The Voice Newspaper: August 2023

£2.50 | AUGUST, 2023 • ISSUE NO. 1945

In this issue...

BUSINESS

SPORTS

CARNIVAL

Rise of the social entrepreneur

Women’s sport has new goals

Stories behind the street celebration

£18 TRILLION £18,000,000,000,000 TIME TO PAY PAGES 10-11

PAGES 45-47

PAGES 34-38

Britain’s reparations debt BRITAIN OWES more in reparations for slavery than the entire size of the national economy, a report has found.

The figure of £18 trillion - higher than the Gross Domestic Product of the UK - was calculated by academics at the University of West Indies.

The Brattle Report aims to quantify the real cost of slavery and its legacy by looking at factors such as pain and anguish, forgone earnings and loss of liberty during en-

slavement.

It also puts figures on disproportionate unemployment, life expectancy and loss of heritage after emancipation.

Dr Robert Beckford, of the University of Winchester, said: “The first steps to restorative justice is truth-telling and asking ‘how much do you owe? Then we’ll meet you at the bargaining table.”

FULL STORY PAGE 6 & 7

Inside THIS MONTH

Cops ‘out of control’ Pressure for stop and search reform p4-5

ROUNDUP NEWSPAPER

News, views, stories & videos

The Voice says

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1. Outrage over mother’s bus fare arrest Video goes viral after controversial incident in south London

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3. Scandal of Pupil Referral Units

No home to go to Fears over rise in Black homelessness p12

Investigation from last edition of this paper

4. Prof hits back at axe threat for Black history course

Owning our hair shops Calls for more beauty store ownership p13

Hakim Adi slams university attempts to get rid of him

5. Free summer pop-up school for Black girls New education initiative will include workshops on music and engineering

6. Hip Hop affirmation event uplifts Black children

Black Education Fund Let’s keep school achievement on agenda p20

11-year-old boy from Hackney launches inspiring event

7. Beach emancipation Black Brits demand Jamaicans access their own seaside

Through an African lens Photo exhibition tells authentic stories p38 Return to the classics Mahaliah Edwards says diversity is the key p44

8. No targets for maternal deaths Health Secretary reject calls to reduce Black mum deaths

9. Sir Trevor’s Meghan jibe

TV presenter says she had to ‘learn to be Black’

10. Final chance to get policing right

London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s warning for Met police chief

This issue is 48 pages EDITOR Lester Holloway E. lester.holloway@thevoice mediagroup.co.uk

CORPORATE AFFAIRS & COMMUNICATIONS Paula Dyke E. paula@thevoicemedia group.co.uk

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Paulette Simpson E. paulette.simpson@thevoice mediagroup.co.uk

NEWS EDITOR Vic Motune E. vic.motune@thevoicemedia group.co.uk

The £18 trillion question

THE DEMAND for reparatory justice for the horrors of enslavement — and its modern day legacy — has been growing worldwide.

In the US and across the Caribbean, governments have been moved to put it on their political agenda. By comparison, the ‘reparations now’ movement in the UK is lower key, but steadily picking up momentum.

Reparations still rank below the call for stronger action to save the planet from impending environmental catastrophe, but the issue is not going away.

The Brattle Report, which we highlight on our front page, is the most forensic attempt to quantify the cost of slavery and harm post-emancipation.

Of course life is beyond price, and no amount can truly compensate for the 12.8 million Africans stolen from their land, the brutality inflicted on them and their descendants, or the systemic racism that followed.

But when discussing repair — beyond an apology — calculating harm in monetary terms is the normal route forward. The figure of £18 trillion owed by Britain is eye watering — and bigger than the annual national wealth of the entire country.

Yet the report is a useful document to begin negotiations with the UK government, starting with the question of whether they accept that the legacy of slavery endures.

The question of what form reparations should take remains an unresolved question.

In the past, this has led to splits among campaigners, with some arguing for direct financial compensation for descendants of enslavement, while others suggesting education grants, debt relief or fixing international trade biases. But when we are talking about £18,000,000,000,000 surely the answer has to be: all of the above!

The majority (66 per cent) of Black people surveyed by IPSO earlier this year supported reparations, compared to a quarter (24 per cent) of white people.

So there is work to be done in ‘the mainstream’ to convince more white people of the case.

The other issue is believability. Quite simply, even the majority of people who support reparations don’t believe it will happen — or at least not in their lifetimes.

This paper is not so pessimistic. Real engagement of decision-makers feels within reach, even if compensation is spread over a long period of time.

Finally, the figure of £18 trillion should signal the end of ‘chicken feed’ payments, such as the £100 million pledged by the Church of England. That is 0.0005 per cent of what is owed. The Brattle Report is now the figure that future pledges will be compared against.

Got a story? email us at yourviews@thevoicemediagroup.co.uk ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Joel Campbell E. joel.campbell@thevoice mediagroup.co.uk SPORTS EDITOR Rodney Hinds E. rodney.hinds@thevoice mediagroup.co.uk

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AUGUST 2023 THE VOICE

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News Feature

The invisible community Bradford’s Manningham once had a thriving Black neighbourhood.

Today, as the council celebrates being crowned UK City of Culture for 2025, we ask: why have we disappeared? By Jenny Steel

P

UBLICITY SUPPORTING Bradford’s bid to be the UK City of Culture for 2025 featured Black people representing the racial diversity of the city.

But the Caribbean community, once a major part of the city, are largely invisible.

The Manningham neighbourhood, in particular, was known as a vibrant centre of the Black community, but today it is very different.

What happened to Bradford’s Black community? We spoke to some of the remaining Black residents, who said the problems went back 40 years.

But it was the closure of the Young Lions Cafe in 2000 — the equivalent of the Mangrove in Notting Hill, London — which symbolises the decline of Bradford’s Black community.

Bradford is the youngest and most diverse city in the UK outside London.

Organisers from Bradford 2025 (BD25) are celebrating winning City of Culture which they see as an opportunity to grow the creative and cultural sector and change the way the West Yorkshire city is seen by the rest of the world.

But some members of the

CLASHES: Racial tensions spill over in Bradford in 2001 (photo: Getty Images)

African-Caribbean community have their reservations about how they fit into the plans. They want to know whether Bradford can be a “fair” City of Culture for everyone.

The Black Caribbean community has played a key role in Bradford’s recent multicultural past, particularly the contribution from the Windrush Generation.

For some Black Bradfordians, negative events that played out in the city over the past 40 years have never been remedied.

Victor Wedderburn, a member of Bradford’s Manningham community, arrived in the UK from Jamaica as a teenager.

He describes the decline of the Black community in the area as “ethnic cleansing”.

He said: “I have no interest in the City of Culture. We have somewhere to live but nowhere to go. Whole communities have disappeared. The only reason I would say to pursue this is so it doesn’t happen again.

You can’t put a community back together. You can’t bring back those days, they’re gone.”

His photographs from the 1980s, which have been used for the BD25 campaign, capture the vibrant African-Caribbean

THEN AND NOW: Manningham in the past captured by Victor Wedderburn; below, the Bradford suburb today

I have no interest in the City of Culture. You can’t put a community back together. You can’t bring back those days community at various hangouts in the local area. The Young Lions Cafe was a popular spot for Caribbean youths back in the day. It was closed after Jamaican youth Dexter Coleman was shot and killed outside the venue in 2000. This was during a period of heightened tensions in Bradford following the riots of 1995 and various spates of violence between the Black, White and ethnic communities.

Wedderburn wants BD25 to offer some form of learning from the past he witnessed.

ONS figures support Wedderburn’s perspective. In the 1990s, Caribbean Bradfordians made up just below one per cent of the population. That number fell to half a per cent 30 years later; despite the rest of the country seeing a slight increase in Black Caribbean populations.

Sharat Hussein, a youth worker and member of Bradford’s South Asian community, was born and raised in Manningham.

He fondly remembers socialising with the African-Caribbean community in the early 1990s and empathises with Wedderburn’s views.

He remembers times when the Caribbean community added

what he calls a welcome flavour to his neighbourhood. He believes BD25 could open pathways to offer Afro-Caribbean people better representation in local authority.

Bradford Council confirms the city has never had a Black or African-Caribbean councillor.

However, Cllr Abdul Jabar is upbeat about the future. He is Bradford Council’s Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods and Community Safety.

“We know that culture is important to our communities. We want these to be inclusive and accessible and to acknowledge significant faith and historical dates, including celebrating Black History Month, marking the Windrush arrival as well as celebrating Caribbean culture through arts events.”

Local businessman and Bradfordian Abdul Rahman has his foot in both cultures of the city.

He was born and raised in West Bowling and, like 30 per cent of the city, he is a Muslim.

His grandparents came to the UK from the Caribbean during the Windrush era.

He said: “I can’t take away the fact that people like myself and my relatives and peers need to

step up and take some of those positions within the community.

That’s the only thing that can happen. People need to step up” BD25 say they are hoping their policies, team and board represent the district and the best interests of their audiences, artists and funders.

ENGAGE

At the time of publishing, their website has a number of live job and volunteering opportunities, open to all areas of the community. The organisers of BD25 say they are determined to proactively engage with Bradford’s Caribbean community via local organisations such as African Caribbean Achievement Project.

Many of these local organisations came together to support themselves and now BD25 is offering a higher platform for representation.

Organisations like Bradford’s African Caribbean Achievement Project, set up in 1995, aimed at fighting for equality in education while Windrush Generations seeks to support, educate and empower through activities related to Caribbean elders.

Nigel Guy MBE is the founder.

He commented: “I think BD 2025

is a positive accolade for Bradford. There was a high presence of young people involved and those from the Afro-Caribbean community were put front and centre. Bradford is trying to reestablish itself. There’s a change in the demographics in Bradford.

“A lot of families and Windrush Generation descendants have gone to other cities — we have new arrivals from Africa and the Caribbean but there’s still that journey of improvement.

“Our community needs to knock on those doors and enter the corridors of change and power rather than relying on others to do that for us.

“We need to challenge establishments and local authority to represent our community. We need to be round that table, and make an impact and change.”

The appointment of Bradford as UK City of Culture offers the city a chance to showcase how it can truly become a melting pot of cultures and a beacon of inclusivity. Everyone in the city is a part of shaping its future and those in the right position have the responsibility of ensuring that the benefits that come from BD25 are accessible to everyone.

4 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

News Feature

‘Cops are out of control’ Community activists say stop and search is damaging successive generations of Black youth. By Sinai Fleary

B

LACK BRITISH boys are being stopped by police as young as six years old. As adults, they are calling for the police to be held accountable for historic abuses of power.

Emmanuel Imuere is regularly stopped and searched and says the reasons are never good enough.

He told The Voice: “It’s usually the normal excuses like ‘we can smell cannabis’, ‘there’s been a crime in the area’, or ‘you fit the description’.”

In 2013, Imuere’s house was burgled, but when the police arrived he was treated like the “guilty party” and not the victim because he is Black.

He says the officers who arrived had a “nonchalant attitude” which made him feel “let down”.

The following year, he became the Chair of the Stop and Search Monitoring Group in Lewisham.

However, he said during the same week of his appointment, he was arrested and detained for eight hours, as police claim he swore at them.

Imuere has denied any wrongdoing and no charges were ever brought against him.

“We are persistently treated as if we are criminals,” he said.

“It is almost as if we are guilty then we have to prove ourselves innocent, rather than being innocent before we are proven guilty.”

While driving, he’s been stopped and accused of not having a licence.

FAITH

High profile stop and search cases involving Black celebrities such as artist Fuse ODG, have prompted further criticisms of the Met. Imuere is the Founder and Lead Practitioner of Positive Youth Education (PYE), which educates young people about their rights under stop and search.

The founder says he has lost faith in the Met and his focus going forward will be helping the next generation manage their expectations of complaints against police.

Imuere branded stop and search a “racist tactic” and

doesn’t believe it is being used properly.

He added there are too many innocent people who get caught up in threatening stops such as Team GB athlete Bianca Williams and her partner Ricardo Dos Santos — who is also a professional athlete.

Despite widespread criticism that stop and search disproportionately targets Black communities, in June the Home Secretary Suella Braverman wrote to chief constables of all 43 police forces in England and Wales to give her full support for the tactic to be “ramped up”.

Baroness Louise Casey of Blackstock was commissioned to undertake an independent review into the Met’s culture and eroding police standards.

The damning report was published in March and found there is “institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia in the Met”.

Baroness Casey described Black Londoners in the report as being “over-policed” and more likely to be stopped and searched, handcuffed, batoned and Tasered.”

In July, Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley announced a new policing plan for London, that aims to deliver more trust, less crime, high standards — which includes tackling racism.

But critics say, as the new plan remains committed to stop and search it will continue to disproportionately target Britain’s Black communities.

Daniyel Thomas, from Balham, south London, said he was stopped for the first time when he was just six years old.

In the mid-1980s, he was pretending to drive an abandoned car with a friend on the Badric Court estate in Battersea, when three police officers in an undercover car “zoomed up the road” leaving him terrified.

He told The Voice: “Two or three white police officers jumped out of the car and we ran. I got dragged out of the car by one quite aggressively and my feet were not touching the floor.”

Thomas remembers being “scared” and claims he was “manhandled”. He was only let go, when his friend’s mum — who was nearby — shouted

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE: Community activist Stafford Scott was convicted at the age of 17 for a crime he says he did not commit (photo: Getty Images)

It is almost as if we are guilty then we have to prove ourselves innocent, rather than being innocent before we are proven guilty “put my child down!” He was “dropped” by the officer, who immediately left with his colleagues without speaking to anyone.

Spending his time in between Tooting, Battersea and Brixton as a teenager, Thomas said as he made his way home after school, he would be accused of committing crimes and stopped and searched “aggressively” while in his uniform — despite telling police he had been at school all day.

Thomas is a carpenter by trade, and says he is routinely stopped and mistreated for carrying his work tools such as a Stanley knife. He said his tools are always scrutinised and inspected by police.

The father-of-four says he’s been stopped approximately 40 times throughout his life and over a period of seven months,

he was stopped at least once a month — which left him feeling angry and frustrated. Thomas educated himself on the law and now runs a self-empowerment workshop called Positive Interaction with the police, which helps to inform others about unlawful stops.

Policing by consent is a fundamental part of British policing that requires the public’s approval of the police’s actions and behaviour and is based on their ability to secure and maintain public respect.

But with overall public trust falling from a high of 89 percent in 2016 to a low of 66 percent in March 2022, police forces are in urgent need of reform.

Imuere says he does not consent to being “abused and harassed” by British police forces.

The controversial Sus Laws were abolished in August 1981,

and have been described as racist and discriminatory by campaigners.

Many Black British men say those who were prosecuted under Sus are victims of a huge miscarriage of justice and must be given a formal apology.

Originating from Section 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824, the Sus Laws gave police powers to arrest a person suspected of “intending to commit an arrestable offence.”

In the 1970s, African Caribbean people represented just six per cent of London’s population but made up a staggering 44 per cent of those arrested under Sus in 1978.

CHARGED

The contentious laws have been abolished for over 40 years, but the fight to have convictions overturned continues.

One of those supporting the cancellation of Sus convictions is Director of the Tottenham Rights CIC, Stafford Scott, who is also a renowned community activist.

Speaking to The Voice, Scott said he was “stitched” up, charged and given a £40 fine in the 1970s for a crime he did

not commit. Scott was accused by police of attempting to rob a woman in Central London with five of his friends, which he stringently denies.

He says he was in court supporting his friend — who had been arrested under Sus — when the alleged incident took place.

According to the veteran activist, there was no victim or witnesses, but he was still found guilty along with his five peers — one being his older brother.

Scott described those events as “absolutely changing my life forever”. He was convicted at Lambeth Magistrates’ Court when he was 17.

He said: “Four out of the six of us had already been done for Sus and already had criminal records, they got sent to the detention centre immediately.”

A friend of Scott’s who had only arrived in the UK from Barbados the year before, was also fined. He said the conviction destroyed his friend’s life.

“When this happened, my friend took an oath that he was going to leave this country as soon as he could.”

With nowhere else to go, Scott said he was forced to stay in Britain and the pain of his

AUGUST 2023 THE VOICE | 5

News Feature TRAUMATIC: Many young Black British men are routinely stopped and searched (photo: Getty Images)

wrongful conviction is still present today.

He tried to appeal the decision and brought a witness who had seen him in court on the day police claimed he committed a crime, but the judge failed to overturn his conviction.

Scott said it was at this moment he felt cheated by the system and told the judge and courtroom, “I’m not paying a fine for something that I didn’t do.”

As he continued to profess his innocence, his fine was doubled to £80 and he was removed from the court by bailiffs.

He told The Voice, as he was taken outside on the court steps, he became emotional and cried.

His father attempted to calm him down, but he admits the injustice that he and his brother suffered changed his entire outlook on life and as a result he went off the rails.

Scott said witnessing his older brother being sent to prison for three months had a profound impact on him and his family.

“I had to watch my mother cry and I had to deal with all of that because of these people’s lies,” he explained. “It was too much for me to cope with.”

Just a few months after going

down the wrong path, in December 1977, Scott was locked up for three years.

He spent a lot of time in the prison library and delved into Black literature about the Black Panthers.

“This is where Stafford Scott becomes an activist,” he said proudly.

He added: “I started to learn about what it means to be Black in this country, in a white man’s country.”

PITFALLS

Scott vowed when he was released he would never return, and would dedicate his time to help Black youth “avoid the pitfalls and at the same time change the system”.

Now as a race equality specialist and a respected voice of the Black British community, he is calling for those who didn’t have a criminal record before being convicted under Sus to have their convictions scrapped.

Asked by whether he believes the Met can be reformed, he said “they are out of control

and they have been allowed to be out of control for too many decades.”

Lee Jasper, pictured below, is the Chair of Alliance for Police Accountability (APA), which aims to empower Black communities by co-producing policing and violence reduction charters and building a national network of police monitoring groups.

Jasper said the Black community must create a mandate about what an anti-racist 21st century police force would look like — as the issues are “long, complex and decades in

the making”. He said: “In order to get the system-wide change we are looking for, we need to demonstrate that we have a national mandate. That mandate can only come from working with African Caribbean heritage communities on the construction of a policing charter that would set out our demands for policing reform.”

Jasper said it is vital a new national network of police monitoring groups be created that can “provide local communities with the data

and information they need to be able to challenge systemic racism”.

The only way to tackle systemic racism within policing is by creating a “powerful alliance” between Black activist groups, women’s rights groups, disability and LGBT+ groups, he added. “No single group can hope to change the police, it’s going to take all of us united together around a consensus agenda for change.”

The APA is currently working in London, Birmingham and Cardiff, with hopes to expand to Liverpool and Manchester.

The Metropolitan Police were approached for comment.

Sir Mark Rowley recently told The Voice: “Trust in policing among London’s Black and minority ethnic communities is far too low.

“Tragically they are also often the communities that experience higher levels of crime.

For many, they feel over policed and under protected. These challenges are not

new. In some areas the relationship between the community and the police has been characterised by mistrust dating back decades.

“We know that if we are to increase confidence, rebuild relationships and crucially, deliver effective policing that makes a positive difference, then it is vital that our officers understand more about and build better relationships with the communities they serve.”

SENSITIVE

“Community representatives are already having a greater input into new recruit training to allow them to develop a deeper understanding of the part of London they police, so that they can be more culturally aware and more sensitive to the impact of our operational interventions.

“We’ve also seen great examples of community engagement in different parts of the Met and we need to take that best practice, learn from it and apply the understanding in other areas, particularly with communities whose trust in us has been shaken.

“Building that trust and those relationships is the foundation of local policing and will be crucial to our success.”

6 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

News Feature

£18 TRILLION

What Britain owes in reparations ‘The Empire Must Pay Back’ say campaigners after landmark report calculating the real cost of slavery. By Leah Mahon

B

RITAIN OWES a staggering £18.6 trillion in reparations — over five times the country’s annual gross domestic product — according to a landmark new report.

The calculation of money owed to the Caribbean and the Americas was made by academics for the prestigious University of the West Indies.

The Brattle Report takes into account loss of liberty, forgone earnings, deprivation and mental pain and anguish during slavery.

And intergenerational trauma, loss of heritage, differences in life expectancy, unemployment and income disparity after emancipation.

The 116-page study also factors in the cumulative wealth and GDP amassed by nations that enslaved Africans over hundreds of years, including interest earned.

It is the most forensic attempt to quantify harm caused by enslavement and its legacy to date.

The report breaks down compensation owed for the enslavement and post-enslavement

KEY FIGURE: Judge Patrick Robinson helped to compile the landmark report

periods which both accumulate into the trillions.

The total harm caused to enslaved Africans and their descendants amounts to over £101 trillion, larger than the collective GDP of the world, which was £96 trillion in 2021.

Portugal owes £16 trillion (63 times its annual GDP), and America owes almost £21 trillion (slightly less than its GDP in 2021).

Britain paid slave-owners £20 million in 1833 when slavery was abolished, the equivalent of £7 trillion today. The compensation, paid for with a Bank of England loan, was still being paid off by British taxpayers until 2015.

LIBERTY STRIPPED AWAY: Captives being brought on board a slave ship on the West Coast of Africa, c1880 (photo: Getty Images)

MOMENTUM

According to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, 12.5 million Africans were shipped to the New World between 1525 and 1866, 10.7 million of them surviving the Middle Passage.

The report, titled Reparations for Trans-Atlantic Chattel Slavery in the Americas and the Caribbean, follows growing momentum from Caribbean

governments, who produced the ten-point CARICOM plan for reparations. The groundbreaking report looks into the gender-based violence suffered

by Black enslaved women and describes the repercussions of transatlantic chattel slavery as vast, which still “resonate in the lives of descendants of the enslaved to this day”.

