Kathleen Drayton
Kathleen Drayton (née McCracken) was an educator, social and political activist. She was born in Trinidad and Tobago on the 2nd December 1930. Along with her then husband, Dr. Harry Drayton, she assisted in the setting up of the University of Guyana in 1963. She had been one of the driving forces in the development of the University of Guyana and had built a reputation there as a fearless advocate for women’s rights and social justice.
Her long and outstanding service to the University of the West Indies began in 1973 when she joined the staff in the Faculty of Education at the Cave Hill Campus.
Kathleen Drayton was among the intrepid band of women educators who lobbied for and succeeded in creating the Women and Development Studies programme which eventually became the Centre for Development and Gender Studies and now, the UWI Institute for Gender and Development Studies: Nita Barrow Unit.
Drayton has long been widely recognised for her various roles in education, the arts and activism with non-government organisations. Her activism extended into her retirement years. Unable to ignore injustice or discrimination whenever she encountered them, she helped establish the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP) and at the time of her death, in 2009, was its President.
A lover of music, especially traditional calypso, Drayton was very active in improving the lot of the elderly and succeeded in having BARP enter into partnerships with several businesses to get discount arrangements on a number of consumer products and accessories. Under her leadership, BARP’s membership blossomed to over 20,000, with spending power at supermarkets alone in excess of $3 million monthly.
Her activism also took her to Jamaica, as well as to Ghana, where she rubbed shoulders with then President Kwame Nkrumah in the struggle against racism.
Her long and outstanding service to the University of the West Indies began in 1973 when she joined the staff in the Faculty of Education at the Cave Hill Campus.
Kathleen Drayton was among the intrepid band of women educators who lobbied for and succeeded in creating the Women and Development Studies programme which eventually became the Centre for Development and Gender Studies and now, the UWI Institute for Gender and Development Studies: Nita Barrow Unit.
Drayton has long been widely recognised for her various roles in education, the arts and activism with non-government organisations. Her activism extended into her retirement years. Unable to ignore injustice or discrimination whenever she encountered them, she helped establish the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP) and at the time of her death, in 2009, was its President.
A lover of music, especially traditional calypso, Drayton was very active in improving the lot of the elderly and succeeded in having BARP enter into partnerships with several businesses to get discount arrangements on a number of consumer products and accessories. Under her leadership, BARP’s membership blossomed to over 20,000, with spending power at supermarkets alone in excess of $3 million monthly.
Her activism also took her to Jamaica, as well as to Ghana, where she rubbed shoulders with then President Kwame Nkrumah in the struggle against racism.