The Voice Newspaper: June 2022

JUNE, 2022 • ISSUE NO. 1931

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Bumper Issue

Celebrating our pioneers p23-50

72 pages

IN PRAISE OF BLACK MEN

Role models and fathers make us all proud

O

UR SPECIAL edition highlights black men who are inspiring children and changing the world.

We look at how our brothers are redefining what it means to be a black man in today’s Britain.

Read more › pages 4,5,6,63

BROTHERHOOD: (left to right) Idris Elba, Marcus Rashford, actor Paapa Essiedu and new Dr Who Ncuti Gatwa

Inside THIS MONTH

No excuse to take over British Virgin Islands Islands oppose UK takeover p10

ROUNDUP NEWSPAPER

News, views, stories & videos THE 10 MOST POPULAR STORIES ON VOICE-ONLINE.CO.UK

1. Black Pound Day store opens

Permanent outlet launches at Westfield shopping centre in west London after pop-up was a success.

2. Elders beat council at dominoes

Court victory over killjoy town hall officials who claimed they were playing the game ‘too loudly’.

Black Jews search for identity Unique challenges revealed p18-20

3. Search for missing twins Appeal for six-year-olds who thankfully were found.

Is the black church still relevant?

Montel Gordon explores p21

4. Another Jamaican deportation

Campaigners hit out at fourth charter flight as UK maintains hostile environment.

5. Boy loses finger in racist attack Welsh school closes as investigation launched.

6. Schoolgirl arrest was racist

Baroness Scotland the brave Former attorney general speaks out p22

Lee Jasper writes why police got it wrong in Stockwell.

7. Co-parents launch baby skin product

The inspiring story of their journey to entrepreneurship.

8. Lion bites zookeeper’s finger

Festival season is here Your guide to what’s on p60

Video of the gruesome incident in Jamaica has gone viral on social media.

9. We want answers, say parents of girl handcuffed by cop Police under fire over rough arrest of girl wearing hijab.

Driving ambition Golfers get into the swing p71

10. Amazing life of Equiano

Producer Mark Wadsworth helps preview new BBC radio documentary about abolitionist.

This issue is 72 pages

The Voice says Keep on believing

KEEP ON believing, no matter how hard life may get. No matter how bad things look — from the bank balance to the state of politics — there is always hope. And there will always be our ancestors willing us to go on, to keep the faith and keep pushing forward.

This edition is really all about our past, present and future — and most importantly celebrating all three.

We celebrate the Windrush pioneers who came to the ‘Motherland’ full of hope, but when they encountered hostility did not give up; they told their children to believe in a better tomorrow.

And look how much progress the black community has made since.

We celebrate the black men who are fathers, role models and providers fighting for their families and giving back to the community.

Despite all the forces that try to take them down — from schools to police to the world of work — our brothas are doing us all proud.

And we look forward with hope to a future free of systemic racism, which is the goal of the newly launched Black Equity Organisation (BEO), championed by figures such as teenager Athian Akec.

It might seem like an impossible dream, but Nelson Mandela said some things seem impossible until they are done.

The belief in equality, equity, a good quality of life and good work is a powerful thing. Ideas are powerful because they allow us to see the world as it could be rather than it is.

Our past, present and future — from our roots, to the trunk to the leaves and flowers, to the spores floating off to start new life — is bound together not just by history and culture, but by our faith, values and ideas.

These are more powerful than the values of corporations who only want to earn more profit, or politicians who only want to stay in office.

We’ve just got to put this power to work, which is what BEO intends to harness.

So let’s keep going, to organise for justice, equality and fairness — remembering the shoulders we stand on, giving thanks for all that is good in our community — including lifting up our brothas, and believing in the future.

Got a story? email us at yourviews@thevoicemediagroup.co.uk

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ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Joel Campbell E. joel.campbell@thevoice mediagroup.co.uk

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JUNE 2022 THE VOICE | 3

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

Congratulations!

THE VOICE pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II on her Platinum Jubilee. She is much loved by many. As she celebrates 70 years of dedicated service, we remember some of the occasions she was warmly welcomed in Africa and the Caribbean (photos: Getty Images)

2002: All smiles again, as The Queen meets wellwishers in Montego Bay, Jamaica. She is pictured in Sam Sharpe Square, one of six visits she has made to the island.

1995: Nelson Mandela and the Queen walk from the townhouse to parliament in Cape Town, South Africa.

Five years earlier, Mandela was released from prison on the fall of apartheid.

1977: The Queen inspects a mango as she tours a market in the British Virgin Islands as part of her Silver Jubilee celebrations.

1954: Ethiopia’s Emperor Haile Selassie rides in an open carriage with the Queen from Westminster to Buckingham Palace. The British monarch welcomed the Emperor on his three-day state visit.

1985: The Queen shares a joyful moment with children who came out to meet her during her visit to Antigua and Barbuda. She also visited the islands in 1966 and 1977.

1961: The Queen dances with panAfrican liberation leader and first president of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. Prince Philip dances with the first lady of Ghana Fathia Nkrumah, at a reception at State House in Accra.

2015: The Queen hosts a reception to present the Queen’s Young Leaders Award at Buckingham Palace. Leaders included 22 representatives from Africa and nine from the Caribbean.

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JUNE 2022

Celebrating Our Brothas

IN CELEBRATION OF COMMUNITY HEROES

WE DON’T celebrate black men enough. In this issue we will lift up our brothas, and highlight some individuals who are making a real difference in their communities.

On this page and the next we celebrate some of the many community heroes who are doing tireless work and advocacy.

On page 6, daughters share ‘what my father taught me’ and we speak to My Numbervator (page 8) about his work inspiring kids to excel at maths.

On page 63, we interview London-born childcare specialist Joss Cambridge-Simmons who is taking on a role not traditionally associated with men.

Danny Hibbert

Founder of Switch Sports DANNY HIBBERT is a leading sports and football coach based in White City, west London, who created a new sport called Switch after being inspired by the London 2012 Olympics.

Mr Hibbert told The Voice he was inspired to create Switch Sports after waking up from a dream and writing out all of the rules to the game within 20 minutes.

He said: “I wanted to create a sport that everyone could play together, as our sport can be played by mixed gender teams, all

ages and abilities.” Switch Sports is a combination of five Olympic sports including, football, basketball, volleyball, netball and handball.

Mr Hibbert runs the free local weekly sports group and also provides a free holiday club initiative, which he says is “bringing families of different backgrounds and ages together”.

The innovative new sport is proving extremely popular and has been registered as an official sport

by Top End Sports. But for

Mr Hibbert, what is at the heart of his community interest company is providing a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for locals in his community to enjoy sport.

He said: “We unite communities in a unique way, using Switch as the vehicle.

“We are able to make a difference in our people’s lives in different ways by providing a caring environment where participants look out for each other on and off the pitch.”

Kwajo Tweneboa Social Housing Campaigner KWAJO TWENEBOA, 23, is a full-time business studies student and a social housing activist, from Mitcham, south London.

He began documenting the condition of his late father’s home on the Eastfields Estate in Mitcham, and went on to also video the appalling conditions of several neighbours on his estate.

Mr Tweneboa has been highlighting the squalid housing conditions of tenants living in social housing on social media.

His campaigning work often leads to tenants getting rehoused in suitable accommodation or getting their long standing repairs completed.

His shocking videos show families living in homes across Britain with mice infestations, broken ceilings, damp, mould and broken toilets.

Many of his viral videos have featured families from the black community.

Speaking to The Voice, Mr Tweneboa said: “I travel the country exposing horrific and inhumane conditions tenants have been forced to live in by social landlords, in the hope that change will ultimately be brought about by the government. I’m just providing a voice for social housing tenant.”

Mr Tweneboa believes social housing injustice is hitting black families the

hardest and they are contacting him as a last resort, after being ignored and failed by their housing associations and local councils.

His work has rightfully propelled him into the public eye, where he has recently met Housing Secretary Michael Gove to discuss how social housing can be improved.

Dragon’s Den star Steven Bartlett has recently backed Mr Tweneboa’s initiative and donated £10,000 to fund his work.

Mr Tweneboa vows to continue to expose the inhumane housing conditions people are living in, until every family living in social housing has a safe and a clean place to call home.

JUNE 2022

THE VOICE | 5

Celebrating Our Brothas Sayce Holmes-Lewis CEO and Founder of Mentivity SAYCE HOLMES-LEWIS is the CEO and founder of award-winning mentoring organisation Mentivity, which is supporting and inspiring the next generation to be the best version of themselves.

Mr Holmes-Lewis explained to The Voice that he started his organisation because it was something he needed when he was young – while growing up on the once tough Aylesbury Estate in Walworth, south east London.

Inspired by his mother, his former football coach, and his executive headteacher, Mr Holmes-Lewis set up his organisation after experiencing two redundancies in 2013 and 2015.

He said: “I really just wanted to support people in my community and create a positive impact.

“We offer a club for children during half term and a holiday food programme, where we provide food for people that are really struggling because of food poverty. We offer sport activities and we do a lot of one to one mentoring in schools.”

Mr Holmes-Lewis exudes pride when speaking about growing up on the Aylesbury Estate and beams when he tells The Voice he has recently opened a youth hub just a few feet away from where he grew up.

His local Mentivity Youth Hub provides a safe space for children and teenagers to meet, social-

ise and engage in activities and sports and Mr Holmes-Lewis plans to bring his vision to other areas in London. He said: “We have two community hub spaces that are being developed right now and in the next six months we can have more young people coming through our doors.”

For Mr Holmes-Lewis, the reason he does the job is because of the “love of my community and because I want my people to flourish and progress”.

Mr Holmes-Lewis is also a trustee at Lambeth Tigers Football Club and is a notable and respected football coach of 23 years. During his career as a coach, he has worked with some of the top Premier League football players.

As well as his work with young people, Mr Holmes-Lewis is also determined to redefine what it means to be a black man in the 21st century.

He said: “I think we don’t have a definition of what a black man truly is because we don’t control the narrative, but we have to control our own narrative now and express to people that we are great, we are nurturers, we are fathers, role models and father figures to other people.

“We must keep doing what we are doing because this will impact people not only today but for generations to come.”

Daniel Morris Director of Programmes, Listen Up DANIEL MORRIS has an extensive background in youth and community work and is an established senior leader in the charity sector with over 15 years’ experience of delivering services to children and young people.

Historically, he has worked at some of London’s largest charities and established a renowned Pan-London Harmful Sexual Behaviour programme, which included a service for young men, focus-

ing on inappropriate attitudes towards sex and relationships Mr Morris, who is from Peckham, south east London, told The Voice his work in the sector has taken him from a grassroots level to a senior position, but his aim “to make a difference” remains the same.

He said: “My origins for stepping into youth work was to help young people believe in their power, broaden their horizons and realise their

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potential and that will always be my drive.”

In his current role as director of programmes at Listen Up – an organisation that aims to amplify the voices and experiences of minoritised and marginalised children and young people until all children are seen, heard and protected – Mr Morris continues to do the work which will have a long-lasting impact on the lives of so many vulnerable young people in black

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and ethnic minority communities. Outside of his day job, Mr Morris is passionate about giving back to his local community and is the chair of a community group called Friends of Leyton Square, which wants to re-open a popular youth club that was closed due to austerity cuts in the borough of Southwark.

He said: “We set up the community group and we are in conversation to take the youth club over.”

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JUNE 2022

Celebrating Our Brothas

What my father taught me

By Sinai Fleary

F

ATHERS PROVIDE so much for their children and families, with often little or no recognition.

For decades the ‘absent black dad’ narrative has globally plagued the image of all black fathers.

However, a 2013 report by the CDC in the United States showed that black fathers – whether they live with their children or not – are more actively involved in their children’s lives than any of their counterparts of other races.

Despite the harmful stereotypes surrounding black fathers, there are so many amazing black men who are providing their children with all the love and care that they need.

In this feature, The Voice celebrates the beauty and power of black fatherhood and the importance of devotion and principles.

Nattashar Roberts (nee Gittens), from Sheffield, describes her father as her “hero”.

Speaking to The Voice, she said: “I have loved this man my entire life.

“His dress sense is a bit old school, but not necessarily in a bad way. My dad is principled and hard-working.”

Ms Roberts’ father Samuel Gittens was born in Barbados in 1940, and is known for being “brutally honest”.

“If something doesn’t look or smell good, trust me he’ll let you know,” she said.

She said: “He loves God, his family, cricket and dominoes. I think the second and third points are interchangeable depending on the time of year.”

She said: “My mum recently passed away in January and my dad cared for her until there was nothing else he could do. That level of love and devotion is an inspiration to me and my husband.”

Primary school teacher Elisabet Coffi Rope, from Tottenham, north London, credits her father, Reginaldo Coffi Tomos, for giving her a sense of pride in her unique cultural heritage.

Ms Coffi Rope is a Bubi – a special ethnic group – who are indigenous to Bioko Island, of the Equatorial Guinea.

Speaking to The Voice, she said: “Home was always a safe place to be, enjoying and celebrating our culture.

My dad and my mum always made us feel proud of where we come from.”

MAN OF PRINCIPLE: Nattashar Roberts with her father Samuel

PILLAR

Ms Coffi Rope spent a significant amount of time living in Barcelona, Spain, which was difficult at times but said her father was a pillar of strength.

“We were raised suffocated in racism, as Spain was and still is predominately white, but my dad would take us to the most amazing places to eat, to run, to play, and always made us feel so special.”

Ms Coffi Rope still lives by one of her father’s famous teachings. She said: “My dad always told me and continues to do so, ‘everything in life has a solution, so there is no need to worry’.

“I love him so much because I have never met someone so caring, loving, knowledgeable and as ambitious as him. He has four daughters and he has always put us first. I love you dad!”

Sindiso Kayembe, from Lewisham, south London,

sadly lost her own father while she was a baby.

She told The Voice the relationship her three-year-old daughter Elsie has with her father has shown her how precious black fatherhood is.

She said: “I had a very limited view of what fatherhood and a father-daughter relationship was, besides what I saw on television and caught glimpses of from friends and family.

“Now having a front seat to it, I have learnt of how beautiful it truly is.

“The bond and care shown to her, even from a tender age,

moulds how she sees herself.”

Mrs Kayembe is of Zimbabwean heritage and her husband, Elie Kayembe, is Congolese.

She told The Voice her husband and daughter’s relationship has taught her there is much more to being a father than just providing financially.

She said: “I love how she looks to him for refuge.

Whenever she is somewhere unfamiliar, feeling tired, or just seeking a bit of peace, she goes to him, confident that he will fulfil her present need.

“They can be just sitting on the sofa, in their own world,

watching football, her tucked under his arm and you can see it, she is in her peaceful place.”

My own father, Matthew Fleary, is a kind, gentle and loving father who has poured so much love into me.

His warmth, guidance and deep words of wisdom have kept me grounded and focused and helped me to understand the true meaning of life.

What my father has taught me is to never give up, and to believe in yourself – even when things do not go your way, he will always say

“you must keep going”. My father is incredibly proud to be from Carriacou, a Caribbean island which is part of Grenada. Equally so, he has always embraced his Haitian and African roots, which has definitely helped to shape my identity and how I see myself in the world.

My father has not only given me life and my last name, but he has given me a profound level of love and support that will last a lifetime and continue with the next generation.

So, thank you dad, I will love and respect you forever.

SENSE OF PRIDE: Elisabet Coffi Rope, far left, says her father Reginaldo has always put his daughters first; left, Elie Kayembe with daughter Elsie; right, Sinai Fleary with father Matthew

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Caribbean Journeys FRIDAY LATE 17 June Discover London’s Caribbean culture, explore a new exhibition and visit the Museum’s galleries

nce Book in adva .uk o c . m u e s u m lt

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JUNE 2022

Celebrating Our Brothas

Mr Numbervator can get you even with odd maths

ROLE MODEL: Isaac Anoom as Mr Numbervator has won many plaudits for his innovative approach to teaching maths.

Inset, the maths comic Mr Numbervator: Equivalent Fractions was designed to engage young learners

Isaac Anoom has come up with all the right answers to make numbers seem so much fun. By Vic Motune

M

ATHS HAS a reputation for being the subject that students hate. It’s not uncommon to hear “I hate maths” or “maths is too hard” from students who are struggling.

Primary school maths teacher Isaac Anoom has won a reputation among students, parents and school staff across the UK for his innovative approach to sharpening the maths skills of students.

Anoom is better known as Mr Numbervator, a colourful character he developed, created and designed to teach numbers and maths.

As Mr Numbervator, Anoom has written and presented maths programmes on ITV, BBC 1 and Teachers TV. He’s also won a ‘Teacher of The Year Award’ and plaudits from the likes of former education secretary David Blunkett.

It was Anoom’s passion for making maths fun and engaging for pupils that the idea for creating the Mr Numbervator character sprang from.

“Back in the late 90s, the headteacher at a school in Brent where I taught maths allowed me to run a series of after-school classes based on maths. He wanted to raise the profile of the subject in the

school. One day, while doing a lesson with a Year 1 class, I decided I was going to stick numbers all over my clothes,” Anoom recalls. “I wanted to make the lesson visual and interactive. I saw the way the children were pointing and looking, and really enjoying the lesson.

One child said: ‘Look, it’s the number man’. I didn’t like the name number man, because it seemed to exclude women.

So I’ve thought about the word numbervator. The name worked and that’s how I created Mr Numbervator.”

News of his innovative approach quickly spread and led to an offer of presenting a Saturday morning maths show on ITV as Mr Numbervator.

Anoom’s passion for engaging young people with maths is behind his latest project, the launch of a new maths comic.

The venture was inspired by his work as a teacher at a school in Enfield. Anoom realised that because the reading levels of the students were so poor, their ability to understand mathematical concepts would also be limited.

“Children love comics, they love superheroes. If we could combine what they like with

BROADCASTING: Anoom is passionate about his new radio show being heard by families who cannot afford a maths tutor

learning through reading at the same time, that for me is the way forward,” he says.

He worked on the idea for a three-year period until its launch this year. The first edition called Mr Numbervator, Equivalent Fractions has been distributed to schools Anoom works with through his consultancy. New editions will be produced each half-term.

“What I want to be very clear about is that the comic is fun but it’s real teaching,” he adds.

“All I’ve done with the comic is to take the objectives and key learning outcomes laid out by the government so I’m following expectations and being creative with them. So the characters in the comic are children who teach other children maths as superhero mathematicians.

“One of the characters is a young black girl who’s the cleverest girl in the world when it comes to maths. A lot of girls saw the comic and said ‘I want to be like her’ because they

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liked her hair and the fact that everyone respected her because of her maths ability. Mr Numbervator is still in the story but it’s the children who actually deliver the maths.”

The birth of the comic coincides with another of Anoom’s new projects that marks a first. Earlier this year, he launched a weekly maths phone-in show called The Maths Show with Mr Numbervator on the north-west London-based Chalkhill Community Radio Station.

So far, callers have rung in from Zambia, Ghana, America, Spain, Scotland, Sweden and, of course, here in the UK. “There’s a lot of parents out there who can’t afford private tuition but their children have got a right to a good maths education,” he says. “That’s why I started my radio show.

Families who perhaps haven’t got the means to hire a tutor can get lessons free on the radio.

“Children call in. If they’ve got a problem with percentages, decimals or fractions, for example, they can ask me a question. And then I teach them how to do it live on the radio.”

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The right solution THROUGH HIS Mr Numbervator maths consultancy, Anoom has worked with hundreds of teachers and schools around the country.

A key part of that work is supporting black pupils who are struggling with the subject.

“There was one school where I worked which had a group of about 12 black boys,” he says.

“The headteacher told me they were all going to fail their maths GCSEs. “I said, no they’re not.

Give them to me for 12 weeks prior to their exams and I will make sure that every single one of those boys passes their GCSE. “There was one condition which was that parents had to be present on a Saturday morning for classes I held so that they could see how I was engaging with their children.

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“Every single one of those 12 boys passed their GCSE, and with A and B grades.

“More recently, a school asked me to run a black girls-only maths group. The girls have just done their SATs. “The headteacher said to me she had every confidence the girls were going to get the highest possible marks because she saw the big change in them after I started working with them.”

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The first major exhibition on the Caribbean textile designer who transformed British design

Althea McNish 2 April – 11 September 2022 Free entry William Morris Gallery, Forest Road, London E17 4PP

Colour is Mine Photo: Bill Patterson. Courtesy N15 Archive.

The Althea McNish Collection

10 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

News feature

BRITS ‘WANT TO TAKE OVER CARIBBEAN TAX HAVEN’ Trillion-pound British Virgin Islands gears up to resist Boris Johnson’s plan to impose direct rule. By Sinai Fleary

B

RITAIN WANTS to impose direct rule on the British Virgin Islands to protect over £1 trillion stashed away in the tax haven, according to BVI residents.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is still considering taking over the Caribbean nation, even though BVI’s parliament has removed the pretext for Britain to intervene after a new island government was agreed.

BVI, which was revealed as the top spot in the world for the wealthy to hoard billions in the ‘Panama Papers’, is self-governing, but relies on Britain for defence and security.

But islanders say neither defence nor security is under threat after BVI established a new government following the arrest of its former premier, Andrew Fahie, in Miami, Florida, following a drug sting operation.

ASSETS

A 2019 report by Bloomberg said the BVI is home to more than 400,000 companies that hold $1.5 trillion in assets, despite only having a population of 30,000 people.

Former BVI civil servant Amberly Crabbe, who worked for the International Affairs Secretariat, later the Immigration Department, told The Voice any plans of “going back to the colonial days” will not go down well.

We have built this country and it is very unfair that after we built it, you decide to take it over “We had one of the first known freed plantations in the entire Western Hemisphere here coming out of the Virgin Islands and we don’t sit by and accept things very lightly,” she said.

“We have built this country and it is very unfair that after we built it, you decide to come back and now take it over.”

She believes the enormous wealth stored on the island is the real reason Britain is determined to rule the territory, and not because there is a lack of good governance.

“Our issues come from things that the UK are responsible for, ultimately. The thing that we have direct control and responsibility for is our financial services product and that is intact.

“But what you are trying to do is go after that in the name of good governance.”

Crabbe, now an entrepreneur, added: “If you look at the UK, they have their own problems and no one is calling for the sus-

PLACE OF BEAUTY: Long Bay, Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands; right, the islands’ flag bears an image of a white woman, circled (photos: Getty Images); inset below left, Bishop John Cline pension of their constitution and no one is calling for a dismantlement of their democracy. So why is it even being a suggestion or a recommendation for us?”

There is widespread concern in the island that the UK government-appointed head of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Fahie affair, British judge Sir Gary Hickenbottom, made “sweeping generalisations” about the territory.

Crabbe said: “We have been mobilising the people on the ground to voice their concerns about the recommendations coming out of the CoI — specifically A1 which deals with the suspension of our constitution.

“We are completely against that and I don’t think that decision will be received very well, whether locally or in the region.”

The Foreign Secretary’s office told The Voice it will make an announcement on the next steps needed to improve governance in the BVI, with the Governor, in due course.

However, Crabbe, pictured inset right, said if Britain pressed ahead with its plans, there would

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be resistance not only in BVI but across the Caribbean after a number of Caribbean nations have reached out to activists in BVI. She believes the current pro-republic and anti-colonial movement sweeping the region is also influencing the support being offered to her country from its Caribbean neighbours.

“The view is, you’re going to start with the Virgin Islands, but it is only a matter of time before it affects all of us,” she said.

The new Government of National Unity, is made up of the three major political parties in the BVI, who have joined forces to rectify governance issues identified in the CoI. The newly formed leadership has rejected direct rule and has now appointed a new leader, Dr Natalio Wheatley, who said “reform remains a top priority for my administration”.

There have been protests on the island against the prospect of

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Britain taking over the BVI, with islanders carrying placards condemning colonial attitudes.

Bishop John Cline, a senior pastor at New Life Baptist Church in the BVI, told The Voice many people in the territory believe this move by the UK is down to financial reasons.

STANDARD

Speaking to The Voice, he said: “In 2018, we organised a demonstration against the Beneficial Ownership Register being made public as it had not been a global standard anywhere else. We said to the UK then, we will comply with the public register of our financial services when it is a global standard.”

Bishop Cline claims the UK asked for “control of financial services” before and said any efforts whether they are “direct or indirect” towards the BVI were all about money. “The UK is fully aware of the contribution the

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financial services make to our national budget, one can only conclude, at best wonder, why they are taking these positions and they do not make those demands or requests of the Channel Islands or they don’t do it with Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man — that will lead me to conclude they are after the financial services.”

Bishop Cline branded the plans as “the old colonial mindset of the British”.

The BVI Financial Services Commission is the Territory’s single regulatory authority for financial services business. The Commission authorises and licences entities and persons to conduct financial services business in compliance with relevant BVI legislation.

According to a statement released by BVI’s Financial Service Commission: “The CoI, whose report has just been published, has described the Commission as ‘an example of statutory board which has policies in place to promote good governance’ and consequently did not see the ‘need to call for oral evidence on’ its activities”.

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News feature

Young leader inspiring a new civil rights campaign London-based teenager Athian Akec says he is calling for an intergenerational approach to tackling issues of systemic racism and injustice. By Lester Holloway

A

NEW CIVIL rights campaign must be an inter-generational struggle for racial justice, according to a young community leader.

Nineteen-year-old Athian Akec said he was hopeful the newly launched Black Equity Organisation (BEO) would turn ideas for change into a concrete plan.

AIM

Akec, who is one of the founding BEO board members, spoke at the civil rights group’s online launch on the twoyear anniversary of the racist murder of George Floyd, which sparked protests in Britain and the US, and created the Black Lives Matter movement.

BEO, which is backed by a range of influential black professionals and celebrities, launched with the slogan ‘Change Is Here’, and declared its aim as nothing less than dismantling systemic racism.

Akec, who is taking his A-levels and is a Camden member of the Youth Parliament, said: “As it’s about the capacity for young people to

bring more clarity and energy and ideas, and a sense of passion, to the movement, this is an intergenerational struggle in which everyone can play their role; recognising that coalition’s across generations are necessary in terms of fight for racial justice.”

Akec, who is also an anti-knife crime campaigner, added: “I think we can’t confuse energy with the capacity to tackle years and years of systemic racism.

“BEO can play a pivotal role in terms of turning ideas for change into things that are practical and applicable to push us forward into a longer term movement against racism in the UK.” BEO is backed by a range of top companies to dedicate unprecedented resources to the goal of scaling-up the fight for racial justice across six areas: economic empowerment; justice and immigration; representation and respect; education; housing; and health and wellness.

The organisation is backed by several prominent public figures, including TV historian

CHANGE IS HERE: Athian Akec, also inset left, is a founding member of the Black Equity Organisation board; Inset below left, Akec addressing the Youth Parliament as member for Camden; inset below, Dame Vivian Hunt (photo: Getty Images)

Professor David Olusoga, playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah, and Labour’s shadow foreign secretary David Lammy, and is already supported by a host of top companies.

BEO aims to tackle racial disparities such as home ownership and unemployment rates, which have barely improved despite the Black Lives Matter protests.

LAW

They also plan to launch “strategic litigation” court cases to improve the law with the support of Magic Circle law firms.

The new body has also been backed by TV broadcaster Sky, consultants McKinsey, and communications firm WPP. Chantelle Lunt, from Merseyside BLM Alliance, said: “It’s inspiring, and it gives me hope that there are people who have walked this path before us who are going to help and say ‘we’ve got the resources, we’ve got those networks’, and ‘we’re not going to be all paternalistic’, but actually open up the doors and saying, ‘come in, we want to speak to you, we want to listen and above all, we want to help and support you’.”

For more information, visit: blackequityorg.com

@thevoicenewspaper

BEO chair Dame Vivian Hunt says...

WHEN THE Black Lives Matter movement occurred and the statue of Edward Colston was toppled, we realised we needed a more authoritative national civil rights organisation.

Our goal is to be a consistent evidence base dedicated to closing the gap, so that black Britons reach their full potential, and so that what’s really happening with black Britons informs policy and change going forward.

There are many good solutions and good organisations all across the country that are doing excellent work, but the work doesn’t scale.

We want to help community-based organisations in the black community who have good solutions, raise more money and scale, we can be a convening organisation

@thevoicenews

and a conduit. Less than one per cent of all venture capital in the UK goes to black British [entrepreneurs]; we don’t have any capital. If you want to build wealth, any business in this country will tell you that you need a capital base.

If you look at the disproportionately lower rate of home ownership of black Britons; owning your home is the primary source of wealth for most people, so if you don’t have an asset of any kind, be it a pension or home, it’s very

voicenews

hard to have savings. The launch of BEO is an invitation for us to come together in areas where the community has experience and expertise — in housing, health care, legal areas — and direct strategic efforts to make change.

We want the organisation to be financially resilient and independent, because most organisations are struggling with their resources and don’t know where the next programme money is coming from.

We want to be independent of government so that we can use evidence and challenge, but also help any government of the day who wants to do the right thing for the black community.