The report, written by Coleman Bazelon, Alberto Vargas, Rohan Janakiraman and Mary M. Olson, adds: “Each enslaved person experienced overwhelming harm, beginning with the loss of their liberty and often ending with a premature death after a life marked by personal injury and other forms of violence, if they survived the Middle Passage.

“By our estimates, these harms were inflicted on 19 million people over the span of four centuries. These 19 million include those Africans kidnapped and transported to the Americas and Caribbean and those born into slavery.”

By our estimates, these harms were inflicted on 19 million people over the span of four centuries Judge Patrick Robinson, who presides at the International Court of Justice, was a key figure behind compiling the landmark report.

Speaking exclusively to The Voice, he said the incredible sum spanned up to 300 years of enslavement for millions of Black people.

“It was arrived at on the basis of certain types of damages, such as loss of life, uncompensated work, psychological damage, gender violence... so the evaluators then had to work out the number of enslaved persons who were affected by this wrongful conduct of trans-Atlantic chattel slavery, and then attach a value to each wrong.”

Judge Robinson said the re-

port examined the number of Africans who embarked on ships from Africa to the Americas and the Caribbean, those who disembarked and those who perished during the voyage on the Middle Passage.

DEALINGS

During enslavement, it reports that Britain is required to pay reparations of £18.62 trillion; of that sum, the United Kingdom is required to pay £7.41 trillion to Jamaica.

Other former slave holding countries including Spain, Portugal and France are listed as owing billions, if not trillions for their dealings in the slave trade. The total comes to an eye-watering £83.53 trillion.

In paying compensation, Judge Robinson writes in the report that compensation should be segregated from other government funds, and administered by a body that is insulated from political influence.

When considering the post enslavement period, economists’ calculations measured the wealth disparity between the descendants of the enslaved and their colonisers that still persists today. These vast inequalities are most notably found in education, health and housing.

Dr Robert Beckford, right, professor of Climate and Social Justice at the University of Winchester, became involved with the report after previously calculating the amount of reparations owed from Britain in a 2005 Channel 4 documentary.

Dr Beckford says he’s under no delusions that PM Rishi Sunak will suddenly offer up the sum, but the “million dollar question” remains as to whether these countries will pay the compen-

AUGUST 2023 THE VOICE | 7

News Feature

FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE: A slavery reparations protest outside New York Life Insurance Company offices in New York City.

Protesters claim the company benefited from slave labour (photo: Getty Images)

sation owed, and how to stir up support from governments and the public to achieve this.

“The first part of any restorative justice project, national or international, is truth seeking, trying to find out what happened in the past, and therefore assessing what needs to be done,” he told The Voice.

“This is part of the truth seeking and saying how much do you actually owe? The next stage is then truth telling and saying this is what we want and then hoping that if people who have done wrong, want to make amends, they will meet you at the bargaining table.”

In January, The Voice reported on how support for reparations in Britain had grown among Black people, but dwindled in backing from White people.

According to data from the Independent Press Standards

Organisation (IPSO), just 24 per cent of White people said that they supported the UK government paying reparations to Black people living in Britain who are the descendants of former slaves, but 61 per cent of Black people backed the move Overall, 18 per cent of white people disagreed that descendants of enslaved Africans should be paid reparations,

while 51 per cent of Black people supported the idea.

Dr Beckford hit back at the rhetoric that reparations shouldn’t be paid to the Black diaspora because other races have endured slavery also, arguing that trans-Atlantic chattel slavery was “qualitatively different from other forms of enslavement or indentured labour”.

“Africans were sub-humanised, were not considered human, and not given any rights.

So consequently, that distinguishes chattel slavery from other forms of White indentured labour or any form of trafficking during that period,” he said.

“But even if we add up the numbers, that 12 million Africans were trafficked, there is no equivalent in terms of White working class people being trafficked to the West Indies.”

Today, despite not profiting directly from slavery, the repa-

rations campaigner said there are no working class White people that can say what happened on plantations in the Caribbean are still negatively impacting them as they walk down the street.

PROCESS

High profile visits to the Caribbean by members of the British royal family and King Charles coronation, as well as ongoing plans for former colonies to become republics has given new life to the reparations movement.

Members of Heirs of Slavery, a campaign group fighting for reparations, including former slave-owning families the Lascelles and Trevelyans, have notably paid their own forms of reparations to the Caribbean.

However, Dr Beckford believes that supporters need to consult the restorative justice

process, which includes involving the living descendants of the enslaved.

Judge Robinson was also less favourable on wealthy families doing their bit. He said: “They must be told what they owe.

What the Trevelyans earned from trans-Atlantic chattel slavery and on the basis of the heads of damages that we have worked out, would come to billions.”

According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, reparations takes four forms that the authors of the report want to see considered in the fight for justice: restitution, compensation, rehabilitation and satisfaction.

Judge Robinson says the report leaves the question of compensation ultimately in the hands of the state, but difficult legal questions for individuals, plantation owners, and businesses remain about where the money actually comes from.

However, Dr Beckford is hopeful that he will see movement following the report, although he predicts progress will be slow.

Judge Robinson describes trans-Atlantic chattel slavery as a “difference in degree, and a difference in kind” for the naysayers, adding that countries being held to account are beyond a “moral obligation,” and the fight now is legal in rebuilding countries still living in the shadow of slavery.

Judge Robinson, and the rest of the team behind the report, have approached MPs in the UK and are working with victim and responsible states to begin the reparatory justice process.

Judge Robinson added: “These reparatory funds will reflect the execution of the sacred trust left to us by our enslaved ancestors, and that sacred trust is that we must not stop until reparations are paid for the injustice that was done to them.”

8 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

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Joshua Coleman is Chief Executive of EMAT – the East Midlands Academy Trust – and has designed a clear vision to create world-class schools that demonstrate integrity of purpose through high aspiration for every child. EMAT are driven by a strong moral purpose that every child has the right to outstanding teaching and leadership By Anshu Taneja EMAT and The Voice have joined forces to provide excellent job opportunities for those wishing to enter the Teaching and Education sector. Please see page www.voice-online.co.uk/recruitment/for some of the job roles available.

Q: First of all, can you tell us a little about yourself?

I’ve been CEO at EMAT for the last six years, but have worked in the education field – including prisons – for over three decades. What I have discovered is that there is a disproportionate impact on those from an ethnic background compared to the supposedly white working-class. This uncomfortable fact stuck with me throughout all of my subsequent job roles.

Prior to joining EMAT, I worked in NACRO (the National Association and Care for the Rehabilitation of Offenders), and I was responsible for the education provision across England and Wales. I saw people on their journey in and out of the criminal justice systems and once again realised the disproportionate number of those from a more diverse cultural heritage represented in in the prison population – and it frus-

trated me greatly.

That’s what convinced me to believe that if I was able to get further upstream of the problem, I would hopefully be able to make a difference so that it wouldn’t continue to happen. And that led me to the world of schools and education. Obviously, I can only influence the schools within my Trust, but I think collectively we can all make a big positive change.

Q: What is the EMAT vision?

Our vision is that “every child deserves to be the best they can be.”

And that’s what really matters to me. I think having that as an aspiration with our values of inclusion – which has been one of our major drivers for the past two years – makes a real tangible difference. We set high expectations for our leaders and teachers to support and stretch every child to ensure they

make excellent progress and build the skills, knowledge and attributes that will prepare them well for secondary school and beyond.

Q: Why is it so important to have a diverse workforce?

I’ve said many times that diversity and inclusion is more than just saying that we have a percentage that matches the

population. It’s about creating an environment where there’s mutual trust and respect. It lays the road for the future.

Not only are we now inviting people aged between 25-60 years old to come in and work in our schools and be promoted to headteachers, but the very fact that they are doing that means they are visible within the organisa-

tion and therefore they are automatically inspiring children across our schools. We have over 5,000 children and 600 staff, and though it’s only a small step in our 65 million population, it’s still a large number of people to influence.

For us to achieve this, we need to raise our cultural awareness around perception of behaviours and slowly

AUGUST 2023

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THE VOICE| 9

Education Recruitment

begin to influence the whole of the community. Young people can hopefully see positive role models and that there’s a way out of the deprived areas where we are. People can see that there’s a tangible career for them where they can speak and behave in a professional manner but still be tied into their own personalities and personal beliefs on equity.

Q: How do you promote diversity in your schools?

The celebration of all festivals such as Black History Month, Diwali and Eid are extremely important but alongside that is how we diverse and ensure our curriculum is inclusive and how to ensure our students impact and influence the wider community. We do need Black history, but we actually need the whole history to be able to make sure that the full story is told and not just the selective colonial whitewashing parts of it.

We need to make people aware of inspirational role models from the past who were from other backgrounds and heritage, and who were there throughout great points in our whole history.

That then gives them ownership of being part of our collective country’s heritage, rather than feeling that they are outsiders.

There are many wonderful quotes by famous people about equality, but if we are truly equal then we need to treat and love each other on the same level. Diversity is not just about heritage or culture. It’s about other things

such as misogyny. You have to collectively want change for change to happen. You can either be a bystander, or, be an upstander and get involved and make it happen.

Q: What challenges do those in school face, and also those who are excluded from schools?

The path to difficulties starts when children don’t have role models in their lives and those from ethnic backgrounds have disproportionately higher rates of exclusions in schools.

Exclusions present a huge problem because youngsters are then out of a protective environment of a school where they have members of staff and adults to help them, educate them, encourage them, and nurture them.

Those who are out of that care bubble are exploited more easily.

When I used to work for NACRO, I realised that ‘predators’ such as gang members and their affiliates used to

hang around where pupil referral units or alternative provision are, and they were able to access and exploit them.

That is a life-limiting thing. Once you have been in prison or got involved with the police, getting employment and housing is extremely challenging, and so it manifests itself across the whole realms of life for the individual that’s affected.

Q: Tell us about your interaction with a group of Year 9’s?

One of the things that really stimulated me with my vision was when I met a group of thirty Year 9 pupils from a vast range of backgrounds and heritages who had set up an inclusion and diversity group for over a year – on their own. They asked the headteacher to meet me and it was an amazing three hours and I loved every minute of it. They grilled me with probing questions like “Why is there no representation on the senior leadership in the schools for us? What’s our recruit-

ment strategy? How do we educate our staff around micro aggressions?” And these interactions really pushed me to think deeper.

We already had many things in our curriculum such as PHSE to develop students’ knowledge, and staff training to enhance their understanding of equality, but now I had to push in diversity training, and actively implement more positive action to try and accelerate towards a more reflective staff body.

Our staff ratio is very similar to the rest of the country; 85% of teachers in state-funded schools are white British, in comparison to 71% of the working age population who are the same, so that’s an increase of nearly 15% in the school workforce population. And conversely there are lower numbers from ethnic profiles, and just 3% of those are moved on to be headteachers. Also, 74% of employees in teaching are women but only 66% are headteachers. On every level there-

fore, there is disconnect between what should be happening and what is actually happening in the wider context.

Q: What is your annual Olympics Day? Every year we host an Olympic Games on June 24th and we have a vast range of sporting athletes from track and field attend. The East Midlands is awash with sporting icons and several GB Olympians have come and positively influenced our students.

One of the most exciting athletes I have seen is a Paralympian called Ryan Raghoo, and has supported us by going into our schools and talking to our students about his experience and the barriers to children. Imagine you are an ethnic group as well as having a disability, the barriers in front of your life to success are amplified. He was extremely inspiring to listen to.

Q: And finally, what do you hope to achieve by teaming up with The Voice?

We are very excited about our collaboration with The Voice, who have consistently and successfully addressed injustices and diversity issues within society for decades. We hope to address the under representation in education to reflect the communities in which we serve. It was a natural choice to link with The Voice and we have 20 job roles available on The Voice website recruitment page.

Source: School workforce census, Database of Teacher Records, Database of Qualified Teachers

School workforce in England, Reporting year 2022 – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK (explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk) Scroll to Teacher Characteristics / Ethnicity / Charts

10 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

News Feature

The unrelenting rise of Black consumers contribute £25 billion to the economy.

Today a new wave of business owners are seeking to keep more of that wealth in the community. By Vic Motune

E

ARLY 20TH CENTURY African-American entrepreneurs such as Madam CJ Walker, Annie Turnbo Malone, and more recently the likes of Daymond John and Jay Z, are among the most iconic and celebrated business and cultural figures.

A key factor in their success was the direct impact of Black consumers choosing to embrace the concept of ‘buying Black’, which involves purchasing goods and services from other African Americans as a response to systemic racial inequalities.

In turn, Black business owners often felt a strong sense of responsibility to reinvest in the communities that supported them by creating jobs and supporting community initiatives.

The concept of buying Black is a less well-established tradition in the UK. However, that may be changing.

A powerful consumer-led movement h a s emerged in the years since the summer of 2020, which saw global protests following the tragic death of George Floyd.

This movement is championing Black-owned businesses, which emerged in the fight for Black economic empowerment in the UK. When So Solid Crew member Swiss launched Black Pound Day (BPD) in June 2020, with the aim of encouraging consumers to buy from Blackowned businesses, it was met with widespread support.

And the ‘Buy Black’ movement is continuing to gain momentum.

The Black Pound Report 2022 produced by culture change agency BACKLIGHT revealed African Caribbean consumers possess an estimated £1.1 billion in disposable income and increasingly prioritise buying products from Black and mi-

nority ethnic-led businesses.

Events like the Birmingham Black Business Show, the UK Black Business Show, and Manchester’s Black Owned Business Expo have helped to shine a spotlight not only on the role that Black entrepreneurs’ play in contributing an estimated £25 billion to the UK economy, according to recent figures from the Federation of Small Businesses.

These events are also showcasing the fact that entrepreneurs, supported by consumers who are choosing to buy Black, are helping to create opportunities and social mobility in the ethnically diverse areas where they are often based.

They are playing a leading role in backing education, training and mentoring initiatives for young people from underrepresented backgrounds, partnering with organisations to run key health campaigns, donating a portion of profits to charities and youth organisations and creating employment opportunities for communities in Africa and the Caribbean that harvest the ingredients used in some products.

Among them is Norma Jean Murrain Banton who founded the successful Birminghambased jewellery business Silverfish.

As well as running her company, she launched in 2021 the UK’s first culturally diverse academy for young jewellers from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds who would otherwise have struggled to get into the lucrative industry.

There are also entrepreneurs like Patricia Monney who was inspired to launch a skincare and beauty brand Aviela after shea butter — a staple ingredient used in many Ghanaian households — helped her twoyear-old daughter to walk for

BLACK FIRST: Black entrepreneurs are helping to create opportunities thanks to the support of consumers who are choosing to ‘buy Black’; inset left, Madam CJ Walker’s story inspired many to get into business (photos: Getty Images)

the first time during a holiday in the West African country.

A portion of her profits go to creating employment opportunities for the Women’s Collective in Northern Ghana, who farm the shea nuts from which her products are made.

There are others such as Emmanuel Asuquo. His path to becoming a successful independent financial advisor began after dreaming of working in one of the skyscrapers in Canary Wharf which he could see from his bedroom window on a council estate in Tower Hamlets.

As well as working with highprofile corporate clients and developing a growing national

media profile, he has used social media to mentor thousands of Black Britons about how they can create generational wealth.

This has led some commentators to hail the emergence of a socially conscious generation of Black British entrepreneurs who are intent on using business success to drive transformative social change.

IMPACT

It’s a view that Swiss firmly believes is true.

“It’s a great time to be a Black business owner because of the support from the ‘buy Black’ movement,” he says. “But more of us are thinking about how we

can impact the next generation, give them a leg up and create generational wealth. People can see and understand instantly the impact they have as conscious consumers on social media.

“They can see the comments, the likes, they can post videos about the products they buy. It’s a national movement on social media.

“But it’s important to think about how that impact can be used to support young people in the right way. This is a holistic way of approaching business.

“Not only are we business owners, we focus more on employing and creating opportu-

nities for young people in our community.

“What we’re talking about here is the same model that’s employed in the Asian and Jewish communities.

“There’s this whole community thing happening now where we’re leaning on each other’s shoulders, helping each other out. And I feel like that’s going to happen more and more.”

According to a 2018 report by Professor Monder Ram, Director of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship at Aston University, Black and minority ethnic entrepreneurs play a key role in fostering economic growth and

AUGUST 2023 THE VOICE | 11

News Feature

social entrepreneurs

GOING BACK TO THEIR ROOTS: Nicholas Okwulu says his approach to business has been shaped by his upbringing in Nigeria while Keri Andriana also draws inspiration from her cultural heritage

wulu, who runs social enterprise Pempeople (People Empowering People) the fact that Black entrepreneurs are taking a lead in empowering their communities is as much to do with the influence of cultural heritage as it is with the events that followed George Floyd’s tragic death.

His company, based in southeast London, provides workshops, studios and multidisciplinary spaces for voluntary groups but also supports them in gaining funding.

ETHOS

empowering communities by providing opportunities for social mobility. Five years later, post-George Floyd, he saw that trend continuing.

“This issue was crystallised for me when I attended the first Black Business Show in Birmingham last year,” he says.

“I got talking to a young man, a former Aston University student, and his father who ran his own business. You could see the dignity, the work and the effort this man put in, not only to develop his business but to educate his son.

“For me that was the essence of what is happening. Success isn’t a purely selfish endeavour,

it’s about creating a platform for the next generation’s social mobility and success. The pioneer generation’s efforts have supported subsequent ones, highlighting the intergenerational impact of Black entrepreneurship.

“I agree with the analysis that there’s been a heightened social consciousness in the Black community since George Floyd’s death.

“As someone from multicultural Birmingham, I see talented, hardworking Black entrepreneurs every day, but mainstream media often overlooks this.”

For people like Nicholas Ok-

In the area I grew up in the mindset was that if someone launched a business, the family, the village, would benefit range of luxury vegan bags have been featured in many of the world’s top fashion magazines such as Vogue and Vanity Fair, and she has been invited four times to showcase her products at the prestigious London Fashion Week.

However, equally as important to Andriana is Amschela’s commitment to providing opportunities to young people who are often excluded from careers in the fashion industry.

“We have a business that’s there to make money, but equally as important is the social impact side of the business,” she says. “I’ve been very deliberate

in opening up the company to be a vehicle of learning, allowing young people who, either because of where they live, or the colour of their skin, don’t get opportunities to get into the industry. So some of the young people that have come through us have gone on to big fashion houses such as Chanel and Dior.

“It’s not about having young people on board to make the tea and coffee. It’s giving them real opportunities that allow them to join the job market with a chance of success.”

Andriana says this is a legacy of her celebrated grandfather, and other Windrush Generation

Okwulu says his approach to business has been directly shaped by his upbringing in Nigeria.

“It’s often said in the Black community that it takes a village to raise a child,” he says.

“I’m very much a product of that ethos. In the area I grew up in the mindset was that if someone launched a business or built something, the family, the village, would benefit. Everyone could eat. This mindset has had a direct influence on how I do business. My approach is ‘I’m at a certain level, how do I help you get to that level?’

“How can I help you create generational wealth and pass it on? That’s why it’s so important for each of us to invest in Black businesses, to help them survive just like any other business.”

Bristol-based Keri Andriana is another entrepreneur whose approach to business draws inspiration from her cultural heritage.

Andriana, who recently became one of a small group of Black female entrepreneurs to secure a six-figure investment in her vegan accessories company Amschela, is the granddaughter of the late Roy Hackett, a key figure in the landmark 1963 VISION: “It’s important to think about how we can impact the Bristol Bus Boycott. Amschela’s next generation,” says Black Pound Day founder Swiss

community activists she knew growing up in Bristol.

“The influence of my grandfather is that I find it difficult to call myself a success just based on how much money I make.

“There is a lack of jobs for college and university graduates which is heartbreaking for me. We have an obligation to bring young people through as much as we can.”

A large body of research has shown that when trying to grow a business, Black and minority ethnic entrepreneurs face significant challenges, which hinder their growth prospects and the social impact they can make.

TRUSTED

According to the 2021 Lloyds Bank-commissioned study Black, British: In Business & Proud from the Black Business Network, many business owners lack trust in the main UK banks which impacts their rate of success. The report found less than half of over 800 Black entrepreneurs surveyed trusted banks to support them with the necessary capital to grow their businesses.

In recent years banks like Lloyds and NatWest have introduced a series of initiatives to help Black and minority ethnic start-ups. However, Ram says it’s critical the whole of the banking sector recognises the need to support entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds.

“Some banks are doing some useful work in this area, and that’s to be welcomed, but I still think there’s a lot more that needs to be done.

“It needs to be evident in the way they work with business owners and also that they have people of colour on their teams. I hope that’s going to be the case but we need to keep the pressure on.

12 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

News Feature

Benefit freeze to spike Black homelessness Numbers living on the streets set to rocket as Government is accused of creating a ‘ticking timebomb’. By Rebecca Mills

B

LACK HOMELESSNESS is set to increase further after the Government froze housing benefits, experts say.

Black people are already four times more likely to be homeless compared to white people.

Government figures show Black people are almost twice as likely to receive housing benefit, making the community more vulnerable to the benefit freeze, and they are over twice as likely to be renting privately in a sector where rents have been rocketing by as much as 30 per cent recently.

With Black households also less likely to have savings to absorb rising rents, plus food and energy bills, ministers have been accused of creating a ‘ticking timebomb’ of Black homelessness.

The homeless charity Crisis said the proportion of homes that are affordable on housing benefit has now declined to just four per cent – a two-thirds reduction in the last year.

Some of the increasing number of people who cannot pay their rent with housing benefit are expected to be ‘sofa-surfing’ or become street homeless.

