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Young authors introducing their generation to Black role models
Octogenarian Icolyn Smith is walking on air
Two ten-year-old children have written books that inspire young Black boys and girls to take pride in themselves and learn about historical Black figures from past and present.
The 87-year-old received a prestigious Pride of Britain award from the Strictly Come Dancing team at a star-studded ceremony in Central London, for her work running the Oxford Community Soup Kitchen (OCSK). Icolyn, a member of the Church of God of Prophecy, started the OSCK 28 years ago, after seeing a homeless man rummaging through street bins for food in her home town, Oxford. Moved with compassion, she decided to put her considