The Trinidadian activist who organized the 1959 Caribbean Carnival precursor to Notting Hill Carnival was Claudia Jones.
Jones was a Trinidad-born journalist, activist, and editor of the West Indian Gazette. After the Notting Hill race riots of 1958, she helped create a Caribbean carnival event as a positive response to racism and tensions affecting Britain’s Caribbean community. The first was held at St Pancras Town Hall on 30 January 1959 and was presented in a cabaret-style indoor format.
Jones organized several further indoor Caribbean carnival events, which are widely regarded as important precursors to Notting Hill Carnival. The later outdoor Notting Hill event emerged in the mid-1960s, with Rhaune Laslett associated with the 1966 neighborhood festival and Russell Henderson’s steel band helping turn it into a carnival procession. Leslie Palmer later helped expand the event, while Sam King became one of its prominent early organizers.
Jones is often called the “mother of the Notting Hill Carnival,” though the festival’s history has several contributors and distinct stages. Her 1959 event was not identical to today’s street carnival; its importance lies in connecting Caribbean performance, community organizing, and Black British political solidarity.