Butterfly Magazine Issue 23

The

Th r ivi n g S nai l industry Page 24

Vol. 1 Issue 23 25th September 2020

The

Kanneh-Mason Family

BLACK CLASSICAL MUSIC

SHAPING THE WORLD In collaboration with

NIGERIA CELEBR A DIAMOND

Independence Day of

Nigeria (2020)

Nigeria celebrates its National Day on the day it acquired independence from British rule. In 1960, the country proclaimed its autonomy from the British Empire. From then on, the 1st of October each year celebrated as Nigeria’s Independence Day, also known as its National Day.

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RATES 60 years D JUBILEE

TOGETHER SHALL WE BE

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Explained: Why Barbados Wants to Remove Queen Elizabeth II as Head Of State

Prime Minister of Barbados Claims Women Make Better Leaders Than Men

Why Are Women-Led Nations Doing Better With Covid-19?

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news

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food

Vegan Jamaican Curry In Just 15 Minutes How to make Jamaican CURRY GOAT!

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The KannehMason Family

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Bakita: KK

THE BUTTERFLY MAAG TEAM Editor-in-Chief Beverley Cooper-Chambers EDITORIAL TEAM Karen Ferrari Simone Scott-Sawyer Editorial Researcher Tasina J. Lewis

Contents Cover: The Kanneh-Mason Family Credit: Contributed

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iChurch: Black Theology

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In Conversation with Ade Daramy

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Independence Day of Nigeria

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Why Barbados Wants to Remove Queen Elizabeth II as Head Of State

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Laughter

The Library

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What’s on the Screen?

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Ask Valerie

Marketing Team Marvin Osemwegie — Marketing Director Michael Brown — Social Media Analyst Financial Strategic Advisor Nastassia Hedge-Whyte, MAAT, ACCA,ICAJ Regular Features Rhea Delaney (London) Joshua Grant aka Sports Arrow (London) Fayida Jailler (UK) Bakita Kasadha (UK & Uganda) Chi-Chi Osemwegie (London) Design Editor Rusdi Saleh Graphics Butterfly logo by Wayne Powell (Jamaica)

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Sports Arrow

Ghana Beyond The Return

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ENJOY READING & WATCHING BUTTERFLY MAAG ON YOUR SMARTPHONE Submit a story: communications@butterflymaag.com Ad copy should be submitted Friday for the following week’s publication.

Butterfly Magazine published weekly on Fridays.

Gambia

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Freedom is Mine with Fayida

Food

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St. Vincent and the Grenadines 6

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The Disruptor

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Meet The Women Behind The Campaign

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Last Word

Butterfly magazine is published weekly by BUTTERFLY MAGAZINE LIMITED, 86-90 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NE, UK. Tel: (44) (0) 203 984 9419 Butterfly ™ 2015 is the registered trademark of THE LION AND THE LAMB MEDIA HOUSE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without written permission from the publishers BUTTERFLY MAGAZINE LIMITED. Advertising enquiries: communications@butterflymaag.com Address all correspondence to: communications@butterflymaag.com No copyright infringement is intended

blessing

Garifuna Indigenous people of St Vincent and the Grenadines and Belize Interview conducted by Justine Pierre Migration Consultant in the Districts of Fancy, Owia, Espagnol Point, Sandy Bay Old and New, Sion Hill, Griggs, Rose Banks, Carib Village in Campden Park, Kingstown, and other places. These people believe that they were in St. Vincent and the Grenadines before Christopher Columbus and the British colonized their country. in fact Black people were in the Caribbean over 900 years before Columbus.

Indigenous history of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Credit: Akley Olton

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

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THE LIBRARY Credit: Black Heroes Foundation

Live Stream: The Story of Claudia Jones

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Notting Hill Carnival: Who Started It? CLAUDIA JONES (1915-1964)

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What’s on the Screen?

The Screeners’

TV Choice

Illustration by Wayne Powell (Jamaica)

WELCOME TO THE VIRTUAL LIBRARY

Welcome to our Virtual Library !

Feel free to browse around and choose any book to read, all you have to do is click on the book cover to get the link.

Enjoy!

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A Couple Married For 83 Years Share The Secrets To A Happy Marriage

Small Axe

The Old Guard Transform your viewing...

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Bad Hair

The Way I See It 12

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InstaMum

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Count the Moon, Sun and Stars!

Our Friend Martin Transform your viewing...

