We were saddened to hear that one of our founding members, Professor Anthony Smith, passed away in November. Tony was an undergraduate at Oxford University in 1956 and was one of the students who came together to set up the Joint Action Committee Against Racial Inequality (JACARI) in response to racial intolerance both overseas and in the UK. Tony went on to be an influential figure in the world of broadcasting, first in the BBC then helping to set up Channel 4. He was also Director of the British Film Institute from 1979-88. He returned to the University Oxford as President of Magdalen College Oxford between 1988 and 2005.
Tony was interviewed for an article in the Oxford alumni QUAD magazine in January 2021 about his memories of the early days of Jacari. He told them “We led a campaign to try and change the racism. It was difficult, but we were motivated by the ideas and tried to keep it above politics”.