Dame Vivian Hunt spoke to Lester Holloway

www.voice-online.co.uk

JUNE 2022

THE VOICE| 13

14 | THE VOICE

JUNE 2022

Dotun Adebayo

Join the debate online voice-online.co.uk/opinion

News

Rate him or hate him - you can’t ignore him!

She’s our Windrush queen ­­

PARTY GIRL: The young Princess Elizabeth dancing in Canada in 1951, before she became Queen. Inset below, Alexander D Great (photos: Getty Images)

As Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 70 years on the British throne, her era is inextricably tied up with that of a new multicultural generation

D

ESPITE HER dodgy knees (well, she is 96 after all), I suspect Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has been tapping her walking stick away to UKbased calypsonian Alexander D Great’s Big Party For Your Platinum Jubilee song, which is as damn close as anything I’ve heard to being an anthem for the occasion.

Much better than that other one imploring God to save her and for her to long reign over us.

HRH loves calypso. I know that for a fact. Heard it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.

Back in 1999, the first of two occasions for which I was invited to Buckingham Palace.

One of the other guests was an old Trinny pan player from the BT Steel Orchestra and he regales me with tales of having played at the Palace for Her Majesty six times and having played at Highgrove for Prince Charles five times.

At first, I thought he was having a laugh and then the Queen appeared and he was the first of the 800 guests that she went up to and started asking him how his wife and kids were. No word of a lie.

I shouldn’t have been sur-

HRH loves calypso.

I heard it from the horse’s mouth prised because, let’s face it, HRH is the Windrush queen and has been for the totality of her 70 years on the throne.

The ship’s arrival at Tilbury docks in June 1948 as, after all, a preamble to her ascendancy to the throne.

FIESTA

The 491-odd passengers from the Caribbean on the ship was the first salvo of empire citizens who would lay the foundation for the new Elizabethan era in which a drab and dreary country would be transformed into a colourful multi-cultural fiesta of joyousness. It was what Britain needed after a long and drawn out war and the fatigue that had set in subsequently.

So when the greatest calypsonian of them all, Lord Kitchener, disembarked from the ship with his fellow passengers and entertained the gathered press who had come to record the exotic immigrants that the Windrush had brought over, with an impromptu rendition of London Is The Place For Me, which he seemed to have composed on the spot, it was preempting the change that was to come in the United Kingdom in the upcoming reign of the young Princess Elizabeth.

And so, it was that her cor-

onation in 1953 would be recorded for posterity by another great calypsonian, Young Tiger, just a few years after the Windrush brought this first salvo of post-war immigrants from the tropics to the motherland.

In contrast to the sombre dirges that had been scheduled and were played at the actual ceremony at Westminster Abbey on June 2 1953 (music by the celebrated composers such as Henry Purcell and Edward Elgar and Vaughan Williams and George Frederic Handel), all of which have been forgotten as a soundtrack to this once in a lifetime occasion, Her Majesty must be reflecting and thanking the Lord for Young Tiger, whose record of the event remains the most memorable account of her big day.

Her Majesty looked really divine In her crimson robe furred with ermine the Duke of Edinburgh dignified and neat Sat beside her as Admiral of the fleet Troops from dominions and colonies Australia, New Zealand and the West Indies India, Ceylon, West Africa Newfoundland, Gibraltar and Canada They were there At the coronation I was there At the coronation I can tell you from firsthand experience that being the ‘Windrush queen’ is a role that Her Majesty has rejoiced in these 70 years. I was the second person that she warmed to tat that gathering of 800 guests.

After her natter with the old Trinny, she then turned to me and was full of joy in our conversation. Remember, she was in her eighties at this point and,

to be frank, I had never had a conversation with an eighty year old white woman who didn’t know me from Adam which had filled me with the belief that she was proud to be

generation to this United Kingdom. So when a later calypsonian, Lord Invader, complained about the bad bwoy business of the juvenile hooligans of the 1950s who were ‘causing

She has, for the most part, been a beacon of the ties that bind the Windrush generation to the UK part of OUR story. Windrush is OUR story, but she is part of that story, and she takes her part as seriously as she takes being the head of the Commonwealth. Unlike her predecessor Elizabeth I, she has not shown her displeasure at the number of ‘blackamoores’ on the streets of London.

On the contrary she has, for the most part, been a beacon of the ties that bind the Windrush

panic in England’ with all their violence and robbery, it was to Her Majesty’s government that he appealed to bring back corporal punishment, the old ‘cato-nine’ whip and to send those teddy boys to Dartmoor (prison) ‘with licks like fire’.

All of this is not to say Her Majesty has been infallible to the Windrush generation. I wouldn’t be surprised if she is kept awake at nights by her re-

grets in not publicly showing her compassion to the 13 (later 14) children that died in the New Cross Fire. To what extent she is personally culpable for that error of judgment, I will leave to you to decide.

But just as we who are the Windrush generation, or the children of the Windrush generation, or the children’s children of the Windrush generation are still who we are warts and all, so is Her Majesty still the ‘Windrush queen’ — warts and all.

It is no surprise then that, in the words of Alexander D Great’s Big Party For Your Platinum Jubilee that “the whole of the commonwealth want to drink your Majesty’s health” on this 74th anniversary of the Windrush.

Big up your Majesty — our ‘Windrush queen’.

DOTUN ADEBAYO, BRITAIN’S MOST CELEBRATED BLACK BROADCASTER, IS KNOWN AS THE KING OF THE NIGHTTIME AIRWAVES. ALL VIEWS HERE ARE HIS OWN. LISTEN TO HIM OVERNIGHT ON BBC 5 LIVE FROM 1-5AM SATURDAY MORNINGS - MONDAY MORNINGS & 1AM - 4AM ON BBC RADIO LONDON (WEDNESDAY TO FRIDAY MORNINGS). FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER: @dotunadebayo

JUNE 2022

THE VOICE | 15

News

BLACK PARENTS STAND UP

Diane Abbott’s popular black child conference returns.

By Lester Holloway

T

HE RETURN of Diane Abbott’s popular Conference for the Black Child comes at a crucial time, following controversies over the strip searches of Child Q and Olivia.

The legendary MP said the new conference, targeted at black parents, was important to stop the criminalisation of black children by police in schools.

The event takes place on Saturday June 11 (see details below) over a decade after former London mayor Boris Johnson scrapped it.

Speaking to The Voice, the Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington said the community needed to discuss solutions to the exclusions-toprison pipeline.

“There is a continuum be-

tween being marginalised or brutalised in a schools context and ending up in the criminal justice system, and I think police want to be in school as part of a criminal justice system push,” she said.

“It’s not really about helping the school community at all.”

TRAUMATISING

The strip-search in school of Child Q, a 15-year-old girl who was menstruating at the time, raised issues not only about the unnecessary traumatising of the child but also about the experience of black parents, Abbott said.

“They [teachers] called the police before. And it feels as if because the mother, after the first police intervention, went to school to complain, the second police intervention was quite punitive. It’s almost like saying to the mother ‘this is what we can do to your child’.

“So the Child Q issue is very much about black parents and how they’re treated in the school system.”

The strip-

IMPORTANT DATE: Diane Abbott’s Conference for the Black Child, inset below left, will be held on Saturday June 11 search of Child Q led to large street protests in Hackney, where the incident took place in 2020.

The case came to light after a safeguarding review found that racism and adultification of black children was a factor in the child’s treatment.

It then emerged that 25 intimate searches were conducted by police on children in schools in that borough in the same year, 23 children were black and in almost all cases, nothing incriminating was found.

Other cases that have provoked widespread concern in the black community include Olivia (not her real name), an autistic black mixed heritage girl who was handcuffed and had her underwear cut off in the presence of male officers before being intimately searched. She was also menstruating at the time, and later tried to kill herself.

Conference speakers include educationalist Professor Gus John, Chantelle Lunt from Merseyside Black Lives Matter, social commentator Patrick

Vernon OBE, and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the teachers’ union NEU. The Voice are media partners.

The previous conference proved highly successful and was notable for queues of black parents around the block outside the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre in Westminster.

Abbott said: “So many parents saw what was a crisis for black children in the school system. It gave people courage who might have had a child who was struggling at school.

“It’s very easy to feel isolat-

ed, to feel demoralised, to not know where to turn.

“It was about coming together to share experiences and work on solutions.”

For free tickets, search

‘Conference for the Black Child’

on eventbrite.co.uk. The conference will be held on Saturday June 11, 11am-5pm, at Stoke

Newington School, Clissold Road, London, N16 9EX.

For more info, see Twitter

@BlackChildConf or search Facebook Events.

MP ‘felt like killing herself’ over trial condemned as a ‘miscarriage of justice’ CAMPAIGNING MP Claudia Webbe has spoken for the first time about the harassment case against her, saying there has been “no justice at all”.

The Leicester East MP also revealed the emotional toll the case has had on her mental health, and said the pressure made her suicidal.

Last week Webbe, 57, had her conviction for harassing a love rival upheld on appeal even though the judge accepted her accuser had lied in court.

The appeal judge massively reduced the sentence from 200 hours community service to 80

hours, and cut the fine from £1,000 to £50.

It emerged during the appeal that the prosecution had withheld 800 pages of evidence from Michelle Merritt’s text messages which proved she had lied in the original trial about not having a sexual relationship with Webbe’s then-partner Lester Thomas.

The Society of Black Lawyers condemned the verdict as a “serious miscarriage of justice” and an example of systemic racism in the criminal justice system.

Webbe, one of the most outspoken MPs campaigning for ra-

cial justice, has been getting calls from her constituents urging her to stay as their MP and she is believed to be appealing against her expulsion as a Labour Party member.

HELL

The reduction in Webbe’s sentence means ‘automatic recall’ no longer applies, but the left-wing MP cannot stand for reelection as a Labour candidate, and the party said they will be pushing for her to step down.

Speaking about the impact the case has had on her, Webbe told

The Voice she had been “to hell and back”, and the court case — plus the severe online racial and misogynistic abuse and death threats she was receiving — left her feeling suicidal.

“It’s had a huge impact emotionally, absolutely,” she said.

“I don’t even know how I’m still standing. It has had a toll on my mental health, of course. I have had suicidal thoughts.”

Asked if she had overcome that, she replied: “I hope I am.” l Read the full story online at the-voice.co.uk

IMPACT: Leicester East MP Claudia Webbe

TOP TIPS FOR A H ADVERTORIAL

16 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

• aged 25 to 64 and been invited for cerviAs a healthier summer is a happier sum- cal screening but not yet come forward, we mer, our key tips will help to boost your would encourage you to. The screening looks wellbeing as we all continue to do what we for risks that cancer could develop and offer can to reduce the risk of getting seriously treatment can prevent cervical cancer. ill from coronavirus, which is still circulat- • aged 60 to 74 and been sent a bowel cancer home testing kit, please take the time to ing.

Dr Nikita Kanani, MBE, is a GP in south- return it. It looks for blood in your poo that you east London and is Medical Director of Prima- may not be able to see a sign of bowel cancer. The bowel cancer screening testry Care for NHS England and NHS Iming kit is also being rolling out to provement. Dr Kanani said: “We younger age groups are so grateful for the support • aged 50 to 70 and been that people have given the invited for breast screenNHS, especially during ing, we would urge you the pandemic. to book your appoint“Unfortunately, COVment, to ensure we ID-19 is still with us catch any cancers and continues to make early. people seriously ill.

• a man aged 65 People aged 75 and you will be contacted over, people who live to come forward to in a care home for older screen for an abdominal people, or people aged aortic aneurysm, which 12 and over who have a can be very serious and life weakened immune systhreatening, tem, are invited to have • aged over 12 with diatheir spring booster of the betes, you are invited COVID-19 vaccine. If you Dr Nikki Kanani, MBE, for eye screening. have not had your first or Medical Director of Primary Care for second dose, or a booster NHS England and NHS Improvement Please don’t hold dose yet, it’s not too late, off coming forward. you can book today.

“Your NHS is here for you. We are making it Chinegwundoh adds: “Screening proeasier for people to have their blood pressure grammes are vital to our health, if you have checked and encouraging people to attend questions about what’s involved, or need help their immunisations and screening appoint- to access the screening, please talk to your GP or contact a cancer charity. We are here ments when invited.” to help.”

A HEALTHIER SUMMER

SEEK HELP EARLY FOR ANY WORRYING SYMPTOMS

If you have noticed something doesn’t feel right, or are concerned about changes to your body, contact your GP to have it checked out Frank Chinegwundoh, MBE, is a Consultant Urological Surgeon and chair of the charity, Black Cancer Care. Chinegwundoh said: “Please talk to your doctor as soon as possible if you think you have a symptom that might be cancer. For example, a persistent cough that has lasted over three weeks, blood in your urine or poo, frequent or urgent need to urinate, a lump or changes in your breast tissue, or a change in a mole, or a persistent sore. Whilst these symptoms might not be cancer, and for many people won’t be cancer, going to the doctor is the first positive step you can take. So, if you do have cancer, treatment can start sooner when the chances of good outcomes are higher.”

ACCESS SCREENING

NHS screening programmes can identify health risks and signs of disease that you can’t necessarily see or feel, helping to prevent illnesses like cancer or catching and treating conditions early.

IF YOU ARE: • pregnant you may be offered screening at certain times and once baby is born, to improve their health and prevent disabilities.

should have their blood pressure checked at least once every five years. However, I encourage everyone to check their blood pressure regularly, particularly as the prevalence of high blood pressure is highest in African Caribbean people.

“Local community pharmacies in England now offer a FREE NHS funded service to help identify people at risk of hypertension, offering them blood pressure tests with results shared with their GP practice so that potential diagnosis and treatment of hypertension is much easier and faster.”

LIVE WELL WITH A HEALTHY DIET AND REGULAR EXERCISE

KNOW YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE

In the UK around 5 million people have high blood pressure without knowing it.

It does not usually have any symptoms but increases the risk of serious problems such as heart attacks and strokes.

The NHS offers everyone aged 40 and over the opportunity to have a free blood pressure check at pharmacies across England.

Ade Williams, MBE, a Community Pharmacist and Trustee of Self Care Forum Charity explains: “A healthy adult aged over 40

The UK’s Chief Medical Officers recommend that all adults should take part in at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical (or 75 minutes vigorous intensity) activity each week.

If you’re aged over 65, it’s recommended that you undertake activities aimed at improving or maintaining muscle strength, balance and flexibility on at least two days a week. Remember to speak to a GP first if you have not exercised for some time, or if you have medical conditions or concerns.

A healthy lifestyle can help prevent or manage type 2 diabetes. If you are at risk, your GP can refer you to the free Healthier You NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme. This supports people to improve their diet, get more physically active and manage their weight over 9 months to reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes.

The NHS Digital Weight Management Programme (DWMP) supports adults with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or more (or 27.5 or more for people from Black and Asian backgrounds due to an increased health risk) to manage their weight and improve their health and wellbeing. If you are interested in accessing this free 12-week programme, please speak to your GP.

CHECK YOUR VACCINES

The NHS vaccination programmes have been protecting our health against serious, potentially life-changing diseases for many decades.

A range of vaccinations are offered throughout childhood – including the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine - which protects against serious illness and long-term health issues. If your child hadn’t had their first or second MMR vaccine, please book an appointment with their GP practice. You can also check their vaccines are up to date in your child’s red book, or with the GP practice, and everyone aged 5 and over can now be vaccinated against COVID-19. Routine vaccina-

Dame Anionwu has her COVID-19 booster

EALTHY SUMMER ADVERTORIAL

JUNE 2022

THE VOICE| 17

The UK’s Chief Medical Officers recommend that all adults should take part in at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activites each week

Dr Donald Palmer tions are also offered via schools, for example the HPV vaccine is offered in secondary school which can prevent some cancers.

Even as an adult, if you think you may have missed some of your childhood vaccinations, it’s never too late to check. You can speak to your GP practice about what you might need.

There are also vaccinations that are offered to older adults for example at 65 years of age, you are offered the pneumococcal vaccine, otherwise known as the pneumonia vaccine, and for shingles at 70. Find out what immunisations are offered when on the NHS website: www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/nhsvaccinations-and-when-to-have-them/

COVID-19 vaccination has been vital to protecting people against the virus and reducing the number of people seriously ill in hospital.

“The vaccine doesn’t contain the live virus, so can’t give people COVID-19.” says Donald Palmer, an Associate Professor of Immunology and Education & Careers Secretary of the British Society for Immunology.

“Our immunity to infection wanes over time, so even if you have had the virus, you still need to have all your doses of the COVID-19 vaccination and your boosters to build stronger and longer lasting protection against the virus and future variants.” added Dr Palmer.

He reassures people about how quickly the vaccine was made: “Owing to the worldwide need for a vaccine, everyone involved in the regulation of medicines came together to deliver the approval process more speedily. So, the COVID-19 vaccines, like other vaccines, still had to pass stringent tests.

“The other important factor is that researchers already knew a lot about coronavirus and

how to target it. So, they weren’t starting from scratch and a lot of the information was shared amongst researchers; highlighting the importance of ‘Team Science’.”

Professor, Dame Elizabeth Anionwu, was the first Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia specialist nurse in Britain. Speaking about vaccination, Dame Anionwu said: “As a former nurse, I am grateful to be vaccinated against COVID-19. I can now see increasing evidence that the vaccine is helping to protect people from being seriously ill and even hospitalised with the virus.

“Please, if you have questions about vaccination, or any aspect of your health and wellbeing, talk to a doctor, nurse or pharmacist, so you can get the help and support you need.”

TALK ABOUT YOUR HEALTH

Reverend Charles Kwaku-Odoi is the Chief Officer at the Caribbean & African Health Network (CAHN). Rev Kwaku-Odoi said: “Everyone who is unvaccinated is at risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19. CAHN is here to help people to understand more about COVID-19 vaccines.

“CAHN has Black health professionals who can also talk to you about your health and wellbeing, and where you can get help when you need it.”

CONTACT THE CAHN HELPLINE ON: 0771 002 2382 or help@cahn.org.uk It’s essential that anyone who is experiencing ongoing symptoms after COVID-19, contacts their GP, who can support investigations for any other possible underlying cause.

If appropriate, your GP will refer you to an NHS specialist long COVID clinic for support and treatment from a wide range of health professionals that can address both the physical and psychological aspects of living with ongoing symptoms.

The COVID-19 vaccination is the best way to protect against long COVID. Vaccination is available to everyone aged 5 and over, and is free of charge, irrespective of vaccination status or whether they have a GP. You can book your vaccination online at www.nhs.uk/COVIDVaccination or attend a local walk-in centre.

18 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

News feature

BLACK JEWS BALANCE

Having both melanin and Jewish faith brings unique challenges. By Leah Mahon

L

ITTLE IS known in the wider black community about black Jews in Britain. Yet there is an intersection of black and Jewish experience which black Jews say needs to be better understood.

Despite being small in number — making up just under 0.5 per cent of the Jewish community in Britain — their presence and history are remarkable.

In the mountains of northern Ethiopia, the Kachene and Semien Showa are reported to be the oldest and largest group of black Jews that dates back at least the 15 centuries. Sometimes still referred to as the “hidden Jews”, they were persecuted by Christians for practising a unique and ancient form of Judaism, before rescue operations throughout the 1980s and 90s during the Ethiopian war led them to seek refuge in Israel.

LINKS

In central Zimbabwe and northern South Africa, another tribe of Jews, the Bantu, practise a traditional form of Judaism.

Recent DNA tests unearthed a connection to the “Cohen gene”, which links Jewish communities around the world.

Lusaka in Zambia had a large Jewish community after the rise of the Nazis saw migration from Lithuania and Latvia. Today, there are less than 50 Jews living in the capital, but there continues to be smaller communities in Ndola and Livingstone.

The Abayudaya community, originating from eastern Uganda, have followed Judaism for more than 80 years, but they claim to

It’s like what I’m trying to do is intertwine the two sides together have no Jewish ancestry. A tribal leader’s conversion from Christianity to Judaism and its practices have stayed among them for decades. Today, the Abayudaya are still fighting to be officially recognised as part of the Jewish community by the State of Israel.

Similar to the Jewish community in Ghana, who claim they are descendants from the Lost Tribes of Israel, their customs and practices seemingly aligned with Judaism after its arrival in the country in the 70s despite a genetic link having yet to be officially discovered.

In southern-eastern Nigeria, the Igbo tribe is one of the country’s largest ethnic groups with an estimated 30,000 black Jews practising Judaism.

Kenneth Awele Okafor, an advisor on the JWS Young Advisory Board for Jews of Colour, is one of the many Nigerian Igbo who say their Jewish lineage goes back to the motherland. After spending his younger years growing up in Hackney to a Christian mother, and secular-traditionalist father, Kenneth tells The Voice his journey to discovering his heritage went handin-hand with his turn towards Judaism.

“There were stories about the Igbos having some kind of Jewish connections when I was being brought up in my younger years, but not in terms of Judaism,” recalls Kenneth, left, and as a young boy, inset above.

“My

first embracement of Judaism was when I was in primary school, when I went to a special educational needs class in Stanford Hill — it’s the area of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.

“So that was my first understanding of Judaism when I was seven years old. When I went on a trip to the library or a visit to the park, I would see a group of Jews. I used to ask questions to my learning support teacher who was also Jewish, a secular Jew.” Kenneth heard the stories of Igbos being the “Jews of Africa”.

Many Igbos believe they have Jewish heritage as part of the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel, which grew in precedence after the Biafran civil war between 1967-1970. The persecution of the Jews throughout the Holocaust and anti-black racism have been compared for decades, with the the Igbo Jews

@thevoicenewspaper

relating their fight for succession to the suffering of the Jewish diaspora.

Nigerian academics argue that the Igbos migrated through Egypt thousands of years ago, and that it was the Jews who embraced their customs when they went to North Africa.

But a controversial DNA study carried out by the Jewish Voice Ministries International, found the Nigerian Igbo Jews had no connections to Israel.

In search of his own identity while converting to Judaism, Kenneth says that he doesn’t believe that the Igbos are from Israel, but still claims the legitimacy in his black Jewish identity. He said: “I have a bit of Mizrahim heritage from Morocco and Algeria. I think there’s a bit of Middle Eastern through Yemen. My Jewish heritage is roughly like

@thevoicenews

10 per cent, and 90 per cent predominantly West African.

“There’s a lot of cultural exchange between West African, North Africa and the Middle East, but it’s not really presented out there for people.”

As a black Jew outwardly practising Judaism, Kenneth admits that his Nigerian-Christian mother was just happy he believed in “something” when he revisited the religion after studying at university.

He says his time living at the intersections of the black and Jewish communities has overall been a “positive” one, but he still deals with ignorance, including that black Jews are even in existence.

“I think in the black community, they don’t see that much of the Jewish culture. It’s a rarity.

Whenever I tell the black community that I’m Jewish, there are no issues, although you do get a random response like ‘you don’t look Jewish because you don’t wear the big hats’ and stuff. You do get it on one side and the other,” he says. “It’s like

voicenews

what I’m trying to do is trying to intertwine those two together. If I’m in a Jewish meeting or in a secular space, I tend to showcase my Nigerian identity, my black identity.

“But when it comes to religious philosophy which tends to be the Jewish philosophy or Jewish way of explaining things, it is different.”

When in black spaces, Kenneth says his relationship with the black community is often stronger because he finds common ground in reciting his knowledge of the Bible and of the black Hebrew Israelites.

The most frustrating thing, he says, is the lack of knowledge that there are all different kinds of Jews all around the world.

Although he says he’s never experienced anti-Semitism within the black community, the stories of black Jewish people over the years have often been fraught with the experience of anti-Semitism. Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan has long been accused of anti-Semitism, and conspiracy

www.voice-online.co.uk

JUNE 2022 THE VOICE | 19

News feature

CULTURE AND IDENTITY

LIVING THE EXPERIENCE: Black Jews may be small in number, but play a big role in society, say Dr Laura Simone Lewis, above, an African-American Ashkenazi Jew, and Zaki El-Salahi, left, a 13-year-old boy in Doha, also pictured far left, who was born to a British-Jewish mother and Sudanese father

theories relying on tropes have been promoted on DVDs sold in markets.

OFFENCE

In July 2020, The Voice reported anti-Semitic comments made by grime artist Wiley which caused offence at the time, and for which the paper apologised.

Zaki El-Salahi was born in Hackney, east London, and spent much of his early years with his three siblings dividing time between Doha in Qatar and life in the busy capital.

For him, he says that he had always known of his mixed identity with a British-Jewish mother and Sudanese father, and was just as attuned to his Islamic faith.

“My dad had worked in Qatar for a long time. He was living in exile from Sudan and, after imprisonment in the 70s as a political prisoner, he wasn’t able to return to Sudan for quite a long time,” he tells The Voice. “So, he found work like many Sudanese people in Qatar which matched

his career path. Whereas in London, like many black people there, jobs offered to him were just really low paid and very low powered jobs.”

“Mum and dad raised us from early in London to be very aware that we are Jewish, British-Jewish as much as we are Sudanese. My dad’s Muslim faith was quite strong. Dad very much has a strong faith, a strong belief in Islam. Mum, like many Jews, she’s atheist and you can be Jewish and atheist very easily.”

While living in Qatar during the 1980s, he admits his mother kept her Jewish heritage “much quieter” as conflict with Israel raged on. At the same time, Shabbat or the Sabbath, the Jewish day of rest that was often marked with a meal and a glass of wine, was something his mother grew up recognising.

Zaki says that Jewish rituals and practices mainly made an appearance at a cousin’s bar or bat mitzvah when he would wear a “rarely worn” yamaka, but says

the two sides of his identity were never at conflict with each other for himself, but rather for others around him.

“I can remember as a child of five or six years old being in Doha for school and suddenly in east London. I can’t remember any sense of Jewish identity coming out. My name conveniently rhymes with one of the most horrible racist names, so I constantly got called ‘Zaki the

school.” At home, Zaki describes himself and his siblings being raised as Muslim in a Sudanese-Jewish household as a “unique” experience that didn’t come without its challenges and only became more apparent as he grew older.

His mother and her marriage to a black Muslim man caused “tension” among what he calls the “white Jewish side” of his family. Anti-black racism meant he

I regularly have to gently challenge other people’s stereotypes. They’re not helpful P***’ at age five and getting a stone chucked in my face. That was my first awakening to realising I was different and knowing that it was wrong.

“But that wasn’t to do with my Jewishness, it was very much to do with being black in a predominantly white East End

and the rest of his mixed family were “actively excluded”, something he believes is common for families like his, and black Jewish families in particular.

While at university in the early 2000s, Zaki tells The Voice that he became politicised quite quickly and that in his

budding adult years his black Jewish identity became more pertinent.

He recalls how he was often left out of the Jewish celebrations and societies on campus, and that non-Jews of colour would have never guessed his Jewish heritage.

The term “Ashkenormativity” floats around the communities of Jews of colour often — the idea that white Ashkenazi Jews, from central and Eastern Europe, represent the “norm” within the Jewish diaspora. Sephardi Jews originate from Spain, while Mizrahi and Yemenite Jews trace their roots back to the Middle East, but whose religious customs even differ from each other.

Zaki, who now lives in Scotland with his young family, says that both black and Jewish communities need to learn from each other to see real progress.

A survey by ICM Limited in 2021 revealed that black British people believe Jews have a disproportionate level of power over the global banking system and

were over twice as likely to believe Jews had a disproportionate control over the media compared to the average. Both are anti-Semitic tropes.

For the global entertainment and music sector, 16 per cent of the black people questioned said Jews had disproportionate control, compared to seven per cent more widely.

HARMFUL

As someone that frequents black spaces often, both in person and online, Zaki says he often finds himself calling out harmful notions. “I regularly have to gently challenge people’s stereotypes.

We often talk as black people that ‘We need to do what the Jews do. We need to look after our own. We need to build our money, keep it within the community’,” he says.

“I often have to say that it’s not that straightforward. These are stereotypes and they’re not helpful because actually a lot of Continued on page 20

20 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

News feature

Black Jews balancing their identities Stereotypes and prejudice are major issues facing black people who are also Jewish Continued from page 19

Jewish people are working class.

A lot of Jewish people are not these white rich people that you imagine them to be. That’s one section of our diaspora.”

In 1966, the academic Vivian M Rakoff coined the term “generational trauma” to explain the experiences of hardship that still harbour deep remnants in family bonds until today. In Britain, relations between black Britons and the Jewish community can sometimes be fraught with the difficulties of a shared history rooted in persecution. However, the idea of “equivalency” in the traumas of the Jewish and black diasporas, says Zaki, won’t lead to better understanding.

The stories of his own maternal grandfather on his voyage to the UK in the early 1900s from Belarus, in search of refuge after fleeing anti-Jewish racist attacks by the pilgrims, is what he carries with him.

“They’ve known [my family] what racism is in Europe for a long, long time. So my own family has threads of knowledge and generational trauma, but also generational wisdom, and that generational wisdom in racism is a plague,” he explains.

“We have to fight it. So I know that from my Jewish side, because of what my maternal grandfather went through, their family and why they came to the

UK in the first place. And I always know from my dad’s side why he came to the UK. He grew up under colonialism in Sudan, British colonialism, and arrived in Britain in the 1950s.”