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OLDER CHILD

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Kanneh-Mason family on Britain’s got Talent

Black Jeopardy with Chadwick Boseman

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Black Classical Music – the Forgotten History

Most Likely to Succeed Transform your viewing...

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Hoop Dreams

Filmed over a five-year period, Hoop Dreams follows two inner-city boys as they navigate the complex, competitive world of scholastic athletics at a prestigious college, while also striving to overcome the intense pressures of family life and the realities of the Chicago streets.

Life after Hoop Dreams 16

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Uncorked

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Hairouna,

Land of the Blessed To have a unified identity from birth to death is to accept a comforting story or narrative that reinforces the self and its relationship to otherness. In the case of the Garifuna in St. Vincent and Guatemala it is less about who we are as citizens and more about what version of history we decide to accept. “Hairouna, land of the blessed�, is a documentary film that approaches topics such as the impact of the tourism industry on indigenous peoples, the right to land, climate change, food security and finally presents a new image of blackness in the West Indies.

Storytelling with the Power of Music Transform your viewing...

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Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins

Why I live in Jamaica 18

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Chizzy Akudulo on Strictly Come Dancing

ASK VALERIE Jenny Asks: Hi Valerie I know that boundaries are important in a relationship, the thing is, the more I like a guy the more I tend to get carried away and end up breaking them, how do I stop myself from doing that?

Dear Jenny First of all, you must understand that boundaries are good for you; they preserve the integrity of who you are and ‘fence out’ anything that threatens that integrity by not allowing it in. We set these physical, emotional and mental limits to protect ourselves from being manipulated, used, or violated by others. They allow us to separate who we are, and what we think and feel, from the thoughts and feelings of others.

When I was much younger I used to play ice hockey and the barrier around the rink not only protected the players but also the integrity of the game because we had to play by the rules set. If the rules were not adhered to you had to get out of the rink or if you weren’t prepared to play by the rules you couldn’t step in.

Guys will always test your boundaries. In this case it could be as simple a case as… you’ve said to a guy, please don’t call me after 10pm. The guy calls you after 10pm. You take the call and you are now complicit in the breaking of your If you don’t respect your own own boundary. boundary, why should he? You stop yourself by fully understanding why maintaining boundaries

get you to feel how you want in a relationship.

They’re an act of self-love. So stop the selfsabotage and buy into your own standards and not others.

I share 32 tips around boundaries here.

Boundaries

Valerie is also offering her readers a complimentary vibes check consultation call at:

We would love to hear from you!

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Freedom is Mine

israel

BY FAYIDA JAILLER

Israel Ethiopian National Project by @enpisrael

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he African diaspora in Israel is predominantly comprised of Jews of Ethiopian descent. The Ethiopians Jewish community is called Beta Israel and has existed for over 1,600 years, dating back to at least the 4th century.

There are approximately 150,000 people in the Beta Israel community today, the majority of whom live in Israel following a massive expatriation process at the end of the 20th century.

Throughout the 1980s and Israel 1990s the Israeli government Operation mounted several rescue operations Moses Israel to expatriate Ethiopian Jews who Ministry of Foreign Affairs were facing religious persecution, famine and civil war, in accordance with the Zionist dream of Israel being a safe haven for Jews. However, upon arriving in Israel many Beta Israel faced racism and lack of empathy from the greater Israeli population.

Even though a whole generation of EthiopianIsraelis have now been born and raised on Israeli soil, some argue that they continue to be treated as second-class citizens in Israel. The numerous protests and violent clashes between Ethiopian Jews and the Israeli police in recent years indicates that they have not successfully been accepted and integrated into wider Israeli society. The unrest is the result of decades of frustration at the unjust treatment the community has received.

Ethiopian-Israeli young people have a lower attendance rate in school than the Israel woman

by Jesse Dyer

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Israel Ethiopian protest 2016 Middle East Ey e

general population, they face higher rates of unemployment and restricted access to public resources. EthiopianIsraelis also face higher levels of poverty than the general population and are more likely be to stopped and searched, arrested and incarcerated.

That said, there have been small signs of progress in certain areas. At the beginning of 2020 it was announced that the Chief Rabbinate Council of Israel reconfirmed the recognition of Ethiopia’s Beta Israel as Jewish after officials continued to question their heritage 45 years after the initial ruling.

The Ethiopian National Project is a partnership of organisations that the Government of Israel and the Ethiopian-Israeli commu nity in its mission to help integrate Ethiopian-Israelis into Israeli society.

