The Voice Newspaper December 2021

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ISSUE NO. 1925 £2.50

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RILSEE PAGE 28-29

ERY CHI GALL SAAT DON KINGS ROAD, LON

Merry Christmas to our readers

BBC DIVERSITY

IS SirALenny’s JOKE message: End the shame of all-white newsrooms

S

IR LENNY Henry has slammed the BBC for dragging its feet over black representation. The comedian, actor and media diversity campaigner

made his comments as it emerged that several regional BBC newsrooms are all-white.

TATE BRITAIN 1 D E C 2021 – 3 A P R 2022

READ MORE › Page 3

Supported by

The Deborah Loeb Brice Foundation With additional support from the Life Between Islands Exhibition Supporters Circle, Tate Americas Foundation, Tate International Council, Tate Patrons and Tate Members

Research supported by H Y U N D A I TAT E RESEARCH CENTRE: T R A N S N AT I O N A L In partnership with

Media partner

Njideka Akunyili Crosby Remain, Thriving (detail) 2018 Tate Purchased with funds provided by Michael and Sukey Novogratz (Tate Americas Foundation) 2020 © Njideka Akunyili Crosby. Commissioned by Art on the Underground.

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C ARIBBE AN - BRITISH ART 1950s – NOW

Inside THIS MONTH

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

1. First black hair TV ad to air on Channel 4

New column from Kelechi Okafor Police can shove their ‘apology’ p12

We report on the Christmas ad for natural Afro hair care brand Afrocenchix.

2. Deportation flight to Jamaica ‘in chaos’ as detainees win legal challenges

This piece reported the latest news as tensions ran high at detention centres.

3. Primary school in gang role-play row

Why it’s important to celebrate black Jesus – by Rev John Root p40

Parents at a south London school were furious after a session led by an ex-cop got black boys to play gang members.

4. Model makes history as first black plus-sized woman crowned Ms Great Britain

Makala Green’s money tips for Christmas p48

We speak to Kat Henry, the first plus-size woman to win the prestigious title.

5. Jamaica’s opposition leader renews calls to remove Queen as head of state Pressure builds in Kingston to follow the lead of Barbados and become a republic.

6. How to spot signs of mental health issues in men

Christmas is coming early for fans of Tory Lanez p50

KEEPING MONEY circulating within the community – by buying black – is not just about supporting black-owned business. It’s also a matter of economics.

The longer a pound stays within any community, the more opportunity that pound has to be invested and the more interest it earns. This is the difference between having money and accumulating wealth – the former offers a good life but the cash can disappear as quickly as it arrived.

The latter supports future generations with their education and ‘cultural capital’, buys properties and earns a greater stake in policy-making.

A study in America found that a dollar circulates on average within the African-American community for just six hours compared to 30 days in the east Asian community. We strongly suspect there will be a large gap in Britain, too.The Voice newspaper is unashamedly pro-black business, and that’s why we have published our fifth issue of the Black Business Guide.

This Christmas is a perfect time to keep money within our community by sourcing your presents from black businesses. Here are just some examples which can be found in the Black Business Guide... ● Black children’s books from iamjulietcoley.com ● Dolls at Abena’s Closet on Etsy: uk/shop/ AlexairesBox ● Children’s clothes at Zhmoodesigns (Instagram @ zhmoodesigns) ● Range of gifts including cards from lovejamii.com ● Cards at In Ya Feelings (Instagram @in_ya_feelings) ● Women’s fashion at melaninworldplus.com ● African-inspired clothing at tribrantclothing.com ● Toys and play materials from likemeforme.co.uk

7. Black Business Guide

Our guide makes it into the most viewed online content of the month.

There’s a lot more to come! Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce eyes gold at Paris 2024 p55

8. Demo today set to add pressure over Jamaica deportation flight

A second article covering the saga of the deportation got a lot of shares online.

9. Black supplementary schools are back and here to stay

A feature that explored how black parents are rejecting mainstream education.

10. Black and mixed race boys face no support from youth offending services, says report Shocking, but not surprising, statistics show that little has changed in this area.

This issue is 56 pages

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

Supporting black business this Christmas

We report on a social media video encouraging men to think about wellbeing.

What a year!

Voice of Sport's Rodney Hinds reflects on 2021 p53

EDITOR Lester Holloway E. lester.holloway@thevoice mediagroup.co.uk

Spotlight

ROUNDUP

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

NEWS DESK E. newsdesk@thevoice mediagroup.co.uk

There are more Christmas ideas in the Guide from other great blackowned businesses, so scan the QR code, right, to see more! The Voice wishes all our readers a happy and healthy Christmas full of joy and love.

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

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

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

SPORTS EDITOR Rodney Hinds E. rodney.hinds@thevoice mediagroup.co.uk

ADVERTISING AND SALES E. advertising@thevoicemedia group.co.uk CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS E. subscriptions@thevoicemedia group.co.uk

The Voice Newspaper Unit 1, Bricklayers Arms, Mandela Way, London, SE1 5SR T: 020 7510 0340 Web: www.voice-online.co.uk GV MEDIA GROUP LTD

DECEMBER 2021 THE VOICE

| 3

The big interview

‘Experiencing racism made me want to change things’ FIGURE OF INFLUENCE: Sir Lenny Henry has done so much to raise the issue of racism within the UK (photo: Barcroft Media via Getty Images); inset, Sir Lenny as a young comedian in 1984 (photo: PA Images)

Sir Lenny Henry reflects on the moment at the BAFTA awards in 2013 that made him become a leading champion of diversity. By Lester Holloway

L

ENNY HENRY recalled the moment that propelled him into being seen as a champion of racial diversity in the media – as well as a comedian and actor.

It was 2013, and Lenny had been acting in the West End when he was invited to host the BAFTA awards.

“Everybody that got up to collect a BAFTA Award was white. There were no black recipients that year.

“I was a bit drunk. I think I had four Martinis, and a couple of shandies... and a rum and Coke... and a glass of port, and some rum cake...

“I think I said to a guy outside, something like, ‘It’ll be “All White on the Night”’, and it went in all the papers, and I got a lot of stick for it, but a lot of black people said, ‘He’s right – where are we?’

Where are we in this industry that wants to represent us, but doesn’t allow us to be part of the creative process?

Where are we?’”

The lack of racial diversity in the media had long bugged him.

As a young comic he felt a “pinch in my soul” that the only

The industry doesn’t allow us to be part of the creative process black people he saw at the BBC were cleaning or serving in the canteen.

While he had expressed concerns about lack of diversity in the media before then, his comments at BAFTA established Sir Lenny as a serious and passionate activist for change.

His professional partnership with producer and author Marcus Ryder has been instrumental in championing the need for change, and they work together on the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity.

He said: “Although we’ve got some black people on Strictly, and MasterChef, (a) they always go out in the first week and (b) who’s producing that pro-

gramme? It’s rare to find a person of colour in the production team of those shows. So sh*t needs to change.”

Sir Lenny, 63, has been in the media for 46 years since winning popular TV competition New Faces way back in 1975 as an impressionist.

Since then, he has come a long way, becoming one of Britain’s favourite comics, a writer, an award-winning actor, a presenter, a knight of the realm, a professor, and the cofounder of Comic Relief.

IMPRESSIVE Alongside that impressive list, he is also an author, and has just launched two books at the same time – a children’s fantasy book and collection of essays called Black British Lives Matter.

The point that Sir Lenny is keen to stress, as far as lack of media diversity is concerned, is that it’s not good enough just to complain about it; we must get involved in order to make things better.

“BAFTA was a big turning point for me. I went from standing on the sidelines going, ‘Pfft!

Why aren’t there any black people in this production?’, to standing up and saying in public, ‘Things need to change’.

“And if you go through life,

Lenny on his new kids’ book “It’s a superhero story about a 12-year-old called Tunde, who can fly. He gets bullied at school. I don’t know about you, but I was bullied a lot at school.

So hopefully it’s relatable to the kids who read it.

“And then there’s this thing – if you had superpowers, what would you do? Would you use your powers for evil and get your own back on the bullies?

“Or would you aim for a greater good and help mankind? So Tunde has all those things to think about. Tunde has two or three friends that he can rely on, they have his back. And I think one of the main things that the book pushes is to have your friends around you and choose carefully who they are.” l The Boy With Wings is out now

if something happens, and you go, ‘Somebody should do something about this!’... really? It’s kind of you, you’re somebody.

And that’s what I realised.”

Sir Lenny also reflected on his journey as a comedian, and how he switched from early gags about being black to targeting racist attitudes.

In his second performance, after winning New Faces in 1975, he impersonated Al Jolson on the Black and White Minstrel Show, an appearance he regrets being persuaded to do by his family.

He said: “One of the first jokes I wrote was ‘Enoch Powell says he wants to send us all back home, and he wants to give us £1,000, which is great for me because I only live in

Dudley!’ Sometimes I got the jokes wrong, when the jokes were directed against me.

“And I realised that if I tell jokes against myself, what am I doing that for?

“I started to make jokes that were about the situation and about the politics rather than just about me being black. And so the jokes got better.”

APPALLING He recalled growing up five miles from the constituency of Enoch Powell, infamous for his ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech made when Sir Lenny was 10, and the equally appalling election campaign four years earlier in Smethwick – just three miles from his house – when the

Conservative candidate Peter Griffiths won with the slogan ‘If you want a n****r for a neighbour, vote Labour’.

“I was racially abused nearly every day going to school.

I don’t know about you, but that just seems to be par for the course. Somebody calls you a n*g-n*g, or a w*g or c**n or something. It was every day.

“I definitely learned to deal with it and I can’t fight for sh*t, but I learned to fight with my fists. And then I learned to fight with my brains. And then my life improved 100 per cent.

“My brothers fought a lot when they first came to this country, because they were being picked on by Teddy boys all the time. But in the end, policy is what changes things.”

Lenny on Black British Lives Matter with Marcus Ryder “Me and Marcus Ryder wanted to curate something that could be an institutional touch-point for anybody wishing to look at the state of what’s going on with black Britain today.

The chapters from Doreen Lawrence and Leroy Logan stand out for me among many great contributions.

“We have to stand together and be one. If we choose to be disjointed we’re never going to get this done.

“But if we choose to stand together, we can move this down the road a bit. And that’s what black British lives matter means.” l Black British Lives Matter is out now

4 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2021

Christmas feature

OUR FESTIVE MEMORIES With Christmas just around the corner, Vic Motune asks prominent black Britons about their experiences...

‘A gathering born out of love’ I’VE OFTEN said that growing up as a child in Jamaica, in very poor circumstances, I have no recollection of ever being given presents at Christmas. What I do recall, however, is the amount of joy and goodwill that was present in the home and in the community.

Church was a major part of that joy because it was there that we were reminded of the real meaning of Christmas. My church had lots of young people and we looked forward with great anticipation to the annual production of the Christmas story. The weeks of rehearsals would help to cement the story of the birth of Jesus – God incarnate (becoming human) and dwelling among us on earth.

Christmas is about love, and this was why I looked forward to it so much. The adults around me seemed at ease, joyful and relaxed.

OCCASION

Christmas was also not just a day; it was an occasion that you woke up to long before December 25.

The house would be cleaned, curtains and beddings changed. We got to help with the decorations. As children, our job was to ‘shell’ the green gungo peas so they’d be ready for the rice ‘n’ peas.

A cake would be baked in our makeshift oven (a kerosine oil tin). We stood nearby as the finished product was iced, hoping there would be enough icing left on the side of the bowl for us to lick clean. We would help to pick the sorrel. This would later be made with lots of ginger, fortified wine and a good portion of white rum.

When served, the children were reminded that we could only have a little of it due to the alcohol content.

The pot roast beef or pork was well seasoned and filled the air with a delightful aroma. And we did man-

‘I can wait for gifts now!’

AS A CHILD I was naturally impatient and I would wake up on Christmas morning at about 3 or 4am when my parents were still asleep and tiptoe downstairs in excitement and anticipation to see the presents.

I will admit to one year unwrapping a present before everyone woke up and then neatly smoothing the Sellotape back down so it looked like I hadn’t opened it.

These days I’m happy to wait until after dinner to open my presents, but that’s taken 50 years of training! Another favourite childhood memory is an album of soul Christmas carols by various artists that would always be playing on Christmas Day. There’s something really wonderful about sitting down to eat with family and being able to gaze around, see the people that you love around you.

That’s a really special moment.

— Sonita Alleyne OBE, Master of Jesus College, Cambridge

CHILDHOOD MEMORIES: Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin age to get more than a sip of Guinness stout mixed with condensed milk!

Though it was unsaid, we knew we had the best present ever in the gathering of the family over food and drink. It was a gathering born out of love, the kind of love that began all those years ago with the birth of the Christ child.”

— Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin, MBE, Bishop of Dover

‘A night to celebrate’ THINKING BACK on my childhood in Guyana (formerly British Guiana) the weather may have been tropical but everything was about winter and an English Christmas – pictures of robins, snowmen, carol singers, and the nativity.

My mum was an amazing cook – so it was delicious eggnog in the morning, Christmas cake she had started maturing months before, a huge ham with cloves although being a vegetarian it was not for me. My brothers and I decorated the tree and sprayed fake snow just

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about everywhere. But what was even more special to me then, and now with my family, was not Christmas but what we called Old Year’s Night (New Year’s Eve in the UK).

This was a night to celebrate that we had made it through the last year, to be thankful for family and friends still around and remember those that passed during the year and decide what we would seek to fight for in the year to come.

— Gina Miller, entrepreneur and campaigner

@thevoicenews

‘I find myself in Accra almost every year’ CHRISTMAS IS without a doubt my favourite time of the year. My mum is insistent on Christmas breakfast/brunch. She is as noisy as possible in the morning as she cusses the big-eyed and big-bellied, who won’t help but will no doubt eat. As if we would get away without helping!

Now that my parents have retired to Ghana I find myself in Accra almost every year for Christmas. Other than completely different weather the routine is pretty much the same. But everything is definitely bigger. More food, more family and even more laughs.

Once all the food is ready everyone gathers to pray. This divine intervention simmers all disagreements over who didn’t do what, as we get stuck into the buffet. After one serving the kids, bored of their decoy gifts, get the ball rolling with presents. There’s something for everyone as we’ve always been taught to have spare gifts for those that gravitate to the house.

As the brandy, the wine and sun goes down, music and family get turned up. This usually starts with the kids, joined swiftly by older relatives who insist they’re just trying to show them how it’s done.

— Bell Ribeiro-Addy, MP for Streatham

‘I’d watch dad fall asleep’ THE THING I most clearly remember about Christmas as a child was my parents cleaning the house because people were coming round. We’d eat dinner and then I’d watch my parents fall asleep on the sofa. But I’ve recently realised I’ve become the person who falls asleep on the sofa after Christmas dinner.

Someone will say after dinner, ‘Let’s watch a film’, and I’m all for it. And then, as the titles start to roll, I’m gone!

And people say that’s boring. I’ve worked out the reason they say it’s boring is that when we’re children, somebody else is working out what to do on Christmas Day for us.

The presents, the food

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and everything else. Now those people who say it’s boring are big people and are supposed to organise everything, and they don’t know what to do. After they’ve given the kids their presents, they’ll say, ‘Nah, Christmas is not for us’. And then, around 9pm, someone will say, ‘Ahh, that’s another Christmas gone.’

— Eddie Nestor, broadcaster and comedian

www.voice-online.co.uk

SEPTEMBER 2021

THE VOICE| 5

6 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2021

Christmas feature

Buy black this Christmas Sinai Fleary offers a few ideas from black creators that are perfect for gifting this year SPOILT FOR CHOICE: From socks and slippers to prayer journals and puzzles, there’s something for everyone

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ITH THE launch of initiatives like Black Pound Day, we are spending more money with black businesses.

Check out our special Christmas gift guide featuring some amazing products from black businesses.

You will find something for all of the family.

For him Beard ConnecX by Katrena Lawford and Justina Naik (1) These lush male-grooming products will have the men in your family looking sharp.

The product range includes beard balms, beard combs and face balms with Vitamin E for healthy skin and hair.

This black-owned brand aims to celebrate men’s physical and mental wellbeing with every sale. £8-£56, beardconnecx.com

Diaspora Socks by Remi (2) These socks will not only keep his feet warm but will allow him to represent his heritage at the same time. These socks come in many different flags representing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and South America.

They are cozy and stylish and will make a great gift or stocking filler (no pun intended). £10, diasporasocks.com For her SAE shoes by Sylvia Edionseri (3) This brand is a premium blackowned footwear company that has a range of luxurious slippers in UK sizes 7-13.

The Esmee sheepskin slippers will make a great present especially during the chilly nights. £60, mysaelondon.com Prayer Journals by Liz Fashanu (4) These beautiful journals are a great way to write down your

These journals are a great way to write down prayers prayers and deep thoughts. The journals come with over 150 designed lined pages. £13, honeyluxecollection. co.uk For all the family Christmas cards and baubles by SLH Designs [Sharlene Harding] (5) These Christmas cards have a variety of hilarious sayings and the baubles are unique and will be sure to catch the eye of any visitors.

Cards £2.80, baubles £4.75, etsy.com/uk/shop/ bySLHdesigns

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Melanopoly by Black Child Promotions (6) This board game provides an introduction to building generational wealth, group economics, understanding real estate and black history and will be the perfect addition to any family game night. £24.99, melanopoly.com

any child. Cocoa Girl and Cocoa Boy magazines are full of great content, educational resources and inspirational black role models.

These magazines were founded by Serlina Boyd and were inspired by her daughter, Faith. £25, cocoagirl.com or cocoaboy.com

For the children Tafari Dolls (7) These gorgeous black dolls come in many designs and even have a special black angel/fairy Christmas tree topper.

Plus they have a great selection of black father Christmas musical snow globes.

From £24.99, tafaridolls. etsy.com

Culture Bows (9) Culture Bows has a cute range of hair accessories.

These designs are perfect for the festive season and include African fabric and special Christmas designs. £3.50-£6, culturebows. square.site/

Yearly subscription to Cocoa Girl and Cocoa Boy magazine by Serlina Boyd (8) A yearly subscription of the UK’s first black children’s magazine is the perfect gift for

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Puzzle Huddle by Matthew and Marnel (10) These puzzles will make a wonderful gift. They come in a variety of images and four different sizes. £8.86-£10, puzzlehuddle.com

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My Favourite Bible Stories by Kelly Jade Nicholls and Sarah Fletcher (11) This children’s book takes children on an adventure around the world and encourages them to develop a relationship with God. The book is beautifully illustrated and features some of the Bible’s most enchanting stories.

From £11, Amazon.co.uk For babies and toddlers Little Omo by Desiree Asomuyide (12) Little Omo was created during lockdown and takes inspiration from Desiree’s Nigerian heritage.

The brand includes inclusive flashcards that will help your baby or toddler learn the alphabet, numbers and parts of the body, using images that represent a variety of skin tones, facial features and hair textures.

From £14.99, littleomo.com

www.voice-online.co.uk

SEPTEMBER 2021

Made with spices, flour and sustainable power.

WADE CBE, FOUNDER, ISLAND DELIGHT, BIRMINGHAM

With our continued support, Island Delight were able to install solar panels, switch to LED lighting and convert to recyclable packaging.

So now they can keep producing 55,000 spicy patties every day, just more sustainably.

