David Pitt, Baron Pitt of Hampstead, was the first Black Chairperson of the GLC. He moved to London from the Caribbean in the 1940s to set up a medical practice. He was very involved in political campaigning but, although standing twice, was never elected an MP due to racist campaigning practices by his opponents. Despite this he persisted in his political activities and campaigning and in 1974 he became the chairperson of the Greater London Council (a body later dissolved), and in 1975 was made Baron Pitt of Hampstead and only the second Black member of the House of Lords, from where he continued to campaign. He was named one of 100 Great Black Britons in 2004.
The resource includes David Pitt’s portrait from the Guildhall Art Gallery with bullet-point information about his life, and then invites students to compare his portrait to other portraits of GLC chairpersons over the years, and then to write a poem describing both sides of London that David Pitt saw and that students see today, inspired by two paintings from the Guildhall Art Gallery’s collection.
Take time this Black History Month, or any month, to share the achievements of this incredible man.
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