Welcome to the Disruptor

To be a disruptor in business is to create a product, service, or way of doing things which displaces the existing market leaders and eventually replaces them at the helm of the sector. [`the disruptor]

Less Talk More Action

Jamaica-Born Woman Fulfils Dream of Opening Hair Salon in Derby

The largest hotel in

Africa

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It Takes A Village to Raise A Child Living Together This is what happens when Black people decide to pool their resources and work together to leave a legacy for generations.

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Learn About Farine Production in St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Organic Farming in Jamaica Transform your viewing...

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Leaving A City Job To Become A Snail Farmer In London

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Cameroon Entrepreneur Reaps Big From Snail Business

Lenny Henry

More Than an Actor – Shines The Light On Black Classical Music’s Contribution to History

Sir Lenny Henry

by Martyn Burdon

Read the full story.

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edford-based artist, Martyn Burdon, has had his painting of Sir Lenny Henry accepted into this year’s BP Portrait Award. It’s the second time he’s been shortlisted for the competition.

The exhibition, usually open to visitors at London’s National Portrait Gallery (NPG), is temporarily closed due to the coronavirus lockdown. However, you can ‘virtually visit’ the exhibition via the NPG’s website.

Black Classical Music – the Forgotten History

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lead Story

Black Classical Music History

Shaping the World

The

Kanneh-Mason Family

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Credit: ClassicFM/Maddy Shaw Roberts featured on June 9th 2020

19 Black Musicians Who Have Shaped The Classical Music World We celebrate some of the most influential black voices the classical music world has known.

In a world that didn’t always welcome them with open arms, many of these wonderful singers, instrumentalists and conductors shattered racial barriers on the concert stage, and helped shape landmark moments in classical music.

From Nina Simone fusing the worlds of gospel and classical music, to tenor Roland Hayes becoming the first African American concert artist to win international fame, here are some of the most influential black voices in classical music history – from the 18th century to today.

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1. George Bridgetower (1778 – 1860) George Bridgetower, a once celebrated English violin virtuoso of Afro-European descent, was Beethoven’s protégé – for a short while. Impressed by his playing, Beethoven decided to formally dedicate his ‘Kreutzer’ Violin Sonata No. 9 to Bridgetower. But the pair had a spat, and Beethoven retracted his dedication – instead naming his sonata after French violinist, Rodolphe Kreutzer.

2. Thomas ‘Blind Tom’ Wiggins (1849 - 1908) ‘Blind Tom’ was born the son of slaves. By the age of 10, he was the highest paid pianist of the 19th century. Wiggins was a musical prodigy, and travelled throughout North America performing music

by Bach, Beethoven and his own works. He also wrote more than 100 piano compositions in a 19th-century parlour style.

Crucially, ‘Blind Tom’ was one of the most celebrated black concert performers of the 19th century, but in comparison to contemporary virtuosos like Liszt and Rubinstein, he is virtually unknown today.

3. Roland Hayes (1887 - 1977) Born in a plantation cabin in Georgia in 1887, lyric tenor and composer, Roland Hayes, was the first African American man to win international fame as a concert artist. Hayes’ voice caused a sensation throughout Europe and the US, and he became the first African American to perform with the great Boston Symphony Orchestra.

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4. Marian Anderson (1897 - 1993) Opera singer Marian Anderson’s extraordinary musical range spread from lieder, to opera, to spirituals. When she was 58 she broke the colour barrier by making her debut at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, playing Ulrica in Verdi’s A Masked Ball.

5. Dean Dixon (1915 - 1976) In 1941 Dean Dixon, aged just 26, conducted the New York Philharmonic at a summer parks concert, making him the first African American to lead the orchestra.

Over the next three years, both the Philadelphia and Boston Symphonies invited Dixon to their podiums.

6. Camilla Williams (1919 - 2012) In 1946, soprano Camilla Williams became the first black woman to secure a contract with a major US opera company, making her debut as CioCio-San in New York City Opera’s Madam Butterfly.

In 1954 she became the first African American to sing a major role with the Vienna State Opera.

7. Hazel Scott (1920 - 1981) Hazel Scott was a phenomenal jazz and classical pianist – and she used her influence to help make the arts a richer, more inclusive place for black Americans.

As well as being the first person of African descent to host their own network TV show in America – The Hazel Scott

Show – Scott was heavily involved in civil rights and she refused to take on film roles that cast her as a black stereotype.

8. Robert McFerrin (1921 - 2006) In January 1955, Robert McFerrin became the first black man to sing a leading role at the Met Opera, appearing as Amonasro in Verdi’s Aida. The great American baritone went on to perform in 10 operas over three seasons.

9. Donald White (1925 - 2005) When he was hired as a cellist in the Cleveland Orchestra by George Szell in 1957, Donald White became the first black musician in a ‘Big Five’ US orchestra.

But throughout his career, White faced racism and intolerance. During a southern tour in 1961, the manager at a concert hall in Birmingham, Alabama tried to bar him from going on stage. The orchestra declined to appear without White and Szell threatened to cancel the show, at which point the city’s mayor allowed White to play alongside his fellow musicians.

10. Leontyne Price (1927-) American lyric soprano Leontyne Price, 93, is widely considered the first African American opera star to achieve international success. In May 1960, Price made her first appearance at Milan’s La Scala as Aida. She was the first African American to sing solo in the hallowed walls of Italy’s most prestigious opera house.

11. Henry Lewis (1932 - 1996) The year was 1948 when Henry Lewis, a young double bass prodigy, joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic aged 16 and became the first African American instrumentalist in a major symphony orchestra.

Lewis made another first, 20 years on, when he became the first black person to become music director of a major American orchestra after being hired to lead the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

12. Nina Simone (1933 - 2003) A pianist with a remarkable contralto voice, Nina Simone was an artist like no other. She fused gospel and pop with classical music, and had a great passion for Bach.

Simone is now recognised as one of America’s most iconic jazz artists – but she initially wanted a career as a classical pianist. As a young woman she enrolled in New York’s Juilliard School, then applied for a scholarship to study at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute, where she was denied admission despite a great audition.

The young pianist called out the Institute for racial discrimination. In 2003, just days before her death, they awarded her an honorary degree.

13. James DePriest (1936 - 2013) When DePriest died seven years ago, the classical world lost one of the first African-American maestros to have taken to its main stage. DePriest was a pioneering conductor, National Medal of Arts winner and poet, who was at the helm of the Oregon Symphony for 25 years.

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14. Martina Arroyo (1936-)

17. Yvette Devereaux (1940-)

Soprano Martina Arroyo, 84, whose major international opera career spanned from the 1960s to the 1980s, is considered a pioneer and instrumental voice of change in breaking down racial barriers for black opera singers.

She was one of the first black opera stars of Puerto Rican descent to launch an international career, and the first black woman to play Elsa in Wagner’s Lohengrin.

Yvette Devereaux goes down in history not only as the first black woman to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic – as a guest conductor in 1996, see below – but also among the first women to ever conduct major orchestras really.

Devereaux, a violinist and conductor of African descent, was also the first AfricanAmerican woman to attain a conductor’s degree from the world-renowned Peabody Conservatory of Music.

15. Sanford Allen (1939-)

18. Wynton Marsalis (1961-)

From when he joined in 1962, to when he left in 1977, violinist Sanford Allen was the only African American member of the New York Phil, in its (then) 133-year history.

When he quit after 15 years, Allen said he was “simply tired of being a symbol”.

Instead, he pursued a new career as a freelance violinist, and has since worked extensively in recording film music.

16. Jessye Norman (1945 - 2019) When news of Jessye Norman’s death was announced last year, the Met described her as “one of the great sopranos of the past half-century”.

One of the rare black opera singers to achieve worldwide stardom, Norman performed in the best opera houses and with the best orchestras and conductors throughout the world, including at La Scala, with the Berlin Philharmonic and under the baton of Sir Colin Davis.

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Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis is one of the biggest stars in jazz, but his inventive and infectious jazz, gospel and spiritual-infused compositions have become some of the most important new works to hit classical concert halls.

In 1997, Marsalis became the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music with his oratorio Blood on the Fields. And it’s his violin concerto, a work composed for violinist Nicola Benedetti, that’s making waves today.

19. Sheku Kanneh-Mason (1999-) Sheku’s glittering career has been one ‘first’ after another. The young cellist first found fame after becoming the first black artist to win BBC Young Musician of the Year. Soon after, he went on the play at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, playing Fauré and Schubert to an audience of two billion.

Shirley J. Thompson

Composer, Artistic Director, Conductor Academic, Violinist, Film Maker Biography

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he music of composer Shirley J. Thompson is performed and screened worldwide and often described as “beautiful and powerful” (Le Figaro).

