My friend Claudette Williams, who has died aged 69 after a heart attack, was an educationist specialising in early years, as well as an author, activist, feminist and campaigner for social justice.
Aged 19, she volunteered as a youth worker at Brixton Recreation Centre, south London; she also joined the Black Panthers. Later, she participated as a teacher and organiser in the Ahfiwe supplementary school, set up in the 1970s by Ansel Wong to raise the educational attainment standards of Black children. I first met her in 1979, when we were both members of the Brixton Black Women’s Group, through which, in the mid-1980s, we formed part of a women’s delegation to Nicaragua.
Throughout her life in the UK, Claudette remained a child of Jamaica, where she was born, in Heartease, St Thomas. She lived with her aunt before travelling, aged 10, with her younger brother, Oniel, to join their older brother, Errol, and their parents, Enid and Malcus, both working for London Transport. The family lived in Brixton, south London, and Claudette attended the Dick Sheppard school in Tulse Hill.
From her own experiences, Claudette knew about the challenges children can face, and, after leaving school, she decided to specialise in early years education. She did her teacher training at Furzedown College of Education in Tooting, then in 1979 began teaching at Santley infant school before moving to train future generations of teachers at North London Polytechnic (now London Metropolitan University) from 1989. She believed in child-centred learning and her commitment to equality extended into her vision of what education should be in both the classroom and lecture hall.
Her talents as a teacher and her internationalism led to her being invited to advise the Trinidad and Tobago ministry of education (1987-88). She was given an honorary fellowship in the school of African American studies at the University of California, Irvine, where she also worked in a local elementary school (2007-10).
Claudette co-authored children’s educational books for the Let’s Explore Science series in the early 90s, such as Make It Balance, and Sound & Music, with David Evans; as well as Realising Potential: Complementary Schools in the UK, co-authored with Tözün Issa (2008). She also completed two MAs – in sociology of education (Goldsmith’s College, 1979-83) and educational research (Sheffield University, 2004-07).
In 2002 she adopted her daughter, Sado, and was dedicated to (in her own words) “ensuring her ongoing health, happiness and security [alongside] her learning and development”. Mothering Sado helped Claudette to grow in unexpected ways, enabling her to adapt and relate more openly in her professional life and her activism. She was also close to her nieces, nephews and godchildren.
In the last years of her life, Claudette was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Sado, with the support of close friends, increasingly assumed Claudette’s care, but was also able to still enjoy moments with her mother, such as singing together.
Claudette is survived by Sado and by her brothers.
