SARAH SWINBURNE WHITE
New Beacon Books sadly announces the sudden passing of one of its co-founders Sarah White on 4th February 2022. Sarah founded New Beacon Books with her partner John La Rose in 1966. John's vision was that New Beacon Books should be a publishing house, bookseller and book distributor serving the Black community in Britain as well as promoting books, authors and writings from Caribbean and Africa especially. Sarah brought her skills and tireless commitment to New Beacon Books. The bookshop was built slowly moving from front room to front room until in the mid-1970s, it found its current home at 76 Stroud Green Road, Finsbury Park, London. New Beacon Books has existed for 56years.
Sarah helped to establish New Beacon Bookshop as an institution that was a base for the political and cultural struggle of the Black community in Britain and the diaspora. New Beacon's publications were also an outlet for writers and their work. Sarah was involved with the production and proofreading of many New Beacon titles. John and Sarah were joined at New Beacon by Michael La Rose and Janice Durham in the late 1970s, but by the mid-1990s two women ran New Beacon Bookshop for many years; they were Sarah and Janice with assistance of committed volunteers.
Between 1982 and 1995 New Beacon Books initiated the International Book Fair of Radical Black and Third World books with Bogle L'Ouverture Publications and Race Today Publications. At the book fairs, Sarah played a pivotal role as part of the book fair organising committee in the setting up of the physical book fair with its international visitors and publishers and the production of the essential book fair brochure. Later, Sarah would be involved with editing and producing two books recording the book fairs, "Foundations of a Movement; A tribute to John la Rose on the occasion of the 10th International Book Fair of Radical Black and Third World Books" and "The Meeting Of the Continents; The International Book Fair of Radical Black and Third World Books - Revisited".
When in 1991 New Beacon Books established an archive of the struggle of people of African, Caribbean and Asian descent in Britain it was named after the Pan African activist George Padmore. Sarah helped to establish the archive on the two floors above the bookshop with a full-time archivist. It was called the George Padmore Institute (GPI). Sarah was the secretary of the GPI until she fell ill in 2021.
In 2013 Sarah was the co-recipient of the first Bocas Henry Swanzy award from the Bocas Literary Festival in Trinidad and Tobago.
Sarah White retired from New Beacon bookshop in 2016 and resigned as a director in 2019. Her contribution to educational, racial justice and social justice campaigns in Britain and internationally will never be forgotten. Sarah will be remembered by writers, publishers and book buyers from all over the world. The Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o said on hearing about Sarah's passing "She and John are everything to me and our struggles".
New Beacon Books will remember Sarah's energy, commitment, dedication and discipline in establishing New Beacon Books over the years. We will miss her distinct laugh. We will miss her daily walk down Stroud Green Road from home pulling along a shopping trolley full of work to build New Beacon Books or the GPI.
Rest well now Sarah.
RIP Sarah Swinburne White
(1941 -2022)