A visionary artist and cultural activist, Thompson is the first woman in Europe to have composed and conducted a symphony within the last 40 years. New Nation Rising, A 21st Century Symphony performed and recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is an epic musical story celebrating London’s thousand-year history, and one in which the RPO is accompanied by two choirs, solo singers, a rapper and dhol drummers, a total of nearly 200 performers. This extraordinary work was originally commissioned for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002 and the concept was latterly assumed as a framework for the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony. She has also composed extensively for TV/film, theatre, dance and opera production.

Thompson’s musical experience began with her playing the violin for various youth symphony orchestras in London, as well as choral singing with local choirs. After studying Musicology at the University of Liverpool and then specialising in Composition at Goldsmiths’ College with, Professor Stanley Glasser, her first major commission came from the Greenwich International Festival, when she composed a chamber orchestral work entitled Visions After writing several instrumental and vocal ensemble pieces, Thompson started writing for film and television.

Her music for the major BBC drama series, South of the Border was selected as a Top 20 BBC TV Theme in 1990 and her score for the film, Dreaming Rivers, earned a prize at the Mannheim Film Festival in

that year. She subsequently composed music for a number of television documentaries and drama programmes.

In 1995 she launched and directed The Shirley Thompson Ensemble at London’s South Bank Centre, her own ensemble of instrumental soloists, singers, dancers and visual artists. It was with this group that she created groundbreaking compositions which seamlessly integrate contemporary classical music orchestration with improvisation, as well as fusing contemporary popular music and world music styles. She also developed compositions that integrated video imagery and contemporary dance for the concert stage. Through her original compositions she has subsequently become a leading exponent of music performance with multi-media and has devised innovative arts education programmes including the exemplary, Newham Symphony Schools Spectacular for children ranging in ages from 7-17 years. The latter programme, devised in 2002, led to the introduction of the national education scheme, Every Child A Musician, being adopted in the London borough in 2010.

Music by Shirley J. Thompson has been commissioned for several royal engagements, including Commonwealth Day performing for HM Queen Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey in 1999, with her ensemble again for HM Queen Elizabeth’s summer party at Buckingham Palace in 2001, and opening the newly built Stratford Cultural Quarter with the London Gala Orchestra performing the Newham Symphony with Prince Edward and Countess Sophie of Wessex in attendance. In 2000 she was commissioned to compose a largescale work to commemorate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002.

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Bakita: KK

SPEAK YOUR

TRUTH Meet Bakita: KK

Overcoming self-stigma to achieve your potential

[

Bakita Kasadha is a writer, researcher, health activist and poet better known as BAKITA:KK.

[

“No one can tell our stories like we can” underpins her why.

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iChurch Black Theology

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COUPLES QUIZ Part 2

Soul Ties 34

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ers v n o In C

m a r Da e d A

ith

) 3 t ar P ( y

nW o i t a

Ade Daramy – Writer, Broadcaster, Historian, Editor, Poet, Social Commentator, motivational speaker, Media trainer, a man of many talents and a master of words.

Rebel with many causes BM: Why did you choose broadcasting as a career?

I decided to read Sociology for my first degree and went on to study International Relations thereafter. I then went on to work for the Civil Service and started my first role at the Department of Trade and Industry on 27th June 1977.

I happened to stumble into this, as I tend to find I do with many things that turn out good. Owing to my love for music, I regularly bought popular magazines back then such as Melody, Maker, Sounds and New Musical Express and West Africa, the latter covering the politics, arts and culture. However, I was surprised to learn that the reports did not cover events as and when they took place. One day, frustrated by the lack of live event coverage, I decided to go along to the events advertised, take photos and write an article for submission to West Africa. After all, I had edited my school and college magazines. Luckily, they liked my work and paid for articles they published! Then one day, quite out of the blue, the BBC contacted the WAE looking specifically for a journalist conversant in African matters. I was referred to the BBC, called for an interview and offered a role in 1984, as a producer and broadcaster. I was based at BBC, Bush House. Though I would soon grow tired of the negative narrative that was constantly being spewed out at the time, I looked back fondly on my ‘training ground’ years – where I had been editing magazines and debating issues at school, honing my skills and not realising they would stand me in good stead for a time such as this. I had also been fortunate to spend a brief spell at the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service introducing records and working with some of the country’s finest broadcasters of that age including one of the country’s best broadcasters, Hilton Fyle (it probably helped that my father had been Minister of Information and Broadcasting, up to the time of his death). While at the BBC, I carried on working for the DTi, in the Insolvency Service. I was then promoted and went on secondment as “Head of Communications”

role at the Cabinet Office’s, Charter Mark unit, just as Tony Blair became PM. In all, I spent over 40 years in the civil service.