Rough sleeping in England rose by 22 per cent in 2022, according to official figures, and

CONCERNED: Jordan Ball said the cost-of-living crisis is like “another pandemic”

SPEAKING OUT: Lara Oyedele was 74 per cent higher than in 2010.

The new benefit freeze, which was condemned by MPs, is expected to make the situation even worse.

Some 38 per cent of people in receipt of housing benefit are private renters. There is growing evidence that landlords want to take advantage of a hike in ‘market rents’ to get in higher-paying tenants.

Competitive ‘auctions’, where would-be tenants bid the rent they are willing to pay over and above the advertised rent, are increasingly common.

Many landlords and their agents are keen to get as many tenants out who can’t pay before the ‘no fault eviction’ law comes into effect.

Lara Oyedele, 56, president

VULNERABLE: Official figures show Black people are almost twice as likely to receive housing benefit (photo: Getty Images) of the Chartered Institute of Housing, who was formerly homeless herself, said the benefit freeze would “disproportionately affect Black people due to their overrepresentation in low-paid jobs and inadequate housing.”

She added: “Benefits failing to keep up with the rising cost of living has left the Black community struggling financially.

“The benefits freeze does not sit practically with the current focus on homeownership. The combination of stagnant benefits and limited employment opportunities has increased the risk of poverty and Black homelessness.

“Addressing these systemic issues by increasing the supply of social rented homes, requires comprehensive policy changes to ensure equitable access to affordable housing and economic opportunities.”

Oyedele, who is also chief executive of Black On Board, described her experience of homelessness .

“At the age of 19, I lived in a bedsit and my landlord wasn’t a very nice guy. I remember it well, I went away to America for a holiday and when I came back he had changed the locks on the door, and all the things that I owned, which wasn’t very much, were in the front garden.

“I wandered the streets for a few months trying to find places to stay. I stayed with some friends because all my friends were still at home.

“I stayed in people’s spare rooms and living rooms. I had a friend that had a room for his cats. I stayed in there for a bit but I was allergic to the cat so I had to move out. I slept in bus shelters, but eventually I got a council flat and I was able to go back and finish my A-levels.

“I just needed to survive. I just needed a home and that was my focus.”

Jordan Ball, 23, from Sutton Coldfield, was homeless last year.

He described how hard it was. ‘’My mom was experiencing

The number of homes that are affordable on housing benefit has declined schizophrenia and she couldn’t afford to live in a rented house anymore. The police had to help me find somewhere to stay, and took me to my friends’ dad.

“It was hard to comprehend, because I knew what mom was going through and there was a chance it could happen.

But I wasn’t prepared for it when it did.”

He added: “The cost of living has caused hard times for people. It’s like another pandemic but different. People are having to go to food banks because they

cannot afford the food in a lot of the stores now.”

Experts say one of the biggest causes of homelessness in London is high rents and a disproportionately low Local Housing Allowance, which hasn’t risen since 2019.

Single Homeless Project, the largest homeless charity dedicated to helping Londoners, said at least a third of people in their accommodation were Black, compared to 13 per cent of the city’s Black population.

Liz Rutherford, chief executive at Single Homeless Project, called on the Government to increase the Local Housing Allowance and raise the benefit cap to help Londoners keep a roof over their heads.

She said: “One Londoner is forced into homelessness every 10 minutes.

“That is inexcusable for one of the world’s richest cities. The Government should be taking action. Everyone deserves a place to call home, for good.”

AUGUST 2023

L’Myah Sherae

THE VOICE

| 13

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

There needs to be more Black-owned hair shops A COMMON STORY: ITV’s Riches is a family saga around Black beauty standards – but elements of the storyline might resonate with many watching (photo: ITV)

We’re followed around stores and have to ask Asians for advice about Afro hair. Isn’t it time things changed?

I

WAS RECENTLY invited to the TV screening of Riches.

It’s an ITV series about a multi-million pound Afro hair and beauty company – a Black-owned family business.

In the first episode, there’s a scene where a little girl is walking through a hair shop in London with her mother.

While they’re walking around the shop, the store keeper follows them from aisle to aisle, watching their every move.

The shop owner is of Asian heritage. Afraid, and not knowing why they are being followed, the little girl pulls her mother to one side and asks “Mummy, why is he following us?”

The mother pauses, and then turns directly to the store keeper and says, “Why are you following us? Explain to my daughter why you are following all the Black people in here?”

The shop owner states he doesn’t want “any trouble” then immediately goes on to threaten to call the police.

The mother wasn’t even shouting – she was actually speaking in a very calm tone.

Placing her cosmetics on the floor, she decides not to purchase anything from the store in protest, and leaves the shop.

The mother then turns to her daughter and states what I believe is the best line of the entire episode: “They will always treat us like nothing.

“Until Black people have their own shops, have their businesses, become their own bosses, these people… white… brown… they will keep their foot on our neck.”

RESONATE

Now I might be making an assumption here, but I think this story will resonate with most of us.

Going to a hair shop to buy products and it being the unspoken norm that most of the shops aren’t Black-owned, even though the products are targeted at our own community.

SINGLED OUT: Black women are often followed by wig shop store owners and assistants (photo: Nina Hill/Pexels)

What makes matters even worse is that Black consumers are often followed and racially profiled while shopping in these same stores.

The “shopping while black” experience has been gaining media attention in recent years – it’s been discussed both in the press and by academics, and the topic was covered by The Voice last year, too.

The TV screening also made me reflect on my own experiences of shopping in hair and beauty stores.

I remember when I last visited one, as I wanted to buy some natural oils for my hair.

The owner – and all of the shop assistants – were Asian and middle aged or elderly.

So when I had questions about the products and the impact they would have on my Afro, I had to speak with an elderly Asian man to ask for advice.

This is a fairly common ex-

L’Myah Sherae is founder of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Race Equality in Education

perience for most Black men and women.

But when you take a step back and think about it, you genuinely realise how astonishing the scenario is. As stated by Vice magazine in 2016, “many of the existing male vendors simply don’t know enough about black female hair because, well, they don’t have it”.

Seriously, can you imagine a world where the majority of Afro hair shops are actually owned by Black communities, where the people who work in those shops are experts in what they’re selling and have actually tried the products themselves, where you aren’t watched or racially profiled, and can simply enjoy your experience buying products made for your skin or hair type?

This is the norm for so many other groups. I bet loads of people even take it for granted.

So I have to ask – when will the day come for Black people?

When will we finally own the stores targeted at very our community?

business idea, according to the British Business Bank.

In order for Black people to really get into the Black beauty supply shop business, it is important we aspire to own our own wholesalers, as there have been numerous stories of how Black businesses are often bought out or over charged in comparison to Asian businesses.

When will we finally own the stores that are targeted at our very own community?

I have no doubt that there are Black men and women who aspire to get into the Afro hair and beauty business, but I understand there are real barriers that impact African and Caribbean entrepreneurs in the UK, particularly as I’m a Black business owner myself.

Firstly, access to finance is a major barrier, and the reason why 39 per cent of Black entrepreneurs stop working on their

Black women are three times more likely to spend money on hair products than white women. Imagine if this money was spent in stores that were owned by people from our own community.

We have to ask ourselves, what are we leaving behind for the next generation? I know terms like “generational wealth” are often thrown about, but building our own infrastructures and owning our means of production – these are vital steps in the right direction.

GENERATION

14 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

Notting HillCarnival

ADVERTORIAL

WESTMINSTER COUNCIL CELEBRATES NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL

W

estminster City Council is proud to support Notting Hill Carnival on 28 and 29 August. Carnival is the biggest event of its kind in Europe and brings people of all backgrounds together in a colourful celebration of local culture.

Carnival is organised by Notting Hill Carnival Ltd and hosted by Westminster City Council and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. We support this fantastic event by providing public toilets, managing street trading sites, enforcing against unlicensed activity, and removing rubbish from the carnival route each night.

Westminster City Council is committed to celebrating Carnival. Last year we participated in collaboration with Elimu Mas band and the trade unions, Unison and GMB. We have held Carnival costume exhibitions and arranged a number of Carnival celebration events. We are proud to celebrate Notting Hill’s heritage and support our communities year-round with cultural events such as this.

We caught up with two Westminster residents, Meilin and Blaire, to find out what Carnival means to them.

Meet Meilin, resident from Bayswater in Westminster and a costume designer of the Elimu Mas Band Meilin, how did you get involved with Carnival?

I have been a Carnival participant and reveller since I was a child in Trinidad where I was born and raised. My Carnival participation started in 1980 as the inexperienced costume designer of the Elimu Mas band.

It was exciting and one learnt by experience and mistakes. There was always expert advice, help and community support. We kept our annual themes reflecting Caribbean culture and history.

I was the main designer until the early 2000s.

It was convenient for me as I live in Westminster and wanted to showcase Carnival with its celebratory music, dance and creativity.

What does Carnival mean to you?

For me it’s a way of sharing our joy and contributing positively to London life as well as marking the end of summer.

It is also inclusive. I’m Chinese and I hope that no one ever felt or feels excluded by race, age or other. It’s my time to link up with my Trini roots and people.

Ontaruj Mas: costumes for this year

What do you think it means to Westminster residents?

I enjoy the buzz in my area and hope that most do. I can describe Carnival as a Caribbean, mainly Trinidadian, export of sheer joy, creativity, soca and dance which is contagious. Once you’ve experienced it there’s no going back! It’s the freedom to dance in the streets with

AUGUST 2023 THE VOICE | 15

Notting HillCarnival

ADVERTORIAL everyone looking and nobody caring if it’s right.

Last year’s Carnival was bursting with revellers happy to be back after the lockdown years. Although I’m now a senior I still feel relatively safe at Carnival and enjoy all the freedoms of being in a Carnival band and recycling and recreating costumes for wheelchair users.

Instagram: @elimumasacademy Meet Blaire, a Carnival lover from Pimlico, Westminster who has created her own group for Notting Hill Carnival called Onturaj Mas – part of the Mas Band Lagniappe Blaire, what are you most excited about for Carnival this year?

Last year was our first year on the road, it was absolutely amazing.

Couldn’t have asked for a better first year - it was a relief being able to celebrate with everyone. The day was brilliant, and we are really looking forward to this year.

Our theme this year is Rise of an Empire, and we designed a costume with Atlantis in mind. The section is called Fantasea. We are really excited as it is our second year, and we have some old and new faces with us.

This year we really tried to be more inclusive. Carnival is still an unknown celebration to a lot of people in the UK and we at Onturaj are trying to be as inclusive as possible. So, we have a range of packages ranging from T-shirt only to the full works, with a large, feathered headpiece and feathered backpack.

What do you think Carnival means to people?

Carnival has always had mixed views; some people love it, and some people hate it.

I think people need to go back to why Carnival started. It started as a series of events to bring race tensions down after the killing of Kelso Cochrane.

Ontaruj Mas: costumes for this year

(PIC below) Children’s Carnival: Khadifa Wong.

Designer Meilin Sancho

These events were started to bring community spirit to West London by celebrating Caribbean culture. These events were seen as the forerunners of what we know as Notting Hill Carnival.

What do you love most about Carnival?

Carnival is a time where people can let go of their worries and just be free, enjoying good music, good food and great company. I think with all the stresses happening today all around the world, Carnival is that one place where you can forget all that’s going on and just enjoy.

Instagram: @onturaj_mas Website: www.onturajmas.com (PIC below) Hayley and Richard: in recycled and recreated costumes, 2019

‘King Commesse’: Nolan with designer, Meilin

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Westminster City Council We are committed to being an inclusive employer and have developed a number of initiatives to improve workforce representation to reflect the communities we serve.

In 2018 we recognised that we had to take a radical approach to increase representation at the senior level of the organisation.

In 2019 we introduced Positive Action under the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 as a direct action to address low representation.

The act allows for organisations to put additional measures in place to recruit from underrepresented groups. When recruiting middle managers and above, we ensure that each shortlist has at least one candidate from a Global Majority background and one female.

All hiring managers must also attend inclusive recruitment and unconscious bias training as part of our

inclusive recruitment practices.

At the same time, we have introduced inclusive panels for interviews ensuring that there is diverse representation at each stage of the recruitment process.

Our focus on changing representation and ensuring fair and transparent processes are in place has seen an increase in the diversity at senior levels, particularly in gender.

We are also attracting larger numbers of employees from a Global Majority background and have seen an increase in the number of local residents joining our organisation.

We are committed to attracting local talent and continue to work in partnership with local organisations and businesses.

We are never complacent and will continue to challenge ourselves as an organisation to do more.

We will continue to change the culture of the organisation through recruitment, investment in diverse talent and making the necessary interventions to ensure that our staff are able to thrive and grow across the organisation at all levels.

JOB VACANCIES AT WESTMINSTER CITY COUNCIL

‘Blue Basin’: Alan, 1988

‘King of Carnival’: Nolan Simmons.

Designer and photographer - Meilin Sancho

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To find out more about our exciting opportunities and to apply, visit our website or scan the QR code below:

careers.newjob.org.uk/WCC

16 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

News Feature

The Black menopause Black women tend to experience menopause earlier and more intensely, but are often misdiagnosed.

Fibroids treatment also has an impact. Experts say it’s time for the medical profession to take this seriously. By Leah Mahon

B

LACK WOMEN going through menopause say they are being misdiagnosed by medical professionals due to a lack of understanding of how race impacts their experience.

The menopause marks the end of a woman’s periods, meaning she can no longer become pregnant naturally, usually occurring between the ages of 45 and 55 years old.

Dealing with daily symptoms such as anxiety, mood swings, brain fog and hot flushes can have a severe impact on relationships and working life.

For Black women, managing this new season of womanhood comes at a greater difficulty due to limited knowledge among doctors about the “menopause ethnicity gap” which is impacting their quality of life.

New research by YouGov and retailer Holland and Barrett found that 51 per cent of Black, Asian and minority ethnic women say current advice about menopause is too focussed on the experience of White women.

A further 26 per cent say they find it difficult to access

menopause support relevant to their backgrounds.

Cross-cultural research shows a person’s race and cultural background may impact how a woman may feel about menopause, the severity of their symptoms, when the symptoms might start, and even how long they will last.

In 2022 research by the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN), 46 per cent of Black women reported experiencing worse hot flashes compared to just 37 per cent of White women.

In addition, 27 per cent of Black women reported clinically significant depressive symptoms, while only 22 per cent of White women reported the same condition.

Adelay Codner, 40, pictured below, started dealing with menopause-like symptoms such as night sweats and brain fog when she was only in her late 20s. She described the toll it took on her as “mimicking bipolar symptoms”. I didn’t realise I was going through menopause at all. I thought because I was in university, I was stressed, but I knew something wasn’t right

GOOD TO TALK: The fact the menopause hits Black women hard needs to be addressed (photo: Getty Images)

with my body,” Adelay told The Voice. “The doctors kept on saying it was that I had an underactive thyroid, that ‘you’re probably stressed’. I told them I only had one period this year – that’s not like me at all.”

The mother-of-one said she was thrown “backwards and forwards” between medical assessments before one of her beautician clients suggested she return for a blood test. When the results came back, she was hit with the devastating news that she was perimenopausal.

According to the NHS, perimenopause is when menopause symptoms occur before your periods have stopped altogether.

However, women can only be considered menopausal when they have not had a period for 12 months.

Adelay says she went through “grieving” at the prospect of never having more children while dealing with irregular periods, which can occur with a “vengeance”, or painful symptoms while having no periods at all.

Doctors told me I had an underactive thyroid, and I was probably stressed She believes it could be linked to a fibroids diagnosis in her early 20s or her underactive thyroid. At the time, Adelay was offered HRT (hormone replacement therapy) as the only option to manage her symptoms.

Dr Yansie Rolston, the founder of charity You and Menopause, is also the executive producer behind the film Our Menopause, which highlights how Black women in the UK have been made invisible during conversations about the menopausal experience.

Dr Rolston, who specialises in the menopause experiences

of Black women in the US, South America, the Caribbean and Africa, tells The Voice experiences like Adelay’s are not uncommon. She is urging doctors to be aware there is “more than one experience of the menopause”.

“As a Black woman, there’s such a diverse range of menopause symptoms and experiences amongst Black people. Additionally, culture plays a part of it, the environment plays a part in it,” she said.

“The work I’ve been doing is travelling around the world to find out what those experiences are. For some people it’s eldership; you get older, you become wiser. That’s the interpretation in some communities, and therefore it’s not a medical thing.”

The now 61-year-old says that she entered “surgical menopause” in her 40s after having a hysterectomy due to fibroids in 2011. Her symptoms were initially put down to a mental breakdown and dementia.

In April 2023, The Voice re-

ported on how 80 per cent of African-Caribbean women are predicted to suffer from fibroids by the age of 50 in comparison to 70 per cent of White women.

Medical professionals in the field were also failing to investigate the causes behind why Black women are at a health disadvantage.

Dr Rolston added: “Black women are much more likely to get fibroids and, when they’ve been diagnosed with fibroids, what’s been suggested is a hysterectomy. If you take your ovaries out, you can go into surgical menopause.

“There needs to be much more research on the impact of menopause on the Black community.

Rather than giving us the HRT, some women are just given the HRT and some are not even offered HRT – so it’s striking that balance.”

Treatment for menopause is HRT-driven, says Dr Rolston, but can make fibroids grow and thicken the lining of the Continued on page 29

JUNE 2023

THE VOICE| 17

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18 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

Dotun Adebayo

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

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

Can Hollywood really capture the essence of Bob Marley?

He was a dreadlocked Jesus, but he wasn’t the Messiah.

I have my doubts the new One Love movie will get that

I

S IT good news or bad news that the new Bob Marley movie is ready for release next year?

It’s called One Love (what else) and it will be one of the biggest box office hits of 2024.

So why am I filled with trepidation that it will end up being one big white myth that Bob Marley transcends race, and so does not belong to us?

Because I’ve seen the trailer, that’s why. And from what I’ve seen so far the only thing missing is the seven dwarves.

I hope I’m wrong. I really do.

But the Hollywood track record sees the bigger picture.

And the bigger picture, even in this more enlightened era of Netflix, goes way beyond the 1.2 billion Black people on the planet. The other 6.5 billion kicking around on this Earth right now ain’t got time for Bob Marley the man. Bob Marley the legend, the myth, the Trench Town rebel, is a much more lucrative narrative than Bob Marley the Black man redemption.

What I’m trying to say is that Bob Marley wasn’t Jesus. He looked like Jesus, certainly a dreadlocked and mixed-race Jesus, but he wasn’t the Messiah.

Sure he was an amazing artist

THE REAL THING: Bob Marley (photo: Getty Images)

who could be other-worldly, but he was flesh and blood. We tend to forget that when we’re lost in his music.

And that’s what this movie demands of you — to lose yourself in the music. Never mind the story, feel the music. And if you see it as music with pictures you will no doubt love it. I mean, you can’t go wrong. It’s a no-brainer.

Who doesn’t love the music?

You’re bound to make money.

You’d be a mug not to. Because who isn’t going to want to hear the soundtrack of our ages with added pictures? People may have forgotten The Beatles and Elvis Presley and old Marcus Garvey (no word of a lie, a 30-year-old yank called up my radio programme the other night and had never heard of Chuck Berry) but nobody has forgotten Bob Marley.

FESTIVAL

Nearly half a century after he left us there is not a corner of the world where Bob Marley cannot be heard on the radio, from car stereos and in every other club and disco.

At every music festival in our solar system there will be Bob Marley coming out the speakers. Do you think that you will

CHALLENGING ROLE: One Love features British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir as the great man (photo: Paramount) go through this carnival season without Bob Marley? See if you don’t hear Bob Marley on every corner at Notting Hill this month.

I mean, a movie like this is such easy money you can’t help wondering what took them so long. Forty-three years by the time it comes out. It’s a lifetime seven years longer than the star spent on this earth.

No doubt the intellectual property of this particular music maker from Kingston, Jamaica, was so wrapped up in legalese that Hollywood was not able to dot the ‘i’s and cross the ‘t’s sooner on a film that sells itself.

But it’s one thing to sell the soundtrack, it’s another thing to sell your portrayal of the subject.

It may not matter to a younger

audience who are all about the music they were weaned on by their parents, who were seduced by the rhyme and the riddims long before the kids were a twinkle in their parents’ eyes.

But to us, their parents, it’s going to take a lot of convincing for us to believe in the One Love film project.

Because for us who were lucky to meet Bob Marley or see him live, capturing the essence of the man is nigh on impossible. How do you even begin to do that?

Not even any of his sons is able to (they all have different aspects of their dad but none of them have enough and all their little aspects put together do not quite add up to what Marley had) so that’s a lot for one actor to carry. Kingsley Ben-Adir

seems to have taken the challenge of playing Marley in his stride. From the trailer he has done an amazing job. But has he done enough to convince you?

CHARISMA

You see there is one thing that Bob Marley and Jesus had in common. They both possessed this je ne sais quoi. This indefinable aura that we call charisma.

You don’t know what it is until you experience it. It was that charisma that led to Jesus having so many followers in the days before social media.

And, to be frank, I was one of Bob Marley’s many disciples after myself being mesmerised by his charisma. I too donned a pair of Jesus sandals and followed Marley on tour. And that is what I

am looking for from this movie.

A reason for me to believe again that aluta continua and that “everything is gonna be all right”. Bob Marley was able to do that. That’s the charisma I’m talking about.

If they can get that to come across on screen then this ain’t no fantasy, it’s magical, and I will walk in my flip flops to the ends of the Earth for it. Those of us who were in the time when Bob Marley happened will know it when we feel it. So please, God, don’t let this movie be a Cool Runnings.

