Black History Fact of the Day 30

In 1974, David Pitt became the first black leader of the Greater London Council. Born in Grenada, Pitt studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh in the the 1930s. After a frustrating time in Caribbean politics, where he helped found the West Indian National Party, Pitt settled in England to practice medicine and later became involved with the Labour Party and played an active role in the Anti-Apartheid Movement. He was elected to the Greater London Council in 1961 where he served until 1977. Several times, he unsuccessfully ran for parliament but was made a life peer in 1975. He maintained his medical practice throughout his political activities and in 1985 he was elected president of the British Medical Association. He was also involved in a number of charitable activities including his leadership of the charity Shelter campaigning against homelessness in Britain.

Information for this fact comes from the Oxford Companion to Black British History.

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