HART, Richard (b 1917)

Scope and Content

Microfilm of papers of Richard Hart on political and trade union activities in Jamaica and the Caribbean, 1937-1964; including correspondence with Norman Manley on Jamaican politics, 1939; correspondence and papers on the People's National Party (PNP), 1940-1952 particularly Hart and Ken Hill's expulsion for 'communist' activities, 1952; correspondence and papers on Hart's detention under the Jamaican defence regulations, 1942-1943; correspondence and papers on Hart's work as President of the Jamaica Government Railway Employees' Union (JGREU), 1942-1948; correspondence and papers on Hart's work as Assistant Secretary , Caribbean Labour Conference (CLC), 1945-1946, and General Secretary from 1947-1953, including papers on CLC London Branch, 1948-1953; correspondence and papers on Hart's work as Legal Adviser to the [Jamaican] Sugar and Agricultural Workers' Union, (SAWU) 1953-1957; correspondence and papers on the [Jamaican] People's Educational Association (PEO) and the [Jamaican] People's Freedom Movement (PFM), 1952-1962, including PEO managing committee minutes, 1952-1955 and PFM committee minutes, 1954-1955, 1960-1962; papers on the Jamaica Youth Movement, 1941-1944; correspondence and papers on civil liberties, particularly on banned publications, Caribbean News and Moscow News and public meetings, 1952-1954; correspondence and papers on the Jamaican Federation of Trades Unions (JFTU), 1952-1957; correspondence and papers on the [Jamaican] Factory and General Workers' Union, (FGWU) 1953-1957; correspondence and papers on Hart's book Out of the House of Bondage , 1946-1961, including correspondence with Kwame Nkrumah on the possibility of Nkrumah contributing a foreword, 1952.

Administrative / Biographical History

Born Jamaica, 1917; member of the National Reform Association, 1937; member of Norman Manly's Commitee assisting W A Bustamente in the formation of trade unions, 1938; member of the People's National Party (PNP), 1938-1952, and a member of the Party's executive, 1941-1952; editor of the working class militant H C Buchanan's Jamaica Labour Weekly when Buchanan was in prison, Dec 1938-Apr 1939; co-founder and Chairman of the Jamaican Youth Movement, 1941; qualified as a solicitor, 1941; President of the Jamaica Government Railway Employees' Union (JGREU), 1942-1948; Assistant Secretary , Caribbean Labour Conference, 1945-1946, and General Secretary from 1947-1953; expelled from the People's National Party for 'communist' activity, 1952; Chairman of the People's Educational Association (PEO), and a member of the People's Freedom Movement, 1952-1962; member of the Committee for the formation of a Jamaican Federation of Trade Unions, 1953-1963; Legal Adviser to the [Jamaican] Sugar and
Agricultural Workers' Union, (SAWU) 1953-1957; Treasuer of the Socialist Party of Jamaica, 1962-1963; editor of the progressive newspaper The Mirror , Guyana, 1963-1965; resident in England from 1965.

Arrangement

Chronological

Access Information

Open although advance notice should be given. Access to individual items may be restricted under the Data Protection Act or the Freedom of Information Act.

Other Finding Aids

Listed (see link to repository catalogue).

Archivist's Note

Compiled by Alan Kucia as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project.

Conditions Governing Use

A copying service is available, at the discretion of the Library staff. Copies are supplied solely for research or private study. Requests to publish, or to quote from, original material should be submitted to the Information Resources Manager.

Custodial History

The papers were deposited at the ICS in he 1960s. The originals were returned to Mr Hart in 1977, and a microfilm copy retained by ICS.

Location of Originals

Originals 'now in the West Indies' (1977).

Geographical Names