking the cycle of educational failure for black youth in British schools.

• Following the mass uprisings of black and white people - mainly youths - in the streets of the Rusholme and Moss Side districts in 1981 John became the Chairperson of the Moss Side Defence Committee in Manchester. He wrote several papers and delivered lectures regarding implementing action learning into the inner city areas. John emphasises that any initiatives should have due consideration for the distinct needs and the history of the association between those communities.

• In 1990 Professor John co-founded the European Action for Racial Equality (EARE) with John La Rose, Gus John also became international secretary of EARE. John is a founding trustee and the treasurer of the George Padmore Institute; this organisation is an archive and research institute in London that is committed to documenting the history of black political struggle in post-war Britain. In 2002, as part of his ongoing support for equality and education, John produced a report into the needs of Black and ethnic minority people in Doncaster: Tired of Fighting; this report focussed on Gypsy and Traveller safety. Professor John was selected to investigate discrimination by race in the Crown Prosecution Service for England and Wales. This Diversity Monitoring Project reported its findings in 2003 in the report Race for Justice. In 2004 John worked with Sussex University to redefine their Race Action plan and he was commissioned by the University of Salford to survey the perception of equality and diversity among its staff and students. The resultant report gives an example of the policies in place in educational institutions and also highlights room for much needed improvement.

• Professor John was an advisory board member for Queen Mary Public Policy Seminars at the University of London. He was offered a CBE in the 2000 New Year Honours, but he chose to decline the award, as it was contrary to his years of activism against the legacy of British imperialism.

• Professor Gus John has been involved in equality and community relations’ issues for over 55 years.

Family

Wife

• Jill V Joseph
• Sido Augustine John - Doctor (b. August 1971)
• Ndidi Gabrielle John - Project Manager (b. 1976)

Other Key People Involved

• John La Rose, Linton Kwesi Johnson
• Leila Hassan
• Darcus Howe
• David Pitt

Links
[1]: George Padmore Institute
[2]: ‘This is Gus John; they say he’s not anti-racist enough’
[3]: Books authored by Gus John