By the side of business

THE VOICE| 7

8 | THE VOICE

DECEMBER 2021

Christmas feature

‘Tis the season to invest Securing online purchases of digital art now could pay off – and lead to the brightest of futures SMART MOVES: Clockwise, from main, it’s wise to keep an eye on current trends and stocks (photo: Anna Nekrashevich/ Pexels); this screengrab shows how NFTs can be found and bought online; assets can be purchased with either crypto or regular currency on websites including Enter.Art, pictured; OpenSea is the world’s largest NFT marketplace

By Joel Campbell and Juanita Rosenior

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IFT GIVING at Christmas can get expensive – but what if there was a way to spend your money on items that will hold or appreciate in value?

Many of you would have read or heard about the explosion of interest in digital art this year, specifically nonfungible tokens (NFTs). For those that haven’t, blockchain technology has allowed for digital artists to track ownership of their creations, garner royalties from secondary sales and generally create a value that previously didn’t exist. It is a digital ledger of transactions that is duplicated and distributed across the entire network of computer systems.

Overnight, some artists have become big names in the world of digital art and their work has increased in value, making what some only saw previously as a JPEG image a very cool and trendy gift to give away this Christmas.

But where can you buy and sell NFTs? The following platforms

are some of the more favoured destinations for both buyers and sellers of NFTs: OpenSea; Rarible; Foundation; Enter.Art; SuperRare; Nifty Gateway, Portion.App and KnownOrigin.

CryptoKitties, an Ethereum -based blockchain game that allows players to purchase, collect, breed, and sell NFT tokens in the form of virtual cats, was one of the earliest NFTs to be unveiled. The success saw it go viral and, to date, this NFT game has raised over $40 million (£29.8 million) in sales.

Anyone with a mobile phone or access to the internet can receive an NFT. A recipient simply has to download a wallet that can host it, such as MetaMask or Trust Wallet.

EASY There is a bit of technical jargon that can surround the purchasing of an NFT, but most platforms make it fairly easy to navigate the process. While most require you to change

your money into a crypto currency in order to buy an NFT, there are some where you can just use your credit or debit card.

Prices for NFT art vary from the affordable to the quite frankly obscene, but there is a place for everyone.

Whether you like collectables or one-off pieces of fine art, giving someone an NFT this Christmas could be their first introduction into holding and understanding the value of digital assets.

If you need to do your research on who or what is hot, check out @NFT_Community on social media, owned by artist Fabien Soazandry.

He told The Voice: “You can buy video games for kids I guess, but they won’t have the chance of turning it into life-changing money. Imagine being gifted a MekkaVerse NFT or a Bored Ape or a CyberKong, all of these have the ability to

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Digital artists have seen their work increase in value yield a passive income. It’s the ultimate Christmas gift.”

For those who may want to take things in a slightly different direction, the prospect of being a virtual land owner may appeal or, as it’s Christmas, it may be appealing to someone you know. Why not buy them some?

It’ll be a while before Facebook, or Meta as they have been rebranded, are ready, but in the meantime check out The Decentraland experience, a 3D virtual reality platform that consists of 90,601 parcels of land.

On December 15, 2017, Decentraland held their first LAND auction, called the Terraform Event, to distribute the first parcels of LAND to their online community.

You can visit the Decentraland Marketplace to browse through all of the available

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LANDs or Estates of LAND that are currently for sale.

It can, however, be a little expensive and it would be wise to gain some understanding of the space if you have little or no knowledge before making any purchase.

As interest in the metaverse space grows, so will the value of virtual real estate.

As of March 2021, on average one parcel of LAND in Decentraland sold for approximately $5,800. At the time of writing this article, plots are selling for over $100,000.

For those who aren’t so sure about the digital market, there’s always the chance to invest in physical art.

“I think for a long time people saw investing in art as something we in the black communities couldn’t do,” says Gallery OCA founder, Sherece Rainford, pictured left.

The gallery wants to shatter this myth and educate people on how investing in arts is a viable option.

Rainford enthused: “People are used to seeing the auction house experience on TV and films or have heard of art pieces going for millions of pounds, so on the surface buying for

voicenews

investment can seem inaccessible, but that really doesn’t have to be the case.

“For example, you can invest in early-career artists who are just beginning to gain recognition in their genre and pick up pieces for as little as £100.”

What Rainford wants people to realise is that investing in art is a long-term strategy.

“Just like stocks and bonds, you get the best out of your investment when you buy to keep for a sustained period, which could be at least five years.

RETURNS “The longer you hold on to a piece, the better the returns.”

Investing in art can go beyond money. There is also an additional benefit for buyers as they become preservers of history, which ultimately benefits everyone in the process.

Rainford continues: “It’s not just the buyer and the artist that benefits from a sale. Art is a mode of storytelling that can be used as educational talking points encouraging discussions around culture and history.

“This can be shared by all to all, enriching the way we see the world.”

www.voice-online.co.uk

SEPTEMBER 2021

THE VOICE| 21

10 | THE VOICE

DECEMBER 2021

News feature

Year in review

2021: Living in turbulent times Leah Mahon looks back on a year which featured the controversial Sewell race report JAN

January: Ones to watch making waves

THE BEGINNING of 2021 was marked by highlighting key black figures making strides in their industries.

The Voice profiled the likes of Bond star Lashana Lynch, pictured below, London artist Nines and comedian Stevo the Mad. But almost a year on, the likes of media personalities ZeZe Mills and Munya Chawawa are both up for gongs at this year’s coveted MOBO Awards.

The social media stars both crossed over onto the small screen when Channel 4 announced co-hosting spots, with Mills fronting

APR

topical debate show Unapologetic and fun-loving comedian Chawawa on a Series of Complaints.

The ZeZe Mills Show, known for bringing honest conversations to the table, recently secured the likes of award-winning artist Ed Sheeran as one of the long list of high-profile stars. Both media personalities continue to build and engage their online audiences through debate and comedy skits.

Budding actor Jordan Nash has also reaped success in 2021 following his nomination for best supporting actor for his role in Aladdin at the Young Entertainer Awards.

April: Anniversary of Stephen Lawrence’s murder and the Brixton uprising of ’81

IN APRIL, The Voice led our front page with two defining moments in black British history: the Brixton Uprising of ’81 and the tragic murder of Stephen Lawrence.

The Voice broke the story of the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence at a bus stop in 1993.

His death was visceral and felt by many among the black community, prompting the findings of the Macpherson Report in

1999 following a landmark public inquiry where for the first time the Metropolitan Police had been labelled as institutionally racist.

Only 12 years earlier, the streets of Brixton erupted following the arrest of a black man.

Lord Scarman led the report following the events of 1981 and concluded that there was “no doubt racial disadvantage was a fact of current British life”.

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February: The death of Mohamud Mohammed Hassan in police custody

WHEN A British Somali man died suddenly and unexpected in police custody, it prompted fresh debate on the deaths in custody at the hands of police in the UK and finding justice for a family left behind.

Mohamud Mohammed Hassan, inset, was arrested and taken to Cardiff Bay police station in Wales on January 9 and was later released from custody without charge.

His family claim he said he was beaten by cops, but the police say he had been involved in a fight prior to being arrested.

When he returned home, the 24-year-old never woke up.

MAY

As thousands marched in Cardiff city, prominent campaigners also led calls for justice alongside Mohamud’s grieving family, and at the time told The Voice that his death was “a grim and tragically familiar start for 2021. Black lives will continue to matter”.

Up to six police officers were served misconduct notices in the months after his death while an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Complaints said there have launched an investigation, and on January 12 said there was “no physical trauma injury to explain a cause of death.”

May: Floyd’s murderer brought to justice

THE MURDER of George Floyd in May 2020 sent shockwaves around the world in what was described by many as a modern day lynching.

Black Lives Matter protests surged through almost every country, including in the UK where a summer of demonstrations shone a new light on how race relations on our shores shaped the fabric of everyday life for black Britons. The Voice led with an article posing this very question: “What does Chauvin’s conviction mean?”

Derek Chauvin, the white police officer filmed kneeling on the neck of Mr Floyd for nearly nine minutes, was convicted of his murder just over a year

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to the day he was killed.

His sentencing of 22-anda-half years in prison raised new questions of what could change in not just US race relations, but throughout the UK as well in the aftermath of the Race Report.

In a digital age, through social media and smartphones, for the first time it seemed the disadvantaged had a chance at justice.

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MAR

March: The ‘Race Report’ furore

A NEW GOVERNMENT report about race in the UK and set up by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in the US was already fraught with as much anticipation as it was controversy.

Already heavily criticised for the year-long wait for the findings, the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report – dubbed the ‘Race Report’ – prompted uproar when it was determined that the UK was not institutionally racist.

Leading medical professionals, government figures and community groups all took part in the mounting backlash against the government.

An open letter was written

JUN

by 27 trade unions calling the report “reprehensible,” and celebrities whose names had apparently co-signed the report came out against the findings.

The resignation of former No 10 race adviser Samuel Kasuma followed at the height of the controversy after he allegedly tried to leave his role months before, accusing the Conservative Government of pursuing “politics steeped in division”.

June: 73 years since Windrush

THIS JUNE marked 73 years since the arrival of hundreds of Caribbean migrants invited to help rebuild a post-war Britain.

For a generation already in turmoil with the ongoing fight for their right to remain in the UK, The Voice led with highlighting the Windrush Caribbean Film Festival (WCFF). On a “mission to educate, celebrate and remember”, the festival aimed to encompass the rich stories of West Indians through screenings, talkbacks and a digital storytelling, among themes of racism, colonialism and immigration.

The WCFF focused on the origins and lasting history

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of Notting Hill Carnival through to playing mas, its music and the impact it has had on multicultural Britain.

The celebration has come through challenges, such as restricting the parade route, but it is still going strong, particularly in its move to digital following the pandemic.

The WCFF was a chance for the community to lead their celebrations in a tumultuous year.

www.voice-online.co.uk

DECEMBER 2021 THE VOICE | 11

Year in review JUL

white people – figures that were fuelled by mistrust of the vaccine and the healthcare system. The figures raised concerns among senior medical professionals throughout a pandemic

that had already disproportionately claimed the lives of black and minority ethnic people. A shocking 35 per cent of almost 2,000 critically ill patients with COVID-19 were from a BAME background, despite forming only 13 per cent of the UK population.

For many, the pandemic brought with it uncertainty and a staggering loss of life for countless families.

August: Making Black Love Last feature offers heartwarming tales

THE Making Black Love Last column gave The Voice readers a unique look into the lives of committed, married couples in a time when portrayals of “black love” so often go unseen or are shrouded with claims of colourism.

Week on week, readers followed the journeys of black couples through to romances that stood the test of time. The last cou-

OCT

UNITED WE STAND: Support for the Windrush generation (photos: Getty Images)

July: Third wave of COVID-19 sweeps across black Britain

AS THE third COVID-19 wave gripped the UK this summer, more reports began to emerge on how black people remained more at risk from rising infection rates.

The success of the NHS vaccine rollout led to the easing of Covid restrictions, but the black population’s contribution to this was at least 20 percentage points lower compared to

AUG

News feature

ple to capture the hearts of The Voice community was Mavis and John Ryan who marked 50 years of marriage this summer.

With Mavis being from Jamaica and John from

Monserrat, it was unusual for couples in years gone by to marry outside of their island nationalities – but they defied all social obstacles and went on to have six children.

The couple, who arrived in England as part of the Windrush generation, met on UK soil but have shared many memories when introducing each other to their home islands.

October: Black History Month shines light on forgotten figures

THIS OCTOBER, The Voice celebrated Black History Month by commemorating often forgotten, yet key figures throughout black British history.

On both sides of the Atlantic, the diaspora often grow up consuming the stories of Rosa Parks, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King as trailblazers in our history. But as black Britons seek to understand and carve out their own identity, scholars such as Peter Fryer, David Olusoga and Edward Scobie have all been instrumental in championing the contribution of black British people towards society throughout our books and in English schools.

From the presence of Africans during the Tudor

era to abolitionist Olaudah Equiano, pictured above, Paul Stephenson and Roy Hackett who led the Bristol Boycott of 1981, and the arrival of the Windrush Generation between 1948-71 after the Second World War, they all remain prominent figures in out history, but most notably this Black History Month showed how “ordinary

people” can be at the forefront of a defining and rich history.

It was the work and anti-racism efforts of generations gone by that have made way for the first black train driver, Wilston Samuel Jackson, who was honoured with a plaque at King’s Cross Station, and Betty Campbell, who was cemented into history as Wales’ first black headteacher.

Meanwhile, England footballers Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford are inspiring a new generation of young black people.

Black British history, a once forgotten realm of the diaspora, continues to be a prominent feature in shaping our history today.

SEP

September: Haiti hit by huge earthquake

FOLLOWING A 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck the Caribbean island of Haiti on August 14, The Voice led with the aftermath of what was in store for a nation already on the brink.

The devastating impact came after a magnitude 5.9 earthquake in 2018 which killed at least 12 people, while a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in 2010 de-

NOV

stroyed the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and killed an estimated 310,000 people. This time around, the death toll stood at around 2,000. Many on the island grappled with turning to normalcy only weeks after the assassination of the Haitian president and ongoing struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The nation turned to foreign aid but many doubted

whether this would help the livelihoods of Haitians following the 2010 earthquake that never saw the real benefit of funds.

It posed new questions on the use of foreign aid throughout the global south and connected the Caribbean diaspora to a reality not far from our own very doorsteps.

November: Jamaica deportation opposed by campaigners

AS NEWS of another deportation flight swirled, The Voice covered the impact of a charter flight to Jamaica on those that had been detained and the families they were leaving behind.

The Home Office’s decision to plough ahead with the deportation flight – the third one to the Caribbean island – saw campaigners rally around those worst affected to stop the plane.

Those at risk became known as the Jamaica 50 and shared stories of health concerns ranging from HIV to high blood pressure amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

One spoke exclusively to The Voice and feared he would never see his young family again if deported.

Some even caught COVID while at an immigration detention centre, isolated from their loved ones.

Those in opposition to the flight became the voice for countless being portrayed as hardened and dangerous criminals, who

had since changed their lives while in the UK. Their efforts resulted in just three Jamaican nationals being deported, in what was considered a victory against the Government in the targeting of people throughout Africa and the Caribbean.

12 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2021

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

Polymath & Baby Girl

WHEN ‘SORRY’ SEEMS TO BE THE EASIEST WORD The Met police can keep their apologies over the way our community continues to be treated

W

HEN I was approached by The Voice to become a columnist, I was curious to know what I would be expected to write about, and I was pleasantly surprised to be told I could write about anything – within reason! – that takes my fancy.

Thinking about it, I don’t really know why I asked the question, because no matter the brief that I am given in any situation, I always make it a priority to centre my black womanhood.

It is clear to me that in all the pieces I’ve written for various publications, I am always speaking from a place of my Nigerian-born black Britishness, and that is the way I would like it to stay.

It is a radical act to exist in a society that has racialised me as ‘black’ and still refuse to be overwhelmed by the systemic and institutional oppression that comes as a result of it.

To be able to write well and truthfully about the experience I have as a black person in the UK, I must be able to step back and look objectively at my situation and how it intersects with so many other people’s experiences. To step back means to remember that joy and peace are my actual birthright and not the nonsense that a wayward society tries to impose upon people like myself.

It is with this commitment to looking at events objectively which allows for me to see where we – as black people in the UK – are being taken for fools, especially in the way policing is carried out when something happens to us.

To be clear, I am not someone who is of the belief that policing can ever be done “right”, because the very foundation upon which it was formed was already flawed and thus, by design, the system is inherently

The system is inherently anti-black.

No diversity will fix this anti-black. No amount of diversity in recruitment will fix this.

It was due to the tragic murder of Stephen Lawrence and the woeful negligence of the Met police when investigating the case that led to the force being labelled in the Macpherson report as “institutionally racist”.

Last year, Britain’s most senior police officer, Dame Cressida Dick, stated it was “unhelpful” to still label the Met police as institutionally racist and yet still insisted she was not in denial about racism within the force.

EVIDENCE But babes, you have to be in denial to be presented with insurmountable evidence of a clear bias against black people by the police time and time again and still diligently state that the force isn’t “institutionally racist”.

In fact, Dame Cressida, pictured right, went as far as to suggest that we should consider other terms to describe the oppressive dynamics purported by the police towards the black community.

What Dame Cressida needs to shine her eyes to see is that racism by any other name would be just as deadly.

It is a manifestation of privilege to ignore the clear intent

of particular words and their urgency, and insist that the words be changed so that you might be able to better engage with the cause. It is either you care about injustice and corruption, or you don’t.

Focusing on semantics and word-based musical chairs speaks to Dame Cressida’s ignorance at best or a more sinister complicity at worst.

What has got me doing all this long talking? Well, a lot of things actually. More recently, though, it is the fact that the Met Police said they would issue a formal apology to Mina Smallman, who is the mother of murdered sisters Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry.

What is infuriating is the choice by the Met police to apologise while simultaneously denying that there was any racial bias in their gross mishandling of Nicole and Bibaa’s case from the moment they were alerted to the fact that the sisters were missing.

I stand in solidarity with Mina Smallman when she insists racism played a role in the many instances the Met police fell short of doing right by her daughters.

The IOPC’s report states that they found “no suggestion that racial bias played a part” in how useless the police proved themselves to be during the investigation regarding the sisters before and after their bodies were found.

Remember they’re saying all of this with their chest.

They are fully aware that two police officers were found to have conducted themselves horrendously

TRAGIC: Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry enjoyed life to the full as proud black women.

But their murders and response to them by the Met Police added considerably to the heartache of their family

Personally, I do not respect what the IOPC is meant to represent when they took pictures next to Nicole and Bibaa’s dead bodies.

They then sent those pictures to a WhatsApp group.

At this point, I do not respect what the IOPC is meant to represent because again, their committee is also the fruit of a poisoned tree which has grown from poisoned soil.

Nothing good can come from any of it because the ‘independence’ is feigned.

The nature of racism is that it shape-shifts and is deeply entrenched within the dominant culture.

For those who experience the violence of racial trauma frequently, we are able to identify the dynamic.

To articulate said dynamic to those who have been socialised to not know of racism’s existence – and to be ill-equipped to

discuss it – feels most times like a Sisyphean task.

The IOPC’s report shows that in every aspect of Nicole and Bibaa’s case, something that should’ve been carried out as part of protocol just wasn’t done – and this is the basis of the apology from the Met.

USELESS However, the apology is useless when the Met Police and the IOPC do not want to be honest about why these things weren’t done – especially since we see the stark difference in the expeditious nature of policing regarding the tragic murder of Sarah Everard by Wayne Couzens, who was a serving Met police officer at the time of killing her.

Danyal Hussein has now been sentenced to 35 years in prison for the murder of Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry.

It weighs on my heart greatly when I think about Nicole and Bibaa celebrating Bibaa’s 46th birthday and truly taking ownership of what it means for us as black women to feel joy.

That joy was snatched away

by Danyal and further disre-

spected by a call handler who failed to acknowledge the urgency of the missing persons call.

The lives of Nicole and Bibaa meant very little to PC Deniz Jaffer and PC Jamie Lewis, who took selfies by the sisters’ dead bodies. The inspector who closed the case and described the joyful picnic that Nicole and Bibaa enjoyed as a “chaotic celebration” might not even consider himself to harbour racial bias but probably couldn’t explain why he chose those loaded words either.

Sorry seems to be an easy word for the Met police to throw around whenever a huge failing is highlighted as it pertains to the black community.

However, those apologies are useless when you consider that a true apology requires changed behaviour. From the wilful withholding of information about the New Cross fire in 1981 to the mishandling of the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993, to the heartbreaking lack of care for Nicole and Bibaa’s life in 2020 – the behaviour of the Met Police has remained unchanged.

Keep your apologies.

Kelechi Okafor is an actor, writer, public speaker and host of the Say Your Mind podcast and founder of Kelechnekoff Fitness studio.

@thevoicenewspaper

@thevoicenews

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www.voice-online.co.uk

SEPTEMBER 2021

“ Growing up, I couldn’t see myself in any officers. I want to change that for others.”

Sergeant Ogunsanya

I saw maybe one or two Black male police officers as a child.

I don’t want younger generations to feel like that. I want my journey to inspire them to believe they can be a police officer too.

Now more than ever, become a Met police officer.

Search Met Police Careers.

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14 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2021

Christmas feature

Our Christmas traditions SPECIAL MOMENTS: Putting up the Christmas tree is special for many families (photo: Drazen Zigic); inset left, a glass or two of sorrell can provide some extra festive spirit

So many pastimes are at the heart of our celebrations at this magical time of the year – and it wouldn’t be the same without them, says Sinai Fleary

M

ANY OF the Christmas traditions that exist within the black British community have been passed down through the generations, and that is why many practices can trace their origins back to the Caribbean and Africa.

Here, we highlight some of the most important – and explain some of the history behind them.

Church Christmas is one of the busiest times of the year for churches and, according to the latest statistics, over 2.3 million people in England attended a Christmas church service in 2019, compared to an average weekly attendance of some 783,000 people.

For many black British Christians, attending church is always at the heart of their festive celebrations.

Kemi Bamgbose is an author, from Croydon, south London.

She told The Voice she makes it her duty to go to church during Christmas.

She said: “If I can’t get to my own church on Christmas Day, I will go to a local one.

“It is very important for me to go, pray and remember the birth of Jesus Christ, his sacrifice and the fact that he was a gift to the world.”

Food Ms Bamgbose, who is of Nigerian and Sierra Leonean heritage, said for many people of African descent, a Christmas fusion meal is always on the menu.

She said: “When I was growing up we always had a mixture of Nigerian and English food, which would include roast potatoes, turkey, salmon, Jollof rice and Nigerian stewed beans, called Ewa, and stuffing.”

Online debates about whether rice and peas should be included in the annual Christmas dinner have sparked a lot of controversy in recent years.

But most of us in the Caribbean diaspora will agree that rice and peas definitely

Practices can trace their origins back to the Caribbean and Africa belong on the Christmas dinner table.

A typical Caribbean Christmas dinner will usually include chicken, turkey, curry goat, rice and peas, macaroni cheese, roast potatoes, coleslaw, salad and, of course, plantain.

Plus, many will have a special Christmas ham as part of their dish.

This speciality and seasoned ham remains one of the biggest sellers in Caribbean speciality food shops and markets around the UK. Caribbean-style Christmas cake, which is made with rumsoaked dried fruit, can be found in most homes during the winter months.

The secret recipes for these cakes have been passed down from generation to generation, and the method of soaking the fruit in rum for many months all contributes to the build-up to Christmas.

After all, you can’t really call any cake a Christmas cake unless the dried fruit has been soaking for a minimum of three months.

Drinks Only a few drinks spring to mind when we think of Christmas. One maybe egg nog, but another is sorrel, which is made from dried or fresh hibiscus flowers. For as long as many of us can remember, we have seen those deep red flowers boiling in the kitchen during December.

Student Zakiya McKenzie says “the drink is such a wellknown Jamaican December delicacy that it is sometimes called ‘flower of Jamaica tea’, or Agua de Jamaica in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean”.

But why is sorrel such a special Caribbean Christmas drink?

Charity It is the season to give back, and more and more of us are opting to volunteer in homeless shelters or food banks during the holidays.

Another growing trend within the black British community is the gifting of parcels or shoeboxes filled with small toys and books to underprivileged children and orphanages around the world.

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The importance of drinking sorrel can be traced back to West Africa. It is the national drink of Senegal and is called bissap. In Nigeria, it is referred to as zobo drink. In West Africa, the drinking of bissap is often used as a way to mark big occasions like weddings.

Music Whether it is traditional Christmas hymns, Gospel music, a Reggae rendition of old Christmas songs or Mariah Carey’s classic All I Want for Christmas Is You, music plays a central part of the festive season for many of us.

Many believe drinking sorrel may have been passed down

by West African ancestors During the transatlantic slave trade, approximately 12.5 million Africans were forced into slavery and shipped to the United States, the Caribbean and South America.

Many of those who ended up in the Caribbean came from parts of West Africa like Senegal, and many believe the importance of drinking sorrel may have been passed down from our West African ancestors.

The fact that the consumption of sorrel still remains an integral part of African and Caribbean culture all these years later is further evidence of the direct connection between the two parts of the world and is definitely a reason to raise a glass or two this Christmastime.

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Music carries memories and has always been part of Christmas celebrations in black communities. Whether that is raiding our record and CD collections to create the perfect festive atmosphere or having a dance-off with the children, Christmas is becoming the time when so many of us are sharing our music ‘from back in the days’ and introducing those classics to the younger generations in our families.

Candles It is not just the smell of food cooking that has become synonymous with Christmas, but also the smell of scented candles. Many households will light a candle to symbolise light and the life of Jesus. Also, more recently, candles are being used to remember loved ones.

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Games Christmas seems to be the one time of the year when everyone can get together and have some fun, and increasingly that means pulling out the board games, playing cards, dominoes or Ludo board for some friendly competition.

Christmas is not just in December Many people within the black community will be waiting until January to celebrate Christmas.

Orthodox Christians of Ethiopian and Eritrean heritage will celebrate Christmas on January 7 – because the Ethiopian calendar is seven years behind the western one. For many Ethiopians and Eritreans, the preparations to celebrate Ganna/Genna (Christmas) began on November 25, with a 43-day fast, known as Tsome Nebiyat (Fast of the Prophets). During the fast, people will refrain from eating meat, dairy and eggs throughout the fasting period.

Members of the Rastafari community also celebrate Christmas on January 7, and it is traditionally marked with a Nyabinghi gathering, a combination of prayers, drumming, chanting and an Ital (vegan) meal.

However you and your family celebrate Christmas, have a wonderful time from everyone at The Voice!

www.voice-online.co.uk

SEPTEMBER 2021

‘SIMPLY THE BEST’ DAILY TELEGRAPH

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16 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2021

Marcus Ryder

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

Monitoring the media

Don’t believe the (TikTok) hype For all the social media posts and hashtags, very little has been achieved on the ground in the battle against racial inequality – but there is hope

T

HIS YEAR has proved we need structural change, not Instagram activism.

After a tumultuous 2020, and the Black Lives Matter protests that swept the world, 2021 was always going to be the year when we saw if there was really any substance behind the multitude of corporate anti-racism statements, social media posts professing Black Lives Matter, Instagram black squares and calls for so-called allyship.

If 2020 was the question; “How is society going to address deep seated systemic racism?”. 2021 seemed to answer with an ambivalent shrug.

The fact of the matter is, if one looks at the statistics surrounding black British people in the UK, the racial inequalities run deep, and in many ways got worse in 2021 with very little being done to address them.

In 2021, the number of stop and searches carried out by the police in England and Wales

If one looks at the statistics, racial inequalities run deep rose by 24 per cent to almost 700,000 in a single year, with black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) males aged 15-19 making up over a fifth of all searches, despite making up a far smaller proportion of the population.

And the number of searches that resulted in arrests fell from 13 per cent to 11 per cent, effectively meaning the number of people who were wrongly stopped and had broken no laws rose.

BLEAK The one “silver lining”, if you can call it that, is black people were “only” seven times more likely to be stopped than their white counterparts, compared with nine times more likely in 2020.

When it comes to maternal health in the UK, black women in 2021 are still four times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth compared to white women.

Again, the “silver lining” is that this is marginally less than the previous year but for me, the situation is best summed up by Amy Gibbs, the chief executive of Birthrights, who said: “While there has been a small drop

SOLIDARITY?: The British newspapers’ coverage of Meghan Markle has come under criticism from the duchess herself, who has spoken out on the issue; pictured inset below left, Black British Lives Matter is edited by Marcus Ryder and Lenny Henry in the maternal mortality rate for black women… this bleak picture has not changed in over a decade.”

And finally, the black youth unemployment rate in the UK in 2021, at over 40 per cent, was three times higher than the white youth unemployment rate and dangerously close to the same rate as at the time of the Brixton riots in 1981.

We should not forget that 2021 was also the year that saw a concerted effort in some quarters to deny the racism we face.

We saw that denial following the Oprah Winfrey interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in March 2021, when the Society of Editors — a powerful media organisation

representing the interests of the majority of Britain’s national newspapers — issued a statement denying the existence of bigotry in the media, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

balling heroes when they were winning in the Euros and then sent them racist tweets when they missed penalties.

2021 proved to me that deep institutional racism cannot be

They cheered on footballers then sent them racist tweets when they missed penalties We saw that denial in the British government-backed report by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (Sewell Report) published also in March 2021, effectively gaslighting the black community by telling us that institutional racism didn’t exist.

2021 was the year when Britons cheered on their black foot-

solved in one year by a few protests (however large) and hashtags on social media.

While this might seem depressing, I am not despondent going into 2022, because 2021 also proved that focused political action can achieve results.

The public outcry over the Society of Editors’ denial of bigotry led to its executive di-

rector resigning and the racism in the media industry being widely accepted.

Similarly, the coordinated protests over the governmentbacked Sewell report led its authors to “clarify” that they did find “persistent race-based discrimination”, and in many ways back track on their initial findings.

PURPOSE 2021 both highlighted the ineffectiveness of unfocused general cries against racism, while at the same time illustrating what can be done when we come together with purpose.

I look forward to more focused action against racism in 2022, but maybe fewer social media posts about it.

Marcus Ryder MBE is the author of Black British Lives Matter (Faber), which is on sale now. He is Head of External Consultancies at the Lenny Henry Centre For Media Diversity.

SEPTEMBER 2021

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DECEMBER 2021

Finance

Don’t keep mum over money matters, parents warned Talking to children about everyday financial issues can prepare and protect them from future financial vulnerability, says Caroline Siarkiewicz, chief executive of the Money and Pensions Service

A

S PARENTS and carers, we want our children to be ready for anything when they grow up, and this includes them having the skills and confidence to manage their own money one day.

According to a major new piece of research by the Money and Pensions Service, some four million parents (46 per cent) in the UK don’t talk about money matters with their children.

Our research shows that people’s money habits and attitudes start to form before the age of seven, and so it’s really important that parents start talking to children about money as early as possible.

From making decisions about grocery shopping, to working out how long it will take to save up for a new toy, football kit or a day out, there are so many different ways to help children start building great money habits early on.

Why teach your children about money?

While some parents feel they are helping their child by

Taking some time now to talk about money with your children will help them to understand budgeting shielding them from the sometimes-tricky reality of household finances, it’s often quite the opposite.

Taking some time now to talk about money with your children will help them to understand the basics of managing a budget, paying for everyday items like food shopping, and how to save for a rainy day.

This can have huge benefits when they get older and need to manage their own finances.

Another challenge is that many parents find it difficult to talk about money at all, especially if they’re not feeling particularly confident or in control of their own finances.

But the good news is that if you talk to your children about money, your own financial wellbeing will benefit, too.

It’s all about developing good habits Our research shows that the amount of money parents have does not determine how likely they are to open up about finances, with statistics

remaining similar regardless of household income.

Instead, a parent’s own confidence in managing everyday money is key for them to open up about finances with their children.

Parents who are very confident managing money themselves are twice as likely to have money conversations with their children than those who aren’t confident (58 per cent vs 33 per cent).

Tips on how to talk to children about money 1. Lead by example There are activities you can do when you’re out and about to help boost your child’s money skills.

For example, when you’re food shopping, take your children and make moneyrelated decisions out loud like why you chose the shop brand cereal over the better-known brand.

And compare prices of items out loud or ask them to tell you the different prices of products.

2. Show them the whole picture If you pay by card, rather than cash, don’t forget to show your child that this is part of your money management as well.

You might tell your child what your budget is before visiting a shop and then compare the balance with the actual expenditure so they can see whether you’ve been able to keep to budget.

3. Encourage them to save It’s good for children to understand from a young age that sometimes you have to save money for things you want.

You could start by asking them if there’s something they would like to save for and then help them come with up ideas to save money, such as turning off

@thevoicenewspaper

TOUGH LESSONS TO LEARN: Teaching youngsters about the value of money from an early age will ultimately have a positive effect as they get older (photos: Any Lane/Sasha Kim/Pexels) lights or buying fewer things, or see whether they could earn money through a paper round.

can exchange for rewards, such as their favourite treat or a snack.

Turn household jobs into games, giving them tokens they can exchange for rewards Encourage them to manage the savings in a jar until they can afford to make the purchase.

4. Use game power Many digital games are based on the player collecting tokens that allow them to progress through levels or to get extra features. Turn household jobs into a similar game, giving them ‘tokens’ they

@thevoicenews

Resources to get you started Our wider MoneyHelper website has lots of resources to help parents and carers talk to children of different ages about money.

A great place to start is MoneyHelper’s Couch to Financial Fitness programme.

This has a dedicated section on how to take the first steps in opening up to your kids about

voicenews

money, with simple activities and tips to give them the best start.

We also offer a Talk, Learn, Do programme for parents and carers of children aged three to 17 years old, that shares fun ways to engage children in the topic.

If you’re worried about money, or your finances have been impacted by the pandemic, MoneyHelper’s Money Navigator Tool can help you find a way forward and build back your money confidence, or if you’re worried about debt, the Debt Advice Locator Tool can help you find a free adviser near you.

For free, confidential and impartial money and pensions guidance visit moneyhelper.org. uk or call 0800 138 7777.

www.voice-online.co.uk

SEPTEMBER 2021

THE VOICE| 19

20 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2021

Lyndon Mukasa

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

Eye on the Diaspora

Debt trap: Why do African and Caribbean countries keep borrowing from the IMF? We are finally starting to get closer to finding an alternative to their dependence on the current system

S

INCE THE 1960s, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been involved in shaping monetary policy in the Global South, as countries in Africa and the Caribbean gained independence.

The IMF was formed shortly after the Second World War, along with the World Bank, to assist in the economic recovery of war-torn Europe.

It has often been contended that what worked for post-war Europe could be applied to the rest of the world coming out of the shadow of colonialism.

ACCUSED The IMF sees itself as an organisation tasked with fostering financial stability and monetary cooperation, as well as promoting economic development.

However, the IMF has been accused of being a principal means by which poor developing countries become trapped in debt that hampers economic development.

Even more damning is the accusation that the IMF is a pillar of Western capitalist interests acting to project the objectives

The IMF sees its role as fostering financial stability outlined in the Washington Consensus which emphasises privatisation of institutions and deregulation of key industries.

Critics have argued this has weakened the state function in many developing countries, particularly in Africa, while countries in the Caribbean have experienced stagnant growth with significant portions of income being directed away from development initiatives and projects, and instead to servicing the debt owed to the IMF. Former president of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara, once described debt as a tool of neocolonialism.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 saw a record year of borrowing from the IMF from developing countries in Africa and the Caribbean.

Many developing countries

face immense challenges when it comes to raising funds for development projects. In countries such as Ghana, a lack of taxation means that only 4.4 per cent of the population is consistently taxed, thus leaving a significantly empty treasury.

In parts of the Caribbean such as Grenada, St Lucia or Dominica, a combination of a small population, high production costs and low production yields across industries means that revenue for development is limited.

DERAILING Additionally, most countries in Africa and the Caribbean inherited debts accrued under colonial rule upon independence, thus derailing any ability for economic flexibility.

Therefore, it is not surprising that most developing countries are tempted to borrow loans from the IMF when it is made available.

Between 2010 and 2018, external debt repayments grew by 85 per cent among developing countries.

Policymakers in the Caribbean and Africa have been look-

MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD: A protester dressed as The Grinch near the IMF building in Washington DC in December, 2005 (photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images) ing for alternatives to the IMF for decades. In recent years, private bodies have emerged that fulfil similar functions to the IMF, presenting potential competition in terms of an alternative.

Another method that is in its

early stages is the increasing use of regional financial bodies through CARICOM or the African Union.

However, China has emerged as the largest creditor in the world and since the mid-2000s many African and Caribbean

countries sought to avoid IMF conditions through China.

The long-term effects of China as an alternative to the IMF are uncertain at present, but it does represent a possible alternative to the IMF for many African and Caribbean countries.

Caribbean is set to benefit from the Panama Canal extension

THE Panama Canal is one of the most important shipping points.

Cutting through the Central American country of Panama, the canal connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean which greatly cuts time and costs of shipping as ships can avoid sailing a further 5,000 miles around the southern tip of South America.

Up to 24,000 labourers worked on the construction of the Panama Canal, with up to 75 per cent of all workers coming from the Caribbean.

Despite the construction of the canal being an American undertaking, harsh conditions meant that very few American workers lasted more than a year working in Panama. As such, right from its inception the Panama Canal would be inextricably tied to the Caribbean.

Recent construction along the canal to expand the passage enables the canal to accommodate ships that are 25 per cent longer, 53 per cent wider with a draft that is 23 per cent deeper.

This is significant because the expansion would allow much larger ships to carry three times as many containers and greatly reduce the cost of shipping between an ever expanding Asia and the Americas.

This is likely to stimulate increased sea traffic to and from the Panama Canal and into the Caribbean sea.

It is likely this capacity will have to be distributed further out into the Americas, with the Caribbean being considered an ideal location for the establishment of trans-shipment hubs. This could potentially be a significant income generator in the same

GLOBALLY SIGNIFICANT: The Panama Canal has a vital role to play in the world of shipping (photo: Wikipedia)

way as other significant locations for trans-shipment hubs like Singapore or the Netherlands.

Much of the Caribbean is positioned perfectly to benefit from the expansion of the Panama Canal.

At present, there are very few ports on the Eastern seaboard of the United States that are able to accommodate

the larger ships that the expanded canal is for.

In addition, several countries in the Caribbean have already started expanding their ports in order to benefit from increased activity over the coming years. Expansion projects have already started in The Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and Dominican Republic.

Despite the opportunities for economic development that could come with the expansion, there remains risks and uncertainties for the Caribbean.

The first is that increased shipping activity puts pressure on the environment and could put the natural environment at risk in the advent of shipping and containment accidents.

Moreover, the lack of a CARICOMwide agreement on a regional regulation on shipping hubs means that most Caribbean countries are likely to compete with each other to attract the most shipping containers, which will likely push down costs and result in less revenue for the host country.

Therefore, it is imperative that the region prioritises regional cooperation to fully benefit from this potential opportunity.

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

@thevoicenewspaper

@thevoicenews

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SEPTEMBER 2021

THE VOICE| 37

22 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2021

ADVERTORIAL

Welcome to Brixton Dreamland

This year Brixton has been transformed into a spellbinding Dreamland for the Winter season.

Brixton BID has worked with the business community and local partners to deliver a Winter Festival including town centre wide Christmas lights, a dazzling Christmas tree opposite Brixton Tube Station, makers markets at Pop Brixton and Brixton Village as well as a full programme of performances from local musicians.

was designed and animated by Luca Mazzoleni, Clio Millett, Paul Phippen and David Marcillo Coronado.

Two vital members of the creative team behind the film were Sully Abdi and Carol Mau, both of whom joined Jellyfish Pictures after winning the Secret Story Draw, a new competition aimed at providing opportunities for BAME artists and animators.

Keep an eye on our social media where we will be announcing where the film can be seen.

Primary School.

We will also be unveiling our specially commissioned animation Electric Adventure made

by Jellyfish Pictures from their studio just off Coldharbour Lane. The short animation follows the magical adventures of three urban foxes, Bowie, Ritzy and Pumpkin, catapulted into the Brixton Dreamland for the start of their journey.

To bring Electric Adventure to life and further showcase local creative talent, we have worked with The Brixton Project to commission ten local artists, designers and illustrators to create special displays in a variety of shops. Find these windows, share on social media with the hashtag #BrixtonDreamland and #ElectricAdventure.

There is plenty for you to do in Brixton. We can’t wait to welcome you again this season.

The film was directed by Marie Vidal and its creative director was Katri Valkamo - both of whom are members of the Jellyfish Art Department and it

Make sure you visit the mythical creature in the Squire and Partners Winter Windows designed in collaboration with children from Reay

On the 4th December, muf architecture will be on Brixton Station Road testing lighting and signage for the Rec. As well as lighting the building’s features, they will use a projection to show what the restored original Brixton Rec signage might look like. Come along between 4.30pm - 7pm to get an idea of the lighting changes that will take along the street.

Follow @brixtonbid on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

DECEMBER 2021

ADVERTORIAL

THE VOICE| 23

Support Small Businesses Saturday 4th December This Small Business Saturday The Arch Company will be celebrating Brixton’s community of artists and independent businesses with a festive makers market in Brixton Station Passageway on Saturday 4th December 2021.

The Arch Company has worked in partnership with The Brixton Project to commission local artists, makers and traders to re-imagine the Passageway with a vibrant colour scheme and bustling makers market for a one-off special occasion.

Paying homage to Brixton’s distinct and diverse railway arch heritage, The Arch Company and

The Brixton Project have commissioned local street artist Luke Waburton and his collective of renowned local street artists to transform the Passageway underneath Brixton overground station.

Connecting Atlantic Road with Brixton Station Road, this unloved section within the town centre, will be re-imagined by Luke and his team, turning the space into a vibrant and creative space for the community. Luke has previously worked with The Arch Company on the community artwork in Herne Hill.

creative talent. Local Steel Band group the London All Stars will greet market goers as they enter the Passageway, providing a distinctly Brixton festive welcome from 1pm, provided by Brixton BID. Visitors will also be met by a walking, talking, Christmas tree provided by local makers Bureau of Silly Ideas who will interact with visitors and provide an entertaining and surreal dreamland feel.

The first 250 shoppers will also receive a free gift bag from Brixton BID, filled with a limited-edition reusable coffee cup and notebook, both made from recycled paper cups.

On Small Business Saturday, the Passageway will host a festive pop-up market from 11am to 4pm curated by Make Shift Create, a platform showcasing Brixton’s young entrepreneurs and upcoming

Brixton Create Markets Sunday 5th, 12th & 19th December Looking for unique gifts for friends and loved ones? Brixton BID, Brixton Village and Pop Brixton have teamed up to bring Festive editions of our popup markets on Sunday 5th, Sunday 12th and Sunday 19th December 2021.

Filled with local makers and creators, the markets will span across two locations: Brixton Village (Granville Arcade) and Pop Brixton, from 10am – 4pm. From Hampers bursting with delicious treats to handmade stocking fillers; limited edition prints to beautifully designed clothes, the makets will be packed full of wonderful gifts to choose from.

Weaved together with DJs, live activities, and plenty of mulled beverages – come down to Brixton and spend the day soaking up the festivities.

Find out about all the other amazing events and offers happening in Brixton across December and January on brixtonbid.co.uk.

Find Out More

24 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2021

News feature

Black supplementary schools are back — and here to stay Parents are complaining that the education system is ‘failing their children’. By Sinai Fleary

T

HERE HAS been a dramatic increase in parents sending their children to black supplementary schools, according to key education experts.

Leading professionals say there has been a surge in demand for their services since the start of the pandemic.

Nia Imara, pictured below left, founded the National Association of Black Supplementary Schools (NABSS) website in 2007, which has a directory of black supplementary schools across the UK. Speaking to The Voice, he said: “Since the rise of Black Lives Matter, there are more parents choosing to send their children to a supplementary school and I am seeing more schools opening to keep up with the demand.”

MOTIVATIONS One of the main motivations behind Mr Imara creating the directory was because of his own poor experience at mainstream school between 1973 and 1984.

Recalling his time, he said: “I failed miserably at mainstream school and I wanted my children to do better than me.”

It was in 1992, while volunteering at the Nubia Afrikan Community Foundation School, which at the time was

I learnt maths in a way that we were never taught in school based in Stockwell and is now located in Wandsworth, that he discovered the power that existed within supplementary schools. He said: “While I was volunteering there, I learnt so much even though I was being taught by unqualified parents – who were the teachers.

“I learnt maths in a way that we were never taught in school and the African history was mind blowing and went back to before slavery.

“I was an adult volunteer but a student at the same time,” he added.

During his time at primary school in the late 1970s, Mr Imara said the only black history topics being taught were slavery, Michael Jackson and Martin Luther King Jr. It was when a five-year-old black boy attended the supplementary school and began to thrive, despite being previously labelled “unteachable” by his nursery, that Mr Imara saw firsthand the difference the school was making to black children.

SUPPORT: Steve Biko Foundation is a fantastic resource for communities in Wolverhampton “I witnessed overachievement at that Saturday school, children were learning to write their name in hieroglyphics at five years old and were doing fractions when they were at reception level and these were children who were excluded from nurseries and negatively labelled,” he added.

IMPRESSED Mr Imara was so inspired by what he witnessed that he vowed to send his own children there. The father-of-three raised his two older children as a single parent for 14 years and would attend many parenting groups in London and heard first-hand the many complaints from black parents about the education system “failing their children”.

He said when he mentioned his children were attending a Saturday school – which was helping them academically

@thevoicenewspaper

- the other parents would say they didn’t know the schools existed or that they couldn’t find one near where they lived.

For Mr Imara, that is when he discovered the need for his directory. He is still keen to hear

mitted to providing black children with life-changing transformation opportunities.

Like Mr Imara, Mr Williams told The Voice he has noticed soaring numbers of black families reaching out to him for

A lot of parents have lost their patience with the mainstream education system from new schools and urged them to get in touch so they can be listed on his website.

He is also planning to have an online award ceremony for black supplementary schools, to reward them for the difference they are making to so many children.

Davis Williams, from Finsbury Park in north London, pictured near left, is the founder of the Manhood Academy Global (MAG) – a registered charity with a global reach that is com-

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help. He said: “We can’t cope with how many parents are coming through our doors.

“We love what we do, but the amount of families we are seeing is showing us there is a bigger problem. A lot of parents have lost their patience and tolerance with the mainstream education system and are now home educating and are coming to us for support teaching their children about self-esteem, confidence and other key cultural elements.”

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Mr Williams has worked with young people for over 20 years and also worked as a football coach and mentor.

He wanted to do more to help young black boys in particular, after losing a few young people he worked with to knife crime and the prison system.

In 2015, he travelled to The Gambia, in West Africa, with his daughter and had what he describes as “an awakening”.

He said: “Everyday, I saw young boys and teenagers play fighting on the beach. Afterwards they would come together, eat food and speak.

“There was a real sense of brotherhood and that’s when it dawned on me that this is what is missing in the UK.” Mr Williams revealed to The Voice that he went over to the group of boys and introduced himself and showed them footage about knife crime in London and the Gambian boys Continued on page 33

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26 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2021

News

AFRICA BLASTS TRAVEL BAN African Union blames latest COVID crisis firmly at the door of the West. By Lester Holloway WORRYING: The discovery of the Omicron variant in South Africa has caused a great deal of alarm across the globe

T

HE AFRICAN Union (AU) has hit out at the travel ban on South Africa and five other southern African nations over the Omicron variant of COVID. The head of the AU’s vaccination delivery alliance, Dr Ayoade Alakiya, blamed the West for hoarding COVID vaccines while Africa recorded the lowest vaccination rates in the world.

While 69 per cent of Britain is double-vaxxed and rolling out the third booster shot, the latest figures show only 1.7 per cent of Nigeria, 1.2 per cent of Ethiopia, and 0.1 per cent of the Democratic Republic of Congo has had two shots.

There is growing anger in South Africa that their expertise in identifying the variant has led to them being put on the travel Red List, effectively putting the whole country into quarantine, with the resulting economic impact.

Independent SAGE – a group of scientists working to give the UK government independent advice – is calling for a finan-

cial package for South Africa to help the country through the coming international isolation.

Dr Alakiya, pictured below, said: “Had the COVID that was first identified in China last year originated in Africa it is now clear that the world would have locked us away and thrown away the key.

FAILURE “Africa would have become known as ‘the continent of COVID’. What is going on is the world’s failure to vaccinate in an equitable, urgent and speedy manner. It is the result of hoarding by high-income countries and quite frankly it is unacceptable.”

She told the BBC that scientists were still learning about the new variant but African nations

had been subject to a “kneejerk reaction” from the West which, she suspected, was so that they can satisfy their home public opinion that they were “keeping those unvaccinated Africans out”.

British MPs have claimed that the UK is complicit in allowing Africa’s COVID vaccination rates to remain extremely low and meant it was inevitable that a new variant would emerge in the continent.

Labour MPs Richard Burgon and Jon Trickett said that the West had contributed to the likelihood of variants emerging in Africa due to barriers in the continent accessing COVID vaccines while Britain overstocked.

Mr Trickett tweeted: “We have warned about global vaccine apartheid for a year. Our chief warning was no one is safe until all of us are safe. coronavirus “New variants emerging in Africa are the fault of leaders of the richest countries in the world who

@thevoicenewspaper

The world would have locked us away and thrown the key away refused to waive patents and supply the vaccine.”

Mr Burgon added: “Just six per cent of people in Africa are fully vaccinated – creating the conditions in which new variants emerge.

“Yet our Government is still putting profits before lives by blocking the global sharing of vaccine patents that would allow poorer countries to produce their own vaccines.”

Africa is the least-protected continent in the world with only 7.1 per cent of its population fully vaccinated, compared to a world average of 48 per cent.

There is growing concern that efforts by Britain, the United States and the EU to side

@thevoicenews

with ‘big pharma’ and prevent Africa manufacturing its own vaccines had contributed to the low vaccination rate.

Six African nations – South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and Zimbabwe – were all placed on the UK Government’s Red List last month.

At a press briefing at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, infectious disease physician Richard Lessells said that while the rate of mutation was a concern, there is still work to be done to understand the significance of the variant.

INFECTIVITY The variant stood out because it contains more than 30 changes to the spike protein, with some changes linked to heightened infectivity and the ability to evade infection-blocking antibodies.

Dr Zubaida Haque, from the independent SAGE, said: “We should be applauding South Africa for excellent sequencing

voicenews

for identifying this variant very quickly. But, more importantly, we should be supporting them in terms of research, supporting them financially, logistically, whatever help South Africa needs, we should be supporting them.

“The Red List is going to be hard on South Africans who are travelling here for personal and professional reasons.

“I think we need to support that quarantine.”

She added: “Global vaccine equity is obviously very important and we need to continue to put pressure on countries like the UK, US and other highincome countries to share their vaccines, because we’re only safe when everybody is safe.”

South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned travel bans imposed by the UK, US and EU, which he described as unjustified, and called for the bans to be urgently lifted.

South Africa reported 2,800 new infections on Sunday, November 28 – a rise from the daily average of 500 in the previous week.

www.voice-online.co.uk

DECEMBER 2021 THE VOICE

| 27

News

Painting of legendary nurse Seacole unveiled at Guy’s Picture by artist Richard Wilson is second major tribute to Jamaican-born hero of Crimean War

By Vic Motune

A

NEW PAINTING honouring the Crimean War nurse Mary Seacole has been unveiled at Guy’s Hospital.

The picture is the second major tribute to the legendary nurse at the central London hospital following the installation of a statue in her honour in 2016.

Artist Richard Wilson spent 600 hours over three months creating the 1.4 metre by 2.2 metre canvas, which depicts Mary in 1857 at her home in Soho Square in London.

Wilson was commissioned by City & Docklands developers to provide a portrait of the Jamaican-born nurse as part of a wider regeneration scheme at Mary Seacole Memorial Park, just a stone’s throw away from Mary’s grave in north west London.

The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation is

She was an extraordinary individual and a great role model working with City & Docklands on the project.

Rather than let the artwork remain in storage, the painting is on loan to Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust until at least the end of 2022, and will eventually reside in its permanent home at the Mitre Yard development.

Members of staff from Guy’s Hospital were joined by the Mary Seacole Trust and City & Docklands to celebrate the new painting on what would have been Mary’s 216th birthday – the same day Jamaica declared November 23 as Mary Seacole Day. Avey Bhatia, Chief Nurse for Guy’s and St Thomas’, said:

“Mary Seacole was an extraordinary individual and a great role model.

“Her writing, legacy and memory lives on and has touched the development of modern healthcare.

“I am delighted that we are able to host this beautiful painting by Richard Wilson at Guy’s Hospital so our staff, patients and visitors can sit, reflect and be inspired by her.”

STUNNING Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity owns, manages and cares for artwork at the Trust, and supported the professional art handling service and installation of the new painting at Guy’s Hospital.

This is the second tribute to Seacole on display at the Trust.

In June 2016, a statue honouring the nurse was unveiled in the gardens of St Thomas’ Hospital – believed to be the first statue in the UK dedicated to a named black woman.

The official unveiling of

ICON: The painting by artist Richard Wilson shows Mary Seacole at her Soho Square home sculptor Martin Jennings’ work took place after 12 years of campaigning by the Mary Seacole Memorial Statue Appeal, raising more than £500,000.

Trevor Sterling, chair of the Mary Seacole Trust, said: “We are delighted that this stunning

portrait of Mary by Richard Wilson has found a fitting temporary home at Guy’s Hospital.

“People have been enjoying Mary’s statue in the grounds of St Thomas’ Hospital for more than five years and so it is

wonderful to be able to share Mary’s portrait with staff and patients at Guy’s.

“I would like to thank staff and management at Guy’s and St Thomas’ for their commitment to promoting Mary’s legacy and values.”

Tributes flood in for ‘beloved’ Virgil Abloh after death aged 41 AS NEWS of the death of Virgil Abloh began to reverberate last month, celebrities from across the world took to social media to show their love for the creative, artist and visionary.

Abloh died following a long-running battle with cancer on Sunday, November 28. He was 41 years old.

Many would have been made aware of the passing of Abloh following a statement being put out on his social media accounts, which read: ‘We are devastated to announce the passing of our beloved Virgil Abloh, a fiercely devoted father, husband, son, brother, and friend. He is survived by his loving wife Shannon Abloh, his children Lowe Abloh and Grey Abloh, his sister Edwina Abloh, his parents Nee and Eunice Abloh, and numerous dear friends and colleagues.

“For over two years, Virgil valiantly battled a rare, aggressive form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma.”

Expressing his sorrow and condolences to the family, Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, where Abloh became the first black man to land the coveted position of creative director, wrote: “We are all shocked by this terrible news.

“Virgil was not only a genius designer and a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom.

wrote on Instagram: ‘I’m devastated by the passing of @virgilabloh ...

I love him so much.

“I always watched everything he did so closely and it inspired me to be better in everything I do.

“His collections literally brought me to tears because they were so connected so beautiful and so inspiring.

SORROW

“I never got a chance to meet him and I wanted to at this year’s @themetgalaofficial. It was so festive there this year and the first time anyone had been out in a long time and we didn’t cross paths, even though I saw him from the distance but I was caught in a conversation and when I looked up he was gone.”

Virgil Abloh’s exhibit Figures of Speech launched earlier this month in Doha, Qatar. “I thought I had more

“The LVMH family joins me in this moment of great sorrow and we are all thinking of his loved ones on the passing of their husband, father, brother, son and friend.”

A leader in his field Abloh’s influence has been felt all over the globe in multiple guises.

He brought evolution and contemporary cultural nuance to a raft of

BRAVE

RESPECTED: Designer Virgil Abloh creations from fashion to furniture design.

Tennis sensation and fashion designer Venus Williams was just one of hundreds of household names that admired and respected Abloh. She

time, I had no idea he didn’t have more time…

“It was so brave how he continued his life work through the absolute most difficult of circumstances.”

Musician Drake wrote: “My plan is to touch the sky 1,000 more times for you… love you eternally brother, thank you for everything.”

American artist Pharrell Williams said: “My heart is broken. Virgil, you were a kind, generous, thoughtful creative genius, your work as a human and your work as a spiritual being will live forever.

“Sending love and light to your wife, children, family and day ones you’re with the Master now, shine.”

Echoing the universal sentiment being shared across social media, singer Usher wrote: “Thank you brother for everything you’ve offered this world. You shifted it all. You are the culture!”

28 | THE VOICE DECEMBER, 2021

Competitions

CHRISTMAS COMPETITIONS LOTS OF GREAT PRIZES TO WIN! 1. Caribbean China for your table

4. Colourful Socks

7. Natural Products Natural You

Jenny Mein Designs is pleased to provide a prize for the Voice Christmas Giveaway.

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These are from the Jenny Mein Designs Caribbean Garden Collection.

Please answer the question.

Q: Jenny Mein Designs makes A. Toys B. China plates and cups C. Plastic plates

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Leicala Natural Products was founded in January 2018. We are a family owned, all – natural skincare company. We are passionate about creating products using natural ingredients. We enjoy helping our customers look and feel their best.

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8. Celebrate your Melanin

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9. Grace food basket CODE: GRACE

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Grace Foods are the UK’s largest supplier of traditional Caribbean food and drink, including juices and drinks made from Caribbean fruits, vegetable blends, and concentrates.

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ONLINE:

the questions to: Christmas Competition, The Voice, Unit 1, Bricklayers Arms, Mandela Way, London, SE1 5SR.

POST: Send your entries, with the code relevant to

DEADLINE: Competition closes January 3, 2022.

HOW TO ENTER: voice-online.co.uk/competitions Please fill out the entry form for each competition on our website.

@thevoicenewspaper

Terms and Conditions apply - available online: www.voice-online.co.uk/competitions/

@thevoicenews

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DECEMBER, 2021

THE VOICE | 29

Competitions

A CHRISTMAS COMPETITION TO WIN The Bob Marley One Love Experience at London’s Saatchi Gallery in February 2022.

Be immersed in the One Love world as you venture through rooms such as Soul Shakedown Studio, One Love Forest and the Beautiful Life Zone. See exclusive, never before-seen photographs and Marley memorabilia. n We giving away 5x4 family tickets, thats 20 tickets n

Tickets needs to be used on 2nd or 3rd February 2022

TO WIN, ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION.

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A. Jamaica B. Japan C. Germany

CODE: Bob Marley

THE PEGASUS OPERA COMPANY

are pleased to offer 2 sets of family tickets (2 children plus 2 adults) to see this outstanding production.

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They produce high-quality performances and balance this with a focus on artist development of emerging artists of African and Asian heritage and bringing their work onto eminent platforms.

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CODE: Pegasus

*Competition Terms and Conditions available online

30 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2021

Midlands News

by Veron Graham

CHRISTMAS ANGELS Volunteers across the Midlands aim to spread festive cheer through love and kindness

V

OLUNTARY AND statutory bodies across the Midlands are gearing up to provide much needed support to the homeless and vulnerable during the festive period.

