Claudia Jones

• THE statues controversy is complex but has returned.

Among the names of black people now being proposed for one is Claudia Jones who died at her home in Lisburne Road on Christmas Eve 1964. Her legacy has been championed by the CNJ for very many years.

After waiting patiently for consideration for a Blue Plaque by English Heritage, Claudia was at last approved, but is now in a long, slow queue for implementation. This may even outlive many of those who are behind this campaign.

One of the issues is where the plaque should be sited. After Claudia arrived in Britain as a political refugee, she stayed at a number of addresses in London, usually as a guest in someone else’s home. The flat in Lisburne Road was definitely hers.

If there is to be a statue, this can be sited in a more public space, with more footfall, where she will be more recognised.

There is Brixton Road, where she founded and edited the West Indian Gazette, or along the route of the Notting Hill Carnival, one of her achievements.

There is also the issue of whether she has a headstone at her grave next to Karl Marx in Highgate Cemetery and its funding.

A statue elsewhere may draw some heat out of this argument. Wherever and however, Claudia must be commemorated.

GERRY HARRISON,
Laughton, Sussex