Dr Laura Simone Lewis, a scientist specialising in evolutionary human biology, was born and raised in Berkeley, California, and is both Ashkenazi Jewish and African-American.

Her grandmother fled from the Nazis – most of her family were killed – before finding refuge in New York. She agrees that despite the traumas felt by both diasporas, they are not the same

ATROCITIES

“One lasted for about a decade and the other lasted for like hundreds of years and built a country, built the infrastructure for like several countries,” she says. “And so I think there’s a deep acknowledgement that both of these were extreme atrocities, that Jews have been slaves in the past.

“Both communities need to understand that, yes, these atrocities happened, especially the Jewish community, because I don’t see black people equating slavery to the Holocaust that often. I see Jews equating the Holocaust to slavery, and much more often. Both of them were atrocious and, in both of them, millions of people died. And yet they’re not the same.”

She adds: ”Anti-Semitism is not the same as anti-black racism, and yet there are parallels. I think there’s power in finding those parallels and potentially joining these two communities together, but also while really acknowledging the differences in our

ancestries and our histories and our lived experiences.”

Kenneth, who now works with other young black Jews across the diaspora in Britain, believes creating a dialogue of common ground between the two communities is key to forming a better understanding and to increase the visibility of black Jews.

“From what I’ve seen, not only in the UK but the US, I think there’s a missing opportunity for black Jews or Jews of colour, black Jews especially, to be the central core to making sure those work together, because those black Jews experience the good and bad in those two community spaces,” he admits.

“It is a very disappointing moment to see that there is some kind of tension between the two groups, but I feel like the only common thing we have is that the far-right don’t like the Jewish community, they don’t like the black community.

“So things need to patch up, finding ways to build some kind of dialogue between the two sets of groups and just have this relationship going on.

“Passover came to an end and Passover is all about slavery, which is common between the black community and the Jewish community. It’s a shame that we can’t celebrate that story together because it’s common within those sets of groups that they were the victims of slavery.

Black people have pioneered in terms of craftsmanship and creativity, same with the Jewish community.

“We need something like that educationally, building a relationship between the two for the sake of our younger generation.”

Stephen Bush, a journalist and Chair of the Board of Deputies of British Jews Commission on Racial Inclusivity in the Jewish Community, led a landmark re-

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port into the experiences of Jews of colour living in Britain in 2021 after the murder of George Floyd sparked a reckoning on how anti-black racism impacts the global black diaspora.

The report set out to challenge factors including how black Jews are represented in leadership and throughout British media, while also looking at how Jewish organisations and schools

Voice. “The report envisages that in another year there will be a second report to see how we got on.

“But I am optimistic there will be many more positive stories in the second report than there will be negative stories.”

For black British and Jewish communities to exist in cohesion, he believes the crucial part of this lies in religious settings through-

Anti-Semitism is not the same as anti-black racism, and yet there are parallels were inclusive for Jews of colour that could ultimately lead to long-standing policy changes.

Now, just a year after the anniversary of its publication by the board, he believes that there has been change made not just for black Jewish people, but for Jews across all communities of colour.

“I’m very optimistic about the level of progress we’ve seen.

Every major denomination has accepted the findings of the report and produced an implementation plan for how they’re going to enact it,” Bush, inset, tells The

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out the UK where he says both diasporas have more in common than sometimes realised.

“I think relations are at their strongest when they are ecumenical relationships between churches and synagogues. But, of course, a lot of the British Jews happen to be Jewish people who aren’t religiously observant.

“And although the majority of black British people are religious to a greater or lesser extent, loads of us don’t go to church either.

“And so I think there’s still a

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lot of work to do to build greater understanding outside of that ecunemical setting also.”

Bush says although he understands the tendency to gravitate towards issues that affect one’s own community more, while existing at the often complex intersections of being both black and Jewish, the challenge is to bring people into real issues playing out in wider society.

“What matters is that people are experiencing racism and various other forms of prejudice and we should address it as and when we find it.”

When the UK was plunged into lockdown, he recalls how religious communities of colour came together to ensure people’s religious requirements were being met and were working together on things like planning permission to ensure a safe space for them all.

Despite not having a direct connection to these religious issues, Bush says they continued to have a wider “moral and spiritual effect” on black British and Jewish relations.

“That’s really positive,” he adds, “I think there are lots of lessons from that in how we go about campaigning against various forms of racism.”

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JUNE 2022 THE VOICE | 21

Montel Gordon

Join the debate online voice-online.co.uk/opinion

Is the black church still the centre of our community?

The church has played a pivotal role since Windrush – but is it time to campaign for social and racial justice?

A

S I sat in church one Sunday surrounded by the elders, I could only be grateful for their legacy and how the black church continues to be a pillar in the community.

With Windrush Day approaching, it was only fitting to commemorate the role of the founding mothers and fathers of the black churches throughout Britain in creating a hub and community for the black Caribbean migrants.

The emergence of the black Pentecostal church was necessary for the settlement of the black migrants to Britain in so far as they were a people who were invited yet rejected upon arrival.

We all know the story of the Windrush generation, their trials and tribulations coming from the Caribbean assimilating into a country both cold at heart and by climate!

The black church offered stability for the lives of many and the opportunity for spiritual and personal growth.

As the church grew in an

exponential fashion through evangelism and more Caribbean migrants, it became a spokesperson for the community, somewhat optimising the proverb “it takes a village to raise a child.”

The black church was instrumental towards the educational zeal of supplementary schools to contrast the perception of Caribbean migrants as ‘backwards’ and ‘educationally subnormal’ and learning about black history.

These Saturday schools were also a part of the church experience, and some churches provided learning support for their congregants that were lacking in school. The church helped galvanise a generation of miseducated black youth, paving the path to success in an overtly racist education system.

Financial initiatives set up by church members, such as ‘credit unions’ and ‘pardoners’, helped congregants buy a property and afford to send for their children back home to the Caribbean.

People would put money into a pot and draw from it as they

RELIGIOUS CHANGE: The traditional Caribbean church service is not proving as popular as it used to be, with the new ‘megachurch’ services, inset left, having found the way to attract the masses (photos: Getty Images) saved. No interest was earned or obtained; it was merely a savings system based on trust that each person can extract funds deposited into a pooled saving pot at a week’s notice.

The church was more than just a church; it was a home away from home – the last reminder of home and a safe place to worship and fellowship. In the 21st century, however, with Britain becoming increasingly more secular and religion not playing a dominant role in society, many people question whether the church plays a dominant role in the community.

More specifically, what is the role of the black church in society now?

The black church’s ‘ passivity’ over racial injustice and police brutality has raised questions about its role over the past few

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decades. Moreover, people have accounted for these reasons for their loss of faith in the black church. More so, their lack of activism on socio-political issues and applying pressure on the government and police over their unjust treatment

robust communities throughout this country, serving as a monumental and respected voice.

The rise of Black African migrants to Britain (particularly from West Africa) during the 1990s into the new millennium only increased the scope of the

The congregation helped establish robust communities throughout this country, serving as a respected voice of the black community at times. From the historical context applied earlier in this article, the church has been vital in developing the life of many black Britons.

The collectiveness of the congregation helped establish

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black church. ‘Infamous cults’ such as ‘SPAC Nation’, and Pastors who lead a “rapper lifestyle” with high-end designed clothes, cars and watches all in ‘God’s name’, conflict the influence that church has for allowing these falsehoods to emerge

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and exhaust influence upon inner-city communities. Today, the black church still has a role to play in the community. History seems to be on loop with the disproportionate number of black kids being placed in Pupil Referral Units which is reminiscent of the way black kids were branded educationally subnormal in the 60s and 70s.

Police and state racism is rife with the injustices of Child Q, the Rwandan immigration scheme, plus the hangover of Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020 still upon our minds.

The black church in the Windrush generation was instrumental in unlocking the potential of black youth and combating inequalities in this country.

Let’s not make their work and sacrifices be in vain.

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22 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

News feature

Scotland the brave hits back

Commonwealth Secretary-General — who was UK’s first black Attorney General, says she will fight on as Britain backs challenger to her job. By Lester Holloway

T

HE HEAD of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Baroness Patricia Scotland, has hit back at critics ahead of a challenge to her leadership.

Baroness Scotland, who made history as Britain’s first black Attorney General from 2007 to 2010, is facing a bid to oust her as Secretary General, with opposition led by Boris Johnson.

Last month the British PM, inset, formally backed Jamaica’s senator Kamina Johnson Smith for the top job following a string of negative stories about Baroness Scotland in the media, which supporters of the incumbent dismissed as lies and trivia blown out of all proportion.

A clearly frustrated Baroness Scotland, who was Britain’s first black woman QC barrister, told The Voice she remained focused on delivering for the 2.5 billion people in Commonwealth countries, and was proud of her record.

Right-wing blog Guido Fawkes, a strong supporter of the British PM, focussed on the Commonwealth Secretariat losing an employment tribunal case, which Guido said made Baroness Scotland a “law-breaker”, spending £63,000 on two policy advisors which the blog said was “staggering” and “excessive”, and the cost of refurbishment of her official grace-and-favour Commonwealth flat even

though the blog did not have any figures for money spent.

Baroness Scotland told The Voice: “I can’t control what people say; I only know what the truth is, and the truth is every allegation that has been made is a lie. If they want to spread disinformation that’s up to them, but I’m not going to let it adversely affect my commitment to the Commonwealth, which I am totally dedicated to.

“We haven’t got time for this nonsense; they should have better things to do. These people spreading tales, just come and help me with climate change, trade, domestic violence, to reduce suffering and deliver more peace. If you can’t, just get out of my way.”

Last month the British PM Johnson tweeted: “Delighted to confirm the UK will support Johnson Smith’s campaign to be the next Secretary General. She has the vast experience and support to unite our

BATTLE FOR POWER: Baroness Patricia Scotland is facing a bid to oust her as Secretary General of the Commonwealth, with Kamina Johnson Smith, inset, one of the favourites to succeed her unique family of nations and seize the opportunities ahead.”

The Commonwealth leadership will be decided at a heads of government meeting in Rwanda in June, where 54 prime ministers and presidents will pick between Baroness Scotland and Johnson Smith,

who has been getting rave reviews for her campaign.

Last month the Jamaican senator told The Voice she was not getting involved in the squabbling but outlined her vision for a Commonwealth which levered more finance for development to alleviate the

impact of climate change. Baroness Scotland is also proud of her record on climate change, setting up a Climate Finance Access Hub, a Blue Charter to clean up the oceans, and an Innovation Hub to pool the sharing of technology across the Commonwealth states.

‘Heartbreak’ as African and Caribbean graduates left out of new UK work visa A NEW visa giving international graduates the opportunity to work in the UK before receiving a job offer has come under fire from academics for failing to include students from universities in Africa and the Caribbean.

The High Potential Individual Scheme was rolled out by the Home Office for people who have graduated from higher education (HE) institutions in the past five years from what is dubbed as some of the world’s most elite universities.

Undergraduate and PhD holders will now be able to start a new life in the UK

for up to three years without being required to have a job in the pipeline for them.

The universities listed from global league tables include Harvard University and Princeton University in the US and Kyoto University in Japan as well as other HE institutions in Switzerland and Australia.

PROCESSES

Dr Amina Ahmed El-Imam, a lecturer at the University of Ilorin in Nigeria, said the move by the Home Office was “heartbreaking” as black graduates stand

to be disproportionately affected by the decision.

She said: “As someone from Nigeria who did their PhD in Britain, it’s heartbreaking to see that there are still processes being put in place that inadvertently exclude Africans.

“Does this visa mean that there are no individual graduates from African universities with high potential?”

It comes after the University of the West Indies (UWI) was ranked within the top 1.5 per cent universities in the world, according to the Times Higher Education ranking system.

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SNUB: The High Potential Individual Scheme excludes students from Africa and the Caribbean (photo: Getty Images)

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JUNE 22, 2022

74 years of courage and resilience... finally a monument in their honour

Arrivals at Waterloo (Photo Getty Images, 15th October 1961) Thousands of Caribbean people arrived at Waterloo Station, destined for cities across the UK. We pay tribute to these pioneers and their descendants.

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JUNE 2022 THE VOICE | 25

Windrush Special

CELEBRATING WHO WE ARE

Baroness Floella Benjamin, head of the Windrush memorial committee, explains why this matters so much to her and the Caribbean community

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FTER TWO weeks of feeling sea sick aboard a ship bound for England, former BBC Play School presenter Baroness Floella Benjamin described what it was like finally arriving in Britain alongside her sister and two brothers.

Her parents had made the journey first and she was missing them terribly. It was a longing intensified by the “trauma” Floella had suffered in the months leading up to her journey 4,000 miles across the bumpy Atlantic ocean.

She told The Voice: “I was thrilled to be a part of the family again, because my mother and my father left my sister, my two brothers and I back in Trinidad.

“We were the left behind children who carry so much trauma, because of the circumstances and the conditions we had to live under. I feel emotional because coming away from those horrible people, coming to the motherland and to my own mother’s arms was absolutely incredible.

“We were so happy to be with my beautiful, wonderful mother, who poured love into us who made us feel as if anything was possible, and who gave me the confidence once again to believe in myself. So it was a great moment.”

That moment, in 1960, would be the start of a new chapter in her life that would lead her to stardom as an actor, TV chil-

We have to show our ancestors what they went through was worth it dren’s presenter, author and Liberal Democrat peer in the House of Lords.

She was also made chair of the government’s Windrush Commemoration Committee which has overseen plans to erect a monument which will be unveiled at Waterloo Station in London on Windrush Day, June 22.

Floella, her mother and siblings came through Waterloo Station after travelling up from Southampton, and she remembers it as if it was yesterday.

“There was this huge palatial building with people coming because it was rush hour people coming at me, and there I am with my beautiful dress, my hair and ribbons standing there, and the monument is going to be just a few metres away from where I stood at that time. I, along with 150,000 people, made that same journey, so it’s really emotional.”

The 12-foot high sculpture was made by Basil Watson (see pages 26, 27) which depicts a man, woman and child with

suitcases fresh from the Caribbean, and about to start life in Britain.

The monument aims to represent the past, present and future, to honour the extraordinary contribution of the Windrush generation.

For Floella, it represents even more. “We crossed the same ocean that my ancestors crossed from Africa to the Caribbean, but this time we came from the Caribbean.

“When you think about our ancestors, about what they had to go through; men, women and children dragged from their villages shackled together, if they weren’t strong, they were dead, they were gone.

“They were put in a pit in a dungeon, put on a ship packed like sardines, thrown overboard alive, branded on the chest as enslaved people never to speak with their own tongue their own, never to have their own religion.

“Mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters scattered across the Caribbean never to be a family.

And if they protested, they were hung, drawn and quartered. We are strong survivors. We have to show our ancestors what they went through was worth it.

“And so the monument is also a tribute for them. But also a beacon that will shine bright for Caribbean people.

“The monument will show resilience, determination and

MAKING A HOME: A girl and a woman in the UK in May 1961 (photo: Getty Images)

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PRIDE : Floella says the monument at Waterloo Station is a tribute to the 150,000 people who made the journey to the motherland (photo: Getty Images) pride, and that we came with open arms wanting to be embraced yet that wasn’t the case.

But we carried on, we still fought for our dignity and for our children to succeed.

“And that’s what the monument is about. It’s about untold history for people to discover, and for young black children who don’t know why they’re here to discover that we didn’t come here as refugees.

“We didn’t come here begging, we came here because we were asked to come, we came here because we were British citizens who were asked to come and help rebuild the motherland after the war. Then treat us with the dignity that we deserve. And that’s what this monument is about.”

It will be the first statue in London to have a QR code to allow the public to access information about the history and journey of the Windrush generation.

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In her 2016 book Coming to England, Floella writes about how she came to this country feeling like a princess but was quickly made to feel ‘like a scavenger.’

You have to be strong, and that’s what the Windrush monument is all about She lived in Chiswick, Penge and then Beckenham in Kent, where she suffered bullying at school. It was as a child she developed the resilience that saw her prosper.

She told The Voice: “Floella always speaks out with a smile

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because when I smile I’m not a victim, I’m a winner. And this smile is a smile of determination; this is a smile of persuasion.

“And it’s a smile empowering me and empowering other people to feel that they can change the world, because I do it in the most diplomatic, embracing, convincing way that you have to make the change. You have to be strong, and that’s what the Windrush monument is all about.

I want to see monuments like that all over the country, not just in Waterloo, because people who came from the Caribbean dispersed across the country, to Norwich, to Liverpool, to Manchester, to Birmingham, to Bristol, you name it, they went there, and they helped rebuild this land.

“So we take pride in this, we are here and determined to make a difference and to be proud of who we are, and to celebrate who we are.”

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26 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

Windrush Special

WINDRUSH PASSENGERS Alford Gardner served in the RAF during the war and had no hesitation in returning to the UK in 1948

By Leah Mahon

T

HERE WAS a warmness in the air and the smell of salt from the sea below as the ship came to a halt after its long voyage across the Atlantic.

It was June 22, 1948, in the early afternoon as the SS Empire Windrush, carrying around 492 passengers, docked at the Port of Tilbury.

Alford Gardner is just one of two surviving passengers who made the journey across oceans on the historic ship in search of a new life in the mother country after the Second World War. He was with his older brother, Gladstone, worlds away from their family in Jamaica.

“From what you saw in the pictures [about England], you build up a picture and you imagine what would happen if you were here. I just took everything in,” he tells The Voice. “All the houses had smoke coming from the chimneys. I just thought there is work to do.”

The 96-year-old settled in Hyde Park, Leeds, and soon began hard work in the factories, where he spent his days dismantling old tanks from the war to help with the labour shortages that ran rife throughout the country.

However, it wasn’t Alford’s first voyage to Britain. In 1944, he joined the Royal Air Force at just 18-years-old, serving as an engineer and motor mechanic.

His older brother joined him just six months later and they both worked in factories until the end of the war a year later.

He made Leeds his home before returning to St James in

Jamaica in the winter of 1947.

“I had every intention of coming back. It was just the job [at the time in Jamaica], but everything was all set. After meeting the family, I said to my mom, ‘I’m going back.’ Those were the days, I was footloose and free,” he says.

And so he returned to Leeds and renewed friendships with his old RAF colleagues. He also rekindled his love with Norma, the woman who would go on to become his wife after they had met in the dancehalls across the city just a few years earlier.

“We got together again and the rest is history. I found myself a wife and life began,” he says. “We had a beautiful family, and I came from a big family and I’m a big family man. She had two sisters and a brother, so she had a big family as well.

She said she would love a big family. So, we settled.”

After marrying in the spring of 1952, the young couple bought a house and went on to have eight children, three boys and five girls, and were the only mixed-race family in their neighbourhood at one period of time. Howard Gardner, Alford’s eldest son, tells

The Voice he never noticed it until his younger years throughout school.

Their time at the local cricket club, where “all the mixedrace families” used to be, are just some of the fond memories from his childhood with his father. During his early years in Leeds, the Caribbean Cricket Club was something Alford set up with others, so they could find a sense of home while living in Britain.

Howard says that his father’s contribution as part of the Windrush generation has been “terrific” decades on.

“I think the West Indian people have changed this country so much with the culture, the music and it’s still changing today,” he says. “I think the contribution has been terrific.”

After spending those early years writing to his family back in Jamaica, Alford has returned home on numerous occasions and hopes to go back again soon. Today, he still lives in Leeds and spends much of his time around family with his 16 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren and one great-greatgrandchild.

The love of his Jamaican culture hasn’t been lost after all these years, and he can often be found still making some of his favourite foods like curry goat and ackee and saltfish.

Since making the historical voyage to Britain, Alford says he’s learnt some salient lessons along the way as he prepares to mark the Windrush generation’s 74th anniversary.

“Treat people how you would like to be treated,” says Alford.

“And keep out of politics and keep out of religion. That’s me.”

FORGOTTEN HEROES: Alford, second from right, with his RAF colleagues during the Second World War

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JUNE 2022 THE VOICE | 27

Windrush Special

TELL THEIR OWN STORY Deon P Green

PROUD MOMENT: John Richards, centre, with Winston Whyte, left, with the late Allan Wilmot, right, in 2018 at the service of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey to mark the 70th Windrush anniversary. Below, John’s cherished arrival card

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HISTORICAL: John Richards, right, arriving on board the HMT Empire Windrush at Tilbury Docks, Essex, with John Hazel and Harold Wilmot (photo: Douglas Miller/Getty Images)

MONUMENT FOR us? Why not? They have monuments for everyone else?”

So says John Richards, fondly known as Big John in the North West London community where he is revered and respected.

Big John was reflecting on the importance of the national Windrush monument to be unveiled at Waterloo train station on June 22. This will acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of those from the Windrush generation and their descendants to the historical legacy of Britain.

Reminiscing on his journey from Jamaica on HMT Empire Windrush in 1948, Big John’s words are most fitting as he was among the first group of people on the ship which is remembered for bringing one of the first large group of postwar West Indians to the United Kingdom.

The ship carried 1,027 passengers, including Big John, from Jamaica and they disembarked at Tilbury Dock on Tuesday June 22, 1948.

Now 96-years-old, Big John will again relive the memories by going to Tilbury Docks by boat on the day of the monument’s unveiling. He told The Voice: “I have been back there before several times. It brings back good memories, but the place has changed and the memory is different”.

As a young 22-year-old, Mr Richards arrived at Waterloo Station and was taken to a deep shelter in Clapham.

“At the shelter we were given two weeks to find our own accommodation. That was when the ‘No black, no Irish, no children, no dogs’ was noticeable, which meant most of us couldn’t find anywhere to live. But I got a room for two of us in the west end without any problems”, he remembered.

From the parish of Portland in Jamaica, this reflective Windrush migrant worked for British Railways for over 40 years, from the day he arrived.

For him, the journey and life experiences have been pleasant.

“I worked for British Rail doing bodywork, fitting and repairing damaged trains. I fitted and oiled the hinges on the doors, as in those days we had ordi-

John Richards, 96, sailed to Britain on the Empire Windrush.

He’s loved his life in the UK, but asks why there has been no monument to his generation nary doors with hinges, not like those on the trains now.

“The experience was good as the place (Orpington in Kent) where I worked had decent people; they were nice people.”

He further added that at his workplace there was no form of racism. “I was treated good.

Many of the people I worked with didn’t know much about Jamaicans, they were the working class”.

Big John welcomes changes that he has seen over the years that have blended cultures.

“Many years ago, there were no black people on TV. Now there are many. We were the first generation to come into Britain. We (Jamaicans) were strange to them, anything (work) that was degrading they gave it to us, but you must remember the people I worked with were decent people.”

A fast bowler in the early days, Big John played for Range Park club and again his experi-

ence was glowing. “If there was anything bad, they didn’t do it in front of me, so it was good”.

Big John was also a footballer and domino player, and was one of the founding members of the Learie Constantine West Indian Association in North West London named after Sir Learie Nicholas Constantine who was a West Indian cricketer, lawyer and politician who served as Trinidad and Tobago’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and became the UK’s first black peer.

Big John was among many West Indians leading several campaigns in the fight against racial injustice and inequality.

Talking about police stop and search, he said: “It is a good idea if they stop and search everybody equally. But for those that are black, if you have a decent car, decent shoes and clothes, they stop you and start searching your car; they pick on you.”

28 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

Windrush Special

A TRIBUTE TO A MAN THAT SERVED Remembering Allan Charles Wilmot, 1925 – 2021

A

LLAN WILMOT volunteered first for the Royal Navy in 1941 when there was a call for volunteer servicemen from Jamaica.

He saw an advertisement in the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper when he was sixteen-anda-half, stating that the British government needed recruits for the Royal Navy. Allan applied, passed the test and was accepted.

His service on HMS Hauken, in the Caribbean theatre of war, had its dangers, which came mainly from German submarines in the area.

They often sank British and allied tankers, as well as cargo boats. For instance, on May 25 1942, the SS Empire Beatrice, an unescorted and unarmed cargo ship, was sunk by a torpedo fired by a German U-boat (or submarine).

At the time, Allan was among the team that rescued nine survivors from a raft and took them to Kingston, Jamaica.

He felt his career was not progressing fast enough. At the same time, the British government began to recruit Jamaican

SO PROUD: Allan Wilmot was always at the forefront of events to honour the West Indian war effort (photo: Getty Images) volunteers for the Royal Air Force ground crew, and advertisements were published in the Jamaica Gleaner in late 1943.

He applied to the RAF and was accepted.

After the Second World War ended, the British were quick to demob thousands of West Indian servicemen and servicewomen. Allan was among them and, having returned to Jamaica in 1946, he felt it was not the place in which he would settle down, and so he returned to London.

Life in London in the winter of 1947 was not pleasant, but

he stuck it out. It soon dawned on him that he could employ his talent in London’s show business, and he did so with a degree of success with The Southlanders, a male singing quartet that dominated the entertainment scene from the 1950s to the early 1970s.

The Southlanders shared the stage with most of Britain’s popular performers, including Jimmy Young, Morecambe and Wise, Vera Lynn, the Andrews Sisters, Marty Wilde, Max Bygraves, Tommy Trinder, Petula Clark, Tommy Cooper, Tony

AMONG FRIENDS: Allan, far right, held a number of senior positions in West Indian organisations and was highly respected by associates throughout the community (photo: Getty Images)

@thevoicenewspaper

Hancock, Bruce Forsyth, Helen Shapiro, David Frost, Norman Vaughan, Shirley Bassey, Tommy Steele, Cliff Richard and the Shadows, to name but a few.

Also, The Southlanders’ hit records, like I am a Mole and I live in a Hole, were produced at Abbey Road Studios by George Martin, whose productions in the 1960s made The Beatles’ music national and international favourites.

After 24 years in the business and with stiff competition from such young talented groups, he realised his days as an entertainer were numbered.

He secured a job in the Post Office Telecommunications Department in 1974, and he retired from the service in 1990. During the two decades that followed, he played an important role in the establishment of the West Indian Ex-Services Association (now the West Indian Association of Service Personnel).

During the 1980s they had obtained a permanent meeting

@thevoicenews

Allan was among a Navy team that rescued nine survivors from a raft place at 161, Clapham Manor Street, London.

The aim was to ensure that their contributions and service would not be forgotten by present and future generations of British people. Their members provide social services voluntarily.

He held positions of responsibility (including being President) in the Association over the years. From 1998, he was a member of the Memorial Gates Council, which is chaired by Baroness Flather.

The Memorial Gates, a war memorial located at the Hyde Park Corner end of Constitution

voicenews

Hill in London, commemorate the armed forces of the British Empire from Africa, the Caribbean and the five regions of the Indian subcontinent that served in the First World War and the Second World War. The memorial was officially inaugurated in 2002 by Her Majesty The Queen.

He published his memoirs in 2015, and believes that the book, Now You Know, will help others to read about the contribution he and others made to Britain from 1941 to date.

Allan continued to serve communities in the UK, and on April 16, 2019 he received the ‘Certificate of Recognition’ from the Mayor of Lambeth, former councillor Christopher Wellbelove, for his voluntary work in the borough.

Allan passed away unexpectedly but peacefully on October 20 2021.

Contribution by The Windrush Foundation

www.voice-online.co.uk

46 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

CELEBRATING WINDRUSH DAY

Movement of the People Phoenix Dance celebrating Windrush Day

The Empire Windrush disembarked its passengers in Tilbury in 1948 and became an important landmark event in the history of modern Britain.

Tilbury on the Thames Trust will be celebrating Windrush Day this year by bringing people down the River Thames to the Port of Tilbury following the unveiling of the new Windrush monument at Waterloo Station in London. The Clipper boats will dock where the MV Empire Windrush first came in all those years ago when a generation of people moved through the Cruise Terminal at Tilbury to travel all over the United Kingdom.

We are extremely proud to be part of Windrush day and help the Tilbury Community to celebrate Caribbean culture and the part it has played in our local history.

WWW.TOTT.ORG.UK

Local Tilbury children with artist Everton Wright at the Walkway of Memories at the London Cruise Terminal

30

| THE VOICE

JUNE 2022

Windrush Special

CONNECTING GENERATIONS GAINING AN INSIGHT: Residents from St Mauritius House with a delegation from Haberdashers’ Hatchem Free School

Children from a local primary school speak to members of the Windrush generation at St Mauritius House

S

TUDENTS FROM Lewisham, in south London, chatted with members of the Windrush Generation to gain a greater understanding about what life was like.

Year 5 students from Haberdashers’ Hatcham Free School visited a local sheltered home — St Mauritius House — to interview residents about their past, and what it was like to make that incredible journey.

The pupils then sat together to go over their interview notes and write down their experience. The children all agreed that learning directly from the people at St Mauritius House was very interesting and valuable. David A Welsh, principal of Haberdashers’ Hatcham Free School added: “We are incredibly proud of our rich and vibrant communities at Haberdashers’ Hatcham Free School and the wider Trust. The herit-

age of our families, staff and pupils and the stories that can be told enrich our understanding of one another.

