Henry Gunter (1920-2007)

Submitted by: Fiona Tate

Henry Gunter (1920-2007), was born in Portland, Jamaica. He studied accountancy at Commercial College there and worked in Panama and the U.S.A. He became involved in politics and trades union activities and established a newspaper, the Jamaican worker, which he used to protest about working conditions and against racism. He came to Birmingham from the U.S.A. in 1949. He joined the Afro-Caribbean Organisation; of which he became Chairman; c.1954. He was also a member of the A.E.U. and a delegate from his Union branch to Birmingham Trades Council .

In Birmingham he continued his campaign against racism by writing and action. He organised a protest demonstration in the city centre on 12 October, 1952, against the 'colour bar', and wrote the pamphlet 'A Man's a Man: a study of the Colour Bar in Birmingham', which was published by the Communist Party, c. 1954. He had many friends and corresponded widely. He knew Paul Robeson and Seretse Khama, and he wrote on a wide range of political and social issues.

He moved to Kent, where he and his wife Evelyn ran a guest house, but when they retired they returned to Birmingham. He lived in Acocks Green and was a member of Acocks Green Methodist Church. He continued to write and campaign for equality and justice, and contibuted to the church magazine, the 'Green Paper'. He also took an active interest in the preservation of materials to help with research into the history of Birmingham's Black population in the 20th century, resulting in the deposit of these papers.

He died on 23 July 2007.

References:
1. [MS 2165 Henry Gunter Archive]
2. "A Man's A Man"[Birmingham Archive and Heritage:L21.85]