Because that is what can happen when Hollywood tries to turn an authentic Jamaican story into an all things to all men global success. I think we’re all agreed that Bob Marley deserves better than that.

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 2023

THE VOICE| 19

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20

| THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

News Feature

Time to invest in our kids The education system is failing our children the same way it did more than 50 years ago, says top professor. By Richard Sudan

T

HE NEED for a Black education fund might never have been greater.

Despite the fact that Black children continue to excel at GCSE level, they still face considerable barriers in the system which creates disadvantages compared to the experience of their white counterparts.

Permanent exclusions remain four times as high compared to white children, according to the Institute of Race Relations, while the transition from education to work has barely changed.

The Tory-LibDem coalition government abolished the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG), which provided extra support for children whose first language is not English.

There are now growing demands for a new Black Education Grant, to reduce university dropout rates from Black students due to lack of money to live on.

Diane Abbott MP, a longtime champion of Black kids education, fought against the axing of EMAG. She told The Voice: “I was opposed to scrapping it because there was still a need to support ethnic minority achievement.

“We are still seeing Black and ethnic minority children underachieving and more likely to be excluded.

“Some of the under achievement has lessened, but we still have got children, particularly Black children, who aren’t achieving what they could.

“There’s the way Black children are treated which is with a lack of respect, as we saw with the Child Q case.

“You could argue it has everything to do with the way teachers view Black children. And not all teachers respect them academically.”

While grants supporting Black children are something Abbott favours, she’s mindful of the fact some use cherry picked data pushing the culture war to divert attention from the shortcomings of government.

The ‘white boys have it worse’ narrative has become the main pushback against those highlighting the longstanding exclusion and treatment of Black children in the education system.

Abbott added: “This keeps coming up. When you

try to talk about Black underachievement, people are increasingly coming back with “oh, but white working class boys are at the bottom of the ladder”, and that just isn’t true.

“The figures still show that Black children are much more likely to be excluded.

“I’m not saying that white working class boys should not get support. But it shouldn’t be used as an excuse not to address the longstanding issues in relation to Black children.

“What I would like a Labour government to do is to look at the figures and put in the extra resources.”

Professor Kehinde Andrews, below, agreed about the dangers

Black and ethnic minority children are underachieving and more likely excluded of failing to counter the myth that working class white kids have been left behind, which is used as a “gotcha” argument, implying that anti-Black racism no longer exists in classrooms.

Andrews said: “I call it the new racial science. The old racial science was to prove we weren’t human beings. This new racial science is to prove that racism no longer exists.

“The way they do that is to focus on these poor whites that are doing so badly. But it’s all nonsense.

“They roll out the GCSE attainment for those on free school meals, which is probably the only thing you could look at.

But free school meals aren’t really

about class, it’s about who’s disadvantaged.

“It’s a measure of something, but not class. Black Caribbean students are twice as likely to be on free school meals. So it is racial science, it’s fabricated. If you looked at the big picture, in education, housing, and health you’ll see the reality.”

Andrews warns that this phenomenon is not new and is part of a national history of denying anti-Black racism, while framing calls for racial equality as an attack on the ‘white race’.

According to Andrews, Black education is not just underresourced but is in crisis, and is arguably worse than it was 50 years ago.

“This idea it’s got better is lunacy. Definitely for Pakistani and Bangladeshi groups, in terms of GCSE it’s got better. Black Caribbean hasn’t improved, it’s basically stayed the same and Black African, interestingly, has probably gone a bit down.

“Overall if you look at exclusion rates, ALevel results, they are terrible. Actually, in terms of ethnicity, a lot of those gains have

FIGHTING THE CAUSE: Diane Abbott, left, has always pushed for equal opportunities for Black students. (main photo: Getty Images)

disappeared, for all groups. At university, if you’re not white, you’re much less likely to get a good degree, no matter your background but particularly for Black students.

“The statistic that is really important for this white working class argument is that white working class boys are much more likely to get good jobs.

“So even if you’re going to say there’s a problem in schools, it

doesn’t translate into real life.

“Some of us seem to be convinced it’s not discrimination.

It’s us, it’s the culture. Where’s the resistance?”

For Andrews, demands for more funding are necessary but of equal importance is the need for the community to organise solutions independently.

“There hasn’t been any sustained investment on the issue of race when it comes to schools

or anything else. The only thing really was the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant but that was so little money.

“If you look at what’s kept the Black Caribbean community afloat, it’s not the government but Saturday schools. I think that’s what we need to understand.

“We’ve got to go back to that old mentality which is, we need to do things for ourselves.”

AUGUST 2023

Dieudonné Bila

THE VOICE

| 21

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

We must act now!

Enough of the U-turns, there is no time to lose when it comes to saving the planet from climate breakdown

I

RECENTLY DISRUPTED Sir Keir Starmer’s speech because I am desperate to see a future Labour government committed to protecting people in our country and globally from the climate crisis.

On the precipice of its first election victory in more than a decade: The Labour Party must be bold because the urgency is undeniable and the consequences unliveable.

The dangers of empty promises, incessant U-turns and thus, inaction is inconceivable.

The science is unequivocal: we are rapidly approaching a point of no return. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has made it abundantly clear that we, globally, must achieve net-zero emissions if we are to avert the worst consequences of climate change.

Failure to act decisively and swiftly will subject us to a future beyond belief: a future non-exhaustively characterised by extreme heatwaves, devastating floods, prolonged droughts, rising sea levels and refugee crises that will undoubtedly test the resolve of our morals, institutions and societies generally.

Sir Keir, Leader of the Labour

Party and potentially Britain’s next prime minister, has spoken about the need for climate action and yet, his U-turns on previously announced pledges are so frequent and swift.

It’s as if he has a PhD in the science of flip-flopping.

He is constantly recalculating his positions with surgical precision to avoid any inconvenient principles.

EXTRACTION

From reneging his promise to end the extraction of North Sea Oil to his exceedingly conspicuous U-turn on the pledge for a Labour government to spend £28 billion per year on Green industries: If Sir Keir and the Labour Party are truly committed to taking action against the climate crisis, they would reinstate previously announced pledges immediately.

In fact, if Sir Keir and Labour were truly committed at all; they would accept the demands of here at Green New Deal Rising, demands that will avert the crisis of my lifetime: A Green New Deal.

These demands include the implementation of policies that would create millions of highquality jobs in the clean energy sector.

TIME TO ACT: The world is witnessing an increase in extreme weather and wildfires (photo: Getty Images)

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: Dieudonné Bila challenges Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer during his education speech to staff and students at MidKent College last month (photo: Getty Images) Indeed, by investing in renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure, and green technology, we can simultaneously address the climate emergency, foster unprecedented economic growth and confront changing geo-political landscapes while lifting marginalised communities, including Britain’s Black communities, out of poverty.

Because for me, these ceaseless U-turns on already paltry commitments is not just merely an environmental concern; it is also a racial justice concern.

Marginalised communities, especially Britain’s Black communities, have already and will continue to disproportionately bear the burden of inaction, especially the inaction of a Labour Party in government.

Indeed, our communities – by virtue of most of us residing within urban centres like London where pollution levels routinely surpass limits set by the World Health Organisation – are already subjected to significantly higher rates of respiratory illnesses and health issues stemming from poor air quality.

The fight against the climate crisis is the fight against Black racism The consequences of living in areas with poor air quality extend far beyond the physical toll on our respiratory systems: the harmful pollutants in the air not only contribute to the development and exacerbation of respiratory conditions such as asthma and bronchitis (conditions that plague our communities) but fundamentally, poor air quality has a wider-reaching impact on our overall well-being, productivity, and quality of life.

The increased healthcare cost and decreased productivity is undeniable.

But on a much broader note, as members of the African di-

Dieudonné Bila is a member of Green New Deal Rising, a movement fighting for climate justice

aspora, the global economic paradigm that has underpinned the creation and exacerbation of the climate crisis since the Industrial Revolution – when unprecedented greenhouse emissions began – has been extremely destructive to our communities and intimately intertwined with our subjugation.

Indeed, in the not-too-distant past, it was under the auspices of White supremacy that European powers extracted human beings and eventually, natural resources (below market-rates) from colonised lands; leaving behind a legacy of environmental degradation and global socioeconomic inequality for centuries to come.

By the contributing means of Britain’s slaving days to King Leopold II’s insatiable appetite for rubber: these powers had industrialised and thus, have today become immensely wealthy but without consequence prime amongst them being the emergence of a system of economic organisation characterised by endless growth, the extraction of finite resources and unprec-

edented greenhouse emissions: Capitalism.

Driven by profit-seeking motives that disregarded the long-term consequences for ecosystems: climate action – the fight against the climate crisis – is the fight against systemic anti-Black racism.

MOONSHOT

It’s our first moonshot attempt to eradicate the near-indelible impact of what Marimba Ani refers to as Maafa – a Swahili word that roughly translates into disaster, terrible occurrence or great tragedy – a term that represents a framework to understanding the historic unjustified atrocities against people of African descent.

So, we cannot afford to delay any longer. The time to act is now, and the responsibility lies with all of us. We must come together, set aside our differences, and prioritise the preservation of our planet and the well-being of our fellow humans. Failure to do so would be an unforgivable act.

22 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

Michelle Codrington

Union Life

Back to Black - or another word?

Rogers

Join the debate online voice-online.co.uk/opinion DEBATE: It’s time for a new discussion on what we call ourselves (photo: Getty Images)

Terms uniting people of colour can be powerful, and disguise differences. We need to claim our identity

I

’M FIRST generation born in the UK to Vincentian parents and grandparents. On an ethnicity monitoring form sometimes I check ‘African-Caribbean’, sometimes ‘Black-British’ and occasionally I will write in ‘Afrikan’.

Our racialisation, or indeed identity, needs to fit in a category, a tick box and sometimes into one word.

There are three ‘official’ categories we can check under Black: Black British, Caribbean or African — Caribbean, African and any other Black, Black British, Caribbean or African.

I’m sure we’ve all heard the ‘rumour’ that if you don’t check an identity on a monitoring form then the default is white, however the question that follows is ‘Which category of white?’

Well then you get a choice of five, mostly tied to national identity: English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British, Irish, Gypsy or Irish Traveller, Roma (actually descended from the Asian continent) or any other White background.

Already you can see the differential treatment in relation to data collection.

It also means that as individuals we can hold organisations, like workplaces, accountable for unequal treatment.

So now we have BEAM, BME, BEM, BIPOC (American — Black Indigenous and People of Color) and BAME. It is well accepted that within the collective ethnic minority groups, each has its own challenges, successes and achievement and, when ‘lumped together’, there is a skewing of the true experiences. This is one of the reasons that phrases such

as ‘Global majority ’or ‘melanated’ people are increasingly being used.

However, this doesn’t quite fit in the political, where ‘Black’ is used or to be specific ‘Political Blackness’. Is post-2020 the time to stop and listen? How have the next generation connected not just nationally but with the global ‘Black’ community?

Black self-organisation is always at the core of Black activism and the trade union movement was and still is a place of struggle. The TUC uses the word ‘Black’ as a resolution from the

Surely now is the time to start reclaiming our identities?

Black Workers Conference and self-organisation in the 70s and 80s. We didn’t beg for a seat at the table, instead we built our own chair and walked into the room. Black was the way we reclaimed the word at a time of apartheid, Black power and the Windrush Generation.

Kids of Asian descent and African descent often joined together to fight back and defend their communities, coming together to support and take away the fear that our parents and grandparents faced in the workplace, in the street, in shops and just walking down the street.

The word ‘Black’ was used to bring our communities together as an attack on one, is an at-

tack on all. Whether in the big industrial cities or the towns, we came together against the racism we faced just for being us. And daring to stand out like flecks of vanilla in ice cream.

Fast forward 30 years and the next generation of activists are asking whether the word ‘Black’ is enough to recognise the differences between the African, Asian, Arabic, East Asian lived experiences. This is at a time when we see ‘Black Conservatives’ whose parents used the selective school system to give their children a step up in a country built on connections and privilege. Yet they continue to fail upwards.

In a world where more and more letters are added to the LGBT+ community, surely now is the time to start reclaiming our identities and move away from political ‘Black’ to ……?

I don’t have the answer, and I look forward to the debates and the struggles that come from the need to claim our own definition and write our own stories in a world that is post the bin-fire that was 2020.

Has your union signed the anti-racism manifesto?

TEN MONTHS after the launch of the TUC Anti Racism Taskforce manifesto, it is still a living breathing campaign with trade unions adopting and putting into place actions from the strategic plan.

Every Union general secretary and elected leadership should be setting in place their own action plan to challenge racism in their sector, when working with employers as well as internally with both staff colleagues and elected lay activists.

The list is growing but still needs pushing.

Accord, BFAWU, CSP, CWU, GMB, NAHT, NAPO, NASUWT, NEU, PCS and RCM are all signed up.

Is your union on the list?

As communities we need to continue pushing so that ALL trade unions have embedded anti-racism. There are 48 unions in the TUC, another 37 to go.

For more info visit: www.tuc.org.uk/ research-analysis/reports/building-antiracism-trade-union-movement

SUPPORT: Claire Sullivan of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy signs a TUC anti-racism pledge

MAY 2023 THE VOICE |35

BLACK WORKERS CONFERENCE 2023

24 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

Jackson King

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

Voice in the Wilderness

Who is UK Black Pride really for?

The celebration might be multicultural utopia but it erases anti-Blackness in everyday life

U

K BLACK Pride began life as a small seaside outing of lesbian, bisexual and transgender women of colour in 2005.

From these humble origins it has since snowballed into a festival-sized event and last year broke records by attracting crowds of over 25,000 to its new home, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

With the reasonable expectation that numbers will rise again this year, it seems pertinent to pause and reflect on who UK Black Pride is for.

Among the UK’s queer African-Caribbean community, there’s a feeling that while the event is increasing in size, it is also decreasing in Blackness.

Whether you agree with this sentiment or not depends on how you define the word ‘Black’.

According to Lady Phyll, the co-founder and executive director of UK Black Pride, pictured right, the event was not only born in the spirit and philosophy of “political blackness” — which advocates for ‘black’ as an umbrella term for all non-white communities — but also continues this legacy presently.

In 2018, in an open letter to Black LGBT+ people in Britain, Lady Phyll explains that the beach-bound “bus load of queer Black women” that formed the first UK Black Pride were not solely people of African-Caribbean heritage.

The group included descendants from Asia, the Middle East and the Americas, too – people not with Black skin, but who

for all non-white people to, in There’s her words, “unite to strategise way to freedom”. And with a feeling that our this I agree — cross-identity solidarity is never a bad thing. it’s increasing But political blackness as an idea does have its limitations. in size but Limitations and criticisms I suspect the organisers are decreasing in aware of: political blackness is not a term the organisers of UK Black Pride use frequently, Blackness sat under the politically black umbrella.

She goes on to say that UK Black Pride will retain its current name (rather than becoming UK QTIPOC pride, for example) because “the legacy and power of political blackness still needs to be understood and applied in Britain”.

So if you’re an adherent of political blackness, UK Black Pride does what it says on the tin. It’s a gathering for and by every queer person who has felt the sting of white supremacy and exclusion from mainstream (white) LGBT+ spaces — not just AfricanCaribbeans.

For Lady Phyll, it’s commonsense

Jackson King is a freelance journalist.

or even openly in its branding and marketing.

It appears neither on its official website, nor does it feature on its social media channels.

I imagine this is (understandably) to avoid ongoing debate or division over terminology, and focus on a sense of togetherness instead.

And ultimately, togetherness is what political blackness aims for – the

SUPPORT: Is UK Black Pride losing sense of its purpose? (photos: Getty Images)

term doesn’t need to be foregrounded in order for the spirit of it to be present.

But as with all assertions of unity and solidarity, there’s a risk within political blackness of papering over the cracks.

Different non-white groups face different challenges, as well as complex relations and conflicts among each other.

This was the case when political blackness first emerged as a concept in 1970s Britain, and it’s still the case now.

I think it’s interesting that political blackness has been heavily critiqued by non-Black people as much as it has those of Afro-Caribbean descent: Tariq Mehmood, one of the ‘Bradford 12’, co-founder of the Asian Youth Movement in the ‘70s, and later a member of the United Black Youth Movement, felt political blackness was “a political colour that could only exist in a white world”.

In other words, a simplification and flattening of mul-

African-Caribbeans query who

‘Black’ in UK Black Pride I don’t see the stands for, and whether it’s a space for them. it becoming Solidarity is easier said than done. drinks flowing anything else and theWithsuntheshining over the mixed crowds at UK Black Pride – its doors it’s tempting to think we’ve reached a multicultural utopia. will always REALITIES be open tifaceted experiences, and a centering of whiteness. Similar criticisms are made today, of the more modern term ‘people of colour’.

Often, language that aims to unite, can also erase: terms like ‘politically black’ and ‘people of colour’ tend to focus on shared struggles, without addressing the realities of in-group conflict.

And specifically, they erase the anti-Blackness that can be perpetuated by non-Black people of colour. To me this is at the heart of the question, when

But once the festival is over and the gates are shut, the messy realities of racism, anti-Blackness and non-white coalition and conflict ensue.

As an event forged in the fires of political Blackness, I don’t foresee UK Black Pride becoming anything else than it always has been. Its doors will always remain open to all.

Putting the question of “who is UK Black Pride for” aside, I think a more helpful thing to ask is how can UK Black Pride foster cross-racial solidarity while taking anti-Blackness seriously? That is the question.

Lyndon Mukasa Eye on the Diaspora

AUGUST 2023 THE VOICE | 25

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

South Africa rootin’ for Putin Every person arrested by international court so far has been African, but with the US considering sanctions if SA fail to detain the Russian leader, the pressure is on

T

HE REPUBLIC of South Africa has found itself deep in the middle of a potential diplomatic crisis that could have implications far beyond its borders in the Russia-Ukraine war.

In March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The ICC, while influential, doesn’t have the power to arrest suspects but instead exercises jurisdiction through its member states.

Russia is not a signatory to the ICC and thus Putin is relatively safe within his own country. The issue comes if he should leave Russia for any reason, and visit a country that is a signatory of the ICC. That country would be legally obligated to arrest Putin if this possibility ever arose.

This is where South Africa becomes involved. In August, South Africa will be hosting the BRICS summit. The summit is a meeting featuring the leaders of member states from Brazil, India, China, Russia and South Africa.

The group acts as an alternative to the G7 nations in pushing for a different global order.

South Africa is also a member of the ICC and is therefore legally obligated to arrest Putin.

This conflict of interest has South Africa’s ruling ANC government at the heart of an intense political pressure storm.

Conversely, this conflicts with ANC party members (and many people across Africa) that want to uphold South Africa’s loyalty to Russia.

The decision that South Africa makes will be a litmus test of how far African political power and agency can go in the 21st century.

ACCOUNT

The court has a very mixed reputation. For some, it is a force that could hold the most powerful leaders to account for crimes against humanity while harmonising international cooperation.

For others, it is an illegitimate institution that undermines state sovereignty and reinforces an international order that favours Western imperial interests. It is within this context that the government of South Africa has an unenviable challenge to navigate. Within the country and among many people across Africa, there is great suspicion and resentment towards the ICC. Since the ICC’s

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Cyril Ramaphosa and Vladimir Putin have enjoyed good relations in the past (photo: Getty Images)

LITMUS TEST: A billboard from a campaign by NGO Avaaz, a US-based organisation that promotes global activism, urging South African president Cyril Ramaphosa to arrest Vladimir Putin if the Russian president were to attend a summit in the country (photo: Pretoria Rekord) creation all 40 individuals that have been indicted have been from African countries, with 17 people being detained at The Hague. Ten have been convicted of crimes and only four have been acquitted.

This has led to widespread accusations of racism, White supremacy, neocolonialism and Western hegemonic bias being entrenched within the court system. This perception is not helped by the fact that governments from powerful countries such as the United States regularly threaten the ICC when attempts are made to investigate and charge members of the US armed forces, the CIA as well as US allies such as Britain and Israel.

The United States under the Bush administration in the 2000s pressured countries around the world into entering into bilateral agreements requiring them not to surrender US nationals to the ICC, severely undermining the institution’s authority and impartiality.

The South African perception of Russia like many other African countries is largely informed by the support that the

Soviet Union gave to various anti-colonial movements in the form of weapons, training, and supplies against Western colonial powers.

So for many in South Africa and Africa as a whole, Putin is an ally and not another White European imperialist. This sentiment is echoed by South African politician Julius Malema who has proposed providing protection for Putin if he enters South Africa for the duration of his visit.

He argues: “President Putin is welcome, we know our friends, we know the people who liberated us, we know the people who supported us.”

Ignoring the arrest warrant would not be without its difficulties however — South Africa is currently gripped by high unemployment and declining infrastructure.

Moreover, it is stuck in the middle of an energy crisis which has been ongoing since 2007 and has been exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine which has contributed to soaring energy prices which has stifled economic growth by 17 per cent. South African

Lyndon Mukasa is a writer and researcher. He studied International Development at the London School of Economics.

president Cyril Ramaphosa has been tempted by a dual offer made by the Dutch prime pinister Mark Rutte and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to add 300 million euros to EU and US assistance in ending the energy crisis while also funding a green transition towards renewable energy sources.

The catch is that the South African government must end its official position of neutrality on Russia in relation to its invasion of Ukraine.

TENSIONS

Ramaphosa’s ambiguity on this decision, however, is putting his country at economic risk with tensions continuing to rise after the US ambassador Reuben Brigety last December accused South Africa of providing arms to Russia through ships docked in Cape Town.

This caused the South African currency, the rand, to sink significantly against the US dollar.

The United States has also considered potential sanctions for an ailing South Africa in the event of a Putin visit.