“Being a part of initiatives such as this are an important part of understanding our histories in a number of different ways. We strive to celebrate our individuality in every sense of the word. Across Haberdashers’ Academies Trust South, there are around 1,000 Caribbean and mixed white pupils — the Free School makes up about 15 per cent of this demographic.

FAMILY

“Many of our children have family members who are a part of the Windrush migration and have fascinating stories to tell.

Our pupils are introduced to the Windrush in Year 2 and it is a key focus across Black History Month. Nothing quite beats hearing the stories first hand and so, for our Year 4 pupils to

have an opportunity to interview senior Caribbean residents from Lewisham about their experiences is really quite unique and special.

“We feel very fortunate to be a significant part of this year’s celebrations for Windrush Day 2022 and the unveiling of the Monument, we know that our pupils

Grace and Aaliyana first interviewed Cas, also known as Mr C: We began by introducing ourselves to Mr C, then for our first question, we asked him if he truly wanted to leave his home country. He replied stating that he did, he wanted to experience

Howie David and Evangeline spoke with Mr Small: We started by introducing our-

selves to Mr Small and told him that we would be asking him questions about his experiences moving to England.

We asked if he wanted to leave his home country, to which he responded that he was going to England for a better life.

Mr Small travelled to England by plane when he was 24 years old. His first impressions were that he did not like the coun-

will remember these opportunities for many years to come.”

St Mauritius House, where the interviews took place, is a Hyde Group retirement sheltered scheme for predominantly African-Caribbean elders and other ethnic minorities. All those interviewed were over 80, so speaking to people of that gen-

England! Mr C travelled from Jamaica to Scotland by plane, he was only 25 years old. He travelled alongside his sister and his cousin.

Mr C brought clothes and the essentials for his journey, he said he felt all right. From Scotland, he then took the train to England and settled in Nottingham with his cousin, as his sister had made arrangements to live somewhere else.

eration was a novelty to the students. Hyde worked closely with staff from Haberdashers’ Hatcham Free School to arrange the visit, as well as Nadine Hibbert, Windrush Community Champion for Lewisham.

Hyde’s head of sheltered and supported housing James Barr said: “We love projects like this

Mr C told us that he found England to be very cold, but the country met his expectations.

He was paid £7 a week for his work in a clothing factory and over time he was able to afford luxuries, such as a round TV.

They also spoke to Veronica: Veronica also travelled to England by plane, in 1961, but she did not want to leave her family in Jamaica. She told us that she didn’t have the friendliest of welcomes to this

where our residents get to take part, and especially when they get to meet young people and talk about their rich past. It’s such a great learning opportunity for the children.

“There’s a lot of history to learn from the people of St Mauritius House. The school children are welcome back any time.”

country. She experienced racism, especially in her place of work.

Veronica worked as a nurse but did not feel supported nor liked by her colleagues because of the colour of her skin.

She believed Britain deceived people from the Caribbean into leaving their homes, as when they arrived, there was little work and people were not very welcoming.

They did not believe they were truly British, despite Jamaica being part of the British Empire.

Cashiloe and Debria spoke to Mr Leslie:

try, he thought the buildings were strange and that it was very cold!

He was not a fan of meat and only knew how to make a cup of tea.

It took Mr Small around three months to find a job after he arrived in England. After being used to the sunny skies of Jamaica, six weeks of snow was a shock.

@thevoicenewspaper

We asked him whether he wanted to leave his home country and he told us he had no choice. During his journey, he did not feel too bad and he hoped it would be warm and sunny when he arrived in England.

Mr Leslie travelled by plane in 1961 from Jamaica, and landed at London

@thevoicenews

voicenews

Heathrow Airport. He went to live with his big brother in Forest Hill.

We asked if he was able to find work immediately, and he said that there were many little jobs that he could do and do well, but he mainly worked as a painter and decorator.

Mr Leslie experienced racism in the beginning of his time in England, however, he also said that he made many friends and considers England to be his home.

www.voice-online.co.uk

JUNE 2022

THE VOICE| 31

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32 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

Windrush Special

BRINGING OUR PROUD HISTORY BACK TO LIFE

Richard Sudan talks to Howard Grey, a young photographer who in 1962 thought he had failed to capture Windrush arrivals – but was wrong!

H

OWARD GREY, a young inexperienced photographer in 1962, was dismayed that the photographs he took of Windrush arrivals at Waterloo Station would not develop properly. His time had been wasted — or so he thought.

Howard tucked the undeveloped negatives in an envelope into an office drawer, and forgot about them for the next 50 years.

There they sat, gathering dust, only to be brought to life more than half-a-century later — by pure chance — thanks to developments in technology.

Finally able to see the photos for the first time in 2014, a stunned Howard realised the importance of what he had captured in 1962, an especially unique documentation of Windrush arrivals to the UK, like no other.

The story sounds like a movie script, but it’s exactly what happened.

The snaps Howard took would become the most iconic pictures of the Windrush generations.

He took them in 20 minutes, having bunked off work on a whim and a hunch, following his artistic instinct.

REMARKABLE

It’s a remarkable story, and almost an unbelievable one unless you understand the man behind the camera, his family’s story, and what drove him to make the trip one day to photograph what were thought to be the last arrivals from Jamaica all those decades ago.

“I had two cameras,” Howard, now 79, says. “I heard an announcement on the radio that the last arrivals from the Carib-

bean were on the way to the UK before the Nationality Act kicked in.

“I decided not to go to work.

It was a very dark day. The windows that lit the platform up in 1962 were still covered in soot and grease from the war.”

It wasn’t just that Howard heard the call on the radio and saw a photo opportunity.

He’s always been fascinated by immigration, not least because of his own family’s arrival to the UK, which nearly didn’t happen.

“All my family are Jewish” says Howard. “My parents were born in the UK. But my grandparents on both sides were from Ukraine”.

He tells me of the persecution his grandparents faced in anti-Jewish pogroms in the 1890s, losing their homes and possessions.

They ended up on a ship bound for Canada but the boat docked in Tilbury, London, for a couple of days — also one of the main arrival ports for many Windrush migrants.

It was there that fate would take a dramatic turn for Howard’s family.

“Some agents came into my grandparents’ ship, and asked if there were any experienced tailors aboard, saying if so, they would buy their ticket and house them in the east end of London where many Jewish families already lived.

“Savile Row needed expert tailors to make fine suits.

That’s why my grandparents stayed in London. They were headed to Winnipeg but never got there.”

When he talks about the Savile Row agents hiring people aboard his grandparents’ ship, it has echoes of the flyers being handed out in the Caribbean encouraging people to head to the UK to work and help re-

WELL WORTH THE WAIT: Howard Grey couldn’t be happier that he decided to keep the negatives – given the final stunning results!

build the ‘mother country’ after the war.

Taking a roll of the dice by chance, and setting up a new

Howard explains that as a young child he remembers his grandparents describing in broken English the hardships

Afterwards, I realised what I’d got. I went out and had a drink and saw my wife and gave her a big hug life in an unknown land is Howard’s family story but one which resonates deeply with so many among our Caribbean communities.

@thevoicenewspaper

they faced back home and the difficulties they faced in leaving their lives behind. He’s remorseful about the current situation in Ukraine. It sad-

@thevoicenews

dens him. He feels empathy.

There’s an undoubted affinity that connects Howard to immigrant families going through such hard times and, throughout the interview, it becomes plain to me that his interest in immigration is more than a curiosity as he initially told me. He cares.

Howard still lives in south London and tells me that he does most of his shopping in Brixton.

What’s interesting to me is that he speaks about Waterloo Station in the 1960s in great detail, as if it were last week.

voicenews

Similarly, his family stories remain etched in his mind eternally. He doesn’t miss any details. He is meticulous and thorough. Perhaps this explains why he held onto the undeveloped unusable pictures he took of the Windrush arrivals in 1962.

Most people might have thrown them in the bin. Torn them up in frustration. Or might have given up photography altogether. Not Howard.

Something made him keep them and, had he not, his amazing pictures capturing such an important intimate moment in

www.voice-online.co.uk

JUNE 2022 THE VOICE | 33

Windrush Special

IN SHARP FOCUS: When taking a look at these amazing images, it’s almost incredible to believe that Howard Grey felt at the time they wouldn’t develop properly.

Yet, these photographs capturing Windrush arrivals at Waterloo Station clearly capture a vitally important moment in history and help bring the emotions of the time to life

so many people’s lives would have been lost forever.

But they were not.

Howard immediately made the pictures public — and they are quite something. Young black men, women and children decked out in their Sunday best surrounded by luggage, climbing aboard trains while peering wide-eyed at the new country they’d call home.

Many in the photos reflect their journey, looking weary. Some of those pictured look like movie stars — young, good-looking and full of swag and confidence.

In fact, many have spoken about the photographic maturity reflected through the quality of the then young Howard’s photos. This he tells me, however, was purely by chance.

“All of that was by luck.

I was just taking pictures of everything. I took 37 photos.

My father was a portrait photographer and loved faces and so do I. So I just took as many as I could.”

PROBLEMS

He knew at the time that there would be problems developing the pictures because everything

was so dark. And he was right.

It was only in 2014, by chance, that Howard happened to be watching a TV programme discussing developments in photography.

It dawned on him that all might not be lost, with the photos he had taken 52 years previously.

He tried to develop the negatives using the innovation he had only just learned off the TV. It worked.

What was the moment like when he realised the incredible treasure he had, as the photos came to life on his com-

puter screen? Tears, laughter, disbelief? All of the above?

Howard laughs excitedly at the question.

It’s all coming back to him now vividly, the same way it does each time he travels through Waterloo Station.

“Afterwards, I realised what I’d got”, he chuckles. “I went out and had a drink and saw my wife and gave her a big hug.

I’ve got them, I’ve got them, I’ve got them,” he told her.

He published the pictures on a website — and for years not much happened. Then the Windrush scandal came to

light, sparking renewed interest in Howard’s photos. The treatment of all of those wrongly removed from the UK is something that angers Howard, as it does so many others.

HONOUR

He says he appreciates the love people show for the pictures he has taken, and supports Windrush Day to honour that generation. “It’s absolutely vital that these things are recorded and documented,” he says.

As of yet, nobody has come forward to say they are the sub-

ject of his photos, or that they recognise family members in them. But that day may very well come.

What message might Howard offer anyone reading this, who is from or connected to the Windrush generation? “Your past is safe with me and my photographs” he replies with little hesitation.

They say a picture says a thousand words. If that’s the case, then each of Howard’s photo’s must have touched thousands of lives, eternally connecting us to a very important moment in our history.

34 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

FROM EMPIRE TO COMMONWEALTH

LEGACIES OF THE WINDRUSH GENERATION TO

JUNE

2022

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Gifts from Babylon is a short film exploring the psychological impact of Africa-EU migration through the lens of a Gambian return-migrant.

London’s Notting Hill Carnival is coming under increasing pressure and attacks from the British press, politicians, police and local residents who consider it an event of conflict.

HATS MICHELLE PASCAL

A TIME FOR NEW DREAMS YVONNE CONNIKE

Drop Out follows the story of someone who dares to be different in order to follow his dreams.

SOMETIMES WE ARE INVISIBLE JUNE CAMPBELL DAVIS

A performance based inquiry into the presence of Black People. The Solo Dance ‘Sometimes we’re invisible was inspired by a Victorian Dress.

FEATURE

Main man Russ Henderson - King of Notting Hill Carnival.

With out this man it would not be what it is today.

Three female artists are given three weeks to each create a work of art during lockdown.

FEATURE

RUSS HENDERSON MIKE MCKENZIE

BLACK EXODUS DANIEL BAILEY DROP OUT ADE FEMZO

THE ART OF OPPRESSION PATRICIA FRANCIS

A young woman visits home and just as she's about to ring the bell, the aroma of food evokes a powerful memory which takes her back to her childhood and it also reminds her of her fabricated past.

Journey through the photographic life of Windrush Generation Charlie Phillips, as he faces obstacles moving to the UK.

Explore the intimate portrait of Windrush Generation immigrant Clovis Salmon, who left Jamaica in 1945 to work on sugar plantations in America before settling in Brixton in 1954, where he purchased a Super 8 film Camera and began documenting life around him.

In March 2020, Rise 365 a black run organisation based in the Kingsmead estate in Hackney, East London, initiated a food response programme to support those who had been affected most by the pandemic.

MY MOTHER’S STEW SADE ADENIRAN

BECOMING AN ARTIST: CHARLIE PHILLIPS TATE KIDS

SUPER SAM SANDI HUDSON-FRANCIS

SUPERHEROES WEAR HOODIES JASON OSBOURNE

Eve, is a middle-aged black-British barrister, living in Bristol. Her mother, Girlie, has just moved into a Dementia care home, which Eve and her sister Natasha feel responsible for, as Girlie is the only black resident there.

A time for New Dreams takes its name from a book by Ben Okri, a collection of essays on how the world is and how it could be.

Black Exodus is a visualisation of what the black community looks separated from the structure of racism.

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GIFTS FROM BABYLON BAS ACKERMANN, AMADOU A SILAH, BABUCAR MANKA, MODOU JOOF

ARTS OF CONFLICT: THE DISCOURSE ABOUT NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL TONY OLDHAM

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REBEL DREAD WILLIAM E. BADGLEY

SUN 19 JUNE | 11:00 AM BECOMING AN ARTIST: JEMIMA AND JOHNNY CHARLIE PHILLIPS LIONEL NGAKANE TATE KIDS

BECOMING AN ARTIST: CHARLIE PHILLIPS TATE KIDS

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JEMIMA AND JOHNNY LIONEL NGAKANE

12:15 PM BATTLEDREAM CHRONICLES ALAIN BIDARD

12:00 PM BATTLEDREAM CHRONICLES ALAIN BIDARD

3:00 PM SOMETIMES WE ARE INVISIBLE JUNE CAMPBELL DAVIS

FEATURE

Having recently moved to London from Jamaica little Jemima is found on the street by street-wise Johnny a five-year old boy.

In the year 2100, humankind has achieved paradise and seen it torn away from them.

5:00 PM SOMETIMES WE ARE INVISIBLE JUNE CAMPBELL DAVIS

THE ARRIVAL ANNETTA LAUFER

Daisy arrives in Britain, the 'Mother Country', on Jamaican Independence Day 1962, to start a new life with her husband, whom she has not seen for two years.

Q&A EYE LASH

A TIME FOR NEW DREAMS YVONNE CONNIKE

THE ARRIVAL ANNETTA LAUFER

10:00 PM

AFTER PARTY THE WESTGATE HOTEL COMMERCIAL STREET

6:30 PM GENERATION REVOLUTION CASSIE QUARLESS & USAYD YOUNIS

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JUNE CAMPBELL DAVIES

from Sometimes we are Invisible

The powerful story of a new generation of black and brown activists.

DISCUSSION HOSTED BY ADEOLA DEWIS

4:00 PM RAISIN IN THE SUN DANIEL PETRIE

This lauded drama follows an African-American family living in an apartment in Chicago.

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DON LETTS Film Director, DJ, Muscian

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ALEIGHCIA SCOTT Reggae Artist

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The story of Don Letts, the legendary filmmaker, DJ, musician, and cultural commentator. The film frames Don’s story as a first-generation British-born black man within the nascent punk scene of the 1970s and 80s – how rastas and punks found a common bond, both outside of the mainstream, and how Don introduced reggae to the punks.

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FRI 17 JUNE | 7:30 PM

AFRICAN REDEMPTION: THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF MARCUS GARVEY ROY T ANDERSON

In his short life Marcus Mosiah Garvey, would go on to become the world’s foremost Pan-Africanist.

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WINDRUSH DAY

LONDON

RUSS HENDERSON MIKE MCKENZIE

PRESSURE SIR HORACE OVÉ

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LEE JASPER Race Equality and Human Rights Activist

PANEL

With the rising mistrust of government and the police, are we returning to a hostile environment?

LEE LAWRENCE Social Change Advocate, Author

36 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

Windrush Special

I WANT WINDRUSH STA Jamaican-born sculpture Basil Watson talks of his pride at being chosen to create the permanent monument commemorating the Windrush generation at Waterloo station. By Richard Sudan

I

“

HAVE NO intention to rest. I’m moving into the most busy period of my life. I defi nitely hope the best is yet to come.”

These are not words you’d expect to hear from most people in their mid-sixties — then again Basil Watson is far from ordinary.

As our conversation wraps up, Watson’s just as animated as he was at the beginning of our chat — if not more so — with an energy and spark about him of someone decades younger.

It’s half what could be expected from someone with a resume like his, but his wisdom, clarity and eagerness to talk is nonetheless infectious.

Like so many of our elders from the Caribbean, Basil has lived a rich life, and is a natural storyteller. As the grandson of a Trinidadian, there’s a sense of familiarity listening to him in terms of his candour but also the experiences he talks about.

It doesn’t feel like an interview.

It feels like talking to a family member.

SPECIAL

Officially, we are speaking about Basil’s latest and first creation for the city of London — something very special indeed, commemorating the Windrush generation — but Jamaican-born Watson is speaking to me from his home in Atlanta in the US. It’s not just where he lives. It’s the location of a breathtaking statue of the great Martin Luther King — one of many masterpieces sculpted by Watson, unveiled in 2021. As you’d expect, the months-long process of creating it, capturing an icon like King, was not simply a job, or straightforward one for Watson having been selected from a pool of talent. It was a culmination of his artistic work thus far.

But when hearing about his early family life and upbringing, which formed the backbone of his character, it seems almost destiny the 12-foot high figure of MLK in Atlanta, located on a street named after the civil rights hero, would be sculpted with his hands.

HIGH ACHIEVER: Basil Watson has been responsible for some of the most highly respected sculptures of black people “In Jamaica, you’re growing up in a black consciousness society, the people that surround you and the people in important positions are mostly black.

You get a feeling of belonging and that this society is yours and that you can achieve.”

Indeed, striving to achieve is central to his personal ethos.

Basil comes from a family regarded as an artistic dynasty in Jamaica — and that’s no exaggeration. His father, Barrington Watson, was a renowned and revered painter whose works are so prolific that they are widely acknowledged as lifting Jamaica’s global cultural landscape and artistic profile. Basil doesn’t remember watching his father work as a very small boy, but he’s been told he did, often mesmerised by his dad’s work. It clearly had a profound influence on both him and his brother Raymond, who also ventured into sculpting.

“My father travelled greatly, whether in Europe, North America or Africa. It would be fascinating hearing his stories and seeing the paintings that evolved out of these travels.

That was extremely empower-

ing, giving me the feeling that I could be a first-world citizen.”

And a first-world citizen is ultimately what Basil became.

Although his family moved briefly to the United Kingdom when Watson was a small child, he doesn’t have memories of England. His parents moved back to Jamaica, following independence, to help the island move towards a new and exciting future. Like his father, Basil’s work has seen him travel the world, also leaving his artistic mark.

MISSION

“For my parents’ generation, their mission was to get an education, get a home and provide for their family. The next generation’s task is now to look for leadership in every area of life”.

The leadership mentality passed down from Barrington to Basil has now spanned three generations. Basil’s son Kai is also a painter. In 2008, both father and son saw their works exhibited in New York. Art seems part of the family DNA, and central to their lives.

Although Basil hasn’t lived in Jamaica for two decades, he has

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many family members, including children, who do. Some of his most famous sculptures also have permanent residency in Jamaica. At the national stadium, there are statues of sprinters Merlene Ottey, and Herb McKenley crafted by Watson’s hands. And, a stunning statue of Usain Bolt, also in Jamaica created by Watson, depicts the phenomenal Olympic champion striking his famous pose.

Bolt described the statue made in his honour by Watson as one of the “greatest moments” of his illustrious career. That’s not a bad testimony for a CV and portfolio.

Although Atlanta is now his home, Basil’s proud Jamaican identity and early life remains key to who he is, wherever he works, to the benefit of many around the world who enjoy his art. In fact, Basil says, being Jamaican informs every aspect of his life.

“It is the core of what I do.

The first half of my life was spent in Jamaica. So when I stepped out of Jamaica, I did so with that strong identity of understanding what it is to be Jamaican. I carry the flag, that feeling of us being able to do whatever we want. And being as capable as everyone else.”

Basil’s philosophy seems almost a family tradition or heirloom passed down to him, and passed on by him. His family have helped put Jamaica firmly on the global arts world radar.

Their intergenerational impact is reminiscent of another famous family from Jamaica, that helped spark the political consciousness of a generation.

The reggae music which first introduced the island’s beautiful genre to much wider audiences, still reverberates around the world.

Fast forward to today, and Jamaica is one of many Caribbean nations pushing for more independence, beyond the period in the 1960s in which Basil’s parents were part of a professional middle class, suddenly thrust into leadership positions charting a new course for the island. Now, following the government’s announcement to fully break from the

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HERE’S SOME HE MADE EA 1

British crown, the initial drive for independence decades ago is gaining renewed momentum in 2022.

“Ultimately, the world needs to look at lowering borders, we are now world citizens and the world needs to strive towards that view. Britain, France, Portugal and Spain and so on, no longer control the world.

There’s also interdependence, we can’t do without each other.

But in terms of Jamaica moving away from the Queen being the head of state, I think that is the right direction for Jamaica to head in”.

The permanent links between

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Jamaica and Britain, and the significance of the original Windrush generation presented a unique artistic calling and challenge for Basil very recently in his career. He was selected from a pool of dozens of applicants to create a permanent monument commemorating the Windrush generation, the achievements of themselves and their descendants, to be unveiled at Waterloo station on this year’s Windrush Day. Basil’s design was selected from a long list of 16 candidates. Windrush Commemoration Committee chair, Baroness Floella Benjamin, then whittled

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JUNE 2022 THE VOICE | 37

Windrush Special

ATUE TO STIR EMOTIONS

ARLIER (AND ONE HE’S STILL MAKING)

3. “HOPE MOVING FORWARD” 2021 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Size & Medium: 18ft (12ft figure on 6ft pedestal) Bronze Location: MLK Boulevard, Atlanta Commissioned by the City of Atlanta

4

3

4. “HON. MARCUS GARVEY” 2018 Size & Medium: Heroic bust, Bronze.

Location: Emancipation Park, Kingston, Jamaica Commissioned by the Rotary of Kingston

1. “TO THE WORLD” 2017 Usain Bolt Size & Medium: 9ft Bronze Location: Independence Park, National Stadium of Jamaica Commissioned by the Government of Jamaica

2

2. WINDRUSH 2022 Basil sculpting the new Windrush monument to be erected at Waterloo station, central London.

the list down to four, before the public had their say.

Basil’s design was eventually selected as the winner and he was tasked with turning his vision into permanent fruition. No easy feat, given the immense history and reverence for those who trod before us, and the weight of expectation to successfully capture the essence of the Windrush generations.

Their spirit is something Basil says he felt when he created his latest challenge. It created a pressure, but the kind which motivates him – “champagne problems” as he calls them,

more than once in our conversation.

Even completing the design, something so deeply personal while joyful, also wasn’t easy. “I love it more and more each day, developing as an artist. But this project was hard to let go, painful even.

But the experience enriches me and my character and I carry that to the next sculpture”

DREAMS

When seeing the design, it’s not hard to appreciate the magnitude of the task. The statue depicts a man, woman and child, newly arrived Caribbean migrants to the UK, full of

hope, dreams, trepidation, uncertainty, adventure and ambition. They stand atop a pile of suitcases, each at a different height, representing the original Windrush arrivals and the subsequent generations which came after them. Even coming up and deciding with the vision, let alone executing it to a deadline, seems immensely challenging. How does one sum up all that is perceived to be the Windrush generation?

“I slept on it for about three weeks before I eventually decided on the idea from a number of ideas I had. I wanted to give the feeling of facing a new

world, facing a new day and standing strong. The feeling of the mother supportive of the father, and the child feeling confident to take the journey”.

Watson has captured that sentiment. The suitcase metaphor especially chimes with me, bringing up memories of my own grandfather and other things associated with him that used to conjure up images of the far-away land he’d come from and the journey he had been on. This was probably what Basil had aimed for.

“I wanted it to stir emotions, and every emotion. Some will feel joy, some will feel pain –

indifference is what I don’t want. I want people to become curious to learn about the experience and what it means”.

I seriously doubt that anyone passing by Basil’s commemoration at Waterloo station in the future that looks at it will experience indifference.

He’s clearly poured his heart, soul and being into this project, taking time to fill the gaps in his own experience from not really recollecting his time in the UK as a kid, to nonetheless joining the dots and capturing the shared affinity between those who stayed in the Caribbean and those who ventured to the

‘mother country’. For a man of Basil’s experience, what would be his dream challenge? He has sage advice for young people, encouraging them to practice their craft and to always give one hundred per cent. But for himself?

“I’m looking forward to more work,” he tells me, “The studio is my favourite place. A dream project would be to create a piece that has the iconic status of the Statue of Liberty, or the statue of Christ in Rio”.

I really wouldn’t be surprised if Basil Watson accomplishes his goal — and sooner rather than later.

38 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

Windrush Special

WINDRUSH WOMEN WHO Dawn Hill writes about her journey coming to England to train as a nurse and the battles she overcame to get to the top of her profession

M

Y FATHER’S sister, aunt Irene Sylvester, and her husband, uncle Basil Sylvester, were my guardians. I am one of five siblings. My father died when I was 12-years-old, and my mother passed away when I was 15.

I had taken my senior school examination awaiting results and was attending classes, learning to type and to master shorthand. My uncle had ideas for me to work in the office of his Pimento Oil Factory in Sunset Cove, Westmoreland, Jamaica.

I failed miserably at shorthand and typing, so they decided, and on the advice of their friend Dr Carnegie, to send me to England to study nursing. I was to go to Leicester General Hospital where he did his medical training internship. I had no input in this decision, and aeroplane tickets were booked for me to go to England.

Finally, with much excitement about the clothes packing of my trunk which I still have, I travelled to England on a ship with 12 passengers coming back from business and holiday in Jamaica. I was classed as a child and under the care of the captain who knew my uncle.

I was sea sick for the entire journey and ate very little. I arrived in England five days before my 17th birthday on September 25, 1956.

It was September and, despite my wool coat, I was freezing. I was met by a male representative from the British Council who accompanied me from the boat at Tilbury docks to the train to Waterloo Station in London. He put me on a train to Leicester.

I was to join the Pre-Nursing Cadet Scheme — a new initiative to recruit nurses into the profession. I would be under the care of Miss Gertrude Prior, Matron of Leicester General Hospital from 1950 to1967.

I went to Leicester College of Art and Technology and was

attached to the Science Department (now DeMontfort University). I had the most wonderful anatomy tutor, Dr Crow, a great teacher, who diagnosed my frozen fingers syndrome and was happy for me to sit by the classroom basin warming my fingers back from blue.

We were allocated sessions at weekends on the wards to observe and assist the nurses with assigned tasks, eg bedmaking, cleaning bedpans and other ward duties. We were experts at cleaning at the end of our cadet training.

STRICT

We moved to the main nurses home and fell in with our year group, thankfully with some friends from my cadet year.

Regimes were very strict with lights out at 10 pm.

In the classroom, our tutors Miss Newt and Miss Robson were so strict with no let-up on the extensive reading set, hygiene rules and cleaning standards. Yes, we were told of Florence Nightingale, but I never heard about Mary Seacole. My abiding memory of my training and working at LGH is “Sister is Sister, but Matron is the law.”

There were other nurses from the Caribbean in training. I was always sent to represent the Caribbean nurses at civil events and meeting VIPs. My uncle would also send a large barrel from Jamaica at Christmas with bananas and other exotic fruit and Christmas cake. Matron, however, would ensure everyone in my year indulged in the goodies. I qualified as a

nurse in December 1960 and worked as a theatre nurse from 1960 to 1968 in various London hospitals, taking time out to do my midwifery training at the Bearsted Memorial Hospital in 1965. I was then recommended to the Whittington Hospital to take charge as superintendent of the neuro-surgical theatres in 1968 but I left after I lodged a grievance about the grading of my post.

I loved the work I chose to do as a nurse in the NHS. However, as a result of the poor treatment I had experienced over my grading, I felt I had to do something to change the way staff were treated and how pay grades in hospitals were determined. I heard that many senior nurses were leaving because of the new nurse grading system and going off to university.

So that led me to study at the LSE in 1971. After graduating, I got my first job as Senior Personnel Officer in Hackney Hospitals. I did, though, manage to put many black nursing staff back on the right pay scale and establish policies and procedures in line with the new regulations.

My office was based at the Eastern Hospital, now the site of the Homerton Hospital. I believe at that time I was the only qualified black woman working in HR, and I had a rough time.

There were queues of black staff waiting to see me, some to just see what I looked like. They told me stories of them coming to England and how hard working in hospitals was like in the early days before central heating and the like. At my first board meeting I was the only woman and the first black woman to attend at that level.

In October 2017, I was awarded a Points of Light by the then Prime Minister Theresa May for 30 years of voluntary work and referred to as a Cultural Activist. I was awarded a CBE for Culture in the Queen’s 2018 New Year Honours. I am proud to have a continued role with BCA as Black Cultural Archives Life Patron.

