Ewart Gladstone Guinier (1910-1990) was a Jamaican-American labor leader, politician, civil rights activist, pioneering academic, and father of Lani Guinier. Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Jamaican immigrant parents, Guinier grew up in a working-class environment that shaped his lifelong commitment to social justice and labor rights. He became involved in the labor movement early in his career, serving as an organizer and leader in unions such as the United Public Workers of America, where he advocated for workers' rights and racial equality during the 1930s and 1940s. Politically active with the American Labor Party, Guinier ran for U.S. Congress in New York's 22nd district in 1944 and 1946, though he faced significant opposition due to his progressive stances and allegations of communist affiliations, which led to investigations during the McCarthy era and blacklisting from government positions. Transitioning to academia later in life, Guinier earned recognition for his contributions to Black studies. In 1969, he was appointed as the founding chairman of Harvard University's Department of Afro-American Studies (now the Department of African and African American Studies), where he helped establish it as a rigorous academic field amid the civil rights movement's push for institutional change. A lawyer by training, Guinier also taught at various institutions and wrote on labor and race issues. Throughout his career, Guinier was criticized and investigated for alleged communist ties, including testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947, though no convictions resulted; these controversies highlighted the broader persecution of left-leaning Black activists during the Red Scare.