Mike Marqusee

Mike Marqusee (1953–2015) – journalist, political activist, and author – was born in New York City, and emigrated to Britain in 1971, where he developed a love of cricket. As well as his many books, Mike published articles in (among others), the Guardian, the Independent, the Daily Telegraph, the Observer, Index on Censorship, BBC History Magazine, New Left Review, Race and Class, The Nation, Colorlines, India Today, Hindustan Times, Indian Express, Frontline, and Outlook. He was a columnist for the Indian newspaper, The Hindu, and for the British left-wing magazine Red Pepper.In addition to his writing, Mike was active for several decades in numerous campaigns for social justice. In the early 1980s he was a youth worker and trade union activist. For twenty years he was an active member of the Labour Party, and a long-time editor of and contributor to Labour Briefing. In 1995, he helped set up Hit Racism for Six, a campaign against racism in cricket. After leaving the Labour party in 2000, he helped establish both the Stop the War Coalition and Iraq Occupation Focus. On 15 February 2003, he was a speaker at the half million strong anti-war demonstration in New York City. In later years, he was a dedicated campaigner in support of the National Health Service. In 2005, Mike Marqusee was named an Honorary Faculty Fellow by the University of Brighton in recognition of his 'contribution to the development of a critically-based form of journalistic scholarship in the social, cultural and political nature of contemporary global sport.'