Market analyst Peter Attard Montalto corroborates this, arguing that the Western backlash would be severe and the currency “would blow up”.

Some parts of the South African media have suggested that the government is being used

by Putin to draw South Africa into an unnecessary conflict with the West.

While there is evidence that the South African government is attempting to circumnavigate this issue by having the BRICS summit be hosted in another country, this issue highlights the challenge that African countries have in terms of setting and maintaining their own political agenda.

Former South African president Thabo Mbeki has argued that had there been an “African court of justice” with the collective support of other African states then perhaps South Africa would not be stuck in between the geopolitical struggles of the West and Russia.

Whatever the position that South Africa takes, it will send a clear message on where it wants to align on the geopolitical landscape.

26 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

Midlands News

By Veron Graham CULTURAL IMPACT: The project will celebrate independent music stores that have championed Black music over the decades

Putting the needle on the funky record

A

LEICESTER-BASED ARTS organisation is to launch an innovative project to explore the cultural impact of UK independent record stores that have specialised in Black music since 1950.

2Funky Arts has put out a call for stories and memories to share, and also for volunteers from across the country who may want to take part.

Dubbed ‘The Record Store & Black Music, A UK History’, the project will link in with Black History Month 2024, and further enhances the organisation’s ethos to celebrate Black music, develop new artists and host events to showcase local talent in the community.

Ten years ago, 2Funky Arts created Spectrum — a documen-

Leicester scheme documents the stories behind the music

tary exploring the history of Black music in Leicester, which unveiled a largely untapped era that laid the foundation for this new project.

The organisation has evolved from its origin as 2Funky Records (1997-2012), a specialist independent music store.

It aims to again extend its influence beyond the Midlands: by working in partnership with Sound/Image Research Centre at the University of Greenwich in London and Brighter Sound collective in Manchester.

For many in the newly-arrived Caribbean and African communities post-Windrush,

independent record stores were a vital hub of activity and inspiration against the realities of living in post-colonial Britain.

The project will document the personal stories that emerged through oral history, film, audio and photographic memories, which will be compiled into an educational resource, a publication, a website and a podcast series.

The themes to be explored include New Pioneers of Street Sounds (the 1950s-70s), The Influence on the UK Charts (1970s80s), and Club Culture & Birth of sub Genres (1990s onwards)’.

“2Funky Arts has been plan-

ning The Record Store project for around four years, in conjunction with DJ Simon ‘Schooly’ Phillips, who will work on our heritage documentary,” said its director, Vijay Mistry. “We are

thrilled to be able to research this fascinating history and will be working with volunteers and practitioners from across the country, to present oral histories in inspiring formats.”

Robyn Llewellyn, director, England, Midlands & East at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting 2Funky Arts on this project, ensuring that this chapter of the UK’s Black music heritage is given the recognition it deserves.

“Thanks to National Lottery players, we’re able to support important work like this so that heritage represents and reflects our local communities.”

2Funky Arts is keen to hear stories from record store customers and owners, artists, and anyone with relevant film, audio or photographic memories to share.

They are also looking for potential volunteers from across England to help research this heritage.

AUGUST 2023 THE VOICE

Midlands News

Vision for a second chance

A

N INNOVATIVE project delivered by a social enterprise that provides holistic interventions to tackle re-offending in Birmingham has been credited with saving an estimated £1 million of public money.

AVision’s Enterprise for Employment project helps people aged 18-35 with violent convictions find employment.

Over the past two years, it has mentored 236 service users — 60 are now in full-time employment and five are running their own businesses. Only five of the 236 have been re-convicted of a non-violent crime.

The scheme, which has returned a re-offending rate of 2.1 per cent compared to the national average of 25.6 per cent, has been praised by independent evaluator Ron Winch, a lecturer in policing and criminology at Birmingham City University, who remarked that 60 of the clients could have been expected to re-offend.

Had this been the case, it is estimated that this would have amounted to £989,000 in costs

| 27

LIFELINE: Avril Grant’s enterprise AVision delivers interventions for troubled youths

Crime re-offending rates cut

by Birmingham social project to agencies like the NHS, local councils, police and the courts.

Winch said: “It has been a pleasure to be the independent evaluator for this significant Enterprise for Employment project led by AVision.

“It has helped transform lives through breaking the cycle of violent crime in Birmingham.

When compared to the national picture, the funding of the project from the police and crime commissioner represents huge value and proves what can be achieved through focused investment.

“The project has seen significant reductions in re-offending and has helped us to understand and quantify the evidence-base for interventions and to embed strategies that work.”

Avril Grant, founder of AVision, said: “The project has given people a chance to provide for their families in a safe, honest and positive way. They enter

into sustainable careers with a renewed mindset, so they can live a life away from crime and be proud of their achievement.

Service users have described the project as giving people a second chance.”

There is an element of guesswork in the findings: with no guarantee clients would have gone on to commit serious crimes, many testify that if it wasn’t for the project, they would have been stuck in the re-offending cycle.

The Enterprise to Employment project is one of AVision’s roster of holistic empowerment interventions, alongside specialist cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) counselling for young people who have experienced severe trauma, in association with West Midlands Police (WMP).

The youth, drawn from all cultural backgrounds, have fallen into regular trouble with the police as a result of the trauma.

They have received CBT to cope with PTSD, paranoia or extreme anxiety to improve their control over trauma-induced thoughts and enable them to make better decisions.

Experts recognise that children who experience adversity are more likely to end up in trouble with the law as they grow up.

AVision is offering the programme as part of the Violence Reduction Partnership, a task force within WMP’s crime commission, which was set up in 2019 to tackle the causes of violence.

It follows previous initiatives tasked with preventing youth from entering and/or returning

to the criminal justice system, such as BEST (Breakthrough, Enterprise, Skills & Training) and Realise Your Vision.

WMP’s crime commissioner, Simon Foster, said: “Promoting rehabilitation is at the heart of my Police and Crime Plan. It means less crime and fewer victims. This project has undoubtedly prevented crime and helped many young people turn their lives around.

“The evidence shows that this project reduces re-offending and transforms lives, and that is why I have allocated £400,000 of funding up to March 2024. Not only has it prevented crime, led

to fewer victims and saved the taxpayer money, it has also provided people with the opportunity to make a positive contribution to our communities.”

Following the success of the project in Birmingham, the commission has pledged to expand the scheme across the West Midlands.

Grant added: “My advice to any person experiencing trauma is to find someone they trust who they can talk to and will listen without judgement; or reach out to someone who can connect you with organisations like ours.

Don’t hold it in, these things can take you to difficult places.”

County activist Tranai hails funding for sports programmes THE NEW funding to support 140 young people in the East Midlands through sport has been welcomed by a popular county activist, with a call for ongoing support.

The appeal from Tranai Todd, chief executive officer of Nottingham-based Support Through Sport CIC, follows the provision of a £10,000 grant to The Hut Youth Club in Loughborough, run by Go Getta CIC to support young people aged 11-25 over the coming year.

The funding – provided by Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews – will help towards the costs of a project manager and two youth engagement workers and the delivery of weekly diversionary sessions for

two hours every Friday to involve young people in sports, cooking, team games, table tennis and other leisure opportunities.

The Commissioner has outlined his determination to restore hope, trust and confidence in policing services across the force area, aiming to increase opportunities to prevent offending and tackle some of the root causes of crime to build resilience in communities.

The project will see engagement workers with a unique mix of therapeutic/trauma-informed knowledge and lived experience working with the young people to engage them in discussions around key issues such as knife crime, county lines, peer-on-peer abuse, bullying and online safety while also equipping

them with the skills they need to change direction.

“As many as eight in ten prolific adult offenders begin committing crimes as children,” said Matthews.

“This is why it is so important we invest in early intervention schemes to stop these youngsters from becoming career criminals.

“Sport not only unites but also gives young people a goal. I have vowed to restore hope and trust in policing services and ensure the force works hard to address the public’s priorities which include anti-social behaviour.”

As part of the scheme, project leaders are delivering outreach work to engage young people congregating in public spaces such as parks, outside shops, takeaways

and other anti-social behaviour hotspots to divert them to the youth club. Staff are also provided with weekly supervision to discuss any concerns for individual young people which has led to improved information sharing between partners including Social Care, Youth Offending Service and Early Help.

Todd told The Voice: “Funding sport for development is a very good idea, so long as it includes early intervention and diversion.

“I am pleased to see this increasing investment from Violence Reduction Unit and Office for Police & Crime Commission structures as well as the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and other statutory services due to their high impact.”

Taking a look at the national

landscape, Todd added: “I also welcome the £5m investment from the MoJ for sport-based intervention programmes in England and Wales in the last financial year, working with disadvantaged young people.

“While this is great for the sector, there is an urgent need for long-term support which allows for capacity building, raising standards throughout the sector and the sustainability of impactful sport and physical activity programmes within underserved communities.”

Todd concluded: “Sport-based interventions work to reduce negative influences and contribute to the development of pro-social behaviours for disadvantaged children and young people.”

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

28 | THE VOICE

AUGUST 2023

Let’s Talk Business

‘Grandma Effelia was my inspiration’ Shimron Equiano pays homage to the Windrush Generation’s entrepreneurial spirit. By Vic Motune

W

HEN TECH ent repreneu r Shimron Equiano was asked about the people who helped him build a multi-million pound recruitment company, his grandmother Effelia was top of his list.

Like so many members of the Windrush Generation, she made the journey to Britain in the late 1950s in the hope of building a better life for herself and her family.

Despite being welcomed by overt discrimination, a struggle to find work and somewhere to live, she decided to give life in the ‘Mother Country’ a chance.

Effelia’s decision paid dividends for future generations of her family, and especially her grandson.

Equiano, pictured below, says he has never forgotten the life lessons she taught him which went on to play an important role in his later career.

“I remember my grandmother telling me stories about her struggle to find places to live when she first arrived in Britain,” he recalls.

“If she wanted to move from one property to another, she had to find a white ally, someone to front the rent so that she and other family members could live together in the new place. She also told me stories of wanting to set up small businesses, whether that be cooking or delivering food. But at the time it was difficult to get support from the banks. In fact, there was zero support, so some of those business ideas fell by the wayside.

“However, like many from the Windrush Generation, my grandmother had the ability to be creative and make something out of the difficult circumstances she faced.

“She became a nurse. And she helped provide us with a happy existence. There was always food and we were well looked after.”

Equiano continues: “Because of the challenges she faced her message to me was always about getting an education because it will open doors that may not necessarily be open to me. And with education comes confidence that can

SUCCESS STORY: Windrush Generation entrepreneurs Len Dyke, left, Dudley Dryden and Tony Wade who formed Dyke and Dryden in the 1960s lead to other opportunities such as owning a business.’”

Effelia was a big influence in his decision to go to university to study law. He was on track for a career in law after graduating. However, it was the inspiration that came from her advice that led him to take his first steps in business.

“She was always telling me about the importance of having goals and shooting for the stars. And I just felt that being cooped up in an office didn’t lend itself to utilising all of that creative, make-something-outof-nothing environment I’d grown up in.”

VENTURE

After university, Equiano decided to flex his entrepreneurial muscles. His first venture was a recording studio which he launched to pursue a long-held dream of becoming a recording artist.

As well as running the studio he organised his own successful tours, performing in front of thousands of fans at high-profile events like Pa r t y i n the

Park, and eventually secured a record deal.

However, the label lacked the resources and vision to support his ambitions. It was at this point that he fell into the recruitment industry.

His grandmother’s advice to keep studying and gaining knowledge meant he quickly recognised an opportunity that could be useful in helping him achieve his entrepreneurial ambitions.

After three years in the music industry, he decided to branch out on his own and launch his own recruitment company.

“At the company’s peak we were turning over a million pounds a year” he says. “And it was that success that enabled me to think on a bigger scale.

“When businesses started to shut down during the pandemic I saw how it affected a lot of my friends who were solopreneurs. And this provided the seed of the idea for my new company BlocSquared. It really started as me wanting to help other entrepreneurs on a bigger scale.”

Launched in September 2021, BlocSquared is a digital platform that connects entrepreneurs and companies providing early-stage ideas, products, and services.

Users own and advertise their own ‘Blocs’ in which they can display or advertise anything from a brand new sidehustle, to a fully functional busi-

INSPIRATION: Shimron Equiano’s grandmother Effelia Adassa Nelson Effelia. Inset, Effelia in the 1950s, just before she arrived in England ness. A percentage of the Bloc fees are donated to organisations working on achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals such as eradicating hunger, gender equality and the provision of clean water to areas desperately in need of it.

Again, Effelia’s inspiration provided a clear vision for his new business venture.

“I didn’t realise that the development of BlocSquared would be a much longer slower burn than I’d originally anticipated. It was my grandmother, and her long-tail approach that gave me the motivation and conviction to move forward with it.

“She isn’t an instant gratification person. And she has always explained to me that it’s important to think long-term about things. The quick wins are great but they are shortlived.

“So with BlocSquared, I’m thinking in decades, as opposed to weeks and months. We have a very clear plan of where it will be 10 to 15 years from now.”

Many people of the Windrush Generation followed a similar path to Effelia in trying to embrace entrepreneurship as a way of improving their lives and supporting those around them. But like Effelia, these aspiring entrepreneurs also strug-

gled to find the financial resources needed to expand their businesses.

Limited access to capital and credit, coupled with a lack of understanding by banks about the potential of enterprises that served Black consumers posed significant challenges.

However, the 1960s saw Windrush Generation entrepreneurs establish businesses such as travel agencies, hairdressing salons, takeaways, bakeries and record shops.

BARRIERS

Some businesses, most notably Dyke and Dryden, overcame barriers to achieve spectacular success. Their efforts laid the foundations for the Black British entrepreneurs of today.

The pioneering role of those early Windrush entrepreneurs will be recognised by a new partnership between the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the National Windrush Museum.

The partnership is part of a plan to achieve the goal of establishing an independent museum dedicated to researching, exhibiting, and preserving the story of the Windrush journey and its impact on modern Britain for future generations.

Equiano is passionate about helping the new partnership

to create greater recognition of the Windrush Generation entrepreneurs.

“There’s definitely not enough of a light shone on the entrepreneurial spirit of the Windrush Generation” he says.

“Just think about things like pardner where people would come together, pool their money and do something like buy a house or start a business.

“Think about the Caribbean stores back in the day where people would get food items from ‘back home’. They were great entrepreneurs, they just didn’t have the funds to do things on a scale that matched their white counterparts.

“So I think there needs to be more acknowledgement not just of what they did in business but the words of encouragement and advice, the life stories that have been passed down from that generation.

“Today, there are more young black entrepreneurs of my generation doing bigger and bigger and better things.

“Maybe, two or three generations down the line, when we have bonafide 100 million pound, Black-owned businesses, then more people might start to look back at the Windrush Generation and say, ‘that’s where this success came from’. But I think we’re still on that journey.”

AUGUST 2023 THE VOICE |

29

News Feature

‘Our bodies should not be shaming us’ Continued from page 16

cervix, leaving Black women with more health implications.

The menopause campaigner went on to warn that structural racism in the UK healthcare system already leaves Black women on an “unequal playing field.”

Dr Geeta Kumar, Vice President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, told The Voice every woman will experience the menopause differently, but Black women often face additional complications.

“There is some evidence from the US to suggest that symptoms and experiences of menopause may vary by ethnicity, although there is limited research from the UK. “The average age of natural menopause also varies across the globe and ethnicities. Research shows that the average age that Black women reach menopause is 49, two years more than the national average age of 51.

“However, we do know that Black women have reported difficulty accessing appropriate menopause care and resources.

“This aligns with what we know about the wider healthcare system, where structural barriers, racism or implicit bias can shape treatment options and also influence future interactions and trust in health services.”

The Women’s Health Strategy in England aims to improve research and close the ethnicity gap impacting Black women and the menopause.

“It is vital that the UK governments, the NHS, healthcare professionals and the public better understand and recognise the presence and impact of implicit biases, stereotypes and racism in order to address inequities in outcome and experience for ethnic minority women.

“We would welcome

dedicated investment across the health system in anti-racist and culturally safe education, training and practice.”

Dr Rolston, pictured below, says Black women also need to start talking about the menopause to push back against cultural taboos surrounding women’s health.

As a film producer and coeditor of Black and Menopausal, she says her creative works are to raise awareness in AfricanCaribbean circles.

“I asked people who told me you shouldn’t talk about menopause, it’s private and personal. The book is to be used as a conversation starter for people who are still ashamed to talk about menopause so people do not feel they are alone and isolated,” she says.

Adelay agrees that whilst Black women’s experience of menopause has been “forgotten,” they need to also begin in raising awareness.

She admits that having already become a mother and wanting to adopt, that it made her perimenopausal state at a young age easier to reconcile with.

“There was no-one to talk to, and I felt and was asking how is my body letting me down?

Everyone else was having babies. They were all planning the future and wanting to have more kids. There was no support group for Black women my age or just women in general for my age,” she says.

“It’s the shame and the stigma about it [the menopause]. We’re not discussing having periods in general. For mothers, it goes: your period starts, these are the pads, this is what happens and that’s it.

“It’s about having awareness of our bodies and not being ashamed.

“It can happen at any age and, if you’re planning for a family, it’s vital that we educate young girls from their teens.”

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30 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

Muyiwa Olarewaju

Nothing But Truth and Light

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

Tackle fear with faith

CATALYST: Anxieties are not the enemy when we see them as a transformative tool, helping us to reach our full potential; below left, speaker Sarah Jakes Roberts went viral when she removed her wig mid-sermon (photo: Freepik)

To achieve our potential we must face our fears and shed self-doubt – but we need a helping hand from above

T

ODAY WE embark on a transformative journey to confront fear, harness our inner strength and discover the courage that resides within us.

I will be drawing inspiration from the timeless wisdom of scriptures, scholarly research and the empowering words of two influential people who I have had the opportunity to sit and talk with at length.

One is Les Brown, a worldrenowned coach to CEOs and world leaders.

The other, Sarah Jakes Roberts, is a phenomenal speaker who recently broke the internet by whipping her wig off while speaking to a global audience.

With Sarah’s book, Woman Evolve, we will explore the power of faith, resilience and trust in overcoming fear and embracing a life of purpose and fulfilment.

Fear, at times, can be a formidable force that holds us back, limiting our potential and hindering our progress.

As people of colour, we often confront unique fears and anxieties that stem from our experiences within a society marked by systemic racism and inequality.

One of the prominent fears we face is the fear of racial profiling and discrimination, where our very presence can be perceived as a threat or subject to unwarranted suspicion.

We fear for the safety of our loved ones, constantly worrying about their wellbeing in a world where racial violence and police brutality persist.

Additionally, we may carry the weight of historical traumas and intergenerational fears, knowing that the struggles of our ancestors still reverberate within us.

The fear of limited opportunities and the pressure to prove our worth in professional and educational spaces can also burden us.

Despite these challenges, we

God has the ability to provide refuge in times of distress persevere, finding strength in our communities and working towards a just and inclusive future.

Within each of us lies the capacity to overcome fear and step into our greatness. Let us delve into the wisdom of scriptures and the insights of research by scholars to empower ourselves.

Joshua 1:9 reminds us to be strong and courageous, for God is with us wherever we go. These words of divine assurance instil confidence, urging us to face our fears head-on. By embracing our inner strength, we can navigate life’s challenges with resilience and determination, knowing that we are not alone.

In Psalm 23:4, we find solace in the reassurance that in the darkest valleys, we need not fear evil.

Our faith becomes a beacon of light, illuminating the path before us. It reminds us that God’s presence guides and protects us, dispelling the shadows of fear that may attempt to overpower us.

Similarly, Psalm 27:1 asks, “Of whom shall I be afraid?”

This verse reminds us to examine the roots of our fears and confront their grip on our lives.

By understanding that fear is often rooted in uncertainty and falsehoods, we can challenge its hold and reclaim our power.

The deliverance from fear is

beautifully captured in Psalm 34:4-8. These verses testify to God’s ability to liberate us from the chains of fear and provide refuge in times of distress. They inspire us to lean on faith and seek solace in the divine presence, finding strength and courage in our journey toward selfdiscovery and growth.

There is much written work that offers additional insights into the nature of fear and its impact on our lives.

Studies like those cited in PubMed, a free resource that

publishes biomedical and life sciences literature with the aim of improving health both globally and personally, and the Perception Institute, a group of researchers, advocates, and strategists dedicated to using the latest research on race, gender, and identity to combat bias and discrimination.

They work to find solutions that promote inclusivity and a sense of belonging for all.

Both that I mentioned shed light on the racial anxieties experienced by individuals of African, Caribbean and Asian descent. Recognising these experiences helps us acknowledge and validate our emotions, enabling us to confront and transcend the limitations fear may impose on us.

Sarah Jakes Roberts encour-

ages us to embrace our fears and use them as catalysts for growth.

She shares her personal journey of overcoming fear and selfdoubt, inspiring us to step into our authenticity and unleash our full potential.

Her words ignite a fire within us, reminding us that our dreams are within reach if we confront our fears head-on and trust in our own abilities.

A great friend of mine, Leslie Calvin Brown, who is also a renowned American politician and speaker, urges us to embrace fear as a stepping stone to greatness.

He emphasises that fear is natural but should not define us. Instead, it should be seen as an opportunity for growth and transformation.

With Les Brown’s uplifting

Muyiwa Olarewaju OBE is Station Director at Premier Gospel Radio, a TV & Radio Broadcaster, and Principal of gospel group Muyiwa & Riversongz

words echoing in our hearts, we can conquer fear and unlock the doors to a life filled with purpose, joy and fulfilment.