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JUNE 2022 THE VOICE | 39

Windrush Special

TOOK ON THE SYSTEM

By Deon P Green

B

IN GOOD COMPANY: Dawn with Will Smith in 2013 when she accompanied the star on a surprise tour of Lambeth. Below, far left, Dawn holding an image of Ignatius Sancho, the first Briton of African heritage to vote in a British election. Dawn, left, at the House of Lords and, below, with a statue of Mary Seacole

EVERLEY PERSAUD, who arrived in Britain in 1960, remembers the journey to England vividly.

She said: “My mother, my sister and I travelled from Jamaica on The RMS Ascania, and we had an enjoyable time. I was 13 and my sister was 15, and we were among the last batch on that voyage pick-up point.

“There were over 600 Jamaicans on board, and we sailed for a few days. While on-board, we met other Caribbean nationals and we got friendly with them.

“Most of the children on the ship were about my age and we had fun playing games and listening to music.”

Her mother first arrived in England in 1956, came back to Jamaica in 1959 and took Beverley and her sister back on the same ship she previously travelled on. The crew recognised her mother as the journey became a family affair. “The stewards were always looking out for us,” she beamed.

On arrival in Britain, she was taken aback by the misty, grey atmosphere. It was in the middle of rush hour, and Beveley remembers the red lipstick on the white women’s faces, and the stockings they were wearing.

Attending school was also interesting. “What happened is that my mother didn’t understand the education system.

“Based on our reports from Jamaica, we should have been in the grammar school, but we didn’t know if we would be accepted. We didn’t get the best education because of the system.

CULTURE SHOCK: Beverley, circled, attempted to adjust to life in the British education system

Beverley Persaud struggled through the barriers of 60s Britain but is now able to enjoy the happiest of retirements “When you did not get into the grammar school in those days you were basically in a school where academics was not important.

“We were used to the type of teaching where the teacher was always there, but here (in England) at that time, some lessons were via BBC radio.

“We took notes from the radio and the teacher just came to tell us what to do and, when the

time was finished, came back and the lesson was finished”.

After leaving school, she attended the Kilburn Polytechnic in the evenings to acquire administrative skills, such as typing, shorthand and bookkeeping, and after getting an administrative job in a company that manufactured scientific instruments, she continued her studies on a day release basis.

She worked as a sales support administrator for a large computer company several years before taking up a similar role in the NHS at St Mary’s Hospital.

“In those early days the living conditions were challenging. There was one kitchen with only one stove with four rings for several families each occupying a room. There were lots of arguments over who should put money in the gas meter when you did not use up your money’s worth and other families were using it.

“Fortunately, we didn’t have to put up with the ‘No blacks, No Irish, No dogs’ notices like many others. However, in those days it was difficult for immigrants to get a council house.

“We solved the housing problem by throwing partner and buying our own homes. We showed the English how to own their own homes rather than relying on council housing”.

In one company where she worked, Beverley asked her manager when she was going to be promoted, and he said: ‘I thought you liked your position and was happy in your job’.

“He never thought that I was ambitious and you wanted to move up, which I can now look back on as a form of racial discrimination. My response was that ‘yes, I am happy, but that doesn’t mean I do not want to move up the ladder’”.

She is now happily retired and serving the community and her church.

She lamented that she would not be able to attend the unveiling of the monument, but that her daughter and grandchildren intend to be a part of this historic moment.

40 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

Windrush Special

Sculptures mark place in history TALKING POINT: Veronica Ryan OBE Custard Apple (Annonaceae), 2021. Courtesy the artist, Paula Cooper Gallery and Alison Jacques (photo: Andy Keate)

Artist Veronica Ryan has created work to resemble iconic Caribbean fruit and veg, says Rodney Hinds

A

NEW PERMANENT public sculpture by celebrated artist Veronica Ryan OBE has been unveiled in east London, as part of Hackney Council’s Black History Season.

The series of three works — large marble and bronze sculptures, representing Caribbean fruit and vegetables — is situated near St Augustine’s Tower, Hackney. The work references narratives of migration and movement and draws on the artist’s memories of visiting east London markets, including Hackney’s Ridley Road Market, as a child.

Ryan’s work, together with a new sculpture by artist Thomas J Price which will be unveiled on National Windrush Day in June 2022, is the first public artwork in the UK to celebrate and honour the Windrush Generation.

Ryan said: “With all the world crisis we are experiencing, this is a wonderful time to embrace positivity. Cultural visibility and representation evident in public spaces is crucial. I am very happy that my sculptures will be part of this recognition.

“Ridley Market here in Hack-

It will become a meeting point and topic of conversation ney remains a vibrant place of early excitement going shopping with my mother, I don’t often get along to the market now, but have been so happy to buy some lovely soursops and custard apples on recent visits.

FAMILIAR

“I like the fact that the community in Hackney will see some familiar fruit and vegetables represented in the sculptures, and always enjoy these connections.”

Commissioned by Hackney Council and produced and curated by Create London, the Hackney Windrush Art Commission is made possible with Art Fund support, with additional funding from the Henry Moore Foundation. The accompanying public programme is supported by the Freelands Foundation.

A new website, hackneywindrush.com, and Instagram account, @hackneywindrush, was launched on National Windrush Day, June 22 2021. A wider public programme, led by Create London, continues into autumn 2021.

In the week before Veronica Ryan’s unveiling, Future Hackney installed their second street exhibition Ridley Road Stories part 2. Combining documentary, portraits and co authorship, the project collaborates with communities to create a hybrid genre of photographic storytelling. Set on the streets of Ridley Road and Gillett Square in Dalston, the exhibition docu-

ments Caribbean and African locals.

In November, Autograph APB will be facilitating workshops at Cllr James Library in Dalston. These workshops will revolve around storytelling, using photography and conversation to celebrate Hackney as a place for everyone. These will be held for a youth group from Hackney Youth Service and elders group from Connect Hackney.

Cllr Carole Williams, Cabinet Member for Employment, Skills and Human Resources with responsibility for Windrush, said: “These pieces are being unveiled at an incredibly signifi-

cant time when conversations are taking place about the telling and retelling of historical narratives in our public space.

IDENTIFY

“Hackney will now become the home of the UK’s first permanent artwork that shifts the narrative, acknowledging the positive contributions of the Windrush generation whose stories were on the verge of being erased and forgotten.”

Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville said: “It is incredibly important that we have public art that anyone can identify with. Veronica’s piece will be in the heart of Hackney and

will be seen by thousands each day. I have no doubt that it will become a meeting point and a topic of conversation and, in the process, will help keep alive the story of the Windrush generation and their descendents for many years to come.”

This project is produced and curated by Create London in partnership with Hackney Council and supported by Freelands Foundation.

The Hackney Windrush Art Commission is supported by Art Fund with additional funding from the Henry Moore Foundation. The public programme is supported by the Freelands Foundation.

‘Three cheers to our ancestors, who have helped to shape this country’

By Tracy Washington

COMMUNITY: Members of the Metropolitan Black Police Association. Inset left, Tracy’s granny. Inset right, Evan Browne

AS MEMBERS of the Metropolitan Black Police Association, we have parents who are part of the Windrush generation and who have told us about their experience coming to England; their long journeys on the ships; and what they encountered hereafter.

Yvette Taylor remembers how her father, Evan Browne (also known as ‘Sunny boy’), came to England in 1961 from Barbados and spoke of his 14 day journey via Dominica, Tenerife, Spain, Italy and France (which he said were boring!)

He is one of 16 children and didn’t want to miss out

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on this opportunity to come to England, as some of his siblings had already emigrated here. Browne worked as a porter and cook in hospitals, and part of his Bajan heritage and culture allowed him to bring something that was needed to the food — spices and flavour!

Another of our members’ parents came from Guyana in 1961 and raised 13 children who all had a strong work ethic, which she has attributed to her father. Her parents were also foster parents and have won awards for their contribution. Helping to raise other children is something a lot of the Windrush generation did without being asked.

I know this well as my

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ins’. This is the ‘village’ mentality that was instilled in us from our ancestors, which we brought over and continues to this day.

SWAGGER

mummy and granny came over to England from Guyana in 1961. It took them three weeks to travel by ship. Granny worked almost immediately once she arrived as a nurse.

My mummy is an only child, so she was cared for by friends while granny worked.

They became known as ‘Aunties’, ‘Uncles’ and ‘Cous-

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Our parents coming to England helped to shape the country with the skills in their professions. They also brought with them some extras — vibrant culture, proud heritage, phenomenal ‘seasoned’ food, exceptional style with swagger.

We also can’t forget the music and dance moves that are often imitated, which is a compliment to our uniqueness. All the traditions they brought with them have been ingrained in us for life. Thank you, ancestors!

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JUNE 2022 THE VOICE | 41

Windrush Special

STANDING ON SHOULDERS OF WINDRUSH GENERATION

Lord Herman Ouseley has been an inspiration to so many black people and he paid tribute to those who went before him

By Richard Sudan

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“

E STAND on the shoulders of those who went before us” This was one of the key messages delivered by Lord Herman Ouseley to a packed online audience honouring the Windrush generation in an event hosted by the Windrush Foundation.

The event, ahead of Windrush Day 2022, sought to celebrate the achievements of the original Windrush arrivals while also drawing a line from the past, connecting it to the current battles for race equality which persist to this day.

During Lord Ouseley’s talk, he outlined the many challenges faced during his time at the Inner London Authority, and the resistance and pushback while working for former Conservative Home Secretary Michael Howard during a period in which the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) was being butchered.

“When I arrived at the CRE, the funding was being cut. They wanted me to cut it to pieces, like the Inner London Education Au-

thority. The government wanted to abolish the CRE. When I left I’d made it stronger.”

Indeed, working within the system to change the system, often became Lord Ouseley’s mission.

Born in Guyana when it was a British colony, the young Herman came to Britain as a small boy in the 1950s. He spoke about how his early experiences of racism would go on to shape his political outlook and commitment to public life and dedication to race equality.

“My first experiences (of racism) were very naive as a 12-yearold. It was only when I got the shock of a family confronting us that I realised I had to be careful and look after myself.

“That set the tone. I started to understand what Oswald Moseley meant. I started to understand the struggles we were in.”

Viewers were also treated to some fascinating slides, including pictures of Lord Ouseley alongside Stevie Wonder and also ANC anti-aparthied activist Walter Sisulu, who stood and supported the fight against racism in Britain, while black Britons supported the struggles against white supremacy in South Africa.

BEATING THE ODDS : Lord Ouseley has overcome many different challenges throughout his career (photo: Getty Images) “We were seeking to challenge regimes that were hostile to equality movements. We had good relations with many ANC exiled in London. I had the

POWERFUL VOICES: Lord Ouseley has been at the heart of football’s ‘Kick It Out’ campaign, which has the full backing of England manager Gareth Southgate, left, and his entire national squad (photo: PA Images)

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honour of taking Walter around some of the London council estates and discussing the issue with him.”

The fight against racism informed by his experiences growing up as part of the Windrush generation was also what motivated Lord Ouseley to push the ‘Kick It Out’ campaign and rid football of racist thugs in the stands, something Ouseley himself experienced.

“In the UK, as black footballers emerged, they had to deal with monkey noises and bananas. No one was doing anything. Players were expected to turn up and play and not challenge racism.

“I’ve had experiences of leaving terraces covered in spit for watching black players.”

While, of course, there’s a long way still to go, Lord Ouseley also explained how there has been progress, how things have changed, and how black players have power.

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“Black players are asserting themselves, saying that they will speak out if they experience racism, like Raheem Sterling. They aren’t afraid of the backlash. If they down tools and say we are

context of racism which still continues to this day is crucial, and the talk by Lord Ouseley did just that.

“Black people from the moment they were here had to organise

Black players are asserting themselves, saying that they will speak out if they experience racism. If they all down tools, then there is no football not playing until you fix racism, then there is no football.

“The way forward for black players is to assert themselves even more and demand the protection they need. You don’t always have to have legislation to make things happen” Framing the achievements and struggles of the original Windrush arrivals within the wider

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because they were not welcome.

We didn’t have a choice because we were not invited to participate in things”.

While of course things are no doubt different several decades on, since Herman Ouseley first arrived in the UK, we are also reminded on a daily basis that the fight for race equality in the UK is as crucial as ever in 2022.

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42 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

Windrush Special

Midlands News

REUBEN STILL BRINGING JOY INTO OUR LIVES

Film premiere on Windrush Day in Wolverhampton charts the life and times of local entrepreneur Reuben Campbell. By Veron Graham

T

HE ACCOMPLISHMENTS of an eightyplus year-old Jamaican-born entrepreneur are to feature in fi lm that will premiere on Windrush Day in Wolverhampton.

A Joyous Jamaican Conversation will recount the personal and professional memories of Reuben Campbell, 83, who arrived in Wolverhampton from St Elizabeth, Jamaica in 1962 to build a new life, which included running the city’s pioneering Rising Star nightclub.

Hosted by rising producer/ director Tonia Daley-Campbell, the film journeys through Reuben’s storied professional career, which began in a meat processing facility in Jamaica, and saw him travel the country working with British Rail to support its move from coal power to electrification.

He later turned from ten-

I want young people to see the complications of running a business ant to owner occupier of The Ironmaster pub in Bilston, before finally retiring in December 1999. However, locally he’s best known for putting Wolverhampton on the entertainment map with the Rising Star. Famously situated opposite a police station, it was a haven for the biggest reggae artists of the late 1970s/ 1980s including Musical Youth and Nicky Thomas, making it an essential venue for

clubbers starved of venues welcoming to Caribbean people and their music.

Asked how he came to be involved with the production, the widowed father of four and grandfather of seven told The Voice: “I was asked to do an interview at the Theatre about my life by Tonia — who isn’t related to me! I was really surprised but I agreed to do it. I didn’t think it would end up as a film, but that’s OK! I especially want young people who see it to understand the complications of running a business and the importance of persevering when trouble comes.”

A Joyous Jamaican Conversation is the historic Wolverhampton Grand Theatre’s (WGT) first self-produced film and will also feature members of the Rush Theatre Company — Owen Miller, Ken ‘Dread’ McLean and Orvil Pinnock — sharing their memo-

TRIBUTE: Reuben Campbell with a thank you certificate from the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre ries of growing up within the local Jamaican community. The film forms part of a wider mission

by WGT to increase its engagement with black communities in and around Wolverhampton. This began in September 2021 with the creation of a Black, African and Caribbean Ambassador team to build engagement.

With two sell-out shows — A Joyous Jamaican Journey and The King Of Reggae: The Man, The Music, more event are planned for 2022 and

beyond. WGT Head of Programming & Production CoOrdinator, Tim Hession, said: “Our community is full of rich culture and diverse stories and we are passionate about giving platforms to those stories. Mr Campbell’s is one that we are incredibly proud to share, particularly on such a significant day as Windrush Day. We can’t wait to premiere A Joyous Jamaican Conversation.

“We are so very proud of dad,” added Reuben’s daughter

Carole. “When we look back at all of his achievements it is incredible, what stands out for me is the way he dealt with people so well in all types of situations.

He’s an inspiration.”

A Joyous Jamaican Conversation (PG) will be shown on Wednesday June 22, 2022 at 7.30pm at the Light House Cinema, Wolverhampton.

For more, visit

www.grandtheatre.co.uk

Birmingham Windrush event listings ● Public event: SS Empire Windrush Day Flag Raising at Birmingham City Council House Date: 22/6/22 Time: 9:00am Location: Victoria Square, Birmingham, B1 1BB The Lord Mayor’s Office, Black & Asian Police Association and the W.A.W.I Project invites community organisations and the general public to join us for the annual Windrush Day raising of the SS Empire Windrush Day Flag.

● Event (invite only): Birmingham Screening of the unveiling of the Windrush Monument National Windrush Monument, Waterloo station Date: 22/6/22 Time: 10:00am Location: Birmingham New Street Coinciding with the Windrush statue unveiling ceremony at Waterloo Station, a live streaming will take place in Birmingham New Street station to commemorate this iconic event.

● Event: Black Heritage Walks and Our Journeys: Windrush Day Lunch Date: 22/6/22 Time: 12:00pm-2:00pm Location: Soho House, Birmingham Museum Trust Join Black Heritage Walks Network for their Windrush Day walks through Handsworth. Explore the contributions of the African Caribbean community who settled in the area. Leaving from Soho House, B18 5LB.

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● Event: B2022 Commonwealth Games Community Engagement event: A journey through Windrush Date: 22/6/22 Time: 4:00-6:30pm Location: Legacy Centre of Excellence, 144 Potters Lane, Birmingham B6 4UU The B2022 Community Engagement Team with community partner Legacy Centre of Excellence, will host this event in celebration and commemoration of the Windrush Generation and its descendants. Hosted by BBC radio WM presenter Nikki Tapper.

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● Event: Windrush Gala Dinner & Dance Date: Saturday, June 18 Time: 6pm-1am Location: Edgbaston Stadium Black-tie dinner and dance honours the Windrush Pioneers as part of the National Windrush day celebrations.

For booking contact www. recognizeonline.com/blog/ windrush-gala-dinner-2022

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JUNE 2022 THE VOICE | 43

Windrush Special

BEER ON TAP FOR LLOYD, 85

Much-loved father, grandfather and retired mechanic celebrates milestone birthday by pulling a pint

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HE FAMILY of a retired Jamaican-born mechanic has surprised him by arranging for him to pull a pint at his own 85th birthday party at a pub in Birmingham, where he has lived and worked since 1958.

The surprise was organised by Lloyd Wilson’s daughter Elaine Weir for the celebration at O’Neill’s on Broad Street in Birmingham recently, in which Lloyd’s former apprentice expressed his thanks for effectively saving his career over 40 years ago.

Ms Weir, business liaison manager for Westside Business Improvement District, said: “My dad’s a very funny, loving, generous and all-round genuine man, and everyone in the family loves and respects him very much. We wanted to make a big fuss for his 85th and because he always used to enjoy a beer in the pub in his younger days, we thought we’d surprise him by getting him to pull a pint at his own party.

“We’re really grateful to the staff at O’Neill’s for letting him do that, as it brought a huge cheer and tears from everyone there. He had a wonderful time.”

Lloyd was born in Saint Anne, Jamaica on April 24 1937, and arrived in the UK’s second city aged 21 in 1958. He first worked as a British Rail mechanic and then moved on to West Midlands Transport’s Tyburn Road Bus Works in Erdington — building, fitting and repairing Gardner diesel engines to the city’s buses and training scores of apprentices until he retired.

Lloyd’s wife-to-be Bernice had also arrived from Jamaica; they met at a bus stop in Birmingham

and were married on August 31 1963. Their first home was in Great Barr, then they settled down in Lozells and brought up eight children. They now have 20 grandchildren and — so far — 10 great-grandchildren.

Robert Mason, one of Lloyd’s former apprentices at West Midlands Travel, wrote a special message for the celebration: “When I first met Lloydie, it was probably 1980 when apprentices were sent to the bus ‘works’ for component strip and rebuild experience.

CHEERS: Lloyd Wilson pulls a pint at O’Neill’s on Broad Street, Birmingham; below left, with wife Bernice; below right, at Tyburn Road works

BLESSED

“At first, my work was defective, and the supervisor was ready to send me home, but Lloydie requested me to stay with him, effectively saving my bacon. He was stationed on gearboxes and was so full of knowledge and taught me a lot.

“He always insisted: ‘Study hard and don’t fool like the other boys on the street.’ And I remember his other advice: ‘Don’t trust no-one, except me!’ Then he would burst out in one big laugh!

“He would find any excuse to go for walkabouts and take me with him, showing me around and introducing me to all he met. He made my stay at Tyburn Road a happy one. He is one blessed soul I have ’nough respect for in my life.”

Lloyd said: “I’ve had a great life here in Birmingham, enjoyed working and family life bringing up my children with Bernice. I love them all.”

Who knows what will take place at Lloyd and Bernice’s diamond wedding anniversary next year?

Contributors sought for Pilots of the Caribbean RAF exhibition THE PRODUCERS of an exhibition which documents the pioneering exploits of black African and Caribbean servicemen to the Royal Air Force (RAF), has made a call for contributions.

The aptly named Pilots of the Caribbean exhibition details the contributions from Jamaican sergeants who were piloting warplanes as part of the British forces in 1917 during

First World War. Now being displayed online after a stint at the RAF Museum in Cosford, Shropshire, the curators are nonetheless keen to add anecdotes and artefacts to the exhibition, subtitled ‘Volunteers of African Heritage in the Royal Air Force.

An RAF spokesperson said: “The museum is committed to highlighting the diverse nature of the RAF over time and the

vital contribution made to the defence of this country by black airmen and airwomen.”

Officer Donald Campbell, who was in the RAF between 19692005, beginning in Northern Ireland as an 18 year old and went on to serve all over the world, was among those supporting the call. He told the media: “I go out in the community now on a regular basis, and my own black

people are saying to me, ‘I didn’t know black people had (RAF) medals like you have on your chest. How did you get those?’

Someone else said to me, ‘I thought poppies were for the white man, didn’t know it was for the black man’, so education is needed.”

The RAF is keen to hear from veterans, their relatives and those currently serving in the

RAF, by telephone: 020 8358 4873; email askcollections@ rafmuseum.org or post to Archive & Library, Royal Air Force Museum, Grahame Park Way, London, NW9 5LL. ‘Pilots of the Caribbean: ‘Volunteers of

African Heritage in the Royal Air Force,’ can be viewed online at rafmuseum. org.uk/research/online-exhibitionspilots-of-the-caribbean

If you have a story for the East or West Midlands, call/text Veron Graham on 07954 572 988, email veronpgraham@gmail.com, or find him on Facebook or LinkedIn

44 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

Windrush Special

HACKNEY TO PAY HOMAGE

Public sculptures to be unveiled outside the town hall will ensure this very special generation is never forgotten

By Rodney Hinds

PRIDE AND JOY: Artist Thomas J Price can’t think of a better place for his two public sculptures that depict representations of the Windrush Generation to be displayed than outside Hackney Town Hall, below

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HIS NATIONAL Windrush Day will see the unveiling of two public sculptures in Hackney to honour the Windrush Generation.

The figures by London-based artist Thomas J Price, to be permanently installed outside Hackney Town Hall, will depict representations of the Windrush Generation and their descendants.

Price, along with fellow artist Veronica Ryan OBE, were awarded the Hackney Windrush Art Commission in 2020 following a comprehensive consultation with residents.

Ryan’s large marble and bronze sculptures of Caribbean fruits were unveiled last October to mark the start of Hackney’s Black History Season and, along with Price’s figures, became the first UK public artwork to celebrate and honour the Windrush Generation.

CONNECTION

The sculptures by Price are based on an amalgamation of digital 3D images of Hackney residents aged 20 to 91, all of whom had a personal connection to Windrush.

Over 30 members of the local community, including Hackney Cllr Carole Williams, the lead member for Hackney Council’s response to the Windrush scandal, answered a call from the artist to be photographed using a 3D scanner, and have their stature, stance, clothing, features and posture captured to inform the final pieces.

Price said: “It is important my figures are not placed on plinths, to disrupt a sense of hierarchy that surrounds many public monuments. They exist amongst

the public and daily life and are an extension of the people who inhabit these spaces. It was very important to me to continue

Local resident Anneke Chambers, 35, who took part in the project in memory of her great grandfather, a member of the

It is important my figures are not placed on plinths, to disrupt a sense of hierarchy around many monuments this approach with the Hackney Windrush Commission, which is why the two figures have been positioned in the square directly outside Hackney Town Hall.”

Windrush Generation who settled and worked in Hackney, said: “Participating in this unique opportunity brought to the forefront the trials and suc-

cesses of my great grandfather’s experiences, during a very challenging period in British history.

“It has been a great joy to contribute to the richness of Hackney’s migration history through the Windrush Art Commission.

This has enabled me to honour my great grandfather’s legacy and that of other Windrush migrants, in the knowledge that our history shall be preserved for many generations to come.”

Cllr Williams added: “The sculptures are a celebration of the legacy and cultural in fluence of the Windrush Generation, and address the dis-

proportionate lack of statues representing black people in the UK. “It is fitting that Hackney, a borough with a long and proud history of welcoming migrants, once again helps to showcase the stories of Windrush, which can be remembered and retold for generations to come.

“The sculptures compliment the commitment made by Hackney when it became the first council to pass a comprehen-

sive motion acknowledging the struggles and celebrating the achievements of migrant communities, and reflect Hackney’s illustrious history of fighting racism.

“I was delighted to have a chance to be part of the project.

My mother, who arrived from Jamaica in the 1950s, would have taken a great deal of pleasure in the tribute to her and others who made Britain their home in the post-war period.”

Eddie Nestor to be your host for what promises to be a special night

TO CELEBRATE the arrival of Thomas J Price’s artworks — which will complete the Council’s Windrush Artwork Commission which began in 2019 in partnership with Create London — a free evening event will take place in the Town Hall Square on National Windrush Day on Wednesday, June 22.

Hosted by BBC radio presenter Eddie Nestor MBE, the acts will be a cross-generational

mix, including award-winning poets Mr Gee and Raymond Antrobus, a reggae choir, Morningside Youth Steel Pan Band, and Kingsmead Dynamics Drumming and Dance Group, and more.

The evening will also hold a minute’s silence for those affected by the Windrush scandal, with speeches from Hackney’s Windrush lead Cllr Carole Williams and Mayor Philip Glanville. Information on how to

access Windrush compensation will also be available. Ahead of the big day, Hackney Council is asking everyone in the borough: ‘What will you do for Windrush?’

The provocation supports June 22 as a national day to be acknowledged like any other calendar event.

Through an online activity pack and social media campaign, the Council will provide inspiration on how to celebrate or support the Win-

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drush Generation using the hashtag #HackneyForWindrush on its social media platforms. Ideas include sharing stories, creating awareness for the compensation scheme, baking a traditional Caribbean recipe contributed by members of the Windrush Generation, or learning about Windrush via new teaching packs available to all via ‘Hackney’s Diverse Curriculum The Black Contribution’.

Visits to both Hackney’s Windrush

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sculptures, which include a trip to Veronica Ryan OBE’s Turner-prize nominated artworks delivered in October 2021 and became the UK’s first permanent public artworks to honour the Windrush, are also encouraged.

Full event details and activity pack to be published in June. For more information follow

@HackneyWindrush on Instagram or visit hackneywindrush.com

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46 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

Windrush Special

Making sure the legacy of the Windrush generation lives on

Team of experts to explore ways to preserve history and experience of ancestors.

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VER THE next three years, academic and entrepreneur Dr Les Johnson, visiting Fellow at Birmingham City University, will launch a series of initiatives to promote and preserve the legacy of the Windrush generation and their successors.

As founder and chair of the National Windrush Museum, his first task was to gather together a diverse group of professionals from around Britain to form a development team.

The team consisted of: Denize Ledeatte, Sue Liburd, Cynthia Hyman, Trevor Walters, Bertram Leon, Lorlett Hudson, Linford Anderson, Zak Offe-Buroby, SI Martin, Zac Robinson and Dr Les Johnson.

VALUABLE

They have carried out research, focus groups and discussions to establish a feasibility study for a National Windrush Museum.

With the study now complete, the team have recommended the launch of the National Windrush Museum board on June 25.

The museum’s acting director Denize Ledeatte says: “The National Windrush Museum aims to preserve and express

They endured great hardships and made many sacrifices the lived experience of the Windrush generation and their successors.

“This will be achieved through research, exhibitions, education, culture preservation and promotion. It will provide a valuable entry point and way to access current conversations about decolonialisation, systemic racism, the legacy of the British Empire and slavery by translating them through the lens of the ‘lived experience’.”

Johnson emphasises: “We are not in any means dismissing the antecedents of the Windrush pioneers; however, it is important to document and leave tangible legacies highlighting the specific contributions of British citizens who are part of Windrush communities.”

Ledeatte points out: “Our focus groups emphasised that our parents and grandparents struggled hard so they more than deserve museums and cultural assets beyond libraries and archives that represent our culture and heritage in tangible ways.”

Johnson, picright tured inset right, provided the seed capital for this project in order to kick start its development.

He says: “I have worked as a consultant to this under resourced sector for many years. It would probably take a year or two to get things off the ground with traditional models of

NEW BEGINNINGS: Above and inset below left, people from the West Indies arrive at Victoria Station, London, in 1956 after their journey from Southampton Docks; inset right, women and girls walk off a plane from the Caribbean in 1961 (photos: Getty Images). working. My accelerator funding enables it to be done in six months with a springboard effect.

“When the Windrush pioneers came to the UK, they endured great hardships and had to make many financial sacrifices so their children could survive and flourish.

“They got together in selfhelp groups to develop despite racism. It is important that we preserve their legacies and tell the stories.

The initiative has been welcomed by public and private sector and The National Windrush Museum are working with world leading IT company

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ATOS who will be celebrating Windrush day by promoting Windrush voices and cultural diversity in their company.