The activities of West Midlands Combined Authority, alongside those of Black Heritage Support Service (BHSS) across Birmingham and Nottingham-based campaigner Mo Fayose all hope to bring badly needed hope to those beset by bad times this winter.

Recent research by the charity Shelter found that black people are disproportionately affected by homelessness, with one in 23 black households becoming homeless or threatened with homelessness, versus one in 83 households from all other ethnicities combined.

The 2020 report reported that 11 per cent of homeless people applying for help are black even though black people make up three per cent of households in England.

A new toolkit has been developed to help specialist organisations and their partners but also those with no direct link to tackling homelessness.

The Commitment to Collaborate to Prevent and Relieve Homelessness Toolkit offers guidance on supporting existing projects and programmes that provide people with a secure home, steady job and to stay safe

The winter allowance does not cover rising energy prices and the winter months and healthy. It was developed

by West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Homelessness Taskforce in partnership with Birmingham Voluntary Service Council.

EXAMPLES The toolkit includes information on homelessness, questions to consider, examples of actions to take and blank templates to record progress.

It has been designed to work through possible changes that could be made to prevent homelessness at the earliest opportunity, even when an issue is not identified as having a link to homelessness.

Birmingham City Council cabinet member for vulnerable children and families, Cllr Sharon Thompson, pictured left, chairs the WMCA Homelessness Taskforce Members Advisory Group.

She said: “The key word in tackling the situation is collaboration. If we are to design out homelessness, we need to address the risks leading to it at the earliest

MAKING A DIFFERENCE THIS CHRISTMAS: Natalie Scarlett with her late grandmother, Theresa Powell; inset below, Mo Fayose possible stage, by providing those at risk of homelessness with access to good and trusted support at the right time.

“That’s why we are asking all organisations to use this toolkit and help ensure the protective systems which help sustain a home, job, healthy relationships and good health are accessible to all.”

The voluntary sector is also tackling the issue through the likes of Nottingham-based

Scheme to boost staff wellbeing BUSINESSES across Warwickshire and the wider West Midlands have been urged to sign up to a new workplace programme which officially recognises companies for actively promoting their employees’ health and wellbeing.

Thrive at Work allows senior managers to build a clear understanding of their company’s current health and wellbeing provision.

This provides the starting point to help them create an action plan to improve their current offering. Employers who achieve accreditation can display a Thrive at Work logo to demonstrate their level of commitment to improving the mental health and wellbeing of their employees.

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, WMCA portfolio lead for Wellbeing and leader of Warwickshire County Council, said: “I urge employers in Warwickshire and across the Midlands to seriously consider joining Thrive at Work to boost the mental health and wellbeing of their employees and in turn help their businesses grow.”

OSCAR Birmingham, which supports people affected by sickle cell and thalassaemia disorders, is among the early adopters.

The charity specifically joined Thrive at Work because it wanted to be able to demonstrate its commitment to employee welfare and how it was improving health in the workplace.

@thevoicenewspaper

mental health nurse Mo Fayose. Fuelled by her own experiences as a mental health nurse – and being hospitalised with life changing injuries – she is adding to the thousands of hot meals and food parcels her operation has already delivered to the ill and isolated this year.

FLAVOUR Mo will be adding a little seasonal flavour to her efforts, by adding to the 11,000 Christmas cards since her operation began in 2016 by treating 130 people who had no-one to share Christmas dinner to a festive meal using her own funds.

She said: “I will also be doing cards and snack/goodie bags for the adults in mental health hospitals and for children in A&E departments.”

BHSS, also supported by donations, grants and personal finance from its founder Natalie Scarlett, is similarly propelled by her experience of homelessness while pregnant. She told The Voice: “BHSS plans once again to work with Birmingham Care Group to distribute emergency winter parcels. We will be covering Birmingham

@thevoicenews

and Wolverhampton. We have three volunteers, we buy new quilts/hot water bottles and thermal socks with financial donations.

“We are aiming to support 50 people or more this winter.

We will be working with Birmingham Care Group to distribute parcels.”

BHSS was launched in spring 2020 through a Facebook post from Natalie seeking help to counter the additional damage COVID-19 was having on black communities.

For the second year, BHSS will be supplying emergency ‘Theresa Powell Winter Parcels’ (named after Natalie’s grand-

voicenews

mother who died last year from COVID-19) to struggling families and the elderly. Natalie is asking the UK government and local councils to do more to support the elderly and protect them from exploitative energy companies and to supply them resources throughout the winter.

“We have millions of pensioners who deserve to be protected by our government,” she told The Voice.

“Last year my grandmother died during lockdown because of how poorly the government handled regulations in care homes. In one of the richest countries in the world, we should be ashamed that people who served our country will die because they can’t afford to keep the heating on.

“The government currently gives a one-off winter allowance between £100 and £300 to those over 60 years old: this does not cover the rising energy prices and the winter months.”

Mo’s and Natalie’s activities can be supported and receive referrals of local people needing support via mofayose.com and bhss.co.uk respectively.

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DECEMBER 2021 THE VOICE | 31

Midlands News

Trainai heads to Parliament to launch new Youth Charter 17-year-old good samaritan wants to tackle youth crime

A

N OT T I NGH A MSHIRE ACTIVIST who came to local prominence after giving emergency first aid to a stab wound victim last March has played a leading role in helping youth at risk of crime and violence.

Tranai Todd, 17, joined Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry and Natalie Baker-Swift, Interim Head of the Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) at Parliament recently for the launch of a new Youth Charter.

The new charter gives young people a stronger voice on the issues that impact them and sets out their expectations around the delivery of youth provision across the county.

It also invites youth workers and organisations that work with young people to pledge their commitment to a set of standards designed by young people themselves.

I believe our approach to youth work should be proactive and passionate The goal is for all projects providing diversionary youth work for children and young people in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire to pledge their commitment to the Youth Charter and its quality standards.

Todd, himself a VRU Community Ambassador, also a sports coach, said: “I believe our approach to youth work should be proactive, passionate and professional, using the new Youth Charter to ensure that the services we provide collectively are what our young people need.”

Commissioner Henry added: “I was proud to launch Our Youth Charter at Parliament, which has been co-produced with young people, like Tranai, who want to be respected, empowered, informed and developed.”

PIONEERING The VRU is a pioneering project to tackle violence across Nottinghamshire, staffed by a team who have proven success in tackling problem behaviour and supporting people at risk of crime to change, have been appointed to support the VRU’s work, build relationships with local people and ensure communities have the necessary resources and provision to encourage vulnerable people to thrive.

It is part of the VRU’s public health approach to crime which aims to empower communities to develop bespoke solutions to the issues impacting their local areas.

‘Give refugees a home this Christmas’ THE CEO of a social mobility campaign group has appealed to property owners to help Afghani refugees facing their first Christmas away from home since being forced to leave since the Taliban’s return.

Fuad Mahamed, who sought asylum in the UK from Somalia, and now leads ACH, is hoping properties in Wolverhampton, Coventry, Birmingham and Bristol, where ACH has offices, are made available to help.

APPEAL He said: “This is the time to appeal to landlords with available properties and to appeal to people with second homes to work with social landlords, local governments, people like us to bring their property back to use.

“It will make a difference and it makes commercial sense and business sense. We’re not asking you to give it to us on a charitable basis, it will never be for free. I still believe there

FESTIVE PLEA: Fuad Mahamed are more properties out there that we could bring into use.”

Mahamed is also keen to see work experience opportunities being offered to those “who have done a lot of construction in their home countries”. This gives them the opportunity to be part of their future home,” he said.

TOP TEAM: Tranai Todd, left, with Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry and Natalie Baker-Swift

Commonwealth Games update TWO female athletes were selected to lead the next phase of preparations for the Commonwealth Games recently.

The ceremonial baton relay – in which the famed torch begins a 294-day, 90,000-mile journey across Commonwealth – was started by athlete/cyclist Kadeena Cox MBE, near right, who collected it from the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

Speaking to a packed media delegation, she said afterwards: “I’m a female, black, disabled athlete so being able to represent all that and be the first person (to carry the baton for the 2022 Games) just shows how diverse the Games will be and the in-

clusion we are trying to represent. It shows to everyone in the Commonwealth that we are welcoming everyone with open arms.”

The baton was then taken to Birmingham Airport by Team England netball player Layla Guscoth, below right, and will visit all 72 Commonwealth countries and territories before being returned to the Second City for the opening ceremony on July 28, 2022.

Layla commented: “I was really surprised to be asked to do it. It’s very cool to be a baton bearer.

I’m so excited for the Games next year and to be part of what feels like the start of it, feels like a real honour.”

For more, visit bebirmingham. co.uk/celebratingcommunities.

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

32 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2021

Dotun Adebayo

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

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

A CHRISTMAS CAROL...

Let me tell you about the coldest winter of discontent which could warm your hearts

T

A LK ABOUT a winter of discontent, this was the coldest winter ever.

The temperature had fallen to the lowest level ever recorded.

The wind was howling a bitter chill from the north and grown men playing that age-old boy’s game of p*ssing your name into the fresh snow were frozen midstream into ice statues, their rods of insurrection in one hand with an arc of covenant spiralling from it.

“It don’t get no colder than this,” said Reggae Blackman, a regular black man, originally from Brixton in south London.

Some blamed it on global warming, the irony of which was not lost on Reggae. They were blaming everything on global warming nowadays.

Hot weather, cold weather.

COVID. Food shortages. Fuel shortages. Christmas present shortages.

And, yeah, if Christmas is cancelled this freezing year, no doubt that would be the fault of global warming, too.

But he wasn’t thinking about that. When he was saying, “It don’t get no colder than this,” he was talking about his current predicament, sitting in a police cell in Luton on Christmas Eve night.

Yeah, it was cold in the cell and it was no doubt a cold day in hell, but Carol calling the Ol’ Bill on him on Christmas Eve was the coldest thing ever.

How could she do that?

It was a rhetorical question.

One that didn’t need answering when you’re sitting in a police cell as the distant sound of a church bell tolls a dozen times marking the first moment of the day that our lord and saviour Jesus Christ was born.

Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday, dear Jesus Happy birthday to you sang some drunk in the next cell. It wasn’t even funny. Of all the days to be in the police cell

‘Jesus?’

Do you honestly think I’ve got time for Jesus? right next to the Archbishop of Canterbury. At least he could have sung the Stevie Wonder version.

You know it doesn’t make much sense There ought to be a law against Anyone who takes offence At a day in your celebration ‘Cause we all know in our minds That there ought to be a time That we can set aside To show just how much we love you And I’m sure you would agree What could fit more perfectly Than to have a world party on the day you came to be Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday sang the Archbishop on cue.

That freaked Reggae out a little.

“Hey, mister, no offence, but would you mind knocking it on the head? Not really in the party mood. You get me?!” he shouted through the cell door.

“No offence taken,” came the reply from the other cell. “No offence, mate, but do you know it’s Christmas?”

“Are you having a laugh?”

Reggae replied. “Why do you think I’m asking you to turn it down?”

“But this is the festive season, the season of joy and goodwill to all. You’ve got to sing, haven’t you? You’ve got to have a smile so that your face don’t hurt you.

“Think of all the things the baby Jesus would go through for you. You’ve got to celebrate his birthday, haven’t you?”

“What are you talking about, ‘Jesus’? Can’t you see where we are? We’re banged up in Luton nick. On Christmas Day. Do you honestly think I’ve got time for Jesus? I’m supposed to be on my way to Jamaica, to be with my young son, Jahlove.

His first Christmas without his mum who died a week ago.

“And my missus didn’t want me to go over there because it would mean spending Christmas away from her and my young daughter Jade in Luton for the first time, and she went so far as to call the Old Bill on me and now I’m locked up here in a prison cell with you and I’m trying to figure out how I can get out so I can at least spend a little quality time with my daughter today.”

“But you’re just a regular black man, right?”

FESTIVE SPIRIT: Reggae wasn’t exactly feeling the warmth of Christmas (photo: Lorado/Getty Images)

COLOUR “How did you know that? How do you know my name? How do you even know I’m black?

I could be any colour. You can’t see me.”

“No, but I can hear you, right? I know a regular black man when I hear one. Oh, and your name is Reggie, did you say?”

“No, Reggae, not Reggie.

Don’t call me that.”

“Reggae, Reggie, whatever... pleased to meet you. My name is Justin... Justin Welby, but call me Archbishop, I don’t mind.

“Mate, if you ain’t got time for Jesus, why is it so important to be with your kids on Christmas Day? They’ll have to let you out of here at some point.

“Why not just wait and take a later flight to Jamaica when you get out? Your son will be happy to see you whenever.

You see how you got yourself in this mess unnecessarily.”

No, Reggae didn’t see it, and he didn’t want to hear it. He never got himself in any mess.

This was all Carol’s fault. And yet, the Archbishop’s words

Reggae heard the sound of cold steel unlocking a cell door in this time of reflection were already melting his cold, cold heart in this coldest winter ever.

“Okay, Ayatollah, it’s time to go,” a voice of a police officer called out. Reggae heard the sound of cold steel unlocking a cell door. “Your carers have come for you.”

“Allah be praised – Allahu akbar,” Reggae heard the voice of the Archbishop cry out as he

was shuffled away down the passageway.

By the time his cell door was unlocked, Reggae’s heart was singing On The First Day Of Christmas.

It was the coldest Christmas morning ever, but he wasn’t going to let anything or anyone cold up his vibes.

Which was just as well, as she was waiting for him in the entrance lobby of the police station.

And so was Jahlove and Jade. Carol had made it all happen. She had sent for Jahlove to spend Christmas with them a few days before without realising that Reggae was looking for a cheap ticket to fly out to

spend Christmas in Jamaica with his son. “You should have told me what you were planning,” she said.

SURPRISE “Because I didn’t know and you bought the ticket, I had to stop you flying out so that Jahlove could surprise you on Christmas Day, so I called the cops to pull you over on your way to the airport as it was an emergency.

“How was I to know that you had been drinking?

“Anyway, turns out that the cops mixed your breathalyser with some Ayatollah, and you weren’t over the limit after all.

Merry Christmas!”

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

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DECEMBER 2021 THE VOICE |

33

News feature

‘It reminded me of what is missing’

INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION: Davis Williams says it is important to build friendships and a brotherhood with our young boys (stock photo courtesy of August de Richelieu/ Pexels)

Davis Williams says we need to focus on the relationships our youngsters build Continued from page 24

were “shocked” by what they saw.

He said: “They told me when they are 13, they are taken on a special rites of passage journey with their fathers and relatives, who teach them everything about being a man. Afterwards, they return, where everyone has a big celebration and they take

their rightful place in the community as leaders of the next generation. “It was so beautiful and powerful and reminded me of what is missing with so many of our youngsters.”

Inspired by what he saw, when the father-of-two returned he started MAG, which is rites of passage programme that includes master classes, life coaching and mentoring and a life-changing cultural

exchange in Africa. The awardwinning charity took a group of young black boys to The Gambia in 2018 for their own rites of passage, where they “ate together, cried together and did some deep healing”.

“We are building friendships and a brotherhood, young black boys do not have to be enemies and rivals,” Mr Williams said.

The programme currently has a waiting list and, according to

Mr Williams, is needed “more now than ever” as so many parents are “losing their boys to the streets”.

INFLUENCED He says they are also being negatively influenced by “the toxic images of manhood on social media”.

But despite the huge demand for his services, he is committed

to helping more young black children on their journey into manhood and also offers parenting workshops and has an academy for girls, called the Womanhood Academy.

Since the murder of George Floyd in the US, there has been growing calls to ‘decolonise the curriculum’ and, according to The Guardian, more than 660 schools in England have signed up to a new diverse

curriculum. But for many black parents, these changes are a little bit too late for so many black children.

To contact the National Association of Black Supplementary Schools, visit nabss.org.uk. To contact Manhood Academy Global (MAG), visit manhoodacademyglobal.com

34 | THE VOICE

DECEMBER 2021

Column UNITED WE STAND: Millions around the world have rallied in solidarity with the black community (main photo: Daniel Leal/Getty Images)

‘Black Lives Matter shows the need for a radical agenda’ We need to end the wicked system of injustice – and fast, says Richard Sudan

B

LACK LIVES Matter should be one of the least controversial statements in the English language. And, in an ideal world, it should also be an unnecessary one. Sadly though, neither is true.

As we head towards 2022, it’s clear that a radical black agenda is needed both in the UK and the US like never before. The issues which still blight our communities are largely the same as they were several decades ago, and those issues have been magnified by the pandemic.

And, without a doubt, one of the most critical issues continuing to face black communities globally is systemic racist policing. The brutal murder of George Floyd in May 2020 infuriated millions around the world, rallying in solidarity with black Americans and in utter revulsion at a system which had essentially facilitated what many described as a modernday lynching.

Those who supported standing with black Americans understood that Floyd’s murder was not just about policing in the US, but about the global system of racism and white supremacy. They also understood that such anger was not just about the murder of one man, but about all of those killed at the hands of the police both before Floyd and since.

As the protests gathered steam worldwide reflecting the undeniable severity of antiblack systemic racism, particularly in the US, we learned something else, too.

More and more people, especially millions of young people, are demanding an end to the wicked system of injustice. They want things to change, and now.

Not only are they right, but that energy is powerful, full of potential and must be utilised. The Government is acutely aware of this potential, too. Last year, as Black Lives Matter protests reached fever pitch in the UK, we saw among other things the toppling of racist statues like

that of former slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol.

It wasn’t just the toppling of the statue which concerned the Government.

The speed at which such scenes spread across social media, the support gathered, and the national conversations started about racism in the UK were perhaps a little unnerving for some of those in power.

DANGER As a direct result of the impact of the Black Lives Matter protests in the UK, we are seeing a push for the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill to become law. The Government of course claims the police need more power to shut down unlawful protests. Critics however argue the move will simply give the police the power to shut down lawful protest, at their discretion. The danger is real.

Let’s remember, too, that the rallying slogan Black Lives Matter was heard in the UK, not just about the US, and not just about policing but about a plethora of other issues, too. At the London protests last year, many expressed outrage over the ongoing Windrush scandal, as well as the structural inequality and negligence which led to the horrific tragedy at Grenfell.

Reparations was a popular talking point at the US election, spoken about by Joe Biden who suggested he’d meet with Ice Cube for discussions, but which apparently never transpired.

Many are demanding more from Biden, reminding him of his pledge on election night after his victory to have the backs of black America.

It’s clear we’ve a long way to go. Similarly in the UK, with current government policies and prime minister, whose comments about black people have been well documented, the need to emphasise moving into 2022 that Black Lives Matter has never been greater. The need to galvanise a radical black agenda is now critical. Future generations depend on it.

SEPTEMBER 2021

THE VOICE| 35

Lambeth Children’s Homes Redress Scheme Deadline: Applications for compensation open until 1 January 2022 Lambeth Council has set up a Redress Scheme for people who, as children, were abused or feared abuse at a Lambeth Children’s Home and/or Shirley Oaks Primary School.

There are two types of compensation payment available: n Harm’s Way Payment n Individual Redress Payment To find out more about the Scheme, eligibility and to make a claim, visit lambeth.gov.uk/redress or email redress@lambeth.gov.uk

Below is a list of children’s homes that were run by Lambeth or its predecessor authority (and which subsequently transferred to Lambeth), either within or outside of their area, that provided accommodation for children in care.

