Peter Fryer (18 February 1927 – 31 October 2006) was an English

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

writer and journalist. Among his most influential works is the 1984 book '' Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain''.

Early life

Peter Fryer was born near Hull on 18 February 1927. He was the son of a master mariner. He was awarded a scholarship to attend Hymers College in 1938. After joining the Young Communist League in 1942, he left school in 1943 to become a reporter on the '' Yorkshire Post''. In 1945, Fryer became a member of the Communist Party. In 1947 he was dismissed from his job after refusing to leave the party.

Journalism and books

In 1948, Fryer joined the staff of the '' Daily Worker'', becoming its parliamentary correspondent and covering foreign affairs.

''Hungarian Tragedy''

In 1949, he reported on the

show trial A show trial is a public trial in which the guilt (law), guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a d ...

of the Hungarian communist László Rajk, who had falsely confessed to being an agent of Tito and others. After Rajk's execution and eventual "rehabilitation" early in 1956, Fryer felt guilty about having reported the coerced confession, and gave a letter of resignation to his editor, Johnny Campbell. Campbell persuaded him to continue working for a year's notice period. In October 1956, Fryer was sent to Hungary to cover the uprising. His dispatches, including a description of the suppression of the uprising by Soviet troops, were either heavily censored or suppressed. He wrote a book about the uprising, ''Hungarian Tragedy'' (1956)."Peter Fryer"
''Spartacus Educational''. Fryer was expelled from the Communist Party for criticising ''Hungarian Tragedy's'' suppression in the "capitalist" press. Many members left the party during the crisis that followed. Fryer then became the editor of ''The Newsletter'', the journal of The Club, a

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

organisation led by

Gerry Healy Thomas Gerard Healy (3 December 1913 – 14 December 1989) was an Irish-born British political activist, a co-founder of the International Committee of the Fourth International and the leader of the Socialist Labour League and later the Work ...

, and with Healy was a founder member of the Socialist Labour League. He soon parted company with Healy, however, and worked away from organised politics until 1985, when he wrote a weekly column for the ''Workers Press''.

''Staying Power''

In 1948, Fryer covered the arrival at Tilbury Docks in Britain of bringing settlers from the Caribbean. He maintained a long standing interest in black history and music. Peter Fraser wrote of Fryer: "In 1981, he attended a conference on the history of blacks in Britain to deliver a paper on black musicians. He went away convinced that the larger story needed to be told." His interests eventually led to him writing the substantial and influential book, ''Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain'' (1984). This book discussed the long history of black people in Britain as well as the racist structures that were created by white British capitalists for their own economic benefit. It had a substantial section of notes and appendices. Subsequent publications on the same theme by Fryer include: ''Black People in the British Empire (1988), Aspects of British Black History'' (1993)'', The Politics of Windrush'' (1999), and ''Rhythms and Resistance'' (2000). Fryer received some criticism for being a white man writing a substantial work on black history. Some critics such as Ziggi Alexander came to feel mutual respect and value Fryer's contributions.

Later life

At the time of his death, Fryer was working on a study of life in

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

in the 19th and 20th centuries, under the working title ''Behind the Blues''. He intended this book to rework black American history and hoped that it would be as influential as ''Staying Power'' had been. He had also just found out that he was to be honoured by the Hungarian government, in recognition of his "continuous support of the Hungarian revolution and freedom fight". He died on 31 October 2006, aged 79.

Honours and legacy

Fryer was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

of the Republic of Hungary at a reception at the Hungarian Embassy in London. On 26 June 2023, a blue plaque (organised by the Nubian Jak Community Trust) was unveiled in Fryer's honour outside a former residence of his in

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

, London.

References

External links

Peter Fryer and ''Hungarian Tragedy and other writings on the Hungarian revolution 1956''
at Index Books.
"A Bibliography of the Books and Journalism of Peter Fryer (1927–2006)"
Scissors & Paste Bibliographies.
"Hungarian Tragedy – Peter Fryer"Peter Fryer and the Politics of Black British History
by Christian Hogsbjerg, ''

International Socialism ''International Socialism'' is a British-based quarterly journal established in 1960 and published in London by the Socialist Workers Party which discusses socialist theory. It is currently edited by Joseph Choonara who replaced Alex Callini ...

'', 172 (2021)
"Peter Fryer Internet Archive"
marxists.org.
(2007) "Peter Fryer, 1927–2006"
''Critique'', 35:2, 297–302, DOI: 10.1080/03017600701446306. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fryer, Peter 1927 births 2006 deaths British Marxist journalists Communist Party of Great Britain members English male journalists English Trotskyists People educated at Hymers College Writers from Kingston upon Hull Workers Revolutionary Party (UK) members