As you read these words, embrace the wisdom of scripture, the insights of scholarly research and the motivating words of Les Brown and Sarah Jakes Roberts.

Let us remember that fear does not have the final say in our lives. We are capable of stepping into our courage, trusting in the divine strength a great God has given us and confronting our fears head-on. By doing so, we can unleash our true potential and embark on a path of personal growth, achievement, and joy.

As we navigate life’s challenges, may we be reminded that fear is not our enemy but a catalyst for our greatness.

AUGUST 2023 THE VOICE | 31

Sadé Thomas

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The Gospel Truth

Juggling faith and fame Reality shows can be dangerous territory for Christians – should we be giving them a miss?

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N TODAY’S world, with one click of a button, we are given immediate access into the private lives of those who we would otherwise see as strangers.

The insurgence of both reality TV and social media, has meant that fans and followers of wellknown figures not only feel connected to celebrities because of their talents but because of what they choose to share about their personal lives. For some people in the gospel community, sharing is something that they see to be of great value and as a means to show what real Christian living looks like.

More recently, gospel stars such as the likes of Kirk Franklin and Tasha Page-Lockhart have become more prominent on our screens with both currently participating in reality shows.

In the show Grown and Gospel viewers gain an insight into the lives of the offspring of some of Gospel’s biggest names such as BreeAnn Hammond, the daughter of Fred Hammond, Nikkia Cole-Beach, daughter of Dorinda Clark-Cole as well as Tasha Page-Lockhart, winner of the Gospel talent show Sunday Best, and the daughter of Lisa Page Brooks.

The show follows these stars and explores how they face broken parental relationships, the difficulties of navigating the music industry and marital hardships.

Kirk Franklin along with his wife, Tammy Franklin host The

One, a show focused on one bachelor and one bachelorette’s quest to find love.

Though it is not a Christian dating show, Kirk has expressed in interviews that it is an opportunity “to bring some light and some nuggets of hope to the table”.

Though these shows have the ability to see how Christians live their day to day lives, we also can’t ignore that the basis of most reality TV shows is that they are saturated with drama and conflict in order for viewers to be hooked.

‘Soft and soothing’

TRICK

This type of trick can be seen in both shows, for example in Grown and Gospel, one cast member explained that he wanted to pursue R’n’B because he “loves sex too much”.

In addition to this in the first episode of The One, during a party game, a contestant on the show asked fellow contestants if they would “get naked on the first date”.

Statements like the above are reasons why reality shows for Christians can be difficult territory, often doing more harm than good to Christianity and its reputation.

However, when the appropriate boundaries are in place in these shows, we can all agree that it can be a great tool for the Christian message to not only be heard but to be received by Christians and those who need to be encouraged and uplifted.

GOD’S PLAN: Above, Tasha Page-Lockhart, daughter of Lisa Page Brooks, features in Grown and Gospel; left, US music stars Kirk and Tammy Franklin have been married for almost 30 years – and now together present The One

My top pick for this month had to be I Answered by Efua B ft.

Becca Folkes. As soon as I heard the track I was met with soft instrumentations and the soothing harmonies and lead vocals of both Efua and Becca.

In her own words, Efua’s hopes those hearing the track are reminded that “God calls and beckons us to Him, and when we answer that call we begin to see the greatness and beauty of God”.

Efua’s focus with her music continues to be about God and revealing Christ’s identity to all. With such a clear intent behind her music, it is certain that her music will continue to capture the hearts of those seeking to know God. Search for Efua B on Spotify and follow @efuabtv on Instagram.

Celebrating 70 years of the NTCG

WORKING TOGETHER: Bishop Claion B. Grandison with his wife Sonia

THE emergence of the New Testament Church of God in Britain was a direct result of migrants who came to Britain during the Windrush era.

On arrival, many Christians were shocked by the attitude of the indigenous population, who were not welcoming and strongly suggested they join a ‘more suitable congregation’.

What seemed like a very dark and upsetting time was more an Acts 8 moment; and the growing Black community reimagined a

different kind of fellowship, one that was vibrant and full of the presence of God. The first public service by the New Testament Church of God (NTCG) Wolverhampton group was held in the YMCA Hall in September 1953. And now, 70 years later, NTCG is established in over 130 towns and cities across England and Wales with a following in excess of 50,000.

Its recent leader, Bishop Claion B. Grandison, along with his wife Sonia, who leads the

National Women’s Ministries, has introduced a new Mission for the church – ‘We Are NTCG’.

This mission declares that we must be relevant in how we connect, relational when we connect and in our reimagining, be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit in how we SEE church, DO church, BE church!

In commemoration of our 70th anniversary NTCG will hold a fourday Convention at the International Convention Centre, Newport, Wales from August 24-27.

This promises to be four days of joyous worship, fellowship and celebration and is open to all. For more information and to register, scan the QR code above.

32 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

News Feature

Africans came during the Windrush era, too The presence of African people during one of Britain’s most defining eras of Black British history needs to be known as well, says Leah Mahon

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HE OLD and slightly opaque black and white photographs of young men and women gathered at the horn of the HMT Empire Windrush, or huddled together at the ship’s stairs just as they docked at Tilbury has become synonymous with the first mass migration of Black people to Britain.

It also is the origin story of the Windrush Generation.

Between 1948-71, the presence of Caribbean people in the UK had risen to an all-time high and their contribution to help rebuild a post-war country amid raging labour shortages is praised for being a part of the infrastructure, and weaving together the fabric of British life as many know it today.

Paris Williams, who is of Nigerian and African-American-Caribbean descent, tells The Voice that people like her grandmother who also made the voyage from West Africa to Britain are often forgotten as part of a story we tell about the emergence of Black people across waters.

“My mum’s side is Nigerian and her dad immigrated to the UK. My mom was born in 1963 and my mom’s oldest sibling was born in 1955 and I think that people always talk about Caribbean people and them coming to the UK [when some African people are of the same generation],” she says.

“My mum was born here and my dad immigrated here.

My mum’s family was the only Black family in the city [of York]. People always say your mum must be Caribbean and I always say so no, they immigrated from Africa.”

Countries in Africa, just like the Caribbean, were colonised by the British Empire’s long and often bloody reign before its collapse in the 20th century.

Its last remaining relic for many of the diaspora is the Commonwealth of Nations,

made of 56 countries that previously had come under British rule.

Places like Jamaica, Kenya and Ghana were some of them.

It meant those that arrived to begin new lives in Britain were indeed British, too.

Prof Ama Biney, a lecturer in Black British History at the University of Liverpool, pictured inset below, says the presence of Africans in Britain goes as far back as the Roman Times. However, she says the Windrush Generation’s arrival needs to be reframed as a “historical pattern of antiquity”.

SETTLED

“Continental Africans came to Britain either as seafarers who settled unofficially in British ports such as Liverpool, London and Bristol. Or they came as students seeking to further their education and thereafter return home to the continent of Africa. They came as students from the 1800s onwards,” she says.

During the trans-Atlantic slave trade, white British merchants who went to the West African coast traded and manufactured goods with African merchants and chiefs, encouraging their sons to travel to England for an education to aid trade between the two parts of the world, explains Prof Biney.

Migration from Africa after they found independence surged in the formation of new governments for the first time that needed power and management to take on its reigns.

Those Africans who came during the 19th century and later during the Windrush era were predominantly West Africans, mainly people from Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Ghana.

ENDURING IMAGE: Caribbean men on the day the HMT Empire Windrush arrived in Britain on June 22, 1948 (photo: Douglas Miller/ Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) There were also some East Africans from Somalia.

They tended to settle in Liverpool and Cardiff and other port cities that happened to have some links with the slave trade. Despite the influx of African migration, the numbers didn’t rise above 10,000 before the 1950s.

Although Paris agrees that Caribbean nurses in particular helped to build the NHS, she says that the African side of her family were one of the many thousands that contributed during the post-war period too.

“I didn’t really know my history that well until university.

It’s a whole area that is sort of underresearched … Black nurses, Black African nurses that built the NHS and it’s interesting to see not all of them came from the Caribbean.”

Her grandfather was a nurse in the NHS and dealt with the same racism recalled by many Caribbean healthcare workers

We don’t have enough data on the number of Africans that came of being spat at and patients not wanting to be looked after by a Black nurse at the time.

As Caribbean communities settled in strongholds like Notting Hill and Brixton, some African families like Paris found a home in the north such as in York.

Continental Africans also arrived during the 80s and 90s due to dictatorial regimes that had burdened parts of Africa, many of them settling in London as migrants and asylum seekers. The economy also spiralled under structural adjustments from the IMF and the World Bank African countries, and some Caribbean ones too, were forced to cut back on state spending, leading to the retrenchment of

jobs, devaluation of their currencies and impoverishment of both the middle and working class.

“Those who could afford to leave left,” says Prof Biney.

“They came to Britain as well as going to the US and Canada.”

Paris, who is a policy worker, says that she remains sceptical about the rhetoric of Black people who came to Britain during the Windrush period, being from mainly Caribbean backgrounds.

“I’m always hesitant to agree with that data that it was solely this mass immigration from the Caribbean. I actually think we don’t have enough data on the number of Africans that came, especially because a lot of Africans only came [to Britain] for a bit and then tended to go back home and build something before returning to England. Whereas Caribbean people came here and settled.”

As a Pan-Africanist, Prof Biney says she considers Caribbean people despite their displacement from Africa as one people and so the Windrush Generation’s contribution to Britain was difficult to separate.

Although there are “significant, adverse, tragic aspects to our presence in this country” with the Windrush scandal and deaths in police custody, Prof Biney says that Black people wherever they are from amongst the vast diaspora have only continued to thrive.

ENRICHED

“West Indians and Africans have contributed immensely to this society. They’ve enriched this society in many ways in terms of their contributions to the National Health Service.

In terms of the health field, in terms of law, in terms of teaching, in terms of engineering, in terms of politics,” she says.

“Let us not forget it was in 1987, it was quite pivotal that four Black national MPs entered the House of Commons.

They included Diane Abbott from Jamaica, Bernie Grant from Guyana and Paul Boateng, from Ghana.”

She added: “The contributions of Africans have been enormous and continue to be enormous — we continue to make our impact felt despite the issues.”

Lifestyle Carnival marks two major anniversaries p34

Rushell keeping the art of costume design alive p36

THE NEXT GENERATION NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL 2023

Mahaliah Edwards wants more diversity p44

34 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

Carnival Special

Blending past and present

This year’s Carnival will be particularly special as the community marks two important anniversaries

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HIS YEAR’S Notting Hill Carnival celebrates and remembers two hugely significant anniversaries – the docking on HMT Empire Windrush and the introduction of Mas and Sound Systems to Carnival.

These moments in time brought a generation of people together who, despite much adversity, wanted to bring communities together and celebrate their culture.

On June 22, 1948, the HMT Empire Windrush arrived in Tilbury Docks, though not the first ship to arrive to the UK from the Caribbean (The Ormonde and the SS Almanzora arriving the year before) it signifies the arrival of “The Windrush Generation” who would go on to be the originators of Notting Hill Carnival and play a huge and vitally important role in helping rebuild the UK, post-Second World War. Notting Hill Carnival has become the second biggest carnival in the world and the largest street event in Europe, but its core principles are built on diversity, inclusivity and acceptance.

It was founded as a result of the Notting Hill race riots of 1958, following the murder of Kelso Cochrane.

It was Claudia Jones, pictured inset above, a Trinidadian human rights activist and founder of the West Indian Gazette – and of the “Windrush Generation” – who organised the ‘Caribbean Carnival’, a community-led response to the riots with the sole aim of bringing people together.

This historic event first took place in January 1959 in St Pancras Town Hall.

The ‘Caribbean Carnival’ ran for six years until Claudia’s death, when Social Worker Rhaune Laslett (a Londoner of Native American and Russian descent) organised an event for the local children of Not-

“Notting Hill Carnival is testament to the power of unity and the celebration of heritage” ting Hill in 1966. A community activist with a history of easing racial tension in the area, she invited well-known pan player Russell Henderson to play, who was joined by his pan band and they weaved their way through Portobello Road, as a trail of locals spontaneously gathered and danced in the street to the sounds. And the first Notting Hill Carnival was born.

The second anniversary came seven years later in 1973. Lesley Palmer, one of the Carnival pioneers introduced the first Mass band – Inspiration Art – and the first static sound system.

This was a major development in Notting Hill Carnival’s history and one that had a significant impact on how it looks and sounds to this day.

PARTY SPIRIT: J’Ouvert sees revellers get into the carnival spirit from the break of dawn (photo: Getty Images) It was Lesley’s innovative thinking in 1973 that saw the spectacular colour and smorgasbord of sound come to the streets of Notting Hill and set this unique event on its path to being what we know and love it to be. Notting Hill Carnival is once again taking place on the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Sunday, August 27, starts before sunrise with J’Ouvert and the Children’s Day Parade officially opens at 10.30am. On August 28, the full Carnival community takes to the streets in their colour and splendour, displaying their hand-made costumes that represent a year of communities coming together

to celebrate Caribbean culture.

Preceding Carnival is The UK National Panorama Competition – the most important Steel Pan competition of the year.

CHAMPION

With six bands competing, they play original compositions to a panel of expert judges before the champion is crowned. With some bands consisting of over 100 members, it is an evening of truly spectacular and unique percussion. Panorama takes place at Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance Park and tickets are available from carnivalvillage. org.uk.

Matthew Phillip, CEO of Not-

ting Hill Carnival Ltd enthused: “The Notting Hill Carnival holds a special place in the hearts of Londoners and people from all corners of the globe.

“It is testament to the power of unity, the celebration of heritage, and the triumph of resilience.

“It is a celebration of diversity.

A tapestry of colours, sounds and rhythms that weave together the unique identities of countless communities that call London home. It is a melting pot of cultures, where the flavours of the Caribbean, Africa, Europe and beyond blend harmoniously, showcasing the true beauty of multiculturalism.

HOW IT STARTED, HOW IT’S GOING: Above left, the Empire Windrush as it pulled into Tilbury Docks in 1948, and above right, Notting Hill Carnival as we know it today (photos: Getty Images)

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“It amplifies the voices of the marginalised and the underrepresented. It provides an avenue for cultural expression, breaking down barriers and building bridges between different backgrounds. It is a testament to the fact that when we come together, embracing our differences, we create something truly remarkable and inspiring.”

LEGACY

He continued: “2023 is the Windrush 75 anniversary. A momentous occasion that allows us to reflect on the tremendous contributions and enduring legacy of the Windrush Generation, while also acknowledging the painful chapter that was the Windrush Scandal.

“We must confront the fact that members of this very generation, who dedicated their lives to our country, faced unwarranted challenges and discrimination.

“The mistreatment they endured was a dark stain on our history and we must commit ourselves to ensuring such injustices are never repeated. As we commemorate the Windrush 75 anniversary, let us honour the resilience and strength of the Windrush Generation.

“Let us pay homage to their contributions, while also recognising the need for continued progress and justice.”

www.voice-online.co.uk

AUGUST 2023 THE VOICE | 35

This is Brukout!

by Seani B

Shabaka will stay in our hearts

This summer’s Carnivals are the perfect time to remember and pay homage to a great man

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S IT really August? Already?

Surely not. It seems like it was only yesterday that I was wishing you a Happy New Year and thinking about what 2023 could have in store for us.

Well, summer is in full flow now, and of course that means the annual Carnival celebrations across the country. It’s a busy time for Black music lovers, especially if you are a DJ, and the festivities keep rolling on!

The summer started with me and the BrukOut team hitting Glastonbury and representing with a special presentation celebrating 75 years of the Windrush alongside DJ Larni, Yung Saber, Brixx and the birthday boy Big Zeeks. It was an amazing afternoon, and it set me up perfectly for the following few weeks.

I’m proud to be appearing at some of the festivities which promote and big-up Caribbean culture across the UK – I’ve already performed at Huddersfield carnival, which was a great day, and Nottingham carnival is fast approaching on August 20.

STELLAR

The two stellar events over the bank holiday weekend are carnivals in Leeds and London.

Yorkshire’s event was actually the first street parade aimed at celebrating Caribbean culture on the roads in the UK and continues to be a stalwart event in the calendar.

Being a west Londoner, Notting Hill is home, and always will be. Seeing the different disciplines on parade gives me an incredible feeling of pride, especially as it is one of the rare opportunities that we can be our full Caribbean selves without apology or dilution. You can jump, wave, rave and blow your horns without fear of retribution and give it large!

The width of the celebrations are a key component – no part

is more important than the other, and each need to be given their prominence and due.

I’ve always admired and respected the traditions of the disciplines and those who continue to push them, particularly in these tricky financial times and usually without much support.

It’s with sadness that one of those who was a huge advocate of these activities has sadly left us.

The late Vernon Shabaka Thompson passed away in St Lucia on July 4 at the age of 65.

Shabaka spread the message of carnival far and wide – from his work at the Yaa Centre in west London, to being the Artistic Director of The Hull International Carnival, to also being an international consultant for many worldwide reputable brands including the Calabar Carnival, Cross River State, Nigeria – Africa’s biggest carnival and street party.

He was a renowned specialist in Carnival management in many cities around the world and for many years, and in 2005 he was also the Director of The Notting Hill Carnival.

His presence, impact, intuition and resourceful insight also changed the culture and landscape of carnival management in the UK, Nigeria, Ghana, the Caribbean and different parts of the world.

Shabaka’s first interaction as a child of about 10 years old was making mud masks with his siblings for J’ouvert, even making the coconut brooms to sweep the yard for J’ouvert and being paid for sweeping.

While in Canada, he was administratively involved in Carnival with WestCan and Caribana, but it was not until he arrived in London with his actor’s hat on that he was introduced to Mas by Greta Mendez.

It was almost certain that Shabaka was drawn to the per-

formance art of Mas more than anything else, because his portrayal of Garret Morgan’s invention Traffic Lights/Rasta colours is still remembered by many.

This started a career in Carnival and Mas for nearly 40 years until his passing.

His work at Yaa Asantewaa Arts and Community Centre spanned over 25 years, which saw him working his way through the ranks to being responsible for the Carnival Mas band, then eventually becoming the Director of Yaa Asantewaa Arts Centre and finally the CEO of Carnival Village.

Carnival became Shabaka’s passion, and he believed it was the most diverse art form that could be used to develop, unite and sustain us as a people.

Shabaka’s vision is to contribute to the economic liberation of African people through empowerment, leadership and the development of sustainable institutions and communities.

BELIEVED

His first vision of owning and operating our own customised space was realised in the creation and establishment of Carnival Village in Ladbroke Grove and the Yaa Centre in Maida Vale along with his mentors Richard Gibson and Ashton Moore.

The next phase would utilise all his love for performing, the creation of a Carnival Theme Park utilising African and Caribbean traditional characters, custom and traditions on which he had already produced a paper and started discussions.

Shabaka was a Carnival Warrior, Activist and Visionary and his work has resonated throughout the celebrations, whether those who enjoyed it knew of his input or not. I hope his legacy can be fully celebrated this month, and that he can have the send-off he deserves.

VISIONARY: Vernon Shabaka Thompson did so much to make festivals what they are today

5 – 16 September

Mixed Bill ‘The most exciting dance company in the world’ The Huffington Post

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

36 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

Carnival Special

Preserving the art of costume making

HERITAGE: Rushel Anthony believes that passing down the knowledge of creating masquerades will keep the art form going

Sugar Rush Designs founder Rushel Anthony goes for tradition over convenience. By Joel Campbell

L

OOKING FORWARD to this year’s Notting Hill Carnival, Rushel Anthony told Lifestyle that the moment her ‘Aqua Section’ reaches the judging point as part of the band Hype Mas, she might actually start crying.

For most revellers at Europe’s biggest two-day street party, as the last sound system turns off their audio, the journey home represents the last thoughts they will have about Carnival until the next year.

For Rushel, founder of Sugar Rush Designs, the process of working on Carnival begins all over again.

Such is the level of skill and dedication required, it takes designers of the traditional carnival outfits the best part of a year to create the pieces of magic that make their ‘section’ stand out.

It’s a passion that comes as a by-product of being fully immersed in the carnival spirit from a young age.

Rushel, 30, who has a degree in specialist make-up design, explained: “Before I became a designer I was a masquerader.

I’ve spent thousands on my costumes over the years when I calculate it all.

“But then it progressed into making stuff for my friends.

Then, in 2019, the opportunity arose to design costumes for Rotterdam Carnival with the band Blends. However, the pandemic happened and that costume has been held back until 2024 now, which has actually given me time to redesign it.

It now looks a thousand times better.

“That has led me to Notting Hill Carnival.

“I had basically spoken to Hype Mas and they were like ‘yep, we are looking for some

designers, so put yourself forward and design a banging section. Let’s see how we go from there’.

“So that’s how I am now at Notting Hill.”

It’s not easy being a carnival costume designer, alongside the fact you are dealing with ‘30 or 40 individual people’ in a section who ‘all want to feel fabulous’, which is a task in itself.

HANDCRAFTED

There’s also the costs. A typical outfit can range from £300 to £700 for both men and women.

Speaking on some of the challenges she faces in maintaining a high standard, while delivering culturally authentic yet contemporary pieces, Rushel, whose family hail from Antigua, said: “Where I do the production myself, I feel like that keeps it very traditional.

“There is a thing amongst

many designers and bands now that are choosing China for their production.

“That’s not really traditional Mas. There would usually be a Mas Camp, where everyone puts in on the Mas Camp and we work on the costumes until the distribution date – that’s traditional Mas. “But I guess where numbers are higher now, like, before, people would only have 100 people in a band, now some bands have up to 500 people and they don’t have enough hands in back of house to produce that. So they go to China. For me personally, as long as I am able to produce my costumes myself, I will always do that, because that’s how I learned to do it.

