Una Marson: The Jamaican Woman Who Spoke Before Representation Had a Name

Una Marson was a pioneering poet, journalist, and broadcaster. As the BBC’s first Black woman producer and broadcaster, she reshaped what it meant to be Caribbean, modern, and unapologetically visible in a world determined not to see her.

Early Beginnings

Born in 1905 in Santa Cruz, Jamaica, Marson was the youngest of nine children. Her sharp intellect and fierce independence showed early, and at 21, she launched her journalism career as an assistant editor at The Critic in Kingston. By 1928 she had founded The Cosmopolitan, an outspoken feminist magazine tackling women’s rights, education, and racial inequality.

When she moved to London in 1932, she walked straight into a society rooted in colonialism. With support from Dr. Harold Moody, she became active in his League of Coloured Peoples, campaigning against the “colour bar” and writing for the organisation’s journal, The Keys. Her words became tools for resistance, pushing back against the narratives that tried to minimise Black life and experience.

Breaking Barriers in Broadcasting

By the late 1930s, Marson was already a respected editor and poet. After editing The Keys and uplifting other women writers, she transitioned into broadcasting in 1939. During the war, thousands of Caribbean people arrived in Britain to serve and work in wartime industries.

The BBC’s Calling the West Indies was originally launched to connect Britain with expatriates in its colonies – but Marson turned it into far more. As producer, she used it to link Caribbean and Black communities globally and to highlight the contributions of Caribbean servicemen, servicewomen, and workers in Britain. At a time when stereotypes dominated British media, her work helped reset the narrative of the pan-African diaspora and its role in the country’s wartime economy.

Intersectional Activism and Beyond

Throughout her life, Marson pushed a vision that recognised overlapping struggles - gender, race, class - long before “intersectionality” had a name. She understood the political power of culture and used her writing, broadcasting, and theatre to challenge the status quo.

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“She did not frame her work around a single cause...she was mindful of the multiple sections of oppression.”

Scholar Lisa Tomlinson on Una Marson

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Her 1933 socio-political play At What a Price explored exploitation and the dynamics of gender and race, and its staging showcased a rare mix of African, Caribbean, and Black British voices - stories by her people, for her people.

A Legacy to Be Proud Of

Una Marson’s life is filled with firsts, but her impact runs deeper than milestones. She embodied the idea that visibility, when claimed, not granted, is a form of revolution. From her early work in Jamaican media to her global presence at the BBC, her legacy continues to shape Caribbean literature, Black feminist thought, and British broadcasting. Her influence isn’t just historical; it’s generational.