Darcus Howe: Civil rights activist dies aged 74
Civil rights activist Darcus Howe has died aged 74, his biographer has said.
The writer and presenter campaigned for black rights for more than 50 years.
Dr Robin Bunce, who co-wrote the biography Renegade: The Life and Times of Darcus Howe, said Mr Howe died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday.
Mr Howe's wife Leila Hassan also confirmed the news.
Dr Bunce said Mr Howe brought a "grass roots activism" to the black civil rights movement in the 1970s and 1980s.
The writer and presenter campaigned for black rights for more than 50 years.
Dr Robin Bunce, who co-wrote the biography Renegade: The Life and Times of Darcus Howe, said Mr Howe died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday.
Mr Howe's wife Leila Hassan also confirmed the news.
Dr Bunce said Mr Howe brought a "grass roots activism" to the black civil rights movement in the 1970s and 1980s.
He said: "On a personal level, Darcus was enormously warm and generous and he loved life.
"It was a real privilege to get to know him."
He added: "I think he's also important in the 80s, 90s and 00s, because he brought a radical voice, a voice for egalitarianism and justice, to the mainstream media."
"It was a real privilege to get to know him."
He added: "I think he's also important in the 80s, 90s and 00s, because he brought a radical voice, a voice for egalitarianism and justice, to the mainstream media."
Mr Howe wrote about his 2007 prostate cancer diagnosis and his treatment for it in an article for The Guardian in 2009.
He said: "Long live the NHS. The campaign to persuade black men to get tested for prostate cancer starts here."
Mr Howe was born on February 26 1943 in Trinidad, and came to the UK in 1961.
He started his journalism career in 1968 at The Hustler, said Dr Bunce.
He was editor for more than a decade at Race Today magazine, and more recently was a columnist for The Voice newspaper.
Mr Howe, who was a member of the British Black Panthers, also wrote a regular column for the New Statesman, as well as having a column in the Evening Standard in the 1990s.
He said: "Long live the NHS. The campaign to persuade black men to get tested for prostate cancer starts here."
Mr Howe was born on February 26 1943 in Trinidad, and came to the UK in 1961.
He started his journalism career in 1968 at The Hustler, said Dr Bunce.
He was editor for more than a decade at Race Today magazine, and more recently was a columnist for The Voice newspaper.
Mr Howe, who was a member of the British Black Panthers, also wrote a regular column for the New Statesman, as well as having a column in the Evening Standard in the 1990s.
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