Network Rail is another company who have taken to the idea of a The National Windrush Museum and are also plan-

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ning Windrush activities.

Sue Liburd, acting director of the Windrush Society, designed to support the work of the museum, says: “I’m extremely excited about being involved in this project. This is long overdue.

“My job will be to roll out the Windrush Museum brand across the country and establish memberships through a society/network of existing projects and stimulate new initiatives.”

The newly formed National Windrush Museum board is also exploring a partnership with five-star pan-Caribbean restaurant Antillean, celebrating Caribbean food stories. This will coincide with the celebration of 60 years of Jamaican independence.

Johnson says: “We are ac-

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tively encouraging innovative interpretations of Windrush heritage cultures. It’s hard to beat a live art project interpreting Jamaican food and its relationship to reggae’s evolution since independence.”

He adds: “These new initiatives will work with existing Windrush focused organisations like the Windrush Foundation, Black Cultural Archives and various Windrush day celebration initiative to support the very good work that they are doing.

“With such a huge task to represent the multiple-narratives of post Second World War communities, it is important to bring together as many sympathetic groups as possible to engage with, and sit alongside the other 2,500 museums in Britain.”

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Windrush Special

WHAT IT MEANS TO ME

RICH SOCIETY: Paulette Lewis MBE hails the Windrush Generation’s contribution to the NHS

The Voice asked a cross-section of people what they thought about the forthcoming monument to celebrate the Windrush Generation, which will be unveiled on Windrush Day, June 22 Sonia Stewart, chair of the Jamaica Society, Manchester “The importance of the unveiling of the Windrush monument cannot be underestimated. A truly momentous occasion recognising the challenges faced by our Windrush pioneers so many decades ago, many of whom came from Jamaica, who unselfishly answered the call to action, to assist in rebuilding Britain. In doing so, some had no choice but to leave family members behind until they were able to send for them later. I was a ‘left behind’ child.

“We, as a Society, would like serious consideration given to similar Windrush monuments placed in other major cities in the UK, such as Manchester, that are particularly culturally rich in the diversity of Caribbean residents.”

Serena “I feel excited about the Windrush monument as my aunts and uncles, and grand aunt came and were here and helped build up everything and contributed with everyone else. I am glad they have finally being recognised, and so I am really super excited.”

Neptali, below left, on behalf of Alva Palmer, right, who died in December 2021 and was planning to attend the unveiling

“It’s wonderful that the Windrush generation is finally being

acknowledged with a monument to celebrate their significant contributions to this country’s society. The Windrush represented dreams and opportunities for many aspirational men, women and children who have created generational opportunities for many and have paved the way for some incredibly gifted people. We hope that future generations can continue to thrive thanks to the sacrifice of the individuals before us.”

Debbie Sayles “It’s important to me as a parent of biracial children that our youth understand the history of the Windrush generation, about the sacrifice that was made moving to a foreign land, to the unknown, to help rebuild post-war Britain. The monument is a thought-provoking tribute to this amazing generation, and I am looking forward to visiting with my children.”

Garfield Hall “I think it’s extremely important to have a Windrush monument because it recognises the people and their contributions that are key to this country’s history. It is essential for younger generations to understand and to learn about the Windrush, its passengers and how they have helped and continue to shape the UK.” Nathaniel Hibbert, seven, from London “When my nanny came to England, she said that they were mean to her and she worked really hard. My mom has been talking about this

monument for a while now, and I am glad that it will make my nanny special.

“I would like to see it one day and be special like my nanny.”

Paulette Lewis MBE, president of the Caribbean Nurses and Midwives Association (UK), trustee of NAJ (UK), chair of Croydon BME Forum, non-executive director, NHS “The contribution we have made is visible in all areas of society — from health, education to arts and politics, to name a few.

It has helped to shape the rich multicultural society in which we live and work today.

“We must remember and acknowledge those who worked tirelessly over the past 73 years and those who still continue to work and contribute to building the NHS, providing a well-needed service.”

Norman Mullings MBE, JP, chairman of the Learie Constantine Association, established in 1971 “The national monument to the Windrush generation is most appropriate and it is about time that public travelling through Waterloo Station and visitors to London, recognise and learn about some of the contributions made by black people to the prosperity of British society.

“It will help to dispel the myth that we came here to take away their ‘jobs, houses and wives’, as was said to me when I first arrived in England from Jamaica in 1959.

“I am sure that all fair-minded people will be appalled at the suffering and injustices that we have suffered over the years, and we thank those working to make our society a better place.

“A national symbol is long overdue.”

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4 Kinetic Cres, Enfield EN3 7XH E. office@freshstepsindependentschool.org.uk

T. 02088035827

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48 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

Windrush Special

HOW TO MARK THE OCCASION...

There are many events taking place up and down the country to celebrate Windrush Day — here’s just a taste of what is on offer

Windrush monument unveiled at the South Bank Centre

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N WINDRUSH Day, June 22, a special screening of the unveiling ceremony for the National Windrush Monument, created by internationally renowned Jamaican artist Basil Watson will be hosted at the South Bank Centre. This will enable persons to watch the unveiling live on a big screen.

The ceremony will celebrate the lives, contribution and legacy of those who came to the UK from the Caribbean from 1948 to 1971 and their descendants, culminating in the unveiling of this historic monument, which can be embraced by future generations and the nation for decades to come.

EXCITING

After the screening of the ceremony, there will be an exciting Windrush Day celebration with MC Brenda Emmanus

featuring choirs from local schools: Hackney — St Antony’s Catholic Primary School; Lewisham —Haberdashers’ Hatcham Temple Grove Free School; and Lambeth — Corpus Christi Primary School.

The celebrations will also featuring creative performances of excerpts of Movement of a People — the first contemporary dance work to explore the narrative of the arrival of SS Empire Windrush that brought the Caribbean people to the UK. Originally performed in 2018 Movement of a People was widely commended by audiences across the UK. Choreographer Sharon Watson said: “Windrush: Movement of a People highlights both the struggles and good times the Jamaican community experienced during those early years.”

She added: “It is an uplifting dance production that is not

only enjoyable but will shine a light on an important era of the history of black people here in the UK.” The piece will be performed by members of the original cast and dancers from the Northern School of Contemporary Dance.

EXPERIENCE

The vibes will be kept high, as throughout the day the audience will be taken on a musical journey of the Windrush era — jazz, reggae, ska and calypso, performed by resident for the Tomorrows Warriors camp.

Delicious Caribbean Cuisine will be on sale during the day as a part of the Windrush experience.

The day will culminate with a Windrush Calypso extravaganza delivered by Just Vibez, a Caribbean music collective, who will bring the flavour of the Caribbean to the South Bank Centre to celebrate Win-

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drush Day 2022. It will feature music from across the Caribbean islands in true celebratory fashion, along with a performance by Levi Roots.

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Bring your friends, flags, whistles and dancing shoes!

This is a free event, with activities during the day commencing with the screening of

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the monument unveiling at 11am. The public can arrive throughout the day.

The festivities will end at 8pm.

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JUNE 2022 THE VOICE | 49

Windrush Special

WINDRUSH DAY GRANT SCHEME Commemorative schemes to unite communities

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SPECTACULAR: Above, Levi Roots, who will be on stage on Windrush Day; inset left, Just Vibez, who will perform at the South Bank Centre; inset below left, Movement of a People explores the arrival of the SS Windrush through the medium of dance (photos: Brian Slater)

OME 35 charities, community groups and councils across England will receive funding for assist with commemorating National Windrush Day 2022 which marks the outstanding contribution of the Windrush Generations and their descendants.

This year’s projects will focus on bringing communities throughout the UK together – across different ages and ethnic backgrounds – to commemorate, celebrate and educate in their local area on Windrush.

Commemorative schemes include festivals, podcasts, a Windrush Choir, steel band, a boat trip to Tilbury on Windrush Day and beyond. These activities will place communities at the heart of Windrush Day 2022 as the nation pays tribute to the British Caribbean community.

Today, there are about one million people of Caribbean descent living in the UK. Communities Minister Kemi Badenoch said: “The legacy of the Windrush generation means so much to so many. As a firstgeneration immigrant myself, I understand personally how important it is to highlight how much we welcome and celebrate the contributions made by those who choose to make Britain home.

“Thanks to our funding, events across England will take place on

June 22, helping remember and recognise the leading role the Windrush Generation and their descendants have played in making Britain stronger, culturally richer and more inclusive.”

PROJECTS

Funded projects for 2022 include: l Tilbury on the Thames. To coincide with the unveiling of the Windrush Monument on June 22 at Waterloo, more than 100 people — including some who arrived at Tilbury on the original Windrush sailing — will sail from Waterloo Pier to the dock where the MV Empire Windrush originally docked in Tilbury, ending at the Walkway of Memories by Evewright funded in 2021. l Inspiring Audio Ltd Working with children in Nottingham, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol

We are encouraging new, innovative proposals to share the Windrush story and reach out and London, the project will produce 10 free podcasts exploring both history and social context of their Windrush Generation relatives. Online activity resources will be made to support each programme. l National Maritime Museum in Greenwich will deliver a one-day festival named DESCENDENTS to embrace multiple aspects of British Caribbean life, from music and dance to food and storytelling. l Peterborough City Council will hold a celebratory programme that raises awareness and celebrates the long-term legacy of the Windrush generation. Including a dominoes world record championship, curry cook off, family activities, Caribbean music, and a dynamic education programme. l Bristol Reggae Orchestra, pictured left, will create a unique choir and orchestra to celebrate the Windrush generation and their descendants. The

project will include reggae artists directly connected with the Windrush generation who will perform with the local community and will lead to the creation of a Windrush choir. l Caius House in Wandsworth will be bringing together the local community with Caribbean elders teaching young people how to cook traditional dishes to be served at its cultural event on Windrush Day. l The Huddersfield African Caribbean Cultural Trust will bring together people of all ages to learn how to play the steel pan. Huddersfield has a history of steel pan musicians bringing their skills and knowledge to the UK during the Windrush years.

Windrush Day will host an event for learners to showcase their new talent and tell the story of the history of steel pan.

OUTSTANDING

l Devon Development Education will host a series of activities in the region which will cover education and celebration to mark Windrush Day. This will include a secondary schools’ conference on Windrush Day, Exeter, to explore Windrush: what it was, why it happened and the economic, social and cultural contributions of Caribbean people to Devon and the country. l You Are Able CIC will produce a documentary in Luton

about the Windrush generation through the eyes of young people, learning a legacy through the accounts of descendants who had varying ambitions to either settle or envisaged returning to the Caribbean after a period of time. l Pimlico Family Workshop Toy Library will educate the local community, particularly children and carers, about the Windrush story and its significance through a series of coordinated activities and lessons in schools and libraries across south Westminster on Windrush Day 2022.

Chair of the Windrush Community Funds and Windrush Schemes group Paulette Simpson CBE said: “I am delighted that we have been able to fund 35 excellent projects from across the country for the fourth annual National Windrush Day on June 22 to celebrate the outstanding contributions that the Windrush generation and their descendants have made, and continue to make, to British society. This year, we are encouraging new, innovative proposals to share the Windrush story and reach out to people in diverse local communities. In doing so, we can ensure projects will impact history, education and celebration in a meaningful way.”

Visit gov.uk for a full list of Windrush Day funded projects across the UK

YOUR GUIDE TO OTHER WINDRUSH ACTIVITIES l Windrush Day Annual

Lecture with Professor Gus John — June 22, 6pm, City Hall For the third year running, Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage are delighted to present the 2022 Annual Windrush Lecture by Professor Gus John as he explores the Road to Independence and what it means for African and African Caribbean countries to be in independent in a constantly evolving changing political landscape.

Organised by Serendipity: info@serendipity-uk.com l Brent Celebrates Windrush

Day 2022 — June 22 6pm9pm, Brent Civic Centre

Caribbean Front Room installation to explore the Caribbean and Black British experience through objects, family, and the home.

Hear from community leaders and artists in a panel discussion that explores the legacies of colonialism and empire in relation to the Windrush diaspora while looking ahead to modern context.

Organised by Brent Council: eventbrite.co.uk/e/brent-celebrates-windrush-day l Tracing Your Windrush

Ancestors — June 22, 10.30am-12pm and 1pm2.30pm, Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry Are you interested in trac-

ing someone who arrived on these shores on the HMT Empire Windrush in 1948?

The workshop will be led by genealogist Paul Wilkins, who has extensive experience in helping people start to trace their ancestry in the Caribbean.

Organised by Herbert Art Gallery & Museum: theherbert.org/ l Voices from Windrush —

June 24, 7.30pm-10.30pm, Mycenae House, London Global Fusion Music & Arts present an evening of drama, poetry and music, focusing on the lives of people who fought in the two World Wars, those who were invited to rebuild

Britain, their lives and their experiences.

For more information, contact: info@mycenaehouse.co.uk l Caribbean African Health

(CAHN) Network — June 25 12pm–6pm, Alexandra Park, Manchester CAHN is hosting its annual Windrush Day event this year at Alexandra Park in Manchester. The event will feature history through songs, food, clothing, art and craft, performances.

For more information contact: events@cahn.org.uk l Dance across the Carib-

bean and learn about the Windrush generation

Take a journey back in time starting in the 1940s and learn about the Windrush generation through fast facts. Discover how our friends from Jamaica, Trinidad, Tobago and other islands embarked on a huge journey across the seas to build new lives in the UK. Your children will learn about the music and dance styles which were popular within the British Caribbean communities.

The Windrush workshop promotes cultural learning as well as recognising the huge influence this generation has had on music and dance.

For more information, contact: dancedays.co.uk or call 0203 966 7692

50 | THE VOICE FEBRUARY 2022

EXHIBITION NOW OPEN Discover the stories of the people who shaped London

FRIDAY LATE 17 JUNE Agatha Claudette Hart, bus conductor, 1962. Hart was one of many women recruited from the Caribbean to work in vital roles on the London Transport network.

JUNE 2022 THE VOICE | 51

Lyndon Mukasa

Join the debate online voice-online.co.uk/opinion

Eye on the Diaspora

Colonial era anti-abortion laws set to stay in Caribbean after US move

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HE DEBATE on abortion rages in the United States after a leaked draft judgment from the Supreme Court proposed the abolition of Roe vs Wade, the 1973 landmark ruling by the Supreme Court that protects a woman’s right to have an abortion.

Throughout the Caribbean, similar debates are being held about the rights and autonomy that women have over their bodies. Many states in the Caribbean are among the most restrictive in the world when it comes to the provision and access to abortion, and much of this has been tied to old colonial laws that were established during a time when women had significantly fewer rights compared to today.

Abortion in Jamaica is al-

CAMPAIGNING: Representative Maxine Waters speaks at the Women’s March Foundation’s National Day Of Action in Los Angeles. Activists are defending the right to have access to abortion in the US, which could have ramifications for Caribbean countries (photos: Getty Images)

Restricting abortions doesn’t stop them from occurring

most entirely prohibited altogether unless there is a health risk according to the Centre for Reproductive Rights. Other countries such as Haiti and the Dominican Republic are similarly restrictive.

UNSAFE

For much of the English-speaking Caribbean, there are certain restrictions in place. In Grenada, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda and St Lucia, abortion is permitted if there is a health risk during pregnancy and in StLucia’s case includes rape and incest and additional qualifiers for abortion.

Much of these restrictions can be traced back to old colonial laws passed in the 19th century. For former colonies of Britain, this can be found

in the Offence Against the Person Act of 1861 which made administering an abortion or trying to self-abort punishable with life imprisonment.

The issue is that placing restrictions on abortion doesn’t actually stop abortions from occurring. Women have always found ways to terminate their pregnancies if and when

the circumstances permitted it. The problem is, that by placing restrictions to safe access to abortion, women are forced to take unsafe measures that could have potential long-term consequences for their reproductive health.

In Jamaica, unsafe abortions are relatively frequent which increases the risk of miscar-

riage in future pregnancies, internal damage and in some cases death.

These restrictions are often maintained through the influence of culture and religious institutions that argue the termination of a foetus is tantamount to the murder of a live and fully formed human being.

These beliefs are likely to be reinforced even further if Roe vs Wade is overturned in the United States, due to the country’s immense influence over the Caribbean.

Activist groups for women’s reproductive health are concerned that the discourse on abortion could be pushed back further if this happens.

Afro-Brazilians could help swing vote for anti-black Bolsonaro

IN OCTOBER, Brazilians will head to the polls in what will be their ninth consecutive general election since the end of the military dictatorship that ran from 1964 to 1985.

At the heart of this political storm is the controversial and divisive current president Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing former army officer who has earned a reputation for being “Trump-like” in his approach.

On the other side is the favourite to challenge for the presidency Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the former president from 2003 to 2010. Lula was known for his left-wing and progressive policies, but controversially imprisoned on charges of corruption in 2018 before being released in April 2021 following the annulment of the con-

victions. The choices that Brazilians have will be shaped and contested on all manner of issues, however, racism — specifically when it comes to the Afro-Brazilian population and indigenous peoples of Brazil — is something that Brazil struggles to grapple with.

COMMUNITY: Afro-Brazilians will seek to endure and survive, regardless of who is in power

FEARS

When it comes to black people, Bolsonaro has expressed particular disgust at the quilombo descendants of runaway slaves, who he views as unproductive and “not good for procreating any more”.

Despite all of this, in the 2018 general election, up to 50 per cent of Afro-Brazilians voted for Bolsonaro.

Data from Brazilian polls in 2018

suggest that fears over increasing violent crime, as well as Bolsonaro’s support for traditional family values, have been a driving factor in support for Bolsonaro among Afro-Brazilians. Lula currently leads the polls at 45 per cent compared to Bolsonaro’s

31 per cent. Many people are hoping that Lula would be able to solve the problems that have afflicted Brazil for over six years.

During Lula’s initial run as president, he established and funded a number of social programmes that

lifted millions of people out of poverty, reducing extreme poverty by 50 per cent. These programmes were funded by a boom in Brazilian products like steel, soy, and oil. This was highly beneficial to the black-majority and indigenous minority.

Regardless of who wins the elections however, Afro-Brazilians are looking beyond party politics and the state to respond to the challenges in their communities.

The quilombo movement aims to establish more autonomous black communities within Brazil through at times the purchase of land or the revitalisation of the favelas.

As such, Afro-Brazilians will seek to endure and survive as they always have regardless of who is in power.

Lyndon Mukasa is a writer and researcher. He studied International Development at the London School of Economics.

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52 | THE VOICE

JUNE 2022

Lerone Clarke-Oliver

Join the debate online voice-online.co.uk/opinion

LGBTQ+ Columnist

The podcast that changed me N AVIGATING LIFE as a black gay man in the UK hasn’t been easy — adolescence, academia, the church, the workplace, even the spaces that should be safe for black people have often proven to be quite the opposite.

What resources are available, particularly for men wanting to learn more about the Black LGBTQ+ experience?

Like many of us, I have been searching for ways to better understand the landscape around me.

As a black gay man navigating the world and working to create meaningful and substantive relationships with other men — fraternal and romantic — I’ve found (finally) a resource that has, in many ways, held me, and understood me.

Busy Being Black, a podcast created and hosted by Josh Rivers, offers a straightforward proposition: deep conversations with people who have learned to thrive in an anti-black world. The impact of those conversations, though, has proven to be transformative.

Josh is often open about struggling with his own masculinity (a sentiment most men can relate to) and credits his guests on Busy Being Black with helping him feel more

We, as black men, have much more in common than we’re led to believe

comfortable in who he is versus who he thinks people want him to be.

As the world becomes busier, the podcast format has become incredibly popular. Audio content allows the listener to multitask. A recent study, by Edison showed that 49 per cent of podcast-listening happens at home, 22 per cent happens while driving, 11 per cent at work, and eight per cent while exercising. I listen to Busy while on walks.

The length of a podcast typically allows a deep-dive on topics or an extended conversation between two people. Other notable podcasts exploring the black LGBTQ+ experience include AfroQueer, QueerWOC and The Heart.

These podcasts expertly link the past to the present, take a ‘by us, for us’ approach, reveal hidden histories, offer representation and are crafted for

the people and communities I love the most.

While conversations are uplifting, enlightening and sometimes hard to listen to, they’re always necessary.

A conversation with poet Ben Ellis included a muchneeded discussion on male suicide and depression; and a recent episode with Da’Shaun Harrison, an abolitionist based in Atlanta, began with both discussing a shared history of sexual violence — conversations I’d never heard men have.

SELVES

They opened up into a thoughtprovoking exploration of how we might engage our erotic selves in order to foster deeper intimacy with those around us.

While my lived experience is different from Josh’s and yours different from ours, what becomes clear through the conversations, is that we, as black men, have much more in common than we’re led to believe.

As black men experiencing various forms of violence and harm — from police violence to school exclusion and homophobia — getting to a place where we understand our experiences as interconnected helps build a more solid foundation that enables us to show up for each other. Lord knows, we need each other.

LISTEN UP: Josh Rivers’ podcast Busy Being Black features deep conversations with black people

Black trans people can help us understand masculinity

EXPERIENCE: Black trans people can inform us about the impact of toxic attitudes (photo: Getty)

AMID a rising climate of antitrans rhetoric, it feels important to open with some clarity.

A trans person is someone who feels that their gender does not match the gender assigned to them at birth.

Laverne Cox and Caitlin Jenner are perhaps the most high-profile examples of trans women, and Laith Ashley and Elliot Page among the examples of trans men.

And while there has been increased visibility for the black British trans community in the past decade, led by people like Munroe Bergdorf and Mzz Kim-

berley, there appears to be a distinct lack of visibility and representation of black trans men.

Despite a growing awareness of trans identities and experiences, why don’t we see more trans men?

INCLUSIVE

Through conversations and friendships with black trans men, I’ve come to understand masculinity in more complicated and inclusive ways.

Together, we compare and contrast our experiences, share in the societally imposed expectations of who we should be in

the world, and find commonalities in our lived experiences that most men would find affirming and freeing. In a world in which masculinity has become synonymous with violence, toxicity and discrimination, we could learn a lot from those who have been on the receiving end of patriarchal culture and who find a way to express themselves in ways that challenge (or sometimes adhere) to dominant norms.

The LGBTQ+ communities contain with them many of the answers we’re looking for as a society, if only we could all listen and learn. This is not to put

the onus on transformation on the LGBTQ+ communities, or trans people specifically: quite the opposite.

Movements for equality and representation need all of us working together so we can shape a world in which masculinity is understood (and lived!) in ways that are less harmful, more conscious of others and more loving. We have wonderful examples in our black trans siblings, who inhabit a masculinity they have fashioned for themselves, often leaving the harmful bits behind. What stops us all from doing the same?

Lerone Clarke-Oliver is a PR, publicist, artist manager and ghost writer. He is a commentator on the black LGBTQ+ community and contributor to a number of media outlets.

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JUNE 2022 THE VOICE | 53

Midlands News

MILLION CHILDREN MARCH

Commonwealth Games to boost legacy projects for Birmingham children. By Veron Graham

T

HE COMMONWEALTH Games have launched a new scheme to bring a million children and young people closer to the tournament and improve their access to sport, art and culture.

Bring the Power (BtP) is part of the Commonwealth Connections programme which is building collaboration with schools in Africa and the Caribbean.

The aims were revealed at the recent launch of BtP’s Youth Programme, which is tasked with achieving them, at Aston’s Lighthouse Youth Centre, where young attendees were offered chances to try out new sports, including three-a-side basketball for the able-bodied and wheelchair users.

The programme is working with schools by providing educational resources to help pupils understand the background as well as the power of the Games.

The BtP programme will also deliver a range of interactive workshops to develop pupils’ knowl-

the West Midlands with schools across the Commonwealth and the Common Ground Grant Scheme, which aims to encourage cultural collaboration, facilitate conversation and promote student leadership.

IMPACT edge and skills, through fun physical and creative activity.

Birmingham 2022 is also providing workshops and engagement projects at city youth organisations: The Factory (Longbridge), The Concord (Sparkbrook), the Clifton Road Centre (Sutton Coldfield), as well as The Lighthouse.

The organisers of the Games are collaborating with the British Council and Birmingham City Council on several projects including Commonwealth Connections, linking schools across

A key driver behind the programme is Birmingham’s status as Europe’s youngest city with over 40 per cent of the population under 25, in addition to COVID-19’s impact on its young charges’ education, mental and physical health.

Alton Brown, Head of Youth Programmes & Policy at Birmingham 2022 said: “We are very proud to be working together with Birmingham City Council’s Youth Service to engage young people, especially as they already hold incredible relationships with youth workers across the city. It’s been amazing to see so many children and young people engaged so far in

PART OF THE TEAM: Bring the Power launches Youth Programme in Aston. Below, schools in Jamaica, Nigeria and Ghana celebrated being part of the Commonwealth Connections programme Birmingham 2022. We can’t wait to celebrate the next generation of changemakers.

The Commonwealth Games

will centre on Birmingham, with events also taking place in several regional venues, between July 28 and August 8 2022.

Visit the official Games website birmingham2022.com. For more on Bring the Power, visit Birmingham2022.com/power

Author Lucas, 11, shows he has the write stuff with lockdown book A NEW book penned by a preteen boy is being tasked with helping children and families cope with trauma.

Feelings and How I Deal with Them chronicles Lucas Lima’s experiences — watching his mother go through what has been described as “a tumultuous relationship” and “narcissistic abuse” after splitting with his father.

The book, which was written over two months during the COVID-19 lockdown, was officially released in a restrictionfree launch in West Bromwich recently by publishers, Marcia M Publishing (MPP), who also

hope it can help steer young males away from taking on the traits of ‘toxic masculinity.’

TALENTED: Lucas Lima, flanked by the Campbell brothers Dakarai and Zimba, with publisher Marcia M Spence

STOKED

Lucas, now 11, from Wolverhampton, became an author courtesy of a sponsorship scheme that MPP started in 2020 to publish books written by children aged 10 and under.

Lucas’ passion for writing — although helped by his mother Aurea Reis’s own work with MPP — was initially stoked by the youngster coming across Adventures in the Den, an MPP publication penned by the seven year old grandson of its director,

Marcia M Spence. Marcia said: “Writing the book has given him the opportunity to express how his feelings — anger, fear, etc and showed how he dealt with those feelings.

“I can see how the process of writing was a healing one

for him. There aren’t enough books that represent black boys. I see this book as a real tool that parents can use, one about a child expressing their feelings — a boy, particularly a black boy — someone that looks like their young male

relatives and who they can identify with.”

Reflecting on the book release party, Lucas told The Voice: “I liked my book launch because I got to meet new people and play.

I read a chapter of my book and it was good. I made two friends

and we played tag. I knew I would have a book launch, but I didn’t know I was going to have cake!”

The young author concluded by thanking his godmother for her gifts and the publisher for sponsoring him and organising the launch party.

Copies of the book will be donated to organisations in the West Midlands that work with children who have experienced trauma and/or domestic violence, including WAITS (Women Acting in Today’s Society), Sandwell Women’s Aid and Living Beyond Surviving Ltd. Proceeds will also go to Lucas’ trust fund.

If you have a story for the East or West Midlands, call/text Veron Graham on 07954 572 988, email veronpgraham@gmail.com, or find him on Facebook or LinkedIn

54 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

Muyiwa Olarewaju

Nothing but Truth and Light

Join the debate online voice-online.co.uk/opinion

Be kind to yourself – it’s time to forgive others

Don’t let those who have hurt you continue to steal your joy.

When you let it go, you give yourself the freedom to move on

O

N AVERAGE, we spend over two hours a day on social media from TikTok to Facebook and everything in between, scrolling through pictures, reading through comments, making comments, walking away with depression and anxiety, absorbing cyber bullying — all because we’re in fear of missing out, putting ourselves under the weight of unrealistic expectations.

We spend so much time on platforms that we come away with a negative body image

and our sleep patterns become unhealthy.

This is an addiction that we will not admit to, all because we want to keep up.

Much of what we experience is as a result of what people have said or done to us.

JOURNEY

How do we move forward?

How do we wean ourselves off the unhealthy things that we feed on?

Do you know on a bus or train journey, every stop is important?

POSITIVE MOVE: Deciding to forgive those who have done us harm can actually benefit us in the long term, as we let the poison go (photo: Getty Images). Inset below left, Candica Mama forgave the policeman who killed her father (photo: YouTube screengrab) Every junction, every turn, every roundabout is an important part of the journey.

It is the same thing for the route to our wholeness — every stop is important and one of those is forgiveness.

How many times have we played back the hurtful things the teacher said about our ability or our intelligence?

How many times have we played back the hurt inflicted on us by someone we loved dearly? Inevitably, it is always someone who means the most to us, which is why it hurts so much.

Listen to these words from the Bible — Matthew, chapter 18, verse 21.

Peter says: “Jesus Lord, when someone has sinned against me, how many times must I forgive him? Once, twice, as many as seven times?”

Jesus replied and said you

must not forgive seven times but 77.

We hear that and think “outrageous! Don’t you know the hurt that they caused me? Do you know the pain that I’ve been through?”