What was my most challenging experience?

This was when the civil war broke out in Sierra Leone it was hard to be objective and report in a professional manner when you are emotionally involved. Even when the rebels moved into Freetown on 6th January 1999, and my brother was living there, I did my level best to report in a dispassionate manner, but it was a trying experience.

As a broadcaster at this time, producing written and visual content, it helped to have solid contacts on the ground like my brother, cousins and friends, who could provide me with invaluable and current information at the time.

Part of my remit also included writing articles on colonial architecture in Cape Verde, possibly one of my favourite countries on the planet – this also fed into my passion for architecture.

BM: Why choose the Gambia over Sierra Leone?

To be honest there was a third country in the mix - Cape Verde, for which I have a very soft spot. The idea of me retiring in the West was horrifying to me, so I started researching, having decided that come what may, it was going to be to a West African country. My family and I had been holidaying in Sierra Leone since the 1970s and holidaying in The Gambia since the 1990s. My father was born in the Gambia, so I would say a large dose of curiosity influenced my decision. As all of my forenames are Yoruba names, some of my mother’s people came from Abeokuta, I briefly toyed with the idea of Nigeria as a possible destination but that feeling quickly passed.

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My love for music I used to host a show called “My world of music” during my spell at Colourful Radio – I would receive a lot of favourable feedback from my listeners that my shows were intelligent and insightful. I would play music

by Sara Tavares, a Portuguese singer of Cape Verdean descent on Colourful radio and after meeting her in London, I decided to take her up on her challenge and visit Cape Verde.

Now here is country, which packs a very impressive punch as regards its profile. To my utter surprise, on my first visit in 2010, with my then-fiancée, I fell in love with the island and found myself making consecutive visits in years thereafter. I discovered and was hooked on their 3 day Baia Das Gatas Festival in August, as well as their carnival, in February where they have world renowned international artists playing Jazz, soul etc.

I was totally embraced by the locals and even found myself making an effort to learn Portuguese in an effort to assimilate. It is one of the cleanest countries I have ever visited, and they are a very patriotic people. I discovered that the children are taught about pride and cleanliness at school and a large emphasis is placed on arts and culture.

Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau fought together for independence from Portugal. Amilcar Cabral a freedom fighter leader, spoke about the importance of the history and education of the country. Cape Verde is one of most educated countries in Africa, with an 87.6% literacy rate striving towards 90%. The ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States] have pledged to locate their Renewable Energy Secretariat in the capital, Praia. Furthermore, the president Pedro Pires is a recipient of the coveted Mo Ibrahim prize. During one of my visits to the island, fortuitously one of my contacts a museum director connected me with one of the Government Ministers. I communicated with him suggesting an expo on Cape Verde in London to showcase their rich heritage of art and culture, which would have happened but for COVID. I had marvelled at the fact that the country had more and more visitors each year and yet most of them came for the beaches and sunshine and yet, there was great art (painting, sculpture), wonderful food and restaurants, alcoholic beverages, Pontche, Grogue and wine (according to my ex-fiancée, a wine connoisseur), that no one seemed to know about.

I was so impressed with Cape Verde; I stopped short of buying a property on the island in 2016 for purely 36

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personal reasons. The Gambia being the birthplace of my father and other reasons too personal even for this article, just gave it the edge over Cape Verde when deciding where to make my home! However, there is a possibility of relocating to Cape Verde, so watch this space.

Sara Tavares

What opportunities are there in broadcasting in the Gambia?

There is potential and had COVID not happened there was likely to be a number of people in the Diaspora relocating to the Gambia. However, in my view, the standard of education and thus the quality of the graduates emanating from the university is below par.

Therefore, despite there being a number of radio and television stations, the quality of the programs produced is lacking. At QTV, I introduced ‘The Week in Review’ – several key stories for that week are analysed in depth with a guest in the studio and viewers have received it well. However, there is a need for more professional people to come forward and, I can see this happening as more Gambians return home now that the media is freer.

The potential is great.

BM: Is there a gap in the market for a Black-owned global TV Network?

So here is a brief sketch of the current broadcasting landscape in the Gambia. Award winning QTV is owned

by Mohammed Jah, who studied engineering at Fourah Bay College, Sierra Leone, and whose father is one of the most respected Islamic scholars in the country.

