Trevor Carter (9 October 1930 – March 2008) was a British communist party leader, educator, black civil rights activist, and co-founder of the Caribbean Teachers Association.

Writers on British socialist movements have described Carter as "one of the Communist Party of Great Britain's (CPGB) most important black members" from the mid-1950s until 1991.

[2] His views and political beliefs were heavily influenced by some of his teachers who were Marxists, and by his father who was a trade unionist, the combination of which made a strong impression on Carter.

[4] At the age of 14, Carter left school and worked as a mess boy on a merchant ship; during this time he travelled to New Orleans where he observed segregation.

[1] According to Paul Okojie of Manchester Polytechnic in a 1987 book review published in Race & Class, Carter described London during that period in his 1986 book, Shattering Illusions: West Indians in British Politics as "traumatic", and a place "which rejected, insulted, devalued and discriminated against" West Indians, where they "encountered humiliation and had to learn to survive within a system of economic, political and cultural subordination", writing that the work they could find was "invariably unskilled manual work" with long hours for little pay.

"[14] A 2010 article in Lalkar magazine cites page 62 of Shattering Illusions, stating that Carter thought racism not an "inherent and permanent feature" of the left, and that he "stayed in the Communist Party" believing "comrades could learn and change their attitudes".

[4][17] In the aftermath of the Notting Hill race riots, and the 1959 murder of Kelso Cochrane by white youths, Carter, Corinne Skinner-Carter and Claudia Jones were among a committee that sought to create a carnival to bring the London Caribbean community together.

Their plans came to fruition on 30 January 1959, and Carter worked as the stage manager of the first British-Caribbean Carnival, held in St Pancras Town Hall.

[20] Upon returning to Britain from Guyana in 1966, Carter enrolled at the College of North West London (then Kilburn Polytechnic) and began studying A-level physiology, sociology, and economics.

[5] Published by the left-wing press Lawrence & Wishart, Shattering Illusions was reviewed by Paul Okojie, who described it as being of "both historical and contemporary import" for its criticism of white racism.

His funeral was held on 18 March 2008, at St Augustine's Church, Highgate,[17] with a eulogy titled "A Life with Purpose" being delivered by Professor Gus John.

[2] Jeremy Corbyn described him as a "hope and inspiration to many who were suffering appalling racism and discrimination as newly arrived workers from the West Indies".

[4] In September 2009, at a ceremony organised by family and friends, a teak bench was dedicated to Carter's memory in Waterlow Park, Highgate.