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Almond House Hostel Angell Road Calais Street Chestnut Road / Robson Road Chevington House Cumberlow Lodge Garrads Road Gresham Place Highland Road Ingleton House Ivy House / Warham Road

101859 (1.21)

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Knowle Close Lancester Avenue Lancaster Road Leigham Court Road Lorn Road Monkton Street Mount Villas Nottingham Road Rathmell Drive Rectory Grove / Elaine Claire House Samuel House

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Shirley Oaks South Vale Southwood Southwood Discharge Hostel St Saviours Stephany House Stockwell Park The Elms Thornwick Nursery Tivoli Road Woodvale

36 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2021

Montel Gordon

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

When it comes to politics, where do black Britons go?

Political homelessness is an issue that is growing daily with the dissatisfaction of the Tory and Labour parties

T

H E BLACK British community has been renowned for its hazy relationship with politics in this country.

Voting for the Tories, or viewing oneself as a ‘black Conservative’, has somewhat become a taboo subject, and those who do can see themselves ostracised due to their political views.

Understandably, this is partly due to the current Conservative party leader having had his fair share of controversial comments regarding Muslim women who wear burqas as “letterboxes” and referring to black people as “piccaninnies” and having “watermelon smiles”, causal racism from the leader of a country who prides itself on multiculturalism and diversity.

Decades of draconian neoliberal policies stemming from Margaret Thatcher decimated communities throughout the country beginning the reversing of the state-owned industry from the post-Second World War period to privatisation.

By viewing the black community as politically homeless in Britain, it shows how the black vote has been taken for granted over recent decades.

Ostensibly, both Conservatives and Labour appeal for the black vote with unfulfilled promises spewed in meaningless speeches and debates – hence some black folks referring to politics as “politricks”.

Originating from Jamaica and popularised by Rastafarians, this term is used to describe politicians tricking the public falsehoods which have become a continuity throughout recent times.

The plethora of unfulfilled promises has led to many turning their back on politics, despite the power these political parties and leaders have in shaping the future.

DOES OUR VOTE REALLY COUNT?: Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer, pictured below, have appealed for the black vote with unfulfilled promises

Voting for the Tory party has become a taboo subject Nevertheless, despite the political scepticism, according to a parliamentary survey titled How Did Demographics Affect The Result Following The 2019 General Election, it revealed Labour performed better than the Conservatives among ethnic minority groups.

CAMPAIGNS Ipsos MORI estimates Labour won the votes of 64 per cent of all black and minority ethnic (BAME) voters, while 20 per cent voted for the Conservatives and 12 per cent for the Lib Dems. This was a slight decrease as a similar report for the 2017 general election stated Labour support among BAME voters was at 73 per cent compared with 19 per cent for the Conservatives with the issue of Brexit looming throughout that election.

The campaigns for former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in 2017 and 2019 witnessed one the most fervent attempts in recent years to unite the country and galvanise a black vote as one poster claimed, “Only Labour can be trusted to unlock the talent of BAME people, who have been held back by the Conservatives.

We will guarantee

equality at the heart of our programme for government”.

To many, Corbyn was the Socialist messiah sent to unite the country and restore the inner cities from its derelict state.

Despite his efforts, his 2019 defeat to Boris Johnson was a landslide.

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One could also view the political parties in this country as the lesser of two evils.

Contrary to popular belief, the Labour Party, just like the Tories, has had its fair share of controversy in the past, including the recent claims of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

Historically, the foreign policy initiatives of Labour in the past show their attempts to uphold British imperialism and maintain a hegemonic influence in parts of the world.

Most famously, with the unethical and highly controversial invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Nonetheless, the Conservative Party has had candidates known for their overt racism and its allegations of Islamophobia.

Although the party distanced themselves from the comments, the Conservative MP for Smethwick ran

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For many voters Sir Keir Starmer serves as a poor opposition with the slogan ‘If you want a n***** as your neighbour, vote Labour’ for his campaign in 1964.

And of course, the polemic ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech by the infamous Enoch Powell, fervent rhetoric on how immigration of those of the commonwealth to Britain was detrimental to the countries well-being.

Although this led to his demise in the Conservative Party, he was openly supported by some MPs, and he helped spur the rise of right-wing populist groups such as the National Front.

Ironically, this was from the same person who praised the mass migration to Britain.

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Political homelessness is an increasingly apparent issue that is growing daily with the dissatisfaction of the traditional Conservative and Labour parties. In the eyes of many traditional voters, Sir Keir Stammer serves as a poor opposition to the current government, and is under pressure with Labour’s lacklustre position and stances on key issues such as the economic problems and the fall out of Brexit.

POWER The politricks of today’s world has made it difficult for any political figures to impel any support or position of power in the black community.

The current government promised more funding to youth services (£500 million), but with unemployment among young black people surging to 41.5 per cent from the pandemic, according to the Department for Work and Pensions earlier this year, why should we put our faith in politics or continue to believe the lies?

www.voice-online.co.uk

SEPTEMBER 2021

THE VOICE| 37

38 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2021

Christmas feature

Overwhelmed? Here’s how to survive the festive season Christmas is a busy time with lots of obligations and things to do. But if you plan, you can still make time to enjoy one of the happiest times of year, says Sinai Fleary

C

LOOK AFTER YOURSELF: It can be easy to feel overwhelmed – but try and enjoy the day (photos: Ekaterina Bolovtsova/ Pexels)

AN YOU believe it is that time again? The festive season is fast approaching and it can be stressful with so much to do and so much happening.

So at The Voice, we have put together a few tips on how you can not only survive this festive season, but really thrive this Christmas and have enough time to pamper yourself, too.

1. Write things down First things first, to avoid feeling overwhelmed, get a notebook and a pen and start making all your lists.

Write down everything you will need over the holidays and use each page for different categories. Have a gift list, a food list, a card list – and tick them off as you buy them. That way, you will easily see the progress you are making and won’t forget anybody.

Create a list of the all-important food ingredients and items you will need for your Christmas dinner – and, of course, don’t forget the drinks!

By having lists, it will inspire you to start preparations early and this will save those last-minute dashes to the shops.

2. Let technology help We are now living in the technology age, so take advantage of it. There are so many bargains to be found while shop-

ping online. Online shopping can be less stressful, as you avoid the big crowds and long queues. Plus, you can compare prices online and save some money on your shopping.

So grab your tablet, phone or laptop and shop from the comfort of your sofa – with a glass of Sorrel or egg nog.

3. Declutter and tidy up Having a good pre-holiday declutter and tidy up can make more space in your home and will help you feel more organised.

Not only that, the extra space will come in handy for all those parties and family sleepovers. Plus, you will have somewhere to put all those gifts that will be arriving.

4. Make time for elderly relatives The past 18 months or so have been tough for everyone. Make sure you set aside some time to check in on vulnerable members of your family. It will do wonders for your mood and

and do some cooking. After all, Grandpa and Grandma always have the best family recipes!

5. Stick to your budget Whatever your budget is for spending during the festive season, make sure you stick to

Set some time to check in on vulnerable loved ones – you’ll be glad you did will help spread some Christmas cheer. If you are lucky enough to still have elderly relatives, pay them a visit and do something that they enjoy. Play dominoes or cards or simply listen to them tell stories about when they were young. Tomorrow isn’t promised, and you will be glad you did. Don’t be afraid to get in the kitchen with them

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it. So many of us overspend at Christmas and start the new year with massive credit card bills, which causes unnecessary stress and arguments.

Just imagine how great you will feel in January, when you don’t have to fear the letters from the postman and can begin your new year debt-free.

It will work wonders for your bank balance and you can be-

@thevoicenews

gin planning your new year without worrying.

our families and friends, we often forget to look after ourselves. Set aside a day during the holidays that is dedicated to just you. On this day, make sure you pamper yourself. Have a long bath, have a nap, bingewatch that Netflix series you haven’t had a chance to watch or curl up on the sofa with a good book. Whatever makes you relax, do that on your special day. You deserve it!

6. Check your mental health The festive season can be a difficult time for so many people. Make sure you check in on those around you who may be struggling with their mental health. Offer a helping hand and a listening ear and let them know they are not alone.

Perhaps visit some mental health websites, so you are aware of the signs and symptoms to look out for if you are worried about a loved one.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you are struggling, as very often, early intervention can make all the difference to how well someone recovers.

8. And finally... live your best life!

Dance, smile, laugh loud and enjoy cuddles with those you love and take loads of pictures to capture your memories. But most importantly, make sure you have the best festive season ever.

7. Rest We spend so much time working, studying and looking after

The Voice wishes all of our readers a very happy Christmas and a prosperous new year!

voicenews

www.voice-online.co.uk

THE VOICE| 39

SEPTEMBER 2021

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DECEMBER 2021

Faith

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO CELEBRATE BLACK JESUS LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING: Jesus was a Middle Eastern Jew, probably with black hair and brown eyes; inset below left, the image of Jesus many have come to recognise (photos: EurWEB)

Most paintings of Christ were created in Italy 500 years ago and can give the false impression that Christianity is for – and about – white people, says Rev John Root

H

AVE YOU sorted your Christmas cards yet?

We buy ours immediately after Christmas for the year ahead through the National Gallery sale.

It’s a nice win-win-win situation. Winning by getting good quality cards at half-price.

Winning by supporting a gallery that provides free access to great art.

Winning since many of the gallery’s cards are of masterpieces portraying the birth of Jesus.

I think this last point is important. I find cards that simply say things like ‘Season’s Greetings’ or ‘Happy Christmas’ quite forlorn since they don’t tell us anything to be happy about.

Cards that point to the birth of Jesus give us a real event, not just a vague aspiration, that is the basis for happiness.

“I bring you good news of great joy,” said the angel to the shepherds.

“A Saviour has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord,” in Luke 2:11.

That joy comes when we recognise that we (and the whole world) in fact really do need saving. Christmas is about God coming to us in Jesus, to start sorting ourselves and the whole

Cards that point to the birth of Jesus give us a real event world out. He gives us our part to play in God’s kingdom of love, justice and peace.

Whatever our circumstances, that is good news to make us joyful at Christmas — and lasting through the whole year.

However, I have a couple of problems with the Christmas cards I send. Many are of paintings done in Italy five or six hundred years ago.

CLASSICAL They often feature beautiful Italian countryside, fine classical buildings, and people who look Italian — in other words, white. They weren’t wrong to do that. Jesus is called ‘Emmanuel’, which means ‘God is with us’.

So those artists painted Mary, Joseph and Jesus, and most of the other characters (apart from one wise man usually being black), to look like the people they moved around with.

Of course, they knew that in his life on earth Jesus really didn’t look like them.

He was a Middle Eastern Jew, probably with black hair and brown eyes and skin.

Jesus was both a real character in history living some 2,000 years ago, yet someone alive today who we can call our friend. So it is right to paint him both as he would have looked then, but also paint him like one of us today.

The problems only come when we see those old paintings by white-

skinned Europeans as portraying the good news for people of every race and colour.

It can give the false impression that Christianity is for and about white people. It wasn’t when it began, and it mostly isn’t now.

This is why it is important today that Africans paint the holy family as Africans, the Chinese as Chinese, Indians as Indians.

Wherever we are from, he is always one of us. I hope this Christmas we will see cards portraying Jesus and his family looking like all the different peoples under the sun.

The second problem with Christmas cards is that they often misrepresent what the Bible actually says.

For example, they show the wise men arriving at his birth with the shepherds together, when they would have arrived

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weeks or months later. Nor do we know there were three; that’s just the number of their gifts.

But most intriguing of all the

it. The house is full to the brim, the guest room already full of family. But of course, in that culture, you don’t turn your

I hope we will see cards portraying Jesus looking like all different peoples Bible doesn’t actually say he was born in a stable.

Luke’s gospel tells that there was no room for his family in ... where? Well, most translations say ‘inn’, but scholars now think a better translation of the original Greek word is ‘guest room’.

Imagine – all Joseph’s relatives are streaming back to their family home in Bethlehem, probably cursing the Imperial government that made them do

@thevoicenews

extended family away, so when Joseph and Mary arrive they pack in with the others in the main room where not only people spent their time, but in those days many of their animals did as well – probably on a lower-level floor to separate them off. There was no such thing as privacy then.

When the time comes to deliver Mary’s baby, they wrap him up in clothes and place him in a

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handy animal feeding trough.

(If all this seems strange to you, a book by the scholar Kenneth Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, has a chapter giving the background to families and their houses in those days, and helps put the birth of Jesus in its historical setting.)

FORTUNE Maybe some of you will have the good fortune to spend this Christmas with family members travelling in from all quarters, making the home crowded and busy and happy. In fact, just like the home Jesus was born into.

Again, it reminds us that he was ordinary, like us. Though mercifully you won’t have the smell of the animals.

Wherever you spend it, may you know the joy that Jesus brings this Christmas.

www.voice-online.co.uk

SEPTEMBER 2021

Stay home safely Do you or someone you are caring for need to self-isolate due to Covid-19?

£

Lambeth Stay Home Support Payment Up to £738 for Lambeth residents who will lose earnings or potential work from self-isolating or caring for someone who is self-isolating.

lambeth.gov.uk/self-isolate-help Stay home safely support service Help with needs such as grocery delivery, dog walking or emotional support, and accommodation advice – for any Lambeth residents who have to self-isolate.

Call free on 0800 054 1215

101905 (3.21)

THE VOICE| 41

42 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2021

News

OUR HEROES & HEROINES 2021 As the year draws to a close, Leah Mahon focuses on some of the trailblazers making a difference

MAKING THEIR MARK: Clockwise, from main, Maurice Henry, Marcus Rashford, Shelomi Farrell, Ore Oni and Ngozi Fulani are making an impression in their respective fields Ore Oni A pupil at Bronte School in Gravesend, Kent, Ore Oni is a maths wizard.

Ore recently excelled in an international maths competition and is ranked second in England and fourth globally.

The 10-year-old, with the help of his peers, soared ahead against 1.9 million competitors from 150 schools worldwide to claim one of the coveted top positions.

Ore’s incredible feat came at the annual Mathletics Challenge, a global event that sees schools around the world battle it out through maths quizzes to mark World Maths Day. Bronte School’s Year 6 class also skyrocketed to first place in the UK. Ore’s parents are both holder’s of Master’s degrees and described their son as “hardworking” with a “thirst for learning”, which has sent him on the path to achieving the best in his education. He con-

tinues to excel in other areas and passed his Kent 11+ exam with flying colours.

Ngozi Fulani Ngozi is the director and one of the founding members of Sistah Space, which was created for African and Caribbean survivors of domestic and sexual abuse.

Ngozi has been the driving force in the fight to have black women and girls who experience abuse treated equally.

Her effort comes after the brutal killing of Valerie Forde and her daughter by Valerie’s ex-partner in 2014. Ngozi believes Valerie was failed by the police after numerous warnings.

The Sistah Space charity, where many women turn to as their safe haven, led a landmark petition this year to have cultural training for police and support organisations made mandatory as black women too often deal with the complexities of racism and misogyny

when bravely reporting their abuse.

Their 100,000-signature goal comes just months after The Voice reported on their fight to secure a safe place for women to still call home after facing eviction from their premises by Hackney Council.

Ngozi and the Sistah Space team are now moving towards sealing the much-needed debate in Parliament and have rallied the support of MPs such as Abena Oppong-Asare.

Maurice Henry Already tipped to be the next Lewis Hamilton of motorsport, 15-year-old Maurice Henry has been making great strides on the track.

The Formula One enthusiast has been driving in go-karts from the age of eight and now takes on other young drivers in junior rallying.

Maurice, who is self-taught in his craft, competed in the popular Ginetta Junior Schol-

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I am going to take on the responsibility of being a role model arship alongside 65 other contenders, and took first place to secure the prestigious £85,000 scholarship.

The teenager’s supportive parents and sponsors are now on the quest to fund his second year of training, which is expected to cost around £120,000, as he continues his journey in professional motorsport.

Marcus Rashford Manchester United star Marcus Rashford’s work has been admired on as well as off the pitch.

After campaigning for children to receive free school meals through coronavirus lockdowns

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and the summer holidays, he drew national attention for prompting the Government’s Uturn on school meal vouchers.

Rashford was later awarded an MBE for his services and an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester.

He stood tall after the devastating Euro 2020 defeat against Italy earlier this year where he and his fellow teammates – Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho – faced racist abuse after missing their penalties.

Rashford, who is featured on the Sunday Times Giving List, continues to fight racism in football and has the development of the next generation of aspiring children at the forefront of his work.

Shelomi Farrell Shelomi Farrell secured her place as one of the smartest people in the world after her IQ results landed her in the top one per cent of people with the highest levels of intelligence.

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At just 14 years old, the talented schoolgirl was accepted into Mensa — a society that welcomes people whose IQ is in the top two per cent of the population — and has already become an inspiration for her peers and is on track to blaze through her GCSEs. Shelomi has always demonstrated interests beyond her age when her mother noted her reading works by Jane Eyre and revising the periodic table at just eight years old.

Coming from an academic family, Shelomi has big plans to study law and philosophy, and eventually to go to Harvard while launching her own fashion brand alongside her modelling.

Speaking to The Voice, Shelomi said she was excited for her bright future and wants to inspire other black girls just like her. She added: “I think that I am going to take on the responsibility of being a role model and I plan to do that.”

www.voice-online.co.uk

Lifestyle Jordan Nash lands John Lewis advert p45

Makala Green’s money tips for Christmas p48 Photos: © Denzil Forrester, © Aubrey Williams Estate, © Tam Joseph, © Hew Locke, © Hurvin Anderson

CARIBBEAN AND BRITISH ART Life Between Islands

Tory Lanez heads to the UK for festive tour p50

44 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2021

Lifestyle

Art

‘It’s time to tell this story’

DIVERSITY ON DISPLAY: Clockwise, from far left, Ingrid Pollard, Oceans Apart, 1989, Tate purchased 2013 (© Ingrid Pollard); Horace Ové, Stokely Carmichael giving a Black Power speech at The Dialectics of Liberation Congress, Round House, London 1967, 1967 Courtesy Horace Ové Archives (© Horace Ové); Althea McNish, Golden Harvest, 1959. Designed by Althea McNish, manufactured by Hull Traders Ltd, The Whitworth, The University of Manchester; Vanley Burke, Young Men on a Seesaw in Handsworth Park, 1984. Courtesy Vanley Burke Archives

The Life Between Islands exhibition traces the breadth and impact of Caribbean British art

BY JOEL CAMPBELL DEEP DIVE into the impact of Caribbean art on British culture would take longer than the hundreds of years it’s taken to create the vast array of it – but in Life Between Islands at the Tate, we have a start.

Actually, where the British institution is concerned, a concerted effort to delve into and showcase the works of black artists emanating from across the globe is a continued endeavour and the will to do it properly, and do it justice, is well and truly demonstrated by this four month-long exhibition.

Curated by David A Bailey, artistic director of the International Curators Forum, and Alex Farquharson, director of Tate Britain, Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 1950s – Now begins with artists of the Windrush Generation who came to Britain in the 1950s, including Denis Williams, Donald Locke and Aubrey Williams.

It explores the Caribbean Artists Movement, an infor-

A

mal group of creatives like Paul Dash and Althea McNish, whose tropical modernist textile designs were inspired by the Caribbean landscape.

The rise of Black Power in Britain will be shown in works such as Horace Ové’s photographs of Stokely Carmichael and Neil Kenlock’s Black Panther school bags, 1970.

