C. L. R. James

C L R James was born in the British Crown Colony of Trinidad and Tobago in 1901. This colonial birthplace formed his worldview, propelling him onto his place as one of the leading intellectuals of the African revolution. He was a friend and inspiration to Kwame Nkrumah and Julius Nyerere, the two leaders of the first generation of independence struggles. His account of Toussaint L'Ouverture s slave rebellion in Haiti is one of the great historical works of the twentieth century. His studies of Hegel and Marx became part of the common knowledge of several generations of radicals in America, Europe, the Caribbean and Africa. His thought was also shaped by the experience of his migration to Britain. James was a product of the colonial education system, a world he was a part of, even as he exposed and fought it. His influence was truly global with years spent teaching in the U.S. at the University of the District of Columbia, and serving as inspiration in African and West Indian independence movements. In Britain today, and worldwide, he is known as both a radical and also for his extraordinary autobiography, Beyond a Boundary, which is universally agreed to be the greatest book about cricket ever written.