Colin Prescod (born 1944) is a British sociologist and cultural activist, originally from

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

, who in a career spanning five decades has worked as an academic, documentary filmmaker, theatre maker, and

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

commissioning editor, as well as being involved with many cultural and community projects. He is chair of the London-based

Institute of Race Relations The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) is a think tank based in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1958 in order to publish research on race relations worldwide, and in 1972 was transformed into an "anti-racist think tank". Proposed by ''Sund ...

and a member of the editorial working committee of the international journal ''

Race and Class ''Race & Class'' is a Peer review, peer-reviewed academic journal on contemporary racism and imperialism. It is published quarterly by SAGE Publications on behalf of the Institute of Race Relations (United Kingdom), Institute of Race Relations and ...

''. Other positions in which he has served include as a member of the (London) Mayor's Commission on African and Asian Heritage, on the

Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the Metonymy, metonym City Hall, is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved Regions of England, regional governance body of Greater London, England. It consists of two political ...

's Heritage Diversity Task Force, as founding-Chair (1993–2001) of The Drum Arts Centre in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, and Chair of the Association for Cultural Advancement through Visual Art, London.

Background

Colin Prescod was born in

Port-of-Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...

, Trinidad. In 1958, aged 13, he moved to London to join his mother, Pearl Prescod, who had moved to Britain in the early 1950s and settled in

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a wikt:cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan and multiculturalism, multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting ...

. Prescod studied sociology at the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

. From 1969 to 1989, he was Senior Lecturer at the

Polytechnic of North London The University of North London (UNL) was a university in London, England, formed from the Polytechnic of North London (PNL) in 1992 when that institution was granted university status. PNL, in turn, had been formed by the amalgamation of the No ...

. He was associated at its founding with ''The Black Liberator'' (1973–1978), a theoretical and discussion journal for Black liberation, started by Alrick Xavier (Ricky) Cambridge, and in the mid-1970s Prescod became connected with the

(IRR) and its journal ''

Race & Class ''Race & Class'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal on contemporary racism and imperialism. It is published quarterly by SAGE Publications on behalf of the Institute of Race Relations and is interdisciplinary, publishing material across the huma ...

''. In 1982, he directed ''Struggles for Black Community'', a four-part series of films commissioned and broadcast by

Channel Four Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded entirely by its commer ...

. In 1989, he left academia to pursue a career in film and television, joining the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. Starting work there as a producer, he became a commissioning editor and then from 1990 to 1992 was head of the African Caribbean Unit. He encouraged the production of

documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...

, magazine programmes and

talk shows A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (20 ...

, and charted the experiences of black migrants to Britain. Prescod was Co-project Director of the European Multi-cultural Media Agency (EMMA), an initiative aiming to give documentary awards to young Europeans. He has also worked as an independent producer and consultant for film and television. As a cultural animator, specifically in the museums, archives, and heritage sector, he has been closely involved with such exhibitions as '' No Colour Bar: Black British Art in Action 1960–1990'' (2016) and the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

's ''Windrush: Songs in a Strange Land'' (2018).

Personal life

Prescod lives with his Australian-born wife Nina in Notting Hill, at the same address where he has lived since 1958.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prescod, Colin 1944 births Living people Academics of the University of North London Alumni of the University of Essex Black British academics Black British activists Black British filmmakers Black British journalists British film producers English sociologists Film directors from London People from Notting Hill People from Port of Spain Trinidad and Tobago academics Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United Kingdom Trinidad and Tobago sociologists