The exhibition will also include a new iteration of Michael McMillan’s The Front Room, a reconstruction of a fictional 1970s interior, evoking the role of the home as a safe space for social gatherings at a time of widespread prejudice.

Speaking to the Lifestyle, Farquharson, pictured right, said: “I think it’s time to tell this story of the Caribbean connection and British art that goes right back to the ‘40s and ‘50s and beyond.”

He added: “I can think of no more appropriate place to hold it than at Tate Britain so I am delighted we are. It’s an inspirational story, the work I think is so compelling, powerful and beauti-

ful. David and I feel that the artists within the exhibition have almost curated it with us, intentionally or not.

“It feels like a group conversation as well as one we’ve led in dialogue with each other.”

Works from the Black Art Movement of the 1970s and ‘80s depicted the social and political struggles faced by second generation members of the Caribbean-British community.

Photographs by Dennis Morris and Vanley Burke present everyday scenes of love, family and social life in the midst of struggle and hardship.

Major uprisings in the 1980s will be explored in works such as Isaac Julien’s Territories 1984, showing the conflict between carnival revellers and the police, a n d Denzil

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Forrester’s Death Walk 1983, a tribute to Winston Rose who died in police custody.

Bailey, a photographer, writer, curator, lecturer and cultural facilitator, pictured inset left, told Lifestyle: “Like The Voice, which has been going for eons, one of the things you think about are continuity and legacy.

“What we don’t have in terms of this field is the question of continuity and legacy and what this show brings, and what it brings through our discussions, is that we want to present is a show that shows continuity as a practise and change in practise that’s happened since the Windrush.”

He added: “But also at the same time we want to show a legacy about how generations now are taking up some of those ideas and themes.

“The thing about Windrush, which is quite important to say, is again, one of the things the black community has a lack of is cultural and historical markers. For us, we’re taking one

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of those markers, it’s not the only one, and expanding that to thinking about how it all relates to people that arrived who were artists.

“A little bit previous to that and after that and what have been the effects of that marker moment to subsequent generations.”

ATTITUDES A former member of the Black Arts Movement, a group of politically motivated black poets, artists, dramatists, musicians, and writers who emerged in the wake of the Black Power Movement, Bailey spoke on how present day attitudes had presented the fertile ground for this seed of an idea to grow.

“Most of my work in projects have been done in dialogue so even though I am the co-curator it’s fair to say that this project has a been a dialogue over a number of years between myself and Alex which has come to fruition.

“My approach has always been to work with a team, an institution that’s open to an expansive framework in terms of thinking about how works can work conceptually, how we could change the kind of dis-

voicenews

cussions around what does it mean to curate these projects at this moment in the 21st century.

“Because I think a lot of what people will be looking at it is the work and I agree that’s what they should be looking at, but also I feel there is another discussion to be had at some point about the curatorial process and the curatorial way in which the show has been put together which couldn’t have been done 20 or 30 years ago.

“But it’s possible now because I think what we’re witnessing now is the ability for institutions to open up and bring in people to have these discussions and at the same time think about ways in which they can display and prioritise art from different backgrounds.”

He added: “We wanted to do something that speaks to the question of British art and at the same time was expansive in its physical space that it could occupy more than once space within the institution.”

Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 1950s – Now is open from December 1, 2021 – April 3, 2022 and is open daily 10am – 6pm.

www.voice-online.co.uk

DECEMBER 2021 THE VOICE | 45

Lifestyle

Ones to watch

A star is born...

Jordan shines with lead role in festive John Lewis advert

BY JOEL CAMPBELL ELECTING PEOPLE for the Lifestyle Ones To Watch list at the start of every year is never an easy task as the black community is home to an abundance of diverse and beautiful talents.

The Voice is in the process of compiling next year’s list which will be out in the January issue of the paper – but looking back at those who featured in the 2021 cohort, many have done exactly what The Voice ex-

S

pected, some have done even more. Ardent readers of this publication may have been introduced to actor Jordan Nash for the first time when we put the 14-year-old in our list in January.

A lot of you may recently have seen him playing the lead role in the high-profile annual John Lewis Christmas advert.

It’s been another great year for the star in the making.

Speaking on his involvement with John Lewis, Nash told Lifestyle: “Well, when I get offered any part, I jump up and down like crazy and this was no different, but to be honest I wasn’t

“I always felt like we were making a movie” actually familiar with previous John Lewis adverts and didn’t actually understand the hype – I do now!”

He added: “It was a huge production and I always felt like we were making a movie, especially while on location. I also worked with an amazing co-star Raffiella Chapman (pictured left) and director Mark Malloy.

The cinematographer was Greig Fraser who worked on Dune and The Batman.”

Ending the year with such a high-profile gig seems only right where Nash is concerned.

His hard work over the past 12 months hasn’t gone unnoticed either.

“Yeah, I’ve been really for-

tunate and lucky to have had three big nominations for my work as a lead actor.

“Earlier in the year I won Best Debut Performance at the BBC Radio Drama Awards and in the last two weeks I won Best lead actor at The Young Artist Academy awards, which is the youth Oscars, and Best lead actor at the Skyline performer awards in America.

“I also managed to pass my first two GCSE exams! To be fair, I’ve had a smoked salmon year... that means lit, by the way!”

Nash isn’t the only person who featured on The Voice Ones To Watch List that had a stellar year.

Presenter and actress Zeze Millz, online sensation Stevo ‘The Mad/Dad Man’, James Bond actress Lashana Lynch and comedian and social commentator Munya Chawawa have also had an outstanding 2021, and they should all enjoy the well-deserved Christmas break

TALENT: The Voice tipped Jordan Nash for big things in 2021 that’s coming up.

Looking ahead to next year, Nash was coy about revealing everything he has his hands dipped into but did offer a glimpse of his calendar.

He enthused: “I hate to come across like I’m bragging! I’ve been in Toronto the last couple of months working on a new se-

ries for a major streaming service. I have guest appearances in season two of The Great opposite Elle Fanning on Hulu and I will be back on season three of Breeders with Martin Freeman.

“I always try to share what I’m up to @jordannashworld.”

Go follow him there to stay up

46 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2021

Lifestyle

Events

Enjoy a great festive day out After missing out last year, you can have fun skating or at the panto

BY JOEL CAMPBELL PERFECT DAY out over the festive period should always include some ice skating and a bit of panto and Lifestyle highlight some ideas for you and the family to enjoy.

For the last time (possibly ever), London’s Natural History Museum Ice Rink is now open to the public.

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Before you turn your nose up at the prospect of a couple of hours on the ice, cast your minds back to last year when the whole world was locked down and stuck indoors due to the pandemic.

We all vowed to never again take for granted to opportunities we have on our very doorstep, and after an incredible 16 years this is the last chance to skate at this idyllic location before the museum’s five-acre site in South Kensington is transformed into a more welcoming, accessible and biologically diverse green space in the heart of London as part of the museum’s Urban Nature project.

A perfect day out in a simply stunning setting, the Natural History Museum Ice Rink welcomes all ages and abilities.

If, however, you’re not feeling lacing up your skates and gliding about, maybe the warmth of the

“It’s packed with comedy, songs and stunning costumes” Hackney Empire would suit you and the kids more.

MAYHEM

Making their 14th pantomime appearance, Olivier-Award winner Clive Rowe and Hackney panto veteran Tony Whittle will co-direct this year’s production of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Marking the 22nd pantomime at the East End venue, the production, which was previously scheduled to open in December 2020, will get the festive season under way once more, with all the fun, magic, mischievous mayhem and razzle dazzle that Hackney audiences love and sadly missed last Christmas.

Hackney Empire’s pantomime has become one of the city’s most anticipated annual

highlights, bringing West End value at East End prices to attract an ever-growing local, national and global fanbase.

Over 44,000 people attended the 2019 pantomime Dick Whittington and His Cat, including 10,000 schoolchildren.

Some 41 per cent of the audience were first-time visitors to Hackney Empire.

Jack and the Beanstalk is packed full of slapstick comedy, laugh-out-loud gags, stunning costumes, dazzling song and dance numbers and plenty of chances to cheer, boo and hiss.

It’ll be warm, too!

Whatever you do this Christmas, stay safe, have fun – and give thanks for being outside again.

Book the Natural History Museum Ice Rink in advance by visiting nhm.ac.uk/ visit/exhibitions/ice-rink Book Jack and the Beanstalk at the Hackney Empire at hackneyempire.co.uk

TAKE YOUR PICK: Rochelle Sherona stars as Jack in Hackney Empire’s Jack and the Beanstalk this panto season; inset left, it’s your final chance to ice skate at the Natural History Museum

SEPTEMBER 2021

SOU THWARK FREE FOR TATE MEMBER S

THE VOICE| 47

TATE MODERN 25 NOV 2021 – 3 JUL 2022

Supported by John J. Studzinski CBE With additional support from the Lubaina Himid Exhibition Supporters Circle, Tate Americas Foundation, Tate International Council and Tate Patrons

Media partner

Lubaina Himid Le Rodeur: The Exchange 2016 © Lubaina Himid.

Courtesy of the artist and Hollybush Gardens, London.

48 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2021

Lifestyle

Finance

Stay cash-smart this Christmas

SPECIAL MOMENTS: Christmas is about spending time with loved ones, not spending money (photos: Pexels/ Cottonbro/ Suzy Hazelwood)

Don’t let the festive season leave you out of pocket

BY MAKALA GREEN HRISTMAS IS undoubtedly one of the most expensive times of year.

It’s the season of spending, and the excitement and anticipation surrounding the festive months could leave you spending more than expected.

With the right planning and these tips, you can avoid spending a fortune over the fes-

C

tive period and start 2022 with a greater sense of control over your financial situation.

Makala Green, the UK’s first back female chartered financial planner, has put together some solutions which can help you save money without taking the ‘merry’ out of your Christmas.

“Try to decide what the most important things are to you at this time”

Make a Christmas budget List names of everyone who needs a present. If you are struggling financially, try to make this as streamlined as possible.

Your loved ones would much rather you feel comfortable with your financial situation than spend money you don’t have. It’s okay to be honest about what you can afford.

Create a Christmas menu to help work out the food ex-

penses and stick to it! You can also note other festive miscellaneous costs, such as decorations, wrapping paper, etc.

Try setting a budget you do not wish to exceed.

Prioritise your Christmas purchases If you have found your Christmas budget will leave you in the red, you may need to prioritise purchases.

Try to decide what the most important things are to you at Christmas time — what are your essentials? Your Christmas can still be a wonderful time, even

if it’s stripped back a little. Perhaps cut down on the alcohol you’d usually buy?

Or recycle last year’s Christmas decorations?

Spend less on your Christmas dinner You may share the shopping list with family or friends to reduce the expense, or each Christmas dinner attendee could bring a dish or contribute a certain amount of money.

Christmas is about spending time with the ones you love, so asking for a monetary or edible contribution is totally reason-

able. Alternatively, you can shop around to source supermarkets with the cheapest costs and best offers.

Beware of Christmas ‘deals’ As we get closer to Christmas, the sale season begins, but not all items are authentic offers, so be sure to do your research before buying.

Try to avoid temptations by sticking to your wish list without too much deviation.

Buy gift cards You can spend excess amounts

because you can’t think about what to buy your loved ones.

Try a gift card instead; it may work out cheaper, and you allow them to buy what they really want. The best things always do come in small packages!

Get creative Christmas doesn’t have to be costly; get creative with presents and try hand-making to save money.

Making soap, pressing flowers and sticking them in a frame, creating a collage of your favourite memories all make for wonderful gifts which will last.

DECEMBER 2021

THE VOICE | 49

Lifestyle

Stage

What a Conundrum Langston Hughes poem inspires play on the trials faced by someone with a high IQ

BY PAUL ANTHONY MORRIS HE POEM Genius Child, by the celebrated African American writer and activist Langston Hughes, consists of two verses which are separated by a single refrain, ‘nobody loves a genius child’.

The poem articulates the challenges of a gifted child, who many believe to be an autobiographical account of Hughes’s actual experiences.

The refrain conjures the image of an individual who has been made an outsider by society and somewhat withstood in certain parts of their own community.

Often, these men and women have learned from childhood to strive for acceptance, a mechanism to compensate for their rejection and isolation, through self-denial, self-deprecation and self-blame due to their intelligence.

This resolve is, for some, the beginning of decades of trauma, dysfunctional relationships and substance abuse.

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REVIEW Hughes’s poem, Genius Child, was part of the research for my play, Conundrum, which was originally scheduled for production at the Young Vic Theatre in May 2020, but was then postponed due to the COVID pandemic.

The play, through my central character, Fidel, who possesses a high IQ and whose mother refers to him as her very own genius child, is forced in his adult life to conduct a personal life review to find the answers to life’s most relatable questions: “Who am I and why am I here?”

This process of re-evaluation in our production, has become extremely relevant during the recent lockdown.

It has established for most of us a platform without stigma for introspection, especially within the cultural and intellectual arena of community and society.

However, for individuals like our protagonist Fidel, and Hughes’s genius child, this opportunity for reflection, for

“They strive for acceptance to compensate for their rejection and isolation, through self-denial, self-blame and self-deprecation” coming out intellectually, remains a frightening proposition having been overtly racialised for decades by society, bullied in school for being a know-itall, discriminated against in the workplace and ostracised in some quarters of the community for transcending the norm.

In my research for Conundrum, I came across similar stories of men and women, whose academic intelligence was way above the rule, but whose career prospects were severely diminished by the spirit of the age.

However, it would be remiss of me to suggest that these experiences are only historical.

Due to the emotional gymnastics, one parent informed me, her eight-year-old gifted daughter had contemplated suicide as a way of escaping the pressures of being marginalised and bullied.

Before my father returned to live in the Caribbean permanently, it was customary to spend my Wednesday evenings with him and his comrades.

INFLUENCE Conversations ranged from the mundane, the historical, and contemporary politics. It was here that I learnt about the background of a close and wider circle of friends and associates that I knew in the community of Brixton, where I was born and raised.

My father was one of those anomalies who had the option, in the 1960s, of either becoming an accountant, a cricketer or a footballer.

Being the pragmatic man that he is, and quite possibly the heavy influence of his mother, he chose accountancy because of its longevity and higher salary.

His ability to negotiate the rank and file of the community was relatively successful, although he was still seen in some circles as an outsider.

This I credit to his amazing ability for pragmatism and lowkey living. These traits served as a ploy which enabled him to maintain an acceptable level of camaraderie.

However, there were others in my father’s network, men and women of varying ages with very interesting academic backgrounds, who did not fare so well.

Some, who would be defined as gifted in today’s age, went on to have relative professional success in education, but with continuous struggle.

Others retreated from professional life and opened their own businesses, while too many became casualties of varying degrees of mental illness attributed to being racialised, alienated, and misunderstood.

LIBERATION Hughes asks in his poem, ‘Can you love an eagle wild or tame, can you love an eagle of frightening name? Nobody loves a genius child.’

The conundrum depicted in our play, especially for communities who migrated to the UK after the Second Wold War, was that education for their children and for successive generations, would become the pipeline for generational transformation, i.e. equality, integration and success.

In the autobiography of Malcolm X, he laments over the fractured lives of individuals who possessed incredible talents, both intellectually and creatively.

Likewise, in Conundrum, Fidel laments over being born into a society that has not yet sufficiently evolved to embrace him and others like him for their unusual acumen.

However, Conundrum does not end there.

Having given voice and visibility to a silent and invisible cohort of our community, this intimate tale of self-discovery, liberation and bliss, aims to shine a broad spotlight on the men, women and children who are finding ways to self-heal and restore themselves in their own image.

Conundrum by Paul Anthony Morris is at the Young Vic from January 14 to February 4, 2022.

To book go to youngvic.org/ whats-on/conundrum-2022

STORY TO TELL: Main, Anthony Ofoegbu plays Fidel in Conundrum; inset, writer and director Paul Anthony Morris says the story of Conundrum will not end on the stage

50 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2021

Lifestyle

Music

Sleighing in his Lanez Tory Lanez can’t wait to arrive in the UK and make sure Christmas comes early for his fans – after spending months helping those in need

BY JOEL CAMPBELL IKE A lot of artists, Tory Lanez has been itching to get out there and string multiple tours together again so he can reach out and literally touch his fans who reside all over the globe.

Musicians need that real-life energy which is only generated via stage performances.

The interaction online just isn’t the same and, while many have had to make do with what they can muster, the return to some semblance of normality is a welcome progression.

Lanez has been busy during the lockdown period, pushing out music across different genres and keeping his fans entertained via social media with capsule drops and NFTs (nonfungible tokens).

There have been a few negative headlines, too.

But for legal reasons, when Lifestyle catches up with the Canadian native ahead of his three-stop UK tour in December, we’ll leave that particular discourse for another time.

What this journalist wanted to know, however, is what Lanez was like when he was away from the lights? Ahead of the interview with Lanez, it had been reported that the artist had travelled to Del Rio on the Texas border to donate $50,000 (£37,500) worth of clothes and other essentials to Haitian migrants in October.

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GIVEAWAY The previous month, he had travelled to Baltimore, Maryland, where he held a clothing drive giveaway for single mothers and children in need.

The same month, in California, he’d surprised (in person) over 30 families by making a $50,000 donation to go towards legal fees for loved ones working with Unite the People to free their loved ones, particularly men of colour, from incarceration. The stories were not reported far and wide, however, and it’s clearly an aspect of the media that irks.

“It’s funny because sometimes if I say something on my

“I always said when I was broke and when I was homeless, I just wished someone could come and help me” Twitter that has nothing to do with nothing, it’ll be like, ‘Yo, let’s take this and publicise this and make Tory look this way’.

“When I do good stuff it doesn’t go on all of the blogs, and that’s cool, it’s not supposed to, it’s supposed to be out of the pureness of my heart,” he says.

“But I just find it crazy that sometimes the news just doesn’t show some of the other extra things that I do.”

UNFORTUNATE Explaining why doing good with his fame and status means so much to him, Lanez adds: “When I was 14 I was homeless so I know what it’s like to be in an unfortunate situation and not have what you need to have while you are among regular people everyday who do have what you need to have.

“Watching them and feeling like, ‘Damn, that should be me’. I know how that feels.

“I always said to myself when I was broke and when I was homeless, I wished someone could just come and help.

“And I always said to myself when I’m successful I’m always going to be that person that just comes back and helps people randomly.

“My whole day I help people. I don’t publicise

everything I do because it’s not for that, but I would like the moments where when we do bring out the cameras and bring awareness to certain things that are happening in certain places.

“I do think it’s more important for certain blogs to cover those things, because it’s awareness.

“Sometimes people don’t even know that people need help in these areas until somebody like me goes out there and shows you there is some s*** going on.”

Lanez is the definition of a triple threat.

A rapper, singer and producer, he originally stepped onto the music scene with the release of fan-favourite mixtapes such as Sincerely Tory, Lost Cause and Cruel Intentions.

After signing to Interscope Records in 2015, his debut album, I Told You, peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 Chart and featured the certified double-platinum single and three-times platinum Say It. In recent times – after completing label obligations and parting ways with Interscope – Lanez continued his grind into 2020, releasing three more projects, The New Toronto 3, Daystar and Loner.

BACK TO IT: Tory Lanez has been working on plenty of projects since he was last on stage In 2021, he jumped back to his R’n’B roots, dropping the album Playboy.

This summer he returned with chart-topping, number one Youtube ranked viral single Skat,

used to hit that used to make you want to dance, it made you want to move.