“Being in Mas Camp, you would be asked to let people see how you cut and then they would give you two gems and they would say ‘let me see how you

“We are all we’ve got music playing, we’re niche, Rushel says she uses her doing the same things in the own personal insight to guide beautiful, no same way that I have learned. the way she creates her pieces.

That’s all I know Mas Camp to “Me being a plus-size masmatter what be and the tradition of it all.” querader is definitely a big factor She added: “Mas Camps in how I design. I am a firm beshape, size or could be anywhere realistically, liever that we are all beautiful, no colour you are” it’s just the fact that you are in matter what shape, size or colgem’. So it would be like that and I just kept going back and picked up loads of knowledge.”

Understanding that passing the knowledge down to the next generations is key in preserving the carnival heritage, art form and intricate discipline.

Where costume making is concerned, Rushel says ensuring she teaches others is a big part of what she does.

“It is something that I have to implement into what I do. I don’t have Mas Camps per se. I do it in the spare room in my house – it is like a Mas Camp in that,

when I do have people over here

With the marketplace being so

that space where the band leader is making the costume and you’re there helping and learning. That really does keep things alive. That’s how the knowledge will get passed down.

“It is the case that some people don’t want to pass down the knowledge, but I think that’s crazy. People ask me things and I’m fairly new, but I don’t see a problem explaining it to them because there is enough room at the table for all of us.

“Every year a new designer is born. It’s a cycle. For us to keep going, we have to keep passing down the knowledge.”

our you are. My personal touch is making sure everyone feels like a superstar. I do fittings and take measurements. For all of my masquerades, I have sat down and gone through everything.

MAGICAL: Rushel wants to make sure her customers feel like ‘superstars’

FREEDOM

“I speak to them about their confidence, because whether my masqueraders are a size eight or a size 28, I just know that body confidence is a thing. I let them know that carnival is about emancipation from slavery, it’s about freedom – free up yourself.”

Right up until the first truck hits the road this year, Rushel won’t have much time to free up herself, as she’ll be way too busy putting on those final gems. But asked what she was looking forward to most from this year’s event, she said: “Judging point.

“For me, I think when I see the masqueraders going past judging point and they shout out the section Aqua by Sugar Rush Designs, I think that will hit me, like, this is real. I actually did this.

“For the whole year, I’ve been preparing for this moment right here. I already think I’m going to start bawling. I hope they don’t take any pictures though, because I don’t want people to see my ruined make-up.

“But I think I’ll be very emotional at that point.”

Check out Rushel’s website at sugarrushdesignsuk.com

JUNE 2023

THE VOICE| 19

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38 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

Lifestyle

ILLUMINATING: Maïmouna Guerresi’s M-eating: Students and Teacher (2012)

Africa through its own lens

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SEI BONSU’S appointment as curator of International Art at Tate Modern in 2019 was hailed by director, Frances Morris, as an important part in expanding the organisation’s “knowledge of modern and contemporary art from Africa”.

Fast forward a few years and Bonsu, a critic who has developed projects focused on transnational histories of art, collaborating with museums, galleries and private collections, has delivered A World in Common: Contemporary African Photography at Tate Modern.

Featuring the work of 36 artists, the exhibition celebrates the landscape of photography across the African continent today.

It explores how photography and video have allowed artists to examine legacies of the past, while imagining a hopeful future.

Unfolding across seven thematic sections, the exhibition will highlight contemporary perspectives on cultural heritage, spirituality, urbanisation and climate change. It will reveal shared visions that reclaim Africa’s histories and reimagine its place in the world.

At a press briefing prior to the opening of the exhibition, Bonsu explained: “When it came to ways to present an exhibition of contemporary African photography, I knew that it couldn’t be a standard historiographic survey that went from decade to decade.

“It would have to be a kind of feedback loop and repetitions, and the kind of lyrical that artists, particularly artists that engage

New exhibition at Tate Modern celebrates the landscape of photography across the African continent. By Joel Campbell

with the lens, are constantly asking questions about the way that we perceive history.

“Much of that is indebted to the thinking of Achille Mbembe, who inspired the title of this exhibition.

“Mbembe is a Cameroonian philosopher based in Cape Town who spent years thinking about some of the problematic ways in which African history is being narrated through many foundational texts.

“But through this notion of a world in common, he’s really asking us to think of the world from Africa, and in doing so, think about the ways in which we understand our commonalities rather than differences, but also the way we take care of the planet that we share.

“That notion has an ecological and historiographic ambition that you can read about in Mbembe texts. It provided a departure point for the exhibition and a road map as to how we would address these complex histories.”

Since the invention of photography in the 19th century, Africa has been defined by Western images of its cultures and traditions.

During the colonial period, photography was used to construct the representation of African societies through a Eurocentric lens.

Challenging these dominant images of the continent, A World in Common features around 100 works that illuminate how photography can imagine alternative

visions of Africa’s many histories, cultures and identities. Portraits of kings and queens join intimate scenes of family life, alongside archival postcards of vanishing cities and documentary images of post-industrial ruin.

Family photo albums and studio portraits reflect the shared sense of community that connects Africa and its global diaspora, while scenes of devastated coastlines and otherworldly landscapes consider the growing impact of the climate emergency on the Earth.

Guiding viewers along many landscapes and time zones, the exhibition shows how photography allows the past and future to co-exist in powerful ways.

For centuries before the colonial period, many African socie-

“Photography can imagine alternative visions of Africa’s history”

ties were governed as kingdoms where ancient dynasties held an important role in the shaping of spiritual and cultural identity.

Interweaving historical narratives with imagined scenes of Africa’s regal past, artists George Osodi, Zohra Opoku and Kudzanai Chiurai explore histories of anticolonial resistance and political revolt. The power of ritual plays an important role in many African religions and spiritual practices.

For artists Khadija Saye, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Maïmouna Guerresi and Em’kal Eyongakpa these rites of passage and acts of remembrance offer portals between the living and their ancestors. Shape shifting between the spiritual and physical world, West African masquerade has traditionally been used to embody spirits during ceremonies.

In photographic works by Leonce Raphael Agbodjélou, Edson Chagas, Wura-Natasha Ogunji, and Zina Saro-Wiwa, it becomes a medium for the activation of cultural memory and collective identity.

In the exhibition’s official pro-

POWERFUL: Mário Macilau’s Breaking News (2015), The Profit Corner Series; left, Osei Bonsu talks at Tate Modern

gramme, Bonsu gives further insight on how Mbembe’s thought process has impacted the direction of A World in Common: Contemporary African Photography.

He wrote: “Acknowledging the denial of humanity associated with the colonial encounter and its afterlives, Mbembe posits the notion of ‘a world in common’, in which Africa’s histories are understood as part of a global narrative of civilisation.

“Drawing on a rich tradition of Black thought, from Frantz Fanon’s insistence on bringing a new world into being to Édouard Glissant’s notion of encountering the whole world in its entirety, the history of African liberation is connected by the idea of a reunited humanity.”

The exhibition will explore the rise of studio photography across the continent during the 1950s and 60s – a time when many African nations gained independence.

Catherine Wood, director of programme at Tate Modern, said: “A World in Common is the first major exhibition at Tate to explore the diverse field of contemporary African photography.

“Featuring key works from NORD Tate’s collection, the exhibition reflects the museum’s long-term commitment to showcasing its collection and broadening the representation of artists from previously underrepresented regions.”

A World in Common: Contemporary African Photography on until January 14, 2024 at Tate Modern, Bankside, London SEl 9TG. Watch the full interview with Osei Bonsu on our website

JUNE 2023

S O U T HWA RK FREE FO R M E M B ER S

THE VOICE| 39

40 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

Carnival Special

The beat goes on and on

This year marks the 50th anniversary of sound systems at the Carnival. By Jerome Conway

T

HE NOTTING Hill Carnival is all set to commemorate a significant milestone – the 50th official anniversary of sound systems at the festival.

Sound systems, known as “statics” in modern times, have been an integral part of the carnival since its early inception.

Originating from Jamaica, the concept of sound systems found its way to the UK through the migration of Jamaicans in the late 1950s and 1960s.

Among the early pioneers were Duke Vin and Count Suckle, both based in Ladbroke Grove, who unofficially set up their sound systems on the streets during the carnival’s nascent years.

It was in 1973 that sound systems were formally invited to join Notting Hill Carnival as the fifth discipline, thanks to Leslie Palmer, a committee member at the time.

One of the key driving factors behind their inclusion was the pressing need for increased funding to support the event’s growth and sustainability.

The introduction of static sound systems certainly did, and continues to do wonders for the carnival’s attendance numbers, drawing larger crowds to the vibrant celebration.

Throughout the years, various sound systems have emerged,

“The culture has played a vital role in bringing communities together” contributing to the rich diversity of Notting Hill Carnival’s musical landscape. The early operators like Duke Vin, Count Shelly, Count Suckle, Lloyd Coxsone, and ‘chicken’ in East London played a pivotal role in shaping the evolution of sound system culture, leading to the emergence of new sounds and musical directions.

In the 1970s, the concept of ‘soul sound’ or ‘roadshow’ gained prominence, with pioneers like Mastermind (originally known as the ‘Mighty Conquerer’ reggae sound before transitioning to Soul/Funk/Disco

ENDURING LEGACY: A group of people constructing a sound system at the Notting Hill Carnival in 1983 (photo: Getty Images)

and later Electro and Hip-Hop music), TWJ, Roxy, Soul Incorporated, Good Times, Freshbeat, and Rapattack, who introduced fresh genres and left an indelible mark on the carnival’s musical legacy.

In the 1990s, ‘Rampage Sound’ played a significant role in popularising ‘Swingbeat,’ making it a profitable venture by performing on club systems and hiring sound systems as needed for various events.

In the earlier days, building a sound system was a collaborative effort, where one person purchased music, another handled electronics, and someone else took up the role of the MC. While some aspects of sound system culture, such as the role of the ‘Box Boy,’ have remained, notable changes have occurred, particularly regarding gender representation in the space.

One of the pioneers challenging stereotypes and leading the charge for inclusivity is Linett Kamala, who was among the first female DJs to perform at Notting Hill Carnival in the early 1980s.

Kamala’s passion for nurturing young talent led to the establishment of the Sound Systems Futures program, which aims to support up to ten young people, especially aspiring female DJs, in learning about running a sound system and actively participating in the carnival’s festivities.

“I’m piloting a Sound Systems Futures program, and I have got a lovely team to help me,” Kamala told Lifestyle last year.

“The program will focus on

leadership, skills, and creativity, inspiring the next generation to be part of the future legacy and custodians of sound system culture at Notting Hill Carnival.”

With statistics compiled by Intelligent Space, commissioned by the Greater London Authority (GLA), indicating that a staggering 80 per cent of attendees come to Notting Hill Carnival specifically to experience its legendary sound systems, it becomes evident that the impact of these

setups on the festival’s popularity is immense. Recognising the profound influence of sound systems on the carnival, the formation of a committee representing the British Association of Sound Systems (BASS) has been hailed as a positive step forward. BASS has taken on the role of a Trade Association, elevating the profile and organisational standards of all participating sound systems at Notting Hill Carnival while formalising their vital con-

TIMELESS TRADITION: Rapper Tony Wilson at I Spy The People sound system on Colville Gardens at the Notting Hill Carnival (photo: Getty Images)

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tribution to the community. As the 2023 edition of Notting Hill Carnival approaches, anticipation builds for this milestone 50th official anniversary of sound systems.

This celebration pays tribute to the enduring legacy of sound system culture, which has not only shaped the carnival’s musical identity but has also played a vital role in bringing communities together and celebrating diversity in the heart of London.

As the vibrant rhythms and pulsating beats fill the streets of Notting Hill once again, the spirit of unity and cultural exchange will continue to be embodied in the rhythmic soul of the sound systems – a timeless tradition that remains true and authentic.

Long may it continue to resonate, connecting generations and leaving an indelible mark on the fabric of London’s cultural heritage.

Read about Sound Systems in depth on the official Carnival website: www.nhcarnival.org/ carnival-info/sound-systems

www.voice-online.co.uk

AUGUST 2023

THE VOICE | 41

Carnival Special

So, Carnival then... what else do I need to know?

There’s more to this year’s Carnival than you might think – so we’re here to help. By Joel Campbell Don’t trip without Trippin As Carnival is such an immersive experience with a sprawling programme of sound systems and stages, with partners Trippin, this year there will be an official Carnival map.

The platform covers travel recommendations, cultural events and underground scenes around the world, doing so ‘through the eyes of locals’.

As a global connector, Trippin has grown into the most diverse and influential travel platform for the future.

Many Carnival-goers have expressed that they’d like more information on how to navigate the event or locate specific spots. The official digital map can be downloaded for free and used offline – even when your phone doesn’t have a signal.

It highlights where the sound systems, stages, toilets and medical points are within Notting Hill Carnival, as well as our two safer spaces — specially designed for those who experience high levels of marginalisation within our communities.

It also features cultural pins, diving deep into the history behind key areas such as Chepstow Road and Westbourne Grove. Available from August.

Search for Trippin Notting Hill Carnival Map on your App store.

Get listening to the Carnival soundtrack Spotify is continuing its support of Notting Hill Carnival for 2023, with a refreshed and updated ‘Carnival Sounds’ microsite set to launch in early August.

Carnival Sounds is the ultimate soundtrack to getting Carnival-ready, featuring insight into many of the sound systems and DJs appearing at Carnival, playlist takeovers and the opportunity to dive deeper into the history and legacy of Carnival via a curated selection of podcasts

Celebrate sneakers This year, Notting Hill Carnival is partnering with eBay to celebrate authentic carnival sneaker culture past and present. The global online marketplace is also sponsoring iconic Mas band, Mangrove across panorama and the carnival weekend. eBay will be showing up at Notting Hill Carnival on Sunday, August 27, encouraging everyone to step out in their realest kicks. Keep an eye on eBay social channels for more news.

Stay refreshed in style This year CÎROC Vodka will be popping up at Soca City in Powis Sq and Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance Park.

For the first time it is bringing delicious drinks featuring their classic Blue Dot but also Pineapple and Passion flavours.

The brand is working with renowned Caribbean designer Geoff Cooper to develop their look for this year’s carnival. Using Geoff’s iconic village scene designs they will be using this across all assets including the container bars themselves.

The designs will also be printed on to CÎROC’s bottle and sold on getitinkd.com, where all profits will go to Notting Hill Carnival. Geoff may also be creating a little something special for the crowd, too! ...and there’s more!

In addition to the August bank holiday, Carnival Culture In The Park will be making a return to Opera Holland Park from August 16-19.

The four nights will see some of the world’s leading Calypso artists and steel pan players perform: August 16 – Etienne Charles Carnival: The Sound Of A People; August 17: Steelband Summer; August 18: Pan Jazz and August 19: Crazy and Red Plastic Bag. Get your tickets at carnivalvillage.org.uk.

A BIT OF EVERYTHING: From composer and performer Etienne Charles to Carnival tunes, tasty CÎROC concoctions — and even a cheeky eBay sneaker collaboration — there’s plenty to keep you on your toes this Carnival season (photos: Getty)

42 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

Carnival Special

A true legend of Carnival

Known as ‘that crazy man from Nevis’, Arthur France reflects on his historic efforts to establish the West Indian Carnival in Leeds. By Leah Mahon

W

HEN NOTTING Hill Carnival first arrived in Britain, it brought with it the vibrant culture of the Caribbean that millions have grown to embrace.

It was born amid a time of rising racial tensions between London’s Black communities and the police when Kelso Cochrane, a carpenter from Antigua, was murdered by a violent white mob.

Pioneering Trinidadian journalist, Claudia Jones, wanted to create a space where the community could feel at home while living in a hostile environment and brought Carnival to Britain.

Carnival became not only a celebration, but an escape for some of Britain’s largest wave of Caribbean settlers. The era marked the beginning of the legendary sound system culture from Jamaica and the steel pan from Trinidad and Tobago. It was only a matter of time before cuisines, sounds and traditions of the Caribbean reverberated in other parts of the country, Now the UK celebrates countless Caribbean-inspired carnivals every year in cities such as Preston, Leicester and Northampton where hundreds of the diaspora still gather to commemorate a piece of home.

On the dawn of every Bank Holiday in August, hundreds prepare to celebrate West Indian Carnival in Leeds (WILC). First held in 1967, the northern carnival is the first one in Europe to be organised entirely by BritishCaribbeans and inspired directly from activism of people from the Caribbean like Jones.

Born in St Kitts-Nevis, Arthur France arrived in Britain in 1957.

Frankie Davis, from Trinidad and Tony Lewis, from Jamaica, were two of his friends who attended the University of Leeds and organised a carnival fete at what is now known as Leeds City College in 1966. Fellow Trinidadian, Ian Charles, was also a part of the occasion.

Speaking to WILC, Arthur said: “When I left the tiny island of Nevis in 1957 heading for the UK like so many West Indians of my generation, I didn’t just leave

my home and family behind, I left what makes the Caribbean tick, what gives the region such a pulsating heartbeat; I left my culture, my music, my art behind.”

The pioneering founder wanted to take things one step further and opted to create an indoor festival with music, costumes and a carnival parade along the streets of Leeds.

Other pioneers such as Calvin Beech, Willie Robinson, Samlal Singh and Rose McAlister also joined the committee.

Despite his enthusiasm, Arthur faced backlash from some of the Black community who felt Carnival culture put Black people in an already dim light. But amid racial tension, he was adamant like Jones that Black people in Britain had somewhere that they could call their own. Arthur was already a part of the United Caribbean Association and saw the creation of Carnival as an avenue to step away from the discourse of politics.

“I was not alone and having connected with like-minded Car-

“Carnival is the best way I know to secure unity and harmony”

PIONEER: Arthur France fought to make Carnival happen in his adopted city of Leeds (photo: Sara Porter) ibbean students at Leeds University, family, friends, even complete strangers – we fought to make Carnival happen,” he says.

“You can only imagine the battles we faced, not only from the authorities of the day but from within our own community! I was known as ‘that crazy man from Nevis’!”

West Indian Carnival in Leeds is considered the next biggest Caribbean carnival in Britain with up to 100,000 people attending annually from all over

the UK, Europe, America and the Caribbean. And is considered the “first formally organised authentic Caribbean carnival in Europe”.

For Arthur, he says it was not about being the first to do anything but was all about bringing people of all races together and sharing Caribbean culture to as many people as possible.

Recalling his historic efforts, he says: “I remember that shortly after that first carnival, a group

of us didn’t hesitate to go down to London when we were asked to get the first formal Notting Hill Carnival on the road. The rest is history.”

Arthur added: “Carnival also reminds us of our roots, the struggle our ancestors had to bear, the oppression of our leaders, and great role models, but not in vain, for while we continue to celebrate Carnival their achievements will remain with us forever. For us, Carnival is not

just about putting on a street party – spectacular as it is! It is not just about sharing the sweetness of steel pan and soca music nor the magnificence of costumes.

“It is a serious business that needs great partnerships, and that creates a cultural and artistic legacy fuelled by the dedication, hard work and passion of our volunteers, contributors, artists and participants. Half a century later it is the best way I know to secure unity and harmony.”

ROYAL MEETING: Far left, Arthur France with King Charles; left, the Leeds West Indian Carnival started in 1967 as a way of keeping the Caribbean culture and tradition alive for those of West Indian descent in the northern city

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AUGUST 2023 THE VOICE |

Lifestyle

Challenging the narrative

CHALLENGING PERCEPTIONS: Black Venus, curated by Aindrea Emelife, explores how the many faces of Black women continue to shift in the public consciousness, as seen in this piece by American photographer Ayana Jackson (photo: Tim Bowditch)

The impressive Black Venus installation is a must-see this summer. By Joel Campbell

O

PENING LAST month, Somerset House presents Black Venus, an exhibition which examines the historical representation and shifting legacy of Black women in visual culture.

Curated by Aindrea Emelife, the exhibition brings together the work of over 18 Black women and non-binary artists to explore the othering, fetishisation and reclamation of narratives around Black femininity.

The exhibition mines the complex narratives of Black womanhood through the influences of three perceived archetypes: the Hottentot Venus, the Sable Venus, and the Jezebel.

Through the use of these three thematic pillars, Black Venus examines the shifting image

of the Black woman in visual culture and the complex lived experience that informs the work of cross-generational women and non-binary artists today.

Having debuted in 2022 at New York’s Fotografiska, Black Venus’s presentation at Somerset House features a new reworking of the themes with over 19 new works and six UK-based artists in the line-up.

The exhibit pairs more than 40 contemporary and primarily photographic artworks with a selection of archival imagery, dated between 1793 to 1930, illustrating historical depictions of Black women and the caricaturing of the Black body.

Exploring the many faces of Black femininity, the show’s contemporary works offer a riot-

ous affront to a centuries-long dynamic of objectification, showcasing all that Black womanhood can be and has always been.

Emelife said: “Rather than simply putting forth a compelling group of contemporary talent, Black Venus defines a legacy.

CLAIM

“At a time when Black women are finally being allowed to claim agency over the way their own image is seen, it is important to track how we have reached this moment. In looking through these images we are confronted with a mirror of the political and socio-economic understandings of Black women at the time and how the many faces of Black womanhood continue to shift in the public consciousness.”

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At the centre of the show’s thematic focus is the Hottentot Venus, a recurrent archetype throughout visual culture and the epithet given to Sarah Baartman who, enslaved by Dutch colonists, was toured as a ‘freak show’ exhibit under this alias.

Black Venus contrasts archival depictions of Black women, which typify colonial-era exploitation and commodification of the Black body, with evocative portraiture by some of the most influential contemporary Black image-makers whose work

deals with layered narratives of Black femininity. The presentation of these works in tandem invites viewers to confront the enduring oppression and exploitation of Black women and to witness its upheaval in the hands of today’s Black artists.