You often hear people talk about how not forgiving others is the equivalent of you drink-

Her family had the opportunity to meet with the policeman Eugene Kock years later.

Many of us would have been well within our rights to hit out and say whatever was in our heart, but Candice decided she would forgive Eugene.

She said: “I just refused to allow him to take away my joy.”

I honestly chose to forgive the killer. Was it easy? No. Was it helpful? Absolutely ing poison and hoping somebody else will die.

It’s time to let the poison go… it’s time to live again.

There is a story told of a South African speaker and coach Candice Mama, a young woman whose father was murdered in apartheid South Africa by a police officer.

Candice now takes that experience and helps to work with other people who have dealt with trauma and loss.

Her pain has become somebody else’s medicine because she made a decision to forgive.

I remember when my late father Kayode Karimu Olarewaju was assassinated, getting a call

that the young man who had pulled the trigger — who, by the way, had been taken in by my parents because he was destitute — had been apprehended.

DARE

I was in London when I got the call to ask what I wanted to happen to the young man.

I thought about it and said ‘Let him go… leave him to the authorities’. I figured he’d done what he came to do, and nothing I did to him could bring back my father.

I honestly chose to forgive.

Was it easy? No. Was it helpful? Absolutely.

Here’s my challenge to you.

There is no shortage of people who would have broken your heart, maligned your name, cheated you, lied to you. The list is long. Will you dare to forgive, release yourself and not allow anyone to steal your joy?

Muyiwa Olarewaju OBE is Station Director at Premier Gospel Radio, a TV & Radio Broadcaster, and Principal of gospel group Muyiwa & Riversongz

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JUNE 2022 THE VOICE | 55

Finance

Managing money worries and your mental health Understanding how money and mental health impact each other and knowing when to seek help can help you gain back control, says Kaya Marchant

T

HERE’S OFTEN a link between struggling with money and mental health problems. Feeling low can make it harder to manage your money and worrying about money issues can impact your mental wellbeing.

Research from the Money and Pensions Service shows that people who have experienced a mental health problem are twice as likely to say that thinking about their financial situation makes them anxious.

They are also four times as likely to be behind on priority bills, and four times as likely to be borrowing to pay off their debts.

ANXIOUS

Even among those who have not reported having a mental health problem, more than a quarter say that thinking about money matters make them feel anxious.

This is challenging for many people dealing with the aftereffects of the pandemic and cost of living pressures. It’s tricky enough for anyone, but can be particularly challenging for people also dealing with a mental health problem.

If this sounds like you, or someone you know, there are

Opening up to someone about how you’re feeling can bring some relief and emotional support steps you can take to manage your money and mental health.

If you have a mental health condition, you could be eligible for additional government support, such as the Personal Independence Payment if you need help with everyday tasks.

If you can’t work for an extended period, you may be able to claim Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance to help replace your lost income.

If you’re feeling stressed, anxious, depressed, or experiencing mania, you may spend more than you can control or feel comfortable about.

Your creditors such as your bank or credit card provider can help you in many ways.

A credit card provider might

TROUBLING TIMES: Money worries can harm your mental health, but there are ways to minimise their impact (photos: Getty Images) agree to temporarily freeze your card when you feel like you’re spending too much.

You can also remove temptations by deleting shopping apps you often use on your phone, keeping your wallet out of easy reach, and using free online tools (such as BlockSite) which let you temporarily block shopping sites.

SOLUTIONS

It can feel daunting, but opening up to someone — whether it’s a friend, family member or expert — about how you’re feeling can bring some relief and emotional support.

If you are concerned about money, you can speak to a team of specialists at the free government-backed MoneyHelper service, or visit the website which has tools and guides.

If you’re worried about debt, you can speak to a free debt adviser to help you start sort-

@thevoicenewspaper

BOOST FINANCES AND MENTAL WELLBEING l Open up to a friend, family member or expert l Seek free debt advice l Check if you could be eligible for benefits ing out your financial problems. They can suggest solutions, even if you don’t think you have spare money to deal with your debts.

They can also help you understand if you could be eligible for Breathing Space, which gives someone in problem debt the right to legal protection from their creditors for a period of time so you can sort out your debts. You can find free debt advice using the Debt Advice Locator Tool on the MoneyHelper website.

Sometimes people with a mental health problem may not be able to cope with mon-

@thevoicenews

l Contact your creditors who can help you with your spending l Remove temptations to spend outside of your budget ey worries themselves, so it’s important for family and friends to look out for the warning signs, so you can have a conversation with them about getting support. These include: l Obvious use of credit: Are they frequently relying on cards or Buy-Now-Pay-Later schemes? l Mentioning overdrafts or debts: They might mention this in passing — perhaps related to how they are feeling l Spending without a plan: Do they seem to be spending more frequently than usual?

voicenews

l Unopened bills: This can be a sign they are avoiding confronting money problems l Changes in mood: Are they visibly more stressed or behaving differently to normal? l Withdrawal from socialising: They may be worried about spending, and this can also be a symptom of someone struggling with their mental health l Triggered by previous experiences: Have they experienced financial abuse in the past? This might be exacerbating how they are feeling now Anyone who is struggling with their mental health and money, or knows someone who is, should know they don’t have to carry the burden alone, and specialist support is available.

For free, confidential and impartial money and pensions guidance, visit moneyhelper.org.uk or call 0800 138 7777

www.voice-online.co.uk

56 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

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You and your close relatives may be eligible for Windrush Compensation The African Caribbean Leadership Company Ltd (ACLC) has launched its Windrush Compensation scheme, an information and guidance programme to encourage Windrush Compensation applications and support those who are worried about their right to stay in the UK. 2022 Event dates: 11th June; 2nd July 10th September and 5th November

Time: 3:30 - 7:30pm

Venue: The Community Hub 8 Caxton Road, Wood Green London N22 6TB The ACLC and partners can guide you to the information you need to help you make a claim.

For more information visit www.aclc.org.uk

Spotlight

58 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

SON OF A PREACHER MAN

F

LOYD MILLEN is a political scientist, so it is hardly surprising that Floyd’s interest in politics grew out of an awareness of injustice and the hardship in people’s everyday lives.

The ‘son of a preacher man’ was raised in Wolverhampton, as part of a faith community that believes in looking out for each other, and where caring and helping is a way of life.

His mother and father arrived from the Caribbean as part of the Windrush generation and they became established entrepreneurs, running multiple businesses, including setting up the first blackowned Caribbean soft drinks manufacturing company.

Over the years, his father and his late mother have been a solid help and support to others, which has shaped Floyd’s views on business and social justice.

The single most potent event which markedly affected him and focused his interest in

politics and policing, was the killing by police of his godbrother, Clinton McCurbin, in Wolverhampton in 1987.

His overriding interest in justice naturally steered Floyd’s education into politics, and he gained the opportunity to study at Hull University under the Conservative peer, Professor the Lord Norton of Louth, and was later mentored by the former Home Secretary, Charles Clarke.

PASSION

Floyd moved to London in the early 1990s and sought to combine his passion for politics and enterprise by founding the UK’s first blackowned public affairs think tank, ‘Yes Minister.’ He provided public affairs and business development services on ground-breaking government initiatives in welfare reform, policing, privacy and digital technology.

Not one to ever sit still, Floyd has had an illustrious

career advising the Post Office, the Cabinet Office, HMRC, the BBC, the Metropolitan Police Authority and the London Mayor’s office for Policing and Crime.

Floyd’s experience, interest and fascination in policing, politics and accountability drove him to author his first book, Police Reform and Political Accountability.

Floyd continues to focus on how laws are changing, how they protect us and how they don’t. He is passionate about personal data and privacy and is currently writing his second book: Privacy: A Brave New World.

And he is a gifted classically trained musician and it’s very likely you may have experienced his musical talent on Top of the Pops or on YouTube.

With his belief that change comes through participation, he has attempted to stand as a Labour parliamentary candidate on more than one occasion.

We are a Family-run, Afro-Caribbean Funeral Directors looking for two caring, calm organized and professional people with excellent telephone manner and attention to detail to join our team.

JOB 1 - FUNERAL ARRANGER 7 Hours a Day 35hours a week 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday (1-hour unpaid lunch break) £23,000 per annum MUST have Experience within the Funeral Business Funeral Arrangers are a very special part of our team; offering a warm welcome, and guiding our families through the whole funeral process. They couple their incredible interpersonal and listening skills, with an eye for detail and accurate administrative skills.

As well as supporting families in making funeral arrangements, Funeral Arrangers are responsible for ensuring all the relevant paperwork and documentation is completed accurately, and on time. They are also responsible for providing a detailed handover to the Funeral Director, in order that every little detail goes to plan on the day.

Being a Funeral Arranger can be an opportunity to make a real difference during a difficult time for people.

As well as arranging funerals your day-to-day tasks may include; • Giving quotes over the phone • Emailing brochures and pricelists • Answering phones • Dealing with family queries • Booking appointments • Data Entry on office systems Plus, any other tasks required to support the Office Manager.

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jobs@melvilleanddaughters.co.uk

MAN ON A MISSION: Floyd Millen, who is currently writing his second book, continues to focus on how laws are changing, how they protect us and how they don’t.

Lifestyle ‘Tis the season to enjoy a festival or two p60-61

Why Joss is the best ‘Super Manny’ in town p63

YDB

New music, exclusive NFT drop and the legacy of Wu-Tang p62 Ode to Lovers Rock Queen Carroll Thompson p67

60 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

Lifestyle

Festivals

The summer is upon us Lifestyle is heading to some of the biggest and best festivals across the country this summer.

Joel Campbell highlights a few you might want to attend ...

Parklife 2022: June 11-12 GREATER MANCHESTER Police Chief Superintendent Graeme Openshaw wants all festival-goers heading to Parklife 2022 this month the heed one warning — get your tickets from a routable source or face potentially being swindled.

One of the biggest frauds to occur in festival season is unsuspecting revellers being conned out of their hard-earned money in pursuit of tickets for a show.

Openshaw said the issue was one they know they will have to deal with again this year, but issued a warning to those heading to Manchester.

“We recognise that for an event such

as Parklife that there are many people who will be unable to get tickets. Unfortunately, every year we deal with unsuspecting victims who buy tickets from touts and get ripped off because the ticket turns out to be a fake or stolen. Our advice would always be that if you don’t know where the ticket has come from and don’t know the person who is selling it to, you don’t be tempted to buy it.”

Parklife 2022 is the only opportunity to see 50 Cent at a UK Festival this summer.

The rapper is set to appear alongside a who’s who from around the world right now including Tyler The Creator, Megan Thee Stallion, left, Chase & Status (Live), Headie One, Central Cee, Fred Again.., ArrDee, Carl Cox and many more.

Kite Festival: June 10-12 KITE is a brand-new festival of ideas and music for curious, inquisitive, and cultural minds.

Blending a unique line up of music and ideas against the backdrop of a classic British three-day greenfield festival at Kirtlington Park in Oxfordshire, it marks an innovative intervention aimed at collaboratively building a festival for the future with a pioneering line-up of musicians, comedians, artists, writers, activists, and thinkers across seven stages.

The organisers claim to offer a space where you can both dance and think.

Some of this years artists Music: Grace Jones, TLC,

Saint Etienne, Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, Nubiyan Twist Plus Heavenly Presents: Last Night A DJ Saved My Life: Bill Brewster & Frank Broughton in conversation with Zakia Sewell, William Dalrymple and David Olusoga, left, on the end of history, Bimini in conversation with Jack Guinness, Tina Brown on the Royal family, Julia Hobsbawm on the future of work, Jon Alexander & Ece Temelkuran on the future of democracy Comedy: Reginald D Hunter, David O’Doherty, Jen Brister, Sara Barron, Janine Harouni, Christopher Bliss Tickets here: www.kitefestival.co.uk

Strawberries & Creem: June 17-19

WHEN we found out Lil Wayne, below, was doing Strawberries & Creem at Childerley Orchard, Cambridge, we knew the UK’s tastiest festival for music had returned in 2022 stronger than ever.

Reaffirming itself as a major new force on the UK weekend festival scene, the line-up celebrates heritage and champions future artists across a unique musical tapestry, including hip-hop, grime, R&B, soul, reggae, house, drum’n’bass, dancehall and soca.

The festival continues to lead the industry in championing a gender-balanced line-up, with a 60 per cent female artists on

@thevoicenewspaper

the bill, and the organisation has said they will continue to promote women’s safety at live events with its ‘Safe Spaces Now’ scheme in partnership with UN Women UK. So, who’s performing at the festival as well as Lil Wayne.

Line-up: Tems, Mabel, Ella-Mai, Tion Wayne, Ms Banks, Ghetts, ENNY, Knucks, David Rodigan, Rema, The Compozers, Bellah, Katy B, Lisa Maffia, Girls Can’t DJ Ticket registration here: www.strawberriesandcreem. com

@thevoicenews

Summer by the River: June 1-September 2 IT’S BEEN a long hard winter, but better times are coming as Summer by the River returns to London Bridge City.

Launching on June 1, the event will run for three months, with free entertainment set against stunning views of the capital.

This year’s festival is bringing 1930s Miami vibes to the banks of the Thames over three locations – The Scoop, Hay’s Galleria and The Pier.

At The Scoop, Art Deco inspired pop-up bar The Riverside Terrace will offer a little slice of South Beach complete with empanadas and piña coladas, while over at The Pier, Taqueria Garcia is bringing the heat with tacos and tequila.

London’s largest free festival will celebrate Miami’s party

voicenews

spirit across all locations, with an eclectic programme of events for all ages.

The programme is themed by day and includes Gospeloke (a karaoke night backed by a live Gospel Choir), Dabbers Bingo (the much-loved game injected with music and performers), and Hip Hop Weekender (interactive workshops and dance battles between leading artists).

www.voice-online.co.uk

JUNE 2022

THE VOICE | 61

Lifestyle

Festivals

and it’s time for a party Meltdown Festival: June 10-19 SOUTHBANK CENTRE’S Meltdown Festival is the longest-running artist-curated festival in the world, and this year is curated by Grace Jones.

Lifestyle sat down with Dave Okumu, formerly of the Mercury Prize-nominated band The Invisible, who will be joined by luminaries and friends on June 14 in the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Okumu, who has collaborated, performed or recorded with a huge range of artists, including Meltdown curator Jones, Adele, Amy Winehouse, Kwabs, Yoko Ono, Paul Epworth and Ghostpoet, told Lifestyle there was a special reason he was looking forward to performing.

He enthused: “Grace and I met over a decade ago and it’s probably important for me to contextualise it in terms of how important she is to me as an artist.

“One of my earliest memories of connecting with music is with her, basically.

“I’m the youngest of eight children and all of my older siblings were into music and most of them were into Grace. I remember as a child growing up in Vienna, my sisters getting ready to go out and have a good time, they would sort of model themselves on Grace while they listened to her records.

“And I remember holding a copy of Slave To The Rhythm in my hands, aged about seven-years-old, looking at this artwork, the iconic image where her face is kind of stretched out, and I was too young to understand how that could be technically achieved, but I knew that it wasn’t real, but it was striking and

The Last Word Festival: Until July 10 CEO and Artistic Director at the Roundhouse, Marcus Davey, said he was ‘thrilled’ to be presenting The Last Word Festival, an event that celebrates of spoken word in all its different forms.

The likes of Harry Pinero, Nella Rose, Chuckie, Tom Moutchi, Nicholas TyrellScott, Demi Ma, Deanna Rodger, Eerf Evil and many more were confirmed for the festival last month which takes place at the Camden Town venue, above.

Davey said: “The two packed festival weeks include a stellar line up of famous names and brilliant emerging talent you may not have discovered yet.

“Our aim is to bring vital voices to the forefront bringing new perspectives and ideas for audiences to explore, be entertained, challenged and uplifted.

“And we would love audiences to join us by attending shows but also by engaging in conversations and by exploring themes emanating from the festival.”

From poetry, to live recordings and art exhibitions, The Last Word festival showcases something for everyone.

For more information and tickets visit: www.roundhouse.org.uk/whatson/2022/the-last-word-2022/

complex it is in terms of all of the cultural threads that it draws together.

“Grace is a hero of mine as you may be able to tell.” Watch the full interview with Okumu on our website.

‘Africa’s premier diva’ and recent Grammy winner Angélique Kidjo, sublime songsmith John Grant and a unique performance between members of Hot Chip and Congolese supergroup Kasai Allstars, as well as breakthrough acts including Desire Marea, Big Joanie and Skinny Pelembe, all feature at this year’s festival.

Jones herself also added a new show, now opening her festival with ‘Grace Jones: Up Close and Orchestral’, featuring a live orchestra.

FREE PUBLIC PROGRAMME LEGEND: Grace Jones will curate this year’s Meltdown Festival beautiful to me but also so terrifying at the same time.

“I remember looking at it and feeling like the image was actually screaming at me to be myself, that was the energy that I was getting from it.

“And at that time in my life, growing up in a place where people didn’t look like me, and where if I looked to the mainstream and the media there was not really much representation of anyone with my complexion, doing excellent things or being given that

platform, it was incredibly liberating to see this person so freely expressing themselves in such an unapologetic and complexed way.

“I remember that feeling very, very clearly, of oh, there is a space for me in the world, I don’t have to necessarily conform to what I am seeing around me, which I couldn’t conform too anyway, because I was different from those people. So, I’m eternally grateful to her and her expression. How imaginative it is and how liberated it is and how

51st Festival: August 20 LIFESTYLE saw Mica Paris, Damage, Heartless Crew, Janet Kay & Carroll Thompson and Rampage on the bill for the 51st Festival and we got excited.

Sometimes we want to mix up the vibes when attending these events and this looks like a brilliant blend.

51st Festival, taking place at Copthall Playing Fields in Champions Way, north London, will once again celebrate the roots of House music, pulling together the threads of this hugely influential sound.

Regulars of this festival will be looking forward to Bobby and Steve’s legendary Ibiza label and events promotion company, Groove Odyssey, hosting this year’s main stage, with old school house and garage promoters

Backto95. Tech House London party leaders La Fiesta, London’s longestablished soul and dance event Soul Network, reggae and dancehall party Hot Wuk and internet radio station House FM have also been announced to host various stages across the day.

More information: www.51stfestival.com

TAKING place on the Southbank Centre’s terrace, overlooking the River Thames, the Meltdown public programme is inspired by Jones’ enormous creative canon, featuring a wealth of immersive activities, music and more, all for free.

Meltdown kicks off on the terrace on June 10, with Nightclubbing produced in collaboration with No Signal, the radio station celebrating Black British culture and communities. Featuring an incredible line-up of back-to-back DJ’s, each will select tunes in celebration of Jones’ impact as an icon.

Tickets via: southbankcentre.co.uk/ whats-on/festivals-series/meltdown

Moovin Festival: Aug 26-28 MOOVIN FESTIVAL returns in 2022 with its biggest line up yet — Orbital, Roy Ayers, Louie Vega, Moodymann, Sugar Hill Gang and more are set to headline.

Once Manchester’s best kept secrets, it has now established itself as the place to party over the August Bank holiday weekend. The festival is a laid-back way to catch an eclectic mix of favourite acts as well as exciting new artists and so much more.

If you like the sound of a festival set in the eco-friendly Whitebottom Farm, a secluded spot just 30 minutes from central Manchester, which is transformed into a wonderland for fun and frolics, among en-

chanting trees, surrounded by lakes, rivers and a spectacular gorge, then this one is for you.

If you’re into the likes of groovy funk and soul from Roy Ayers, dancehall vibes from Sister Nancy, and flawless turntable skills and musical versatility from the magnificent DJ Jazzy Jeff, then don’t hesitate to book some time off for this one.

Aside from the music, there’s yoga classes and morning gong baths to start your day, treatments like massage and reflexology, ethically sourced food and drink, smoothies, treats, sweets, delights, hoopers, dancers, circus, fire, poets, magic, mayhem, and much, much more to explore.

62 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

Lifestyle

Music

Wu’s the way for ODB’s son YDB is continuing the legacy of his father’s group, and Bruce Lee, in a new way

BY JOEL CAMPBELL

H

IS DAD’S legacy is set in stone, solidified each passing day as the Wu-Tang Clan lives on, but Young Dirty Bastard (YDB) has his own impact on the music business to make.

Sitting with Lifestyle, the Brooklyn-born artist spoke passionately about how he sees the music business in 2022 and there are clear frustrations about how hip-hop today is presenting itself to the world.

However, with the advancement of understanding in the Non-fungible Token (NFT) market enabling artists to pursue options that didn’t previously exist, YDB said he’s excited about forging his own legacy.

Having recently partnered with UK-based martial arts enthusiast and Bruce Lee aficionado, Steve Kerridge, YDB said he was tapping into that love the Wu have always had for Kung Fu, fusing it with music and the new technology to release a rare Bruce Lee NFT collection exclusively on Binance NFT Marketplace.

Bruce Lee was a martial artist and philosopher who had a strong influence on many people worldwide.

His philosophies are still highly relevant today, with his legacy living on through his teachings.

Kerridge is an author and renowned historian on Bruce Lee. YDB said it was important to partner with someone who had a genuine affinity and respect for martial arts, it’s the Wu-Tang way.

“This has been set in stone from the universe,” YDB enthused. “Being born into the Wu-Tang culture, you kind of expect it. It’s like a domino effect from when Rza and the WuTang was making Kung Fu and martial arts videos back when Da Mystery of Chessboxin was out. It’s all kind of brought us here to where we at now.

“We’re in 2022 and still keeping the culture alive. When water is flowing, you can’t slow it down.”

YDB’s NFT drop is a world away from what his father, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, was involved with. Though it was advancing

towards the digital era we take for granted today, the music space at that point was still very much transitioning from the analogue arena.

Understandably, YDB says losing his dad in 2004 was a difficult time in his life, it was also a time he learned he had to step up.

Speaking on what his father’s legacy meant to him, YDB said: “I am a master of my own craft and I take and honour my fathers legacy with my brothers and sisters.

“Every day we’re out here working together as a team, ever since he passed away.

“I honestly didn’t know how to do business at that time. As soon as my dad fell, I got right up and stood in his position. I took heed and was very humble

“I am a master of my own craft and I take and honour my father’s legacy” when all of the cameras were in my face and I had to explain how my father fell, every day. It was a sad thing.”

Delving into his own career, YDB said his mission revolved around presenting the positive face of hip-hop through his work.

“YDB sometimes can be a bad guy outside and sometimes he can be an incredibly nice guy. I think I have a balance and I respect hip-hop,” he said.

“I don’t like it when people associate hip-hop with drug trafficking, we don’t have to talk about what we do at home to

take care of our families, if it’s going to lead to a bad outcome.

I just feel like everything that we do doesn’t have to be shown always in the light. We should go forth in glory with what we’ve got and always be excited about what you bring to the table.

“But don’t make the hip-hop game brutal because this is like our baby, and we have got to take care of and nurture our children. And it’s supposed to last forever.”

FOUNDATIONS He went on: “It’s like Bruce Lee’s foundations, they are still here to this day. He was around in the 1970s and we still keeping the legacy going.

“If you’re going to keep the legacy going, then you have to keep the culture real positive.”

The Bruce Lee Forever-inspired NFT collection will feature 3,000 limited-edition NFTs, including exclusive, physical Bruce Lee Forever merchandise and unreleased music from YDB. For fans of Bruce Lee, the Bruce Lee Forever-inspired NFT collection will be a great chance to obtain great NFTs that celebrate his legacy.

The collection will also feature some of the legendary martial artist’s most memorable photos and moments, making it a musthave memento for every Bruce Lee fan or collector.

Marc Remolien, the Brooklyn native and tattoo artist, was able to create NFT artwork from the rare Bruce Lee negatives that will appear on the Binance NFT global marketplace.

All NFT holders will also stand a chance to win four photographic framed Bruce Lee negatives owned by Kerridge.

“It’s unique, like the middle of my name,” YDB says when speaking on the allure of NFTs.

@thevoicenewspaper

NEW ERA: YDB, above, is releasing the rare Bruce Lee NFT collection.

Inset above, Lee’s legacy still lives on today

He added: “My name is actually Barson Unique Jones, so it’s very unique and something that we can share on the blockchain. Nobody understood what that was a few years ago and now it’s worldwide. I think we have an opportunity to decentralise everything.”

He added: “To me it’s like a new era, we’re climbing like a tree, I don’t take anything for granted. This is not just a cash grab, like I’m in it for now and that’s it, no, I’m in it forever. This

@thevoicenews

is Wu-Tang, and just like Bruce Lee, it’s forever.”

This NFT collection will be released by Dynisty Musicverse, a web3 service which provides an ecosystem for artists and fans to transact directly.

Dynisty Musicverse’s independent approach to artists and celebrities from sports, music, film, gaming, tech, history and entertainment will be bringing unique collaborations that showcase all forms of artistic expressionism.

voicenews

A spokesperson told Lifestyle: “Our goal is to create a community where artists and fans can come together to celebrate music and creative arts.”

The collection will be launched exclusively on the Binance NFT Marketplace on June 10, 2022.

Watch the full interview with YDB on The Voice Newspaper website. The value of NFTs can decrease as well as increase.

Please research before you invest.

www.voice-online.co.uk

JUNE 2022

THE VOICE | 63

Celebrating Our Brothas

He’s the manny!

Joss Cambridge-Simmons is taking on a childcare role not traditionally associated with men — and he’s smashing it

BY JOEL CAMPBELL

H

E’S AN award-winning nanny and Joss Cambridge-Simmons is encouraging black men everywhere to step out of their comfort zone and consider the vocation as a potential option.

Cambridge-Simmons has been looking after children since he was 19 years old and 15 years later, some of the regressive attitudes he encountered at the beginning of his journey still remain.

However, the London-born childcare specialist says those considering a career within the sector shouldn’t be put off by other people’s perceptions.

“The reaction I get hasn’t changed much over the years, and the worst reactions I get come from our culture,” Cambridge-Simmons said.

ADAPT

He said: “I get the wildest reactions from black people.

I know when I talk to some back men about my job role, a lot of them are only comfortable with it because it’s me. They wouldn’t be comfortable with someone else.

He added: “So as for men in this space, it’s becoming the norm-ish, but it’s people’s preferences that have to be changed, by themselves, not by me having to prove it to them.

“People often want me to prove it to them, but I tell them I’m not proving I’m worthy because of your gender bias and your unconscious bias, that’s not what we’re doing.”

Despite all of the negative perceived connotations about men working in childcare, Cambridge-Simmons’ company, Jossy Care, is going from strength to strength.

The organisation seeks to provide a heartfelt and attentive approach when caring for children. Some have even gone as far as to name him the “Baby Whisperer”.

“I realised I bring a very calm presence to households and families” But how did he get here?

“It’s not a coincidence that I am here. I’m a big believer of energy and spirituality and that you plant a seed, and it grows. The way you nurture that seed is how that seed will grow and that’s what happened with me,” he said.

“The seed was planted by my mum and dad 34 years ago and I was nurtured with a lot of love, a lot of admiration and a lot of safety.

“There was another side to that which was the polar opposite and bearing in mind with what I experienced as a child, in some aspects, I shouldn’t be in the spaces that I am in.

“A friend of mine said recently that my work and the man I am now is a response to what I have been through.

“I advocate for mental health, I am a childcare specialist, I am an outstanding nanny and my approach to nannying is nurturing and child-led and very fine tuned to the individual child’s needs.

“Before the family’s needs come into play, the child’s needs come first. That’s reflective of how I was brought up, to an extent.”

He admits that black men in the world of nannying are a ‘Unicorn’. Even more ‘out there’ are some of Cambridge-Simmons’ other skills which see him working in environments that almost no men, irrespective of ethnicity, do.

He explained: “Where I’ve been working in early years since the age of 19, I’ve become a man and matured since working in this space as firstly a male and secondly as a black man.

“I can tell you how any black men I have seen in this space

in that time, I can tell you the percentage of men I have seen in this space in that time and its roughly the same, we’re unicorns.

“As black men, we’re unicorns times two in this space.

“And by in this space I mean I also support childbirths as a doula. Most men don’t become maternity nurses — they just about become nannies.

“I navigate and am paid to be in those spaces for being myself, I get booked to do that work and I get booked to nanny because of my knowledge and also my calm demeanour and calm presence.

“I realised I bring a very calm presence to households and to families.

“I don’t judge them on not being calm or the space being hectic, or all over the place. I get in how I fit in.”

MESSAGE

He added: “I think, also being from, ‘the ends’, I’m very adaptable. I can be in any environment and be me.

Being from the ends and learning from friends that it’s important to be who you are all of the time. That’s what has got me this far.”

In 2019 Cambridge-Simmons landed a Positive Role Model for Gender award, for challenging stereotypes at the National Diversity Awards.

It was a seminal moment for Cambridge-Simmons, but while the accolades are great, his work is far from being about showcasing how well he’s done, he wants others to join him.

“I’ve been nominated for so many awards now I can’t even remember them all,” he enthused.

“I’ve come to a space now where the awards are great but for me it’s the notoriety and the fact that I can now be on a platform to get out the message for the need for more men in these spaces, more black men in these spaces and show the world that black men aren’t one trick ponies, there is more to black men than music, rap or football.

