John La Rose was born in Trinidad and was a poet, essayist, publisher, filmmaker, trade unionist, and cultural and political activist. In 1966, with his partner, Sarah White, he set up one of the first Black British bookshops in the UK, New Beacon Books. His wide-ranging contribution to the struggle for racial equality and social justice, as well as cultural change, is unparalleled in the history of the black experience in Britain.