“I’ve had this project around me for the last year and I have watched people listen to the

“It’s been a bad two years for live music. We’re happy to be able to end the year on a high. These shows are not to be missed” featuring Dababy, Grah Tah Tah, featuring Kodak Black, and an uptempo project We Outside.

He’s not done there, either. In December he releases an ‘80sthemed album Alone At Prom.

Explaining why he targeted that era, he said: “There’s something about the way the drums

@thevoicenewspaper

@thevoicenews

music, and they start moving crazy, they start dancing and moving their bodies in ways that they don’t usually do.

“Stuff like that just goes to show that when people get a hold of music that touches their soul they start feeling it differently. It moves the soul, everything they hear from the era is connected and that’s what I want my fans to do.

“I want them to connect more to the music as opposed to it being for the moment.”

voicenews

Looking ahead to the tour, it’s clear Lanez can’t wait to get back on stage.

He enthused: “I haven’t really performed anywhere for the last two years.

“The last time, I was doing Tory Lanez and Friends: Chixtape Live, and that was the last time I got to perform.

“I’ve done four projects since then. So, yeah, I am going out there to shut it down for sure.

WANTING “I haven’t got to do what I have been wanting to do for a long, long, long time.

“It’s been a bad two years for live music, and we’re so happy to be able to end the year on a high.

“These shows are not to be missed. Bring it, UK! “These tickets are gonna sell fast. So get in quick people, and I’ll see you in England for an early Christmas present this December.”

www.voice-online.co.uk

DECEMBER 2021

This is Brukout!

THE VOICE | 51

by Seani B

An undisputed legend The late Ewart Beckford, aka U-Roy, will be remembered as one of the fathers of the reggae industry – and an inspiration to so many HE WORD ‘legend’ is often over-used. Some might even say it is bandied about a little too loosely at times. However, there are a few figures that are worthy of such accolades.

The late, definitely great Ewart Beckford, aka U-Roy, measures up to such a description. An undoubted father of the reggae industry, he sadly passed away earlier this year.

The excellent Solid Gold album was his last piece of work.

It features a host of artists, including the likes of Shaggy, Rygin King, Santigold and David Hinds from Steel Pulse lining up alongside the great man.

A very solid (pun intended) collection of tracks, and one for any reggae record collector.

Another collaborator on the project is the ever-affable Jesse Royal, who himself created an esteemed body of work – Royal – earlier this year. His involvement in a project such as Solid Gold was crucial.

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CONNECT “For me, it’s important to always keep the bridges clear,” he said.

“Our roots will always be our roots, and for me it’s also a part of my duty to connect today with yesterday and ensure the store is seen from a holistic perspective and not just a branch but a tree in its own right.”

As well as being a beacon of reggae globally for decades, URoy inspired many generations of music makers, particularly as an icon in Jamaica.

“U-Roy to me, from a fan perspective, is the embodiment of what is cool today. He is the gold that is used to make today’s jewellery,” he added.

“From the artist perspective, it’s great to see someone span that many generations and impact that many people.

“It’s something we all dream of, and something he managed to achieve.”

From his preliminary days

SPECIAL: U-Roy’s last album was aptly called Solid Gold (photo: Andrzej Liguz/ moreimages. net); inset below, Jesse Royal was among those to lead the tributes following Ewart Beckford’s death earlier this year

“This is the man who is the gold that is used to make today’s jewellery” in the early 1960s on Count Matchuki sounds, right through to his work with Coxsone Dodd, U-Roy served his apprenticeship which in turn honed and shaped his skill as a mic man and perfect his incredible vocal timing.

Collaborating with the stars of the day is nothing new.

As far back as 50 years ago, lead singer of The Paragons, John Holt, heard U-Roy displaying his magic over a Duke Reid track at a dance.

Holt told Reid about the performance and, on his recommendation, Reid requested that U-Roy should go and see him to discuss working together.

The first two releases on Treasure Isle were the legendary Wake the Town and Wear You to the Ball, which was quickly followed by his DJ version of The Paragons’ The Tide Is High.

Beckford then went on to work with other major producers on the island including Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Bunny Lee, Phil Pratt, Sonia Pottinger, Rupie Edwards, Alvin Ranglin and Lloyd Daley.

The choice of the Bob Marley classic Small Axe may come as a surprise to some, given URoy’s own extensive catalogue, but Jesse explained how that particular

track collaboration came about.

“Well, for those who know, I’m affectionately called the Small Axe because of who we are, what we represent and how we do what we do, so it was only right!”

Only right indeed. Beckford was awarded the Order of Distinction in 2007 by the Jamaican government for his contribution to music.

Jesse explained how important the link-up through times and different ages was for the track and to further enhance

the path that U-Roy’s work had opened for the generations that followed him.

“Connection of generations and validation of our story is super important,” Jesse adds.

TRUTH “It’s truly our responsibility to ensure that the roots never wither and truth never gets distorted, so for us and the respect that we have for our foundation, it is integral for pushing the whole thing forward.”

It’s an admirable stance, and great to see that the foundation makers of the music can still positively influence today’s generation to such a degree.

The roots of what we have as reggae fans needs to be unquestionably strong, not just for the core, but for the millions of potential fans around the world.

It is all well and good to follow trends and even create countless new ones as the music needs to stay fresh and relevant to younger audiences, but with such a rich and incredible past it would be a huge mistake to ignore what has come before us.

These legends deserve their props and willing ears, and it is up to us to ensure the platform is there for them.

52 | THE VOICE SEPTEMBER 2021

BE PART OF THE

ACTION WE’RE RECRUITING FOR A VARIETY OF ROLES AT BIRMINGHAM 2022.

VISIT BIRMINGHAM2022.COM/JOBS TO FIND OUT MORE.

DECEMBER 2021

THE VOICE | 53

Sport TOP SPORTS COVERAGE 24/7 VOICE-ONLINE.CO.UK/SPORT

NEWSPAPER

OF SPORT

WHAT A YEAR IT’S BEEN...

BLACK MAGIC: Clockwise, from top left, Jamaica won gold at Tokyo in the women’s 4x100 relay; Raheem Sterling truly shone at Euro 2020 in the summer; Lewis Hamilton may have to wait for his place in the world record books; Jonathan and Jade Morgan are creating history at Leicester; Anthony Joshua suffered at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk in September

Sports editor Rodney Hinds reflects on the return of sport in 2021 and pinpoints some key moments

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T THE appropriate time, sport was always going to provide something of an antidote to the horror caused by the pandemic.

With the 2020 sporting calendar wiped out by coronavirus, there was a tad more normality this year.

The biggest story on these shores centred on the delayed Euro 2020. It was virtually a ‘home’ tournament for Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions.

It was fun to see supporters back in stadiums, the football was often highly enjoyable, and England’s run to the final offered promise for the future. But it was the Italians who claimed the Henri Delaunay Trophy.

Rather than calls for root and branch reform, Southgate and his talented team were able to demonstrate a clear direction of travel ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

In Raheem Sterling, England had one of the players of the tournament, and it was deeply satisfying to watch the boy who

grew up a stone’s throw from Wembley light up that stadium.

Also, in Southgate, the team had a leader that proved to be empathetic and dignified.

He also silenced most of the doubts surrounding his coaching credentials, which is not to say he does not have some regrets following the tournament.

MESSAGE When Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka missed their penalties in England’s encounter with Italy, observers knew the racist bile would arrive with wearying inevitability.

Amid the recriminations and the latest round of hypocrisies from those tasked with governing us, one message has shone through: this England team is perhaps the truest expression yet of young English male society found in elite sport.

That is not to say that Southgate’s squad are universally winning hearts and minds – a few missed spot kicks was all it took to embolden the racists –

“Never count Hamilton out – but he may have to wait to usurp Schumacher” but more than half of England’s 26-man squad for Euro 2020 had a parent or grandparent born overseas.

While the putrid responses to those missed penalties hurt – and nothing can cloud society’s enduring problems with racial and social injustice – here was finally an England team that could call upon support from all corners of English society.

Formula One king Lewis Hamilton looks like he will have to wait for an eighth world crown with the continued breakthrough of Max Verstappen in his rapid and consistent Red Bull.

@thevoicenewspaper

Never count the Briton out – but he may well have to return to the drawing board in 2022 if he is to usurp the great Michael Schumacher in terms of world crowns.

Participants at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics had sacrificed and sweated blood to take part in the greatest show on Earth.

Sadly, global events meant that they had to perform in empty stadia which was always going to take the gloss off the occasion for them and the millions watching around the world.

One woman who was not affected by the lack of spectators was Jamaican sprinter, Elaine Thompson-Herah.

INJURIES After numerous injuries which have blighted her career, she completed a rare sprint double winning gold medals in both the 100m and 200m. Her 100m time in Tokyo was just 0.12secs short of the 33-year-old world record set by American Florence Grif-

@thevoicenews

fith-Joyner. And her sense of occasion was confirmed when on August 6, her island’s independence day, alongside Briana Williams, Shelly-Ann FraserPryce and Shericka Jackson, Thompson-Herah helped Jamaica storm to their first Olympic women’s 4x100m title in 17 years.

World heavyweight kingpin Anthony Joshua’s world was shaken to the core with a stunning defeat to the classy Oleksandr Usyk in September.

REMATCH There is a rematch mooted for Joshua, the London 2012 super-heavyweight gold medallist – and it is arguably his biggest bout since then.

Defeat to the Ukranian would see him plummet even further down the world standings with very little place to go.

That cannot be said of Ghanaborn British professional pugilist Joshua Buatsi who continues to impress at light-heavyweight.

He does not know what defeat means after 15 bouts and he

voicenews

clearly has world domination within his explosive gloves.

For me the real cricket highlight of the summer came via the innovative The Hundred.

It was targeted at young people and those that would not necessarily see themselves attending a cricket match and it all worked a treat with DJs in attendance, young presenters and a format of the game that meant that everything was done and dusted in two hours. The Hundred is here to stay!

Despite struggling in the revamped Women’s Super League (WSL) the back story of Leicester City Women’s team warrants a mention.

The Women’s Championship winners are managed and coached by Jonathan Morgan – but there’s more! Jonathan’s father, Rohan, is chairman of the club, while Jade Morgan and Holly Morgan are General Manager and first-team coach respectively. The Morgans, who hail from Jamaica, have created history despite their current on field results.

www.voice-online.co.uk

54 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2021

A 2020 vision

Sport

MESSAGE OF HOPE ‘It’s really important that black history isn’t reduced to just a month’, says Eni Aluko

By Anshu Taneja

F

ORMER ENGLAND international footballer Eni Aluko is currently the sporting director at Angel City FC in Los Angeles She was born in Lagos, Nigeria and moved to England aged six, and supported Manchester United as a youngster.

She made over 100 appearances between 2004-2016 for England and scored 33 goals.

At club level she played for Chelsea among others and played abroad and won silverware with Italian giants Juventus. Not only was she a successful footballer, she is also trained as a lawyer.

She is now a pundit with BT Sport. Below she talks to the Voice of Sport about her career, black history, racism within football and the unforgettable Euros.

As part of BT’s celebration of black British history, Hope United squad member Aluko starred in the second episode of the educational content series which shines a light on football’s black pioneers.

Voice of Sport: How can we best educate the youth about black British history?

Eni Aluko: Well firstly, black history should not be reduced to a month. What it does do, however, is to shine a light on all the relevant issues within that month so hopefully people continue to think about it for the other eleven months of the year.

At some point you have to say ‘stop and look at this’, and that becomes part of the consciousness moving forward so I think that is really important and doesn’t stop after a month at all.

I think that if we continue to make sure that we are celebrating black history as well as Asian history as well as female history – there are so many parts of British history that is so rich and so layered that we should talk about all of it, and black history is part of that.

We also need to make sure that it is positive. A lot of history about ethnic minorities is so negative and so heavy and triggering.

What I like about Black History Month and the Hope United campaign that I’ve been part of is that we are celebrating peo-

PIONEER: Hope United squad member Eni Aluko is part of BT’s celebration of black British history; inset below, in action for Chelsea Ladies

“A lot of history about ethnic minorities is so negative and heavy” ple and inspiring people to say, ‘Wow, if she did it, I can do it, too’.

VoS: Black Lives Matter has been a big movement in the last 18 months, especially in the USA. What are your experiences whilst you have been in America?

EA: My experience is that America has a very deep history, perhaps deeper than any other country in the world, obviously with slavery and a system which does not put ethnic minorities in the best position to succeed.

It’s a different history and it’s a constant battle to make sure that those systems change.

LUCKY I have lived in America and Italy, and I often say that I would choose Britain every day of the week.

If you dig into British history, it’s not perfect but we’re very lucky to have a country that is very open through different types of people, and a country that has a welfare system that means that there’s a safety net to some extent.

If you look at America and you’re ill and y o u don’t have m o n ey, it’s a tricky one.

If that happens here in the UK you’re OK as you have the NHS. You also have an

education system that’s free whereas you have to pay in America.

Sometimes you have to be grateful and until you have an experience to live in other places you can’t really appreciate your own country.

VoS: Were you proud of the way Gareth Southgate led the men’s team in the Euros this year, and also handling the racist backlash after the final?

EA: I think Gareth Southgate was incredible in how he has clearly educated himself and brought a lot of diversity to the team, which is why I think a lot of people got behind the team. Typically, I think the England

team has been seen as quite exclusive and not embracing of ethnic minorities or different types of people within English society and appeared as very white.

But I felt differently this summer when I went to the games seeing so many different types of people wearing the England shirts and that because you see Raheem Sterling, Jadon San-

Honestly, I feel like the elements of society that are quick to be racist when black people don’t do well will always be there unfortunately.

But the problem is that now they have a platform to express that.

This is where I think companies like Twitter have a real responsibility – if you don’t have a platform that allows that

We all know why it’s done and the players are really clear about why they need to take the knee and that it’s an anti-racism stance.

But I think that more needs to be done now and we need to be a lot more honest about what that looks like – perhaps the same players who take the knee could have conversations with UEFA and FIFA around a table and talk about deeper punishments.

“There’s a risk of a lot of RISK anti-racism initiatives A lot of things need to happen closed doors; I think becoming just a visual thing” behind there’s a risk of a lot of anti-raccho, Marcus Rashford, Kalvin Phillips, and you see these guys in the team and you appreciate them as much as Harry Maguire and Harry Kane.

It’s a really great melting pot of players, so I think Gareth handled that really well.

Ultimately, it’s not his fault for the foolish people that abused Bukayo Saka, Marcus and Jadon and I think he managed that really well. He was there as an ear to the players and supported them.

to happen, you won’t hear it.

It doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, but you won’t be hearing it.

I have a big issue with how easy it is to spread negativity.

VoS: Do you think we should continue with taking the knee or something more should be done now?

EA: I think that taking the knee had its moment of being really powerful, but now it’s just a pre-game ritual.

ism initiatives becoming just a visual thing or people ticking the box, or thinking “Ah, they took the knee and so everything is okay”.

That’s how it works, and I know that from my own life and my own career.

I would like to see more activity behind the scenes between players and decision-makers and people who make the money in the game to make sure that racism is not something we have to take the knee for.

THE VOICE | 55

DECEMBER 2021

Sport

A 2020 vision

‘There’s still more to come’ AIMING HIGH: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce says she’s still at the top of her game

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce says she is determined to go for gold again at the Paris Olympics in 2024 – despite a disappointing silver in Tokyo Games

By Rodney Hinds

A

NYONE WHO thought that sprint legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was ready to hang up her spikes had better think again.

The Jamaican icon admits that her Tokyo Olympic Games silver was a crushing disappointment, but she has declared that she will be a winner once again.

Jamaican women swept the board, with Elaine Thompson-Herah taking 100m gold in a time of 10.61 seconds with Fraser-Pryce (10.74) and Shericka Jackson (10.76) taking the silver and bronze respectively.

Many expected Fraser-Pryce to add to her golden haul, but it was not to be as her compat-

“I think I owe it to the next generation to push this to another level” riot dominated the sprints by landing gold in the 200m, too.

However, Fraser-Pryce is undaunted.

She told the Sky Sports website: “Looking back at the 2021 season, it was mixed.

“I had a lot of highs and I had some lows, and you know I had the lows where I didn’t want to have them.

“At the Olympics, I was in great shape, I was definitely hoping to run so much better and I knew I could, but it just

shows how the 100m is so fast and there’s no room for error.

“It happened and I’m grateful it did, because I’ve been running for a while.

“But what keeps me going is the faith that I have that there’s so much more to come and it’s weird you can say that at this time in your career.”

PEAK “I’m at the peak of my career,” she added.

“It’s so mind-blowing that I think I owe it to myself, I owe it to the next generation of women that will come after me and those that are still here, to push this to another level.

“I said to my husband and my coach, it’s so strange because I’ve heard of people when they are about to retire they say they’re feeling so much pain.

“And while you understand their journey, I’m looking at it like, I still feel good!

“And if I feel good, why not go for it? It’s a year at a time.

“Before, I counted it (Paris

2024) out, but then after the season and just the progress, you kind of know there’s more and you want to take it a year at a time, because I’m looking forward to defending my (world)

Sport ‘can help boost mental health’

By Rodney Hinds TEAM GB weightlifter Zoe Smith says it’s important to keep up sport all year round after the clocks went back.

Daylight saving ended in the UK at the end of October, which means the days are getting darker, colder, and longer.

This also means finding the motivation and energy to work out and train may become a struggle for some, especially for anyone who struggles with their mental health, or SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).

For those looking for some inspiration, Sports Direct has enlisted the guidance of Team GB Olympic weightlifter Zoe, who worked through her depression and anxiety to compete in this year’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Zoe has provided her top tips on how to train when you’re

STRENGTH: Team GB weightlifter Zoe Smith has battled depression on her road to success suffering from SAD and your mental health is low.

Zoe is working with Sports Direct as part of the retailer’s Equal Play initiative, a long-

term commitment aimed at making sport a fairer place for women in the UK. Zoe said: “It’s important to keep up sport and exercise all year round; it’s crucial for not only your physical health, but also really good for your mental health.

“Throughout my life, I’ve struggled

with depression and anxiety, and know that some days it’s hard to get out of bed let alone get to the gym, especially if it’s dark and miserable outside.

“On these days, try not to be too hard on yourself, but when you feel up to it, channel that moment into getting yourself up, out and back on track.”

title at 2022 in Oregon. After that season, you look again and you’re still feeling good then why not give it a shot. Paris 2024, I could definitely see it as a thing.”

How to train when you don’t quite feel up to it 1. Try not to be hard on yourself The Equal Play report, by Sports Direct in partnership with Women in Sport, found mental health was a barrier for women. Just under half (48 per cent) said fear of judgment, a symptom of anxiety, stopped them from playing sport.

If you’re struggling with your mental health, the simplest of tasks can feel daunting. In these times, focus on small steps before you embark on a big workout.

2. Make the most of the moment Harness any bursts of energy into doing a mini-workout. This could be something that requires a low level of input such as walking the dog or using your stairs.

3. Remember that it can make you feel better While sometimes exercise feels like the last thing you want to do, exercising can make you feel a lot better if you’re struggling with your mental health.

This is because the brain releases feel-good brain chemicals, such as endorphins.

4. Do what feels comfortable When your mental health is bad, try a workout you feel comfortable doing and you’re familiar with.

5. Enlist friends or family If you feel able to, lean on your nearest and dearest when you need a helping hand. Working out with someone else can be fun and they can help to keep you motivated.

56 | THE VOICE SEPTEMBER 2021

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