Key to Emelife’s development of Black Venus’s concept is Thomas Stothard’s etching The Voyage of the Sable Venus from Angola to the West Indies and its place in the long-standing exoticisation of the Black woman in visual culture.

In the etching, Black beauty is framed within the context of Western classical culture, as the titular Sable Venus rises from the sea, resulting in the predatory attention of the sea god, Triton. This sexual objectification of the Black woman is also exemplified in the trope of the Jezebel, explored in the exhibition through the image of cultural icon, Josephine Baker.

Black Venus open at Somerset House, WC2R 1LA, until September 24.

44 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

Lifestyle

Access to classical music, let’s discuss ...

INSPIRING: Mahaliah Edwards has achieved so much. Below, Mahaliah leads the way on the concert stage

One of the 2022 BBC Open Music trainees, Mahaliah Edwards, wants greater diversity and inclusion across the board

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N LOTS of ways, I had a strong musical upbringing starting from my personal community all the way to studying at the top musical institutions in the country.

I grew up in a Caribbean household, and music was and is integral to the culture.

There was always music playing in the house – everything from Eddy Grant and Bob Marley to Ray Charles, and always gospel music greats like Kirk Franklin and the Clark Sisters on the weekends.

In terms of my formal music education, I attended a state primary which recognised the power of music and had highquality music provision. I began having piano lessons early on but later switched to having violin lessons at secondary school.

As a pupil premium child later on in my school life, receiving violin lessons for free was a huge source of support and validation of my potential. Outside of school, I attended a pentecostal church where I learned music

by ear, sang in multiple-part harmonies and recreated complex rhythms with ease.

This was of course all very informal, but the truth is I didn’t realise I was learning valuable musical skills which I would later draw on in my life as a professional violinist performing with artists such Alicia Keys, Heather Small, Ed Sheeran and Adele.

I tripped and fell into being a violinist. There was no-one in my family who was a professional musician in the classical world or even just someone who could help me to read music.

There were no role models to speak of and I at times felt like the odd one out. It was a journey I started and just kept going with until I found myself leading my local youth orchestra as a teenager and then received a full scholarship to study at the Purcell School for Young Musicians, one of the world’s best specialist music schools.

However, as I went on my musical journey, I was always aware that I was often the only Black

person in my orchestra or my school band and, whilst I was used to it, I knew it wasn’t right and I couldn’t be the only Black classical musician out there.

It was as an undergraduate at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire that I began to question the fact that despite my musical education at prestigious institutions, I had never really been taught about music which reflected my own cultural and musical upbringing and could not name a single female composer.

Truth be told, there was always the subconscious feeling that the music tied to my cultural heritage wasn’t of value in those musical institutions and there was an unseen but tangible musical hierarchy between “real music” and other music.

Finally, in my second year, we learned about Julius Eastman, an African-American composer and, from that point, I became obsessed with finding out about other Black composers – as it turns out, there are loads, dead and alive!

In the following years, I played a few gigs featuring Caribbean music for the first time professionally, and I began to question how I could continue being the change I have wanted to see, particularly in the classical music world. I simply began talking to others about my experiences, which has led me into work not as a violinist but as a music educator, board trustee and advocate for cultural diversity within the music sector.

There’s lots of talk of improving access to classical music,

@thevoicenewspaper

“There’s so much musical richness out of cultural diversity” and I agree that breaking down financial, cultural and other barriers is important.

I have received various grants, scholarships and schemes which have helped me to be in places I wouldn’t otherwise have access to. However, in my experience, access on its own is not enough. Institutions, companies and organisations need to adopt an ethos where individuals can be heard, understood and feel like they truly belong in the space once they gain access.

Growing up as a musician, I spent a lot of time trying to fit in, because I had worked hard to get in and I wish someone told me it was okay to be my full self.

Now, as an educator working in schools and with young

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people, I empower them to embrace their own cultures and identities and bring it with them unapologetically.

I know I would have been a more confident musician at school if a teacher had picked up on my ability to play by ear easily and acknowledged how my culture had positively impacted my musical development. Being a BBC Open Music trainee was just one recent experience where I really felt I could be myself, promoting music which I love and enjoy, but also which has cultural significance to me.

There’s so much musical richness which can come out of recognising cultural diversity, and I’ve really enjoyed uncovering it for myself, whether it’s finding out about more Black composers or going to concerts myself and being pleasantly surprised by the offering on the concert programmes.

In 2022, the London Community Gospel Choir teamed up with the London Symphony Orchestra for a concert which celebrated choral, gospel and orchestral

voicenews

music by Black composers. It was really amazing to see people of all different walks of life in the Barbican concert hall – it was truly one of the best concerts I’d been to. I think this was a great example of cross-collaboration between perhaps unlikely parties which would have improved access and preconceived ideas about what classical music is and can be.

The classical music landscape is still on a journey to being more accessible, more inclusive and more diverse.

I think we are all vital players in being part of the change; whether it is parents supporting their children with learning a musical instrument or a group of friends deciding they want to try out a classical concert for the first time or simply supporting local music-making in your area. Music belongs to everyone.

Mahaliah’s three-part Sounds Connected series for BBC Radio 3 can be found on BBC Sounds: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000ml94

www.voice-online.co.uk

AUGUST 2023 THE VOICE |

45

TOP SPORTS COVERAGE 24/7 VOICE-ONLINE.CO.UK/SPORT

OF SPORT NEWSPAPER

Let’s get on front foot Donna Fraser, the Professional Cricketers’ Association’s Director of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, writes for Voice of Sport and says there has to be a brighter future for the sport

I

T’S HARD to believe that eight months have flown by since I took on the role as Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA).

So much has happened in this time, including the number of steps I have racked up visiting the men’s and women’s professional players across the UK. Recently, the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) published its long-awaited report addressing discrimination throughout the game. Working in this space for a number of years, I have seen reports being published highlighting disappointing acts of discrimination, even though there was already an awareness.

Therefore, I view such reports as welcoming, as they formalise the thoughts of many and it enables organisations to take stock of how they are operating, and sport is no different.

As a member body for professional cricketers in England and Wales, we have a duty of care to represent our members, and the PCA leadership took positive steps to create my role ahead of

the report publication. Now, eight months into the role, this report offers the PCA and me in my position an opportunity to make tangible change.

From the 44 recommendations presented by the ICEC, there are many in which the PCA can adopt as well as support the ECB and the wider game with delivery.

Following our previous member survey results, players have expressed the need for more EDI education and, even more importantly, they want the education to be delivered by players, which has been a huge focus for the PCA to deliver against.

One of the recommendations in the report addressed education, under the heading Approach to EDI in Cricket – Recommendation 5.

Within three months of being in the role, I developed an equality, diversity and inclusion educational programme for our members, namely the ‘Learn Before Wicket’ (LBW) EDI educational programme. This programme has been developed based on feedback from previous player surveys, Personal Development

SETTING THE PACE: Donna Fraser has achieved a great deal since taking on her role eight months ago, but she’s determined to do even more

Manager (PDM) conversations with players and outcomes from the ECB Dressing Room Culture Capture review.

The programme has been designed to raise the awareness and understanding of EDI issues within cricket which were highlighted in the report and to empower our members with the necessary skills and knowledge to embrace diversity, exercise inclusivity, promote equity and equality within their cricket environment.

The LBW EDI education programme has enhanced player and support staff understanding through open and meaningful conversations in a safe space so they can lead the change of unacceptable behaviours within the game. There are 18 men’s

teams and eight women’s teams and we deliver three topics per team, whereby each team has the ownership to select two topics they want to be delivered, and the third session on antidiscrimination is mandatory. The topics in the programme are: • Inclusive language • Allyship • Unconscious bias & conscious bias • LGBTQ+ inclusion • Disability inclusion • Intersectionality • Faith & religion • Anti-discrimination The sessions are facilitated by our PCA’s Inclusion Champions who are former/current cricket players Georgia Elwiss, Abi Sakande, Arul Suppiah, David Thompson and Alex Tudor.

To date, we have delivered 24 sessions across the men’s and women’s teams with positive feedback. By no means does it stop here, and it is important for me to engage with the EDI leads within the professional teams to ensure there is consistent and ongoing education.

WHAT’S NEXT? I will continue to listen to the lived experiences of our players through our player survey results monitoring, Player Committee and EDI Working Group feedback and work with my colleagues at the PCA to ensure services are in place to support our members to the best of our ability. The women’s game is growing at a pace and we at the PCA will be instrumental in

conversations with the ECB around recommendations on equal pay and gender representation.

Over the next month, the PCA leadership team will work through each of the recommendations to identify what we are already doing and take action for improvement; and what should we be doing to ensure we are championing our members with a quality service level.

The PCA has championed the ongoing interests of professional cricketers in England and Wales since 1967.

The PCA and The Voice will be working in partnership to bring readers news and views from professional cricketers from the British African-Caribbean community.

Is this just the start for Wimbledon girls’ champion Clervie?

By Rodney Hinds

AFTER WINNING the Wimbledon girls’ crown, Clervie Ngounoue is hungry for more success.

The recent Championships in SW19 saw Marketa Vondrousova and Carlos Alcaraz claim the major prizes, but Clervie is one for the future and has her own stellar ambitions.

She won her first Grand Slam trophy, securing the Wimbledon girls’ title without surrendering a set.

The American, who peaked at world No1 in the junior rankings last month, completed her career-best performance with victory over Nikola Bartunkova in the final.

“It sounds so good (to be a Wimbledon champion). I’m really excited that this is my first,” said Clervie, who required an hour and 24 minutes to complete a 6-2, 6-2 win against the Czech. “It was a battle out there, as I was expecting one. Nikola is not an easy player at all, but I’m really glad that I was able to pull through.”

It was a power-packed performance for the No2 seed, whose 27 winners easily outnumbered Bartunkova’s 11.

And while there were also 22 errors from the eventual champion, Clervie maintained a level head in blustery conditions on Court 12.

“I’m really glad I was able to adapt.

Now I can actually confidently say that

I feel like I am well-suited for grass,” said the Washington-born teen, who is equally excited to return to a hard court.

Clervie, who celebrated her 17th birthday recently, will do so knowing she has taken a significant step forward in SW19.

“I was just focused on myself and trying to progress as a tennis player, knowing that this is not the end, that this is only a part of the journey. This is to set me up for more,” she said.

“For all of us juniors at these tournaments, these prestigious tournaments are such good opportunities not only for recognition but us personally as tennis players to progress.”

ON THE RISE: Young tennis ace Clervie Ngounoue became the world No1 girls’ player last month

46 | THE VOICE AUGUST 2023

Sport

Girl power is the goal!

BIG HITTERS: Francesca Brown, left, is being backed all the way in her Goals4Girls project by former Arsenal and England player Rachel Yankey, right. Inset panel below, young women footballers took centre stage at the Goals4Girls charity launch night at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium (photos: Hepta Outis and Andy Commons)

Inspirational Francesca Brown taking extra steps to ensure her Goals4Girls is a real winner

I

T HAS has never been more important for young women and girls to have safe spaces where they can break barriers, pursue their dreams and ultimately thrive. Goals4Girls (G4G) offers just that.

Goals4Girls was founded with a clear vision in mind – to uplift, motivate and empower young women and girls, providing them with the tools they need to overcome societal barriers.

The newly formed charity has already seen over 1,800 young women and girls successfully navigate their way through over two million contact hours of the programme.

But the harsh reality is that despite the tireless dedication of staff, mentors and coaches, there’s still so much work to be done.

Some 94 per cent of the participants in the G4G programme who were at risk of exclusion last September went on to complete the academic year. While 90 per cent of those that have joined have reported a significant improvement in confidence, resilience and the ability to form solid friendships while being a part of G4G. With over a decade of work under their belts, Goals4Girls, led by founder and CEO Francesca Brown, decided that now was the right time to launch as a charity.

The recent launch at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium confirmed that the very best is yet to come for an organisation whose mantra is ‘It starts with her, it continues with you’.

The Voice of Sport’s Rodney Hinds caught up with Francesca to talk about the launch, obstacles and the future.

RH: How would you sum up the event in terms of your original vision and what was delivered on the night?

FB: You are just trying to make sure that on the night people who attend are having a good time. You never in that moment think of the actual journey you’ve been through to get to that point, you don’t think about what people’s perception will be on the evening, you think about making sure it’s right, that everything you do is right.

So, for me personally, I wanted that to be the start of something great for future generations, I wanted that evening to be a moment that we broke down barriers for communities, for young women and girls who don’t normally step into those spaces and see people like myself standing on stage, people like host Michelle Moore standing on stage, people like an entire female-led panel.

Everything I did for that evening was purposeful. I did it for a reason, because our organisation is there to break down barriers for young women and girls from marginalised communities.

We had young people lead on the panel, and everything I set out to do was a mission for everyone to leave that room and understand the why and purpose of Goals4Girls.

RH: Everyone’s talking now about women’s football as if it’s this new phenomenon. Do you feel that you’re part of that journey?

FB: I’m proud of where it’s come. As you know, I’ve been in this space for over a decade now, trying to break down barriers in these communities and

trying to encourage organisations, people and the media to make sure that they’re aware of how healthy women are within the women’s game.

Lately, I feel like people have jumped on the bandwagon at times. I feel like people are just doing it because it’s almost like a CSR tick box, whereas I’ve been in schools and communities championing this for like 11/12 years.

Even though I’ve been recognised and been given a statue and I’ve done all these great things, I still feel like I don’t get appreciated in the way I should get appreciated for the number of girls I’ve impacted and for the amount of work that we’ve done.

The reason I say this is because we have organisations out there who may be led by men, or led by our white counterparts, and they’ve been doing it for two or three years but they’re getting all the endorsements, all the support, all the funding, all the finances.

I’ve had to turn into a charity in order for people to actually stand up and say, ‘okay, let’s recognise her in this space’. We are the most underrepresented and underfunded communities or race within that whole business remit, never mind sports.

I always wake up and think, ‘I’ve not yet achieved the mission I’ve set out to conquer’,

because I’m constantly facing barriers, and constantly facing rejection and I’m constantly having to persuade people or encourage people or guide people to why it’s so important to support young people who look like me.

I still feel like there’s a lot to do. I am happy with where it’s going, but I do almost feel like, on reflection, the grassroots are not a priority to the bigger funders or the big organisations.

RH: Can you give me a little insight into some of the things that may be a priority in the future?

FB: Over the next year, I’ve got big ambitions. What we’re about is sustainable development pathways at Goals4Girls. How do you ensure you bridge the gap between grassroots and professional through education to professional careers.

My overall vision, which I can’t share just yet is in the pipeline!

It is going to be monumental, and will bridge that gap. The organisation turning into a charity is going to allow us to create, from secondary education, a sustainable development pathway for young women and girls, and the vision is that we reduce the drop-out rate within these communities, but we allow girls to still be educated and still delve into the world of sport.

They also have a home, somewhere they can feel safe.

The charity hopefully will fund the overall vision I have for Goals4Girls and that overall vision you will see hopefully in the next year, but that exit plan for a lot of these young girls is going to be what really changes the game and it hasn’t happened yet.

Once this happens, it’s going to be a game-changer for so many young women and girls who are leaving education and wondering what’s the next step.

We’re going to answer those questions with what we have.

RH: What tribute can you pay to your sponsors Adidas and hosts Arsenal Football Club?

FB: They’re supporting us to unlock the possibilities for young women and girls by using the power of football.

Football is such a multicultural and multilingual language, everyone can get together through football, and with Adidas and Arsenal coming together to support us, they really are standing up strong, they’re showing up in these spaces to make sure we continue unlocking the possibilities and continue to not leave a generation of young women and girls behind. They understand the power of football in various communities.

Arsenal work so hard within

their community projects. This is why Adidas have made sure that they specifically choose organisations which work heavily through their Adidas football collective.

These two supporters marrying up has allowed us to feed our solutions and work with many more young people. They have allowed everything which I’ve worked so hard for to be showcased.

RH: Tell me what it’s like to have a statue in recognition of your work?

FB: My family and the girls are seeing a woman who is working with them, a woman who looks like them, a woman who is balancing her baby and her business hand in hand. What does that tell them? It spoke volumes, because they wanted me to stand by myself with a football, but that doesn’t represent me.

What represents me is my kids and my business, and what I balance every day, and people need to be aware that you don’t have to give up one to have the other, even though it’s really difficult.

So, for me, that was a sign, that was me saying to people that anything is possible because your only barrier is going to be yourself. That is what that statue for me represents, it represents the unknown.

AUGUST 2023 THE VOICE |

47

Sport

Yankey tipping Yanks to shine on the world stage Former star says Three Lions will have work cut out to repeat Euro triumph. By Rodney Hinds

F

ORMER ENGLAND star Rachel Yankey gives her view on the Women’s World Cup currently taking place in Australia and New Zealand. The Three Lions have Chelsea’s Lauren James among their number, but Yankey is of the opinion that last year’s Euro winners will have their work cut out lifting the greatest prize in the sport.

The World Cup is really open this year, but I don’t think you can ever write off the USA “It’s a really open tournament because of injuries. So many teams have lost so many key players. I think it’s the team that can have the best spirit on their off days when they’re not playing their best matches, and they can come together and go through the tournament without picking up more injuries.

“These things are really important because I think you could look at Spain, France, America, England, Germany who all have the possibility of winning it. However, if I had to pick a winner, because of mentality and confidence, I don’t think you can ever write off the USA.” Sofia Smith, Asisat Oshoala and Georgia Stanway are the ones to watch “Sofia Smith for the USA is

one who I’m excited to watch, just to see what she’s got.

There is a lot of talk around her, I think she’s going to be a key player for America if they’re to do well.

“A player that I used to play with, Asisat Oshoala for Nigeria, I think can cause so many upsets. I think in terms of playing against her, it would be really really difficult.

“A key player for England I think will be Georgia Stanway, in terms of how she drives that midfield. I think you need a player that can change the momentum of the game and so I think she’ll be a key player.”

I’m disappointed in the FA after row over bonuses ... we have to keep moving forward “I’m disappointed that the row between the FA and the players happened. Going into a World Cup, you don’t need anything off the pitch that could disturb the build-up to the tournament.

“After winning the Euros and the way that the WSL is changing, the FA have backed the England team so much and have invested in them so highly.

While it paid off because the team won the Euros, to not have something agreed and to not have something in place doesn’t look like we’re moving forward.

STAR QUALITY: Chelsea’s Lauren James is set to play a key role for the Three Lions

Other nations can start to take over and if you’re a team that wants to be successful you always have to be moving forward and pushing. So that to me is a bit disappointing.

Sarina Wiegman is good enough to manage in the men’s game – she is a winning manager “I think that would depend on the team, the philosophy and whatever coach they wanted to

bring in. Obviously I think when you win the Euros twice with two different teams, it makes you a leading candidate in your own right for whatever job, whether that’s mens football or women’s football, but I think the team would have to be right for whatever she wants to do. The opportunity and the project would have to be the right one for her, but if you’re a winning manager, surely people want successful winning managers.

“Coaching is all about teaching and how you relate to people and how you give them the confidence in how to play as well as the tactical knowledge her and her staff has. So to me, it doesn’t matter about men or women.”

To play football, I had to break down barriers and stand up for what I believed in “In the early years there was a lot of discrimination regarding

that girls shouldn’t be playing football.

That is one of the hardest barriers to be able to break, but if you’re willing to challenge, go against what people are saying, stand up for what you believe in and have a go then you can change it over time. So they were probably the biggest barriers for me.”

Interview courtesy of Betway (betway.com/en/sports)

Football Black List regional events highlight work of unsung heroes city. The football culture is so prominent, with so many amazing inspirational figures across all levels of the game.

By Matthew Chadder A NEW domestic football season will provide nominations for the Football Black List.

The FBL is the foremost celebration of those from the community who are contributing to the beautiful game.

The Voice of Sport spoke to J’nae Ward, right, the organiser of the FBL’s regional events that have been hosted in Birmingham, Manchester and most recently in Nottingham.

MC: Do you hope to return again to Nottingham?

JW: Yes, I think in the future there is definitely an opportunity to return. Nottingham welcomed us with open arms and we really enjoyed delivering an event in such a vibrant

MC: What difference did you notice between the FBL in Nottingham and in London?

JW: We got a chance to really immerse ourselves into the local community and see what more needs to be done on a more intimate level. Each city brings something new and with every location we have a chance to create something tailored to their needs.

MC: What were the highlights in Nottingham?

JW: Witnessing two longstanding community clubs, Highfield Rangers FC and Leicester Nirvana FC receiving their awards. To have positively impacted lives for over 40 years and still continuing to do so is phenomenal and super inspiring. Both clubs have built incredible legacies and I wish them all the best in the future.

brilliant attendees is hard work and these events can put you under a lot of pressure so I’m super grateful for all the support from the national FA and the East Midlands. I want to thank the Nottinghamshire FA, Derbyshire FA and Leicestershire FA for their guidance throughout the delivery of the event. All concerned ensured those who deserve to be recognised were highlighted.

MC: What tribute can you pay to The FA for their support?

JW: Filling a room with such

MC: Why is there such a huge appetite for the Football Black List regional events?

JW: I think the major cities outside of London want an opportunity to showcase the amazing work that is taking place and also widen their networks. The FBL is in a great position to provide them with a platform to do this.

MC: What’s the future for the regional events?

JW: The FBL will continue to move throughout the community across the UK, highlighting those doing fantastic work and creating positive and unique spaces for everyone to network and celebrate.

48 | THE VOICE JUNE 2023

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