QTV soon to move into a new purpose built TV centre, is already recognised as the most trusted news source in the country and we hope that what we do, will be a benchmark. We operate from our studios close to the capital and also have an online presence.

BM: Would you support such a network?

Any network, which is multi-faceted, covering a mixed genre from business to politics to the arts would get my vote. The BBC World Service and Press TV, the Iranianowned TV Company gets a lot of interest from Africans as they cover a variety of world affairs. My QTV show ‘The week in review’ is among the most watched for the quality of the analysis and we are looking do similar or better programmes, going forward. The objective should always be to try to elevate, not dumb down. The African continent is so rich in its history; art and culture that there should be an overflow of content to both educate and entertain.

Given the way our colonial pasts have shaped our present and, in some cases our future, I am sometimes dismayed as to how little of our history is taught. It doesn’t have to be stuffy it can be fun. Take Ethiopia for instance, from the famous musicians and churches, among the oldest in the world, the Jamaican community in Shashamene to the Haile Selassie story and the history of the Rastafarians – and that is just one country!

BM: What are your views on politics on the African continent?

From a young age I was infected by my parents’ love for world affairs. As a barrister, my father would regularly research legal precedents of international import and his interactions often went beyond the shores of Sierra Leone. My father also became a member of the All Peoples Congress political party and decided to contest a seat in the 1967 general elections, standing against an MP of 6 years. My father knew what was required to gain the upper hand – Newton was a fishing village in Sierra Leone and one of the things he did was buy trawlers for the local fishermen and they all voted for him! I was politically aware, even before the age of 12, reading political manifestos and Chairman Mao’s ‘Little red book’, which all of us had a copy of! I listened to the BBC world service and was therefore familiar with politics well beyond our borders. My father’s friends included the then vice-president of Sierra Leone, S I Koroma and the Guinean president Sekou Touré, so as a household our political awareness was high. However, despite having a good education and putting an end to British rule, politically the country was not ok, it did not feel like a true democracy. My family feeling disillusioned started to look outwards for inspiration, at South Africa for e.g. and seeing what was transpiring there with Nelson Mandela was even more disheartening. For many of us, we can romanticise if we want but, for our parents’ generation, some must be spinning in their graves at the lack of political maturity there is across the continent. There are still too many ‘monarchs’ and almost every leader seems to want to get in power and stay for life. The places of hope are way, too few.

For all my father’s political aspirations, one tenet he firmly stood by was to treat everyone by the content of their character, no matter how rich or poor.

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Part of the 80,000 crowd at Baia Das Gatas Festival in 2017.

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Relax

LAUGHTER GOOD FOR THE SOUL

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Credit: Don Law

Sports Arrow

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Credit: glen caven

A Jamaican domino game

How to Play

s e o n i m do 40

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YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED DOMINOES

UNTIL YOU’VE PLAYED WITH A JAMAICAN

ghaha

Ghana

Beyond The Return Ghana has a message for African Americans:

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Credit: The SistaShaniceShow

gambia

T

he African Diaspora Returnee Association is working behind the scenes alongside other organisation in the Gambia to ensure that changes with devastating consequences for the diaspora, are not included in the final constitution.

Following hot in the footsteps of Ghana’s discretion to grant 126 African diaspora returnees citizenship to Ghana, is the African Diaspora Returnee Association in the Gambia who are aiming and actively seeking to secure citizenship for all returnees from the African Diaspora, as a constitutional right. The founder of the African Diaspora Returnee Association is, Shikina Chinedu, set up the organisation to represent the descendants of Africans kidnapped from Africa and brutally enslaved by the Europeans during the African Hell-o-caust referred to as the Slave Trade. Now, the main focus of the works of the organisation is to provide a voice in the Gambia for returnees and make recommendations for change, including constitutional changes and they

are presently calling on the Gambian government to change the constitution to recognise diaspora returnees and grant them with citizenship and not to adopt a new thirty year clause that would prevent Gambian land and properties owned by the diaspora from being passed on as a legacy to their descendants. Mathew from Hyperlink explains what it means to him returning to Africa and how the current draft proposals in the constitution will kill his dream and devastate his legacy plans. Take a listen to the Star TV interview and hear why the citizenship and land proposals are important for diaspora returnees with land and property in the Gambia.

Gambia should take a leaf out of Ghana’s book.

