Henry Gunter

Henry Gunter (1920 – 23 July 2007) was a leading British communist and civil rights leader, most famous for his campaigns for racial equality in the English city of Birmingham. After joining the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), he authored a report titled A Man's a Man (1954), a key British anti-racist text published by the CPGB. He also authored numerous articles exposing racism in Birmingham's hotels, housing, and employment. Gunter also helped create the Birmingham branch of the Caribbean Labour Congress, and later served as the leader of the Afro Caribbean Society, which he used to end racial segregation in the employment of Birmingham city's bus services. As an influential trade union leader, Gunter was the first black man to serve as a delegate for the Birmingham Trades Council, and he forwarded a successful motion to the Trades Union Congress in support of the rights of immigrant workers. He dedicated his entire life to both trade union activism and fighting for the equal rights of black people.