“We’re amazing at that, but we’re also amazing at other stuff as well. So, I want us to be seen to have varied skill-sets at everything.”

Watch the full interview on The Voice website

UNICORN TIMES TWO: Award-winning nanny Joss Cambridge-Simmons, also inset below, said there aren’t many men — and even fewer black men — working in the field of childcare

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64 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

Lifestyle

Television

PRU keeping it real for Boahen

Actor says chemistry between him and his co-stars on BBC Three comedy is ‘amazing’

BY JOEL CAMPBELL

H

E AUDITIONED for his role on BBC Three’s PRU over Zoom during the height of the lockdown, but Michael Boahen says he couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to take his craft to the next level.

PRU is a comedy about a group of teens struggling to navigate adolescence in a pupil referral unit, a school for excluded kids.

They have all been permanently excluded from mainstream education and find themselves having to go through Year 10 together at their local PRU, a world seldom seen by the public.

Boahen, who doubles as an

online personality flying under the moniker @MBbants, told Lifestyle that he was elated to have landed the chance to be in the show.

BLESSED

“It feels amazing because it was a first-time experience for me.

Because of the whole corona thing we had to do it over Zoom, but normally we’d go somewhere and do the audition.

“I think that it was a blessing doing it over Zoom, because it relieved the pressure, I’m in my own house, I’m more comfortable to be able to do whatever I need to do and the whole process was really good. It was literally, straight auditions, they liked what I did, and they brought me into film and

from then on things went upwards and it was a blessing to be a part of the show.”

Explaining the premise behind PRU, Boahen said: “PRU is just about four kids who have been excluded from mainstream school and they are really just trying to get by in life by doing the right things, but obviously in life it’s not always sweet, there’s always a few L’s that you take, there’s always encounters that happen and there’s things that they can’t really control in life themselves.

“So, it’s just about four kids trying to improve themselves in life and there are a few lessons being taught throughout the whole show.”

No stranger in front

13 May – 02 Jul

openairtheatre.com Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Inner Circle, Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4NU

Season Partner

BRILLIANT OPPORTUNITY: Michael Boahed, pictured inset below, is starring in comedy series PRU, about four teens excluded from school, on BBC Three of the camera, it was the opportunity to bring a recognised authenticity to the role which really pleased Boahen most about his contribution to PRU. He enthused: “Everyone knows me for being quite a comedic person, so this is a new light that I am in, because there are comedic scenes, but there are also real scenes.

“I feel like people see the

realness from me, especially because they had always seen me as the comedic person that makes videos online, so the fact that I am able to do the serious acting, it shows that I am quite versatile and people gravitate to that more because it’s something organic.”

Speaking on working with the cast, in particular fellow students Nkechi Simms, Pia Som-

ersby and Jaye Ersavas, Boahen said they gelled naturally.

“There was a lot of chemistry with the other cast members. It was just really easy. Especially with Jaye, he’d watched my videos before I’d even met him, so we related on certain things.

“The chemistry of the cast was amazing, I can’t lie.”

Watch the full interview on the Voice website, voice-online.co.uk

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Created by English language experts, it covers all areas of study required for Graded Examinations in Spoken English (GESE) Grade 2 (A1), Grade 3 (A2) or Grade 5 (B1) in one easy to use online tool.

The digital App can be accessed through an iPhone or Android mobile or tablet device and can help you to practice your speaking

The Trinity GESE Study App helped me so much and showed me everything I needed to prepare for!

Djarmita, Trinity GESE Grade 5

and listening skills, improve your vocabulary, practise your grammar and communicate better.

When you choose the Trinity SELT test experience, you can enjoy the benefits of our efficient process with next day provisional results and a 7-day certificate delivery guarantee. To learn more about our SELT test experience, how we can support you on your UKVI journey and how to purchase and prepare for your test with the Trinity GESE Study App, visit trinitycollege.com/SELT

The app was easy to use, clear and informative!

Narinder, Trinity GESE Grade 2

66 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

Lifestyle

Skincare

Precious Nala

PROUD PARENTS: Sasha and Krept with daughter Nala (photo: Condry)

Krept and Sacha Ellese’s proud moment after baby daughter inspires skincare brand launch

BY JOEL CAMPBELL

H

AVING ANNOUNCED the launch of his new business earlier this month, rapper and broadcaster Casyo ‘Krept’ Johnson told Lifestyle it was ‘a moment I’m very proud of.”

Created with Sasha Ellese Gilbert, the mother of his daughter, Nala’s Baby is a children’s skincare brand that will be found in over 400 Boots stores across the UK from June 20.

It is one of the first Britishmade skincare ranges for babies to be sold on the high street with a perfect zero rating on Think Dirty, an app dedicated to finding harmful chemicals and risks in personal care products.

The new range, scientifically developed especially for newborns upwards, includes Body

“I wanted our daughter to have access to safe products” Wash & Shampoo, Bubble Bath,Conditioner, Body Lotion, Night-time Oil and Body Butter.

“Nala’s Baby has been a pas-

sion project since I fell pregnant with our daughter Nala,” Gilbert enthused.

“When shopping for skincare products, I was shocked to see that so many baby brands hadn’t ever achieved a zero score on the ingredients rating platform, Think Dirty, meaning that they were potentially harmful to sensitive skin.

“I wanted our baby to have access to naturally derived, safe and effective products and sadly finding this on the high-street was impossible.”

Krept added: “Sasha and I are delighted to finally bring to market our zero rated baby product by Think Dirty, something that all parents can take advantage of for their own babies and children.

“This was crucial for us as we, like many other parents, struggled to find the right products to use from birth for Nala’s skin.

“We wanted the range to be available to as many people and for as many skin types as possible, while bringing the magic to bath and bedtime for all families across the UK.” Using 99 per cent naturally derived ingredients the range

utilises oats, coconut, hibiscus, Vitamin E, camomile, shea, aloe and lavender alongside many others.

All products are proudly dermatologist approved, paediatrician approved, cruelty free, vegan, eczema friendly, tear free,

fully recyclable and made in Britain. Krept said: “For me, as a young black man, to be able to bring innovation to baby skin and hair care and set a tone for honesty and change in personal care marks a moment I’m very proud of.”

PRAISE BE! THE FEEL-GOOD EVENT OF THE SUMMER

Music by

Alan Menken Additional Book Material

Lyrics by

Glenn Slater

Douglas Carter Beane

Book by

Cheri Steinkellner & Bill Steinkellner

Based on the Touchstone Pictures Motion Picture “Sister Act” written by Joseph Howard

JENNIFER SAUNDERS KEALA SETTLE CLIVE ROWE

BEVERLEY KNIGHT LESLEY JOSEPH LIZZIE BEA

LONDON | 19 JUL – 28 AUG 2022 | sisteractthemusical.co.uk

JUNE 2022

This is Brukout!

THE VOICE | 67

by Seani B

Hopelessly a classic Queen of Lovers Rock Carroll Thompson is marking 40 years since the release of her groundbreaking album

H

AVE WE seen UK music as powerful as this since the arrival of our relatives on the Windrush Empire on June 22 1948?

Every week on the socials, you can see celebration after celebration for groundbreaking achievements.

However, as we all pat ourselves on the back, do we remember the pioneers that did the groundwork to enable us to be at the place we are presently?

Lovers Rock Queen Carroll Thompson, who celebrates 40 years of the release of the timeless classic Hopelessly in Love, is steadily preparing for her radio debut on Magic FM. Carroll knows a time where there was NOTHING! She tells me: “It’s about time that we got something like this”, — a sentiment with which I fully agree.

When I told her that pioneers like her are the source of what we see in the charts today, she was taken aback.

For me, it’s easy to connect the dots. Lovers Rock is undeniably the FIRST form of black UK music.

The music was created by first wave of Windrush children.

This was their take on what their parents had brought from the Caribbean. They never had the

BLAZING A TRAIL: Carroll

Thompson helped to lay the foundations for other black British artists

“We were a bunch of young kids making music using all our natural influences” luxury of seeing what others had done before them, they wrote the blueprint for where we are.

Carroll is a child of the Sixties who has seen a lot of changes.

“My mother came to England when she was 16 with me in her belly from Jamaica,” she tells me. “My grandmother came to in the ’50s as part of Windrush.

The biggest change I’ve seen over the years is community.”

DIFFERENT

This resonated with me immediately, as I remember the ’80s growing up as a kid on White City estate in west London and it seems to be so different now to then.

“Everybody wanted to be with each other,” she adds.

“Because England was so hostile and all we had was each other, and we loved being around each other.

“I remember as a young teenage girl walking down the road and it was late, and if I got separated from my friends and I saw a bunch of black boys, I would feel so safe, which is quite the opposite now!”

Hearing that really brought on a rollercoaster of emotions, but I fully understood!

What I wanted to know was if Carroll and her generation felt as if they were British. She

nervously laughs, and says: ”Growing up, I was Caribbean; there nothing called a black English rose.

“But, Seani, when I walked into my house, I was in Trelawny.

There was nothing English in our house, other than the TV. “During that period, our families did a hell of a task by making sure that they had what they were used to from back home. The tropical fruits, yams, bananas, cassava and, of course, the music.

“My grandfather used to play reggae, jazz, country and western and Gospel in the home, so that’s what I grew up on. But it was always reggae for me, as it felt natural and very comfortable,” Carroll explains.

Unlike today, there was no blueprint and someone to say “do it this way”, “release a record like this”.

The Lovers Rock generation were the first out the gate for

UK black music. How did you guys work it all out?

“It was our street music and we had to get on with it!” she says. “We were a bunch of young kids making music that made them feel good using all our natural influences, in the same way that they recognise drill or jungle.

“It was such a British sound thing that anybody of that generation would instantly understand every component.”

BELIEVED

Understanding it is what enabled Carroll to record the masterpiece, Hopelessly In Love, though it wasn’t well received when it was first released.

“I was told it wasn’t reggae music! It was Tony Williams at Radio London who totally believed in all British music.

“If it wasn’t for Tony Williams, I don’t think there would be a Lovers Rock scene as big as

it was, because he had that position at Radio London, a bit like you do now...”

Hearing that really drove home the position I currently hold and the responsibility that comes with it.

Carroll is also about to embark into a similar role with a series of four shows on Magic Radio celebrating 60 years of Jamaican music for this year’s independence.

It is the first time the network has delved into and celebrated the music, and that fact isn’t lost on her.

“Getting up every day comes with huge responsibility, but think it’s a wonderful opportunity and I’m very excited. It’s well overdue,” she says.

We all appreciate it — fully.

Carroll Thompson’s 60 Years Of Magical Reggae will be aired across Magic Soul & Magic Radio throughout August

68 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

Lifestyle

Technology

Big names stake out their claim in Sports Metaverse

Fans to get closer to their heroes with immersive experiences, says SportsIcon founder Yovanoff

BY JOEL CAMPBELL

F

OOTBALLER SHAUN Wright-Phillips and Jordan Stewart are purchasing land in the Sports Metaverse. The Sports Metaverse by SportsIcon is the world’s first virtual world specifically focused on sports.

Founder Alexi Yovanoff told Lifestyle the organisation have been working on bringing the virtual space to life for the last few years and are aiming to offer sports fans a unique experience with some of their favourite stars.

The news follows hot on the heels of SportsIcon announcing their partnership with UFC champion Amanda Nunes, who will be offering personal training in the Metaverse.

ETHOS

Explaining how for the first time in history, the biggest sports stars, brands and clubs are coming together in one place, Yovanoff enthused: “We’ve been working on this for a while now.

“And this sports Metaverse that we have been building out for many, many months, quietly, is all about the engagement with the athletes and the fans.

“That’s been the ethos of the company from when it was

WORKS OF ART: Naomi Metzger poses at the Zari Gallery exhibition which helped raise money for the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund and the Lloyd Cowan Bursary. Inset right, Victoria Ohuruogu

“We’re delighted to be working with Amanda, she is an absolute legend of UFC and a lovely person as well” founded back in 2020. It’s all about bringing the athletes closer to the fans ad vice versa.

“We’re delighted to be working with Amanda, she is an absolute legend of UFC and a lovely person as well.

“We were filming with her out in Washington DC recently, capturing all of the volumetrics that is required to recreate someone in the Metaverse.

“So it will be a really immersive experience for people that are in there. It’s a 3D environment with a 3D Amanda that you can interact with.

“She’ll be talking to users about her career, about her experiences and showing a few moves. A bit of shadow boxing etc, some tips and tricks, just trying to make it as immersive as possible for the fans that want to enjoy it.”

Nunes, Phillips and Stewart

NEW REALITY: UFC champion Amanda Nunes will be offering personal training in the Metaverse.

Inset below, striker Romelu Lukaku previously announced his partnership with SportsIcon

are the latest athletes to get involved with SportsIcon since the company announced their partnership with Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku.

The Metaverse space is being built at a rapid pace, despite there still being a lack of widespread understanding on how the virtual environment will serve everyday people.

Yovanoff says however, that

they are building it because people will come.

“It’s a more immersive experience that we can build using blockchain technology.

“It’s going to come into life more and more, there is going to be much more of a blend between IRL, in-real-life stuff, and digital blockchain stuff, one is going to continue to seep into the other.”

Sports stars showcase their pieces at gallery BRITISH TRIPLE-JUMPER Naomi Metzger was one of dozens of sports men and women who’s work was showcased at the Zari Gallery in London’s West End last month, as the venue hosted The Art of the Athlete, an exhibition featuring art by athletes and inspired by sports.

The event, from which part of the proceeds from sales will be donated to the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund and Lloyd Cowan Bursary, was an overriding success with most pieces on display being snapped up on the evening.

Last month, Metzger told Lifestyle that having recently

@thevoicenewspaper

loved track and field coach who died last year, had on her career.

“Lloyd was one of the coaches that came to European juniors and when I was going through the stages, he always gave me a nod and he’d encourage me and things like that, so I thought this is the perfect thing I wanted to start donating to.” found the Nonfungible Token (NFT) space where she has garnered a fanbase interested in her ‘Afro Chick doodles’, she felt compelled to donate the money accrued from her 100th sale to the Lloyd Cowan Bursary, in recognition to the impact the much

@thevoicenews

SUCCESS

One of Cowan’s biggest success stories, Olympian Christine Ohuruogu, whose sister, Victoria, also had work on display at the exhibition, said the event was a huge success.

“Art of the Athlete special view-

voicenews

ing was fun and uplifting and I was so impressed with the talent of the artist athletes.

The high standard of work truly made the evening,” Ohuruogu said. “The evening was a unique opportunity to raise money for two great causes — Lloyd Cowan Bursary and the Ron Pickering Memorial fund.

“The gallery were so gracious in setting up this project and providing a space for sport and art to come together in the most creative way.

“There are a few pieces left, so to anybody who would like to support, go and check them out.”

www.voice-online.co.uk

JUNE 2022 THE VOICE | 69

OF SPORT

TOP SPORTS COVERAGE 24/7 VOICE-ONLINE.CO.UK/SPORT

FIGHTING FOR YOUTH MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Boxer Richard Riakporhe has teamed up with the Street Child project, pictured inset below, in Nigeria

Boxer Richard Riakporhe is aiming to improve young lives, writes Rodney Hinds

B

RITISH CRUISERWEIGHT and world champion contender Richard Riakporhe has aligned with a charity that helps to get children around the world back into education. The boxer has recently teamed up with the global organisation Street Child.

The cruiserweight is unbeaten in his first 14 fights with 10 knockouts to his name, with the most recent win a stoppage of Deion Jumah at Wembley Arena in March.

ACTIVIST

Richard is also a model, anti-gang and knife crime activist, Adidas global athlete and Street Child’s newest partner, who will work to increase awareness of the ongoing conflict in northeast Nigeria and to highlight the charity’s impact in the country.

The star boxer has just returned from a week-long trip with Street Child to Maiduguri, a Boko Haram stronghold, in north-east Nigeria where he met children benefiting from Street Child programmes, spoke to community leaders and elders about the risks of being recruited into

“It made me realise the impact Street Child have in Nigeria” armed gangs and discussed the frontline work of local partners.

From the age of 12, Richard was a gang member, immersed in a gang culture on south London’s notorious Aylesbury Estate which led to him being stabbed in the heart after one altercation.

At 19, Richard walked into a boxing gym and found a home and a new career path, alongside gaining a university degree and beginning his journey to the summit of UK boxing, where he now stands. Education and boxing undeniably saved his life.

The decision to partner with Street Child was an easy one, especially once Richard had seen first-hand the impact Street Child are having in the country.

He said: “It’s great to be announcing I’m the newest Street Child partner. I wanted to connect back

home with my roots and seeing the work with my own eyes made me realise the impact Street Child are having in Nigeria. I wanted to align myself with them, they stand for what I stand for.”

The trip left a lasting impact on Richard but also on those who he met. On his return, he added: “When I spoke to the elders, they said that if it wasn’t for Street Child setting up informal education spaces they don’t know where they would be, the children would be suffering even more. It

makes you realise how important the work of Street Child is. I then told them my story and they thanked me for visiting the kids as I look like them and it’s a moment they would never forget. As I’ve achieved things and am from the same country, I’ve impacted them by giving the kids something to strive towards and look up to.”

The major focus of the partnership is Street Child’s work in Nigeria, where both of Richard’s parents were born and he still has friends and family.

Racing driver Naomi on track to presenting success

By Matthew Chadder

SKY SPORTS presenter Naomi Schiff is a Rwandan-Belgian professional female racing driver, who grew up in South Africa and now lives in the UK. Naomi is part of the Sky’s 2022 coverage team for F1 and is making positive strides to improve equality for women within motorsport. Aged 27,she was appointed diversity and inclusion ambassador for the W series in 2020, a ground-breaking women-only racing series.

The Voice of Sport spoke with Naomi about her experiences.

MC: How do you feel the balance of female and male sport coverage has changed

and what do you think needs to be done next to grow women’s sport even further, particularly within motorsport?

NS: Everything sadly always comes down to numbers. You could say we need to have the best time slots for when we race or when we’re aired on TV, but at the end of the day, we need people to watch. The biggest thing is to get people to believe in women’s sport.

I think women’s sport is in the best place it has ever been, so I think as soon people get invested in women’s sport, we will start getting those time slots, sponsorships and opportunities. People think they can’t help, but they can — if everyone watches, we’ll be in a much bet-

BLAZING A TRAIL: Sky Sports presenter and racing driver Naomi Schiff

ter place. People just need to do the right thing, buy a ticket, and go and support the women as well. Even if you don’t think it’s as interesting, just support and you’ll realise that it is just as interesting, and it is good sport.

MC: How has it been working within F1 and how have you felt people within it have responded to more equal

opportunities for males and females?

NS: Change is most often met with resistance, but it has been good. There’s been a lot of support which has surprised me, of course there’s a lot of people that say I am there for box-ticking reasons, but I don’t think that’s why I’m there and I think I tick a lot of boxes other than that box that everyone wants to

say I’m there for! You’re going to face that criticism, but it doesn’t change the way I feel. I love motorsport and I feel grateful to be there and everyone within the paddock has been very welcoming.

There’s always keyboard warriors, but when it comes down to the paddock and the people that I work with, everyone has been great.

MC: What advice would you give to young girls throughout the country who want to get involved in presenting?

NS: In life you’ll always have barriers in front of you, so you must believe in yourself. If you doubt yourself, you’re the first person standing in your own way.

There are entry barriers, but people need to put themselves out there and they will get to the right places. It takes time and repetitiveness, sending the same person 10 emails over a year, but that person will remember your name.

MC: Finally, you share a Belgian link with a young talented driver, Lando Norris. How do you see him faring this season?

NS: He’s a very polished, consistent driver. He plays it a little bit on the safe side, but it gets him points and he just knows the balance between quick and finishing a race, so I think it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out, but hard to say at this point.

70 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

Sport

Academy award goes to...

Maia Forde proves that it’s never too late to make an impact in sport. By Rodney Hinds

M

AIA FORDE from Tooting, South London, has been selected from more than 90 riders to be part of the prestigious SKODA Driver’s Seat Initiative (DSI) Cycling Academy.

A Biomedical Science graduate with a masters degree in Psychology, Maia works as a mental health and wellbeing practitioner in London. Alongside her day job she will join Academy Principal, Dame Sarah Storey, and complete the programme that offers young female riders the opportunity to gain invaluable experience thanks to SKODA’s sponsorship of some of cycling’s biggest events.

Dame Sarah, Britain’s greatest Paralympian, said: “Maia was a joy to meet and test at the event at Lee Valley and

“I’m so proud to be a young black female representing my community” although she had only been cycling since last summer it is clear she’s been working hard to bring herself up to speed on everything to do with the sport.

“Her tests were impressive and the combination of her determination and natural talent was very exciting to watch. I am really looking forward to supporting Maia and helping her further develop her skills both on and off the bike.”

The 2022 SKODA DSI Cycling Academy programme, now in its fourth year, is designed to sit alongside each rider’s existing club or team activity, providing the opportunity to experience the life of a professional rider with on and off bike experiences throughout the year. Maia said: “I’m so excited for all that’s coming up. I can’t wait to begin working with Dame Sarah and I’m proud to be a young

black female representing my community within the sport.”

Once a talented rower, Maia only took up cycling seriously last year when her 12-hour hospital shifts took over and she needed a more time-efficient sporting activity.

She added: “My boyfriend encouraged me to start commuting on my bike, and that’s how I first got involved in the sport. Towards the end of the rowing season last September, I bought some cycling shoes, joined my current club, the Black Cyclists Network and then I was hooked.”

Maia, an aspiring clinical psychologist, becomes one of three new riders to join the Academy.

More than 90 aspiring female amateur riders applied to join by providing details of their cycling experience, ambitions, and training schedule.

A total of 20 riders were then shortlisted to attend the second stage of the selection process, a testing day at the Lee Valley VeloPark in London.

Maia was put through her paces in a series of cycling tests that included a peak power test, a three-minute maximal test and a 12-minute steady state challenge. She then completed laps of the outdoor closed circuit to test her physical handling and pacing abilities.

UP TO THE TEST: Maia was put through her paces at Lee Valley VeloPark

Maia’s father, Ricky, spoke of his delight at the news: “Her newfound passion for cycling has also rubbed off on me. She inspired me to get my own road bike, and now I’m also a member at Black Cyclists Network.”

SKODA is committed to furthering the opportunities for female riders and the aim of the year-long, inclusive programme is to provide ambitious cyclists, aged between 18-24, with a chance to learn and develop a clear direction within the sport so that they can maximise their

potential. Dame Sarah’s mentorship will include planning and bespoke advice on racing, training and career progression beyond the Academy. Additional social media and media training will be available alongside a sport psychology programme developed exclusively for the Academy.

The Academy ride experiences will take place during SKODA sponsored events that include the Women’s Tour (June), Tour de France (July) and Tour of Britain (September). A further British Cycling experience day

is scheduled for October. Maia, along with the two other selected applicants, join three existing Academy riders, Maddi Aldam-Gates, Gwyneth Parry and Olivia French, who were selected for the programme last year.

SKODA started life as a bicycle company in 1895 and the brand continues to honour its heritage. In tandem with its headline sponsorship of key events in the cycling calendar, SKODA is championing gender equality in the professional tour series

Hughton spurred on by taking inspiration from black community

By Rodney Hinds

CHRIS HUGHTON, the doyen of black English football managers and coaches, has said that the community have inspired him during his illustrious career.

Hughton has managed three clubs in the Premier League – Newcastle United, Norwich City and Brighton & Hove Albion.

The former left-back spent most of his professional playing career at Tottenham Hotspur between 1979 and 1990 – winning the FA Cup twice and the UEFA Cup. In 1979, Hughton became the first mixed-race player to represent the Republic of Ireland, amassing 53 caps for the country of his mother’s birth. His father is Ghanaian.

Since moving on from Nottingham Forest last September, the highly re-

ADVISOR: Chris Hughton spoke to the Best of Africa Series

spected Hughton has taken up a role with the Ghana FA as technical advisor and was present as the Black Stars qualified for this winter’s World Cup in Qatar having beaten Nigeria in a

recent two-legged play-off. During an interview with his daughter Aisha, for the popular Best of Africa Series, the affable Hughton spoke of his appreciation for the black commu-

@thevoicenewspaper

nity’s support. He said: “I get a lot of inspiration from the black community.

We know that there is a void when it comes to black managers and coaches at the highest level.

@thevoicenews

voicenews

“I get involved in a lot of conversations with potential coaches, especially black and ethnic coaches and am always willing to give them that time.”

Asked what needs to be done to improve the numbers of black coaches within the elite game, he added: “There’s no doubt that at grassroots level and academy levels things have increased.

“There still needs to be more opportunities given.

“Until those that want to ply their trade at the highest level are given opportunity by those within the game things won’t change.

“It is down to the game’s stakeholders that influence our game.

“They are the ones that make the decisions. Until their thinking changes, then the numbers will not change.”

www.voice-online.co.uk

JUNE 2022

THE VOICE | 71

Sport

A 2020 vision

DRIVING AMBITION Festival encourages young golfers to get in the swing

By Rodney Hinds

I

T WAS time for tee as aspiring young golfers got the opportunity to play the game when the Golf Foundation hosted a successful schools festival at Bush Hill Park golf course recently.

With some 100 kids in attendance from nine local schools, the festival allowed the charity, in partnership with the Enfield PE Team, to introduce the game to youngsters who had either never played before or who had taken part in sessions delivered to their school by the Golf Foundation in recent months.

The event was part of the HSBC Golf Roots programme that sees the Foundation deliver golf sessions in schools, clubs and communities across the country.

This activity is delivered in partnership with the R&A, the DP World Tour and HSBC as part of a new strategy with England Golf to introduce the game to new audiences.

Nine schools attended the event, including two schools with special education needs, as pupils took part in a variety of activities across the afternoon. The youngsters used Golfway equipment specially designed for kids starting out in the game to take on putting and chipping challenges, as well as a special skills session from PGA coach and professional player Nicola Bennett.

“Being from the local area, this event means so much to me,” said Bennett, who is an ambassador for the Golf Foundation and PGA Professional at Bush Hill Park Golf Club.

“I love seeing the kids smiling and having fun with a golf club in their hand. I love working with the Golf Foundation for that very reason, because I

know first hand of the barriers that can face minorities trying to access the sport, and I want to help open it up to more kids.

The Golf Foundation does that every day.”

The Golf Foundation is currently celebrating its 70th year since Sir Henry Cotton founded the organisation in 1952 with his creed that ‘we should give the game, without compromise, without intimidation, without prejudice, to as many as we possibly could’.

The event at Bush Hill Park came at the end of a weekend which also saw the Golf Foundation bring their 70th anniversary celebrations to the Belfry, where a community festival was delivered at The Betfred British Masters.

There, locals from all backgrounds were welcomed from the Bring It On Brum project, a partnership with Street Games, where young people from 14 inner city youth organisations were introduced to golf last summer as part of the largest government Holiday and Activity Food programme in the country.

“It’s been fabulous to see so many happy kids at both The Belfry and at Bush Hill Park here today,” said Brendon Pyle, CEO of the Golf Foundation.

“The Golf Foundation works hard to help youngsters from all backgrounds to secure a pathway from golf in schools to enjoying life as a junior player at club level. Events like this are what we are all about.

“We’ve had a successful 70 years of impact, and we know that we’ve introduced the game to generations of kids in that time. Now we are gearing up for the next 70 years, and want to do even more.”

EXPERT ADVICE: Professional Nicola Bennett gives tips to the young golfers

King Richard smashes it with critics

By Karen Palmer BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE King Richard has been voted the most well-received sports film in a recent survey. Starring Will Smith, below, the 2021 Academy award-winning King Richard earned a solid 8/10 across the critic platforms.

The film’s recognition, which features tennis aces Venus and Serena Williams and their father, comes as sport movies were named the most popular film genre across three major film rating databases, according to a new survey.

The Film Rating Study pulled the ratings for over 350 recently released

and critically acclaimed films, looking at IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, to gauge which platforms feature the most accurate ratings, and which are the harshest overall.

The study showed that the average sports film boasts a rating of 7.8/10, the highest average-rating genre across all three film databases.

Although sporting the highest average score, sports films proved to be the most divisive genre, with a 21 per cent discrepancy in ratings seen between the analysed platforms.

King Richard, a profoundly moving film, shows the power of family, perseverance and unwavering belief

POWER OF FAMILY: King Richard stars Will Smith, left, as Richard Williams, the father and coach of Venus and Serena as a means to achieve the impossible and impact the world.

Following closely behind sports, historical drama

and biographical films also proved popular among the amateur film critics, with both genres scoring a healthy 7.7/10.

72 | THE VOICE JUNE 2022

Made with spices, flour and sustainable power WADE CBE, FOUNDER, ISLAND DELIGHT, BIRMINGHAM

Island Delight have reduced their energy costs with our support by installing solar panels and switching to LED lighting, allowing them to make their sustainably-produced patties more profitable.

By the side of business