UPDATE: IT WAS ANNOUNCED TODAY [23RD SEPTEMBER 2020] THAT PARLIAMENT VOTED 31 TO 23 TO REJECT THE AMENDMENTS PROPOSED IN THE DRAFT CONSTITUTION. HAD THE CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT PASSED IT WOULD HAVE PAVED THE WAY FOR A REFERENDUM. THE MAJOR ISSUE IS TO RESTRICT THE TERM OF THE PRESIDENT. FOR THE AFRICAN DIASPORA RETURNEE ASSOCIATION IT IS JUST A SET BACK.

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Credit: OTV,COAD,BLAXIT

Gambia Should Take a Leaf Out of Ghana’s Book And Give Us Our Birthright

BM: What his views on British or world Politics today?

I struggled to take Boris Johnson seriously and used to see him as a bit of a clown. Now, I can see it is quite a clever ‘act’. I vividly recall when I first came back to the UK and listening to a recording of Enoch Powell’s infamous ‘Rivers of blood’ speech. I joined the Labour party for its socialist values, back then and had a touch of the revolutionary in me, idolising the likes of Che Guevara, the Argentine Marxist. My musical idols reflected my political state of mind. I followed the ‘black and proud’ singers such as Aretha Franklin, The Jackson 5 (when wearing an ‘Afro’ was tantamount to a political statement, hard to believe now) and Marvin Gaye all sporting Afros and asking relevant questions like ‘What’s going on?’.

The conscious Soul music at the time really appealed to me.

Then reggae music started developing a ‘conscious’ edge, followed by Rasta-ideology influenced music. Isaac Hayes’ album ‘Black Moses’ – encouraging black people to the Promised Land was big hit. As was ‘Move On Up’, by Curtis Mayfield. Around the same time, there was a discontent with affairs in Africa and coup d’états started to sweep across most of the continent.

Over the ensuing decades it went through its fair share of turmoil, both man-made and otherwise.

These days, my current worldview remains centred on the continent of Africa. When it comes to hope for better days, the future is Cape Verde. This tiny island off the west coast of Africa encapsulates all that my beloved Sierra Leone could be indeed; the rest of the motherland could use this small island as its benchmark. Despite its population of just over half a million, it is teaming with possibilities and is so inspiring as a nation. Its emphasis on education coupled with its rich arts and culture tapestry make it a very attractive place to live. Since attaining its independence from Portugal in 1975, its political landscape has remained remarkably stable, bucking the trend of most other African countries. Most of all, its musical scene is quite frankly a thing to behold. Just one night out on the town to a live show, to experience the music and dance, which is a plaintive fusion of African, European and South American influences, leaves you wanting more. Music happens to be my first love and as I have been searching for that place to lay my proverbial hat, that place is likely to be Cape Verde.

And finally his divorce There was another curious incident involving Ade and his ex-wife’s lawyer. In the lead up to his divorce hearing, his barrister invited Ade to his home to tell him, he had done such a good job in compiling his case, that his role was redundant. His honest belief was that Ade was more than capable of defending himself in court and he could not in good conscience accept Ade’s instructions. Ade left and a couple of days later, on the train heading to Brentford and the County Court, ends up opening the carriage door for a woman, who he recognises as his wife’s solicitor, who then seemingly oblivious, sits next to him laden with papers on her lap, about to make a phone call. Ade happens to glance over and took a peek at the papers and lo and behold there he saw the immortal words ‘Daramy vs. Daramy’. His soon-to-be ex-wife’s barrister has ended up sitting next to him! She then proceeded to make a phone call to her chambers to enquire about progress in the case and during the course of that phone call exclaimed ‘… we are going to nail him!’, referring to her client’s then husband - the man sitting right next to her, Ade! They both alight the train, with Ade even assisting her with her bags before going their separate ways. Well, when they get to court, and the moment inevitably comes around and she ends up face to face with Ade and you can imagine how mortified she was. Throughout the ensuing proceedings, Ade maintained his equanimity, choosing instead to use those hurtful words he overheard her use as added fuel for his fight. Ironically, it turns out the defence’s case had so many holes it could have sunk the entire courtroom. Ade proceeded to systematically dismantle the defence case step by step, got his ex-wife to admit that she had actually fabricated her entire affidavit and won!

Twenty-six years down the line, they are on good terms, broadcasting is blessed with Ade’s professionalism and Gambia is his home and Butterfly Magazine ends its enthralling conversation with Ade a rebel with many causes!

BM.

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Last Word

No white saviours:

Meet the women behind the campaign

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