Barry Duke (born 1 February 1947 in Johannesburg) is a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

gay rights activist A list of notable LGBTQ social movements, LGBTQ rights activists who have worked to advance LGBTQ rights by political change, legal action or publication. Ordered by country, alphabetically. Albania * Xheni Karaj, founder of Aleanca LGBT org ...

, former editor of '' The Freethinker'' and current editor of '' The Pink Humanist'' an
''The Angry Atheist''

Life and career

Born in

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

South Africa, Duke began writing as a trainee journalist in his teens for '' The Springs Advertiser'' in 1964. After completing a course in

photojournalism Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

in 1967, he moved to ''The Star'' (South Africa) newspaper in Johannesburg working as an investigative journalist and The Star's chief court reporter. In 1973, Duke moved to the UK, where he continued to write anti-apartheid pieces for Argus Newspapers (now Independent News and Media). In 1974 Duke joined publishing company Broadstrood Press whilst beginning to write regularly for The Freethinker. Leaving publishing in 1980, Duke began working as a public relations executive for

British Transport Hotels British Transport Hotels (BTH) was the hotels and catering business of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. Origins of the company Britain's private railway companies pioneered the concept of the railway hotel, initially at loca ...

. When the company was privatized, Duke left in 1983 to work for Citigate Publishing and pursue freelance work. In 1996, Duke left Citigate to look after a terminally ill partner, but continued to write freelance. In 1997, Duke took over as the interim editor of '' The Freethinker'', following the death of previous editor Peter Brearey. After six months, Duke was confirmed as the editor. Duke wa
summarily sacked at the beginning of January 2022
In 2011, Duke took on the additional role of editor of ''The Pink Humanist'', published by the Pink Triangle Trust. In 2023, Duke launched "The Angry Atheist" blog.

Activism

Duke was involved in the

Anti-Apartheid Movement The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-white population who were oppressed by the policies ...

and on arriving in the UK as a refugee from South Africa continued supporting the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

. Duke strongly opposed the Nationwide Festival of Light, and worked alongside ''The Freethinker'' and

National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. The Soc ...

to try to counter its effects and influence. In 1979, Duke was a founding member of the Gay Humanist Group, (now Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association) after

Mary Whitehouse Constance Mary Whitehouse (; 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was a British teacher and conservative activist. She campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permis ...

began a private prosecution for

blasphemous Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic o ...

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

against '' Gay News'' (see '' Whitehouse v Lemon''.) After the founding of the Gay Humanist Group, Duke was very active in the promotion of gay and atheist rights and was also briefly the treasurer of the National Secular Society (NSS). In 2010, he relocated to Spain and, in 2017, was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the NSS. In the same year, he was married to his partner of 20 years, Marcus Oliver Robinson, in Gibraltar. He once wrote a weekly column for ''Euro Weekly News'', an English paper published in Spain.

References

External links

Freethinker Magazine

Pink Humanist Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duke, Barry 1947 births Living people South African LGBTQ journalists South African LGBTQ rights activists South African atheists South African male journalists 21st-century South African LGBTQ people