Jocelyn Barrow

Dame Jocelyn Anita Barrow, Mrs Downer, DBE (born 15 April 1929) is the Director for UK Development at Focus Consultancy Ltd. She was the first black woman to be a governor of the BBC and was founder and Deputy Chair of the Broadcasting Standards Council.

Barrow was born in Trinidad, where she was active in the People's National Movement, and came to England as a postgraduate in 1959.

Barrow was a founding member and General Secretary of Campaign Against Racial Discrimination (CARD), the organisation responsible for the Race Relations Act of 1968. As a senior teacher, and later as a teacher-trainer, at Furzedown College and at the Institute of Education in the 1960s, she pioneered the introduction of multi-cultural education, stressing the needs of the various ethnic groups in the UK.

She was instrumental in the establishment of the North Atlantic Slavery Gallery and the Merseyside Maritime Museum in Liverpool. She was a Trustee of the National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside and a Governor of the British Film Institute.

Honours

In 1972, she was awarded the OBE for work in the field of education and community relations. In 1992, she received the DBE for her work in broadcasting and her contribution to the work of the European Union as the UK member of the Economic and Social Committee.

Affiliations

• Governor of the Commonwealth Institute (for 8 years)
• Council Member of Goldsmiths, University of London
• Vice-president of the United Nations Association in the UK
• National Vice-President of the Townswomen's Guild

External links

• Jocelyn Barrow's biodata
• Notice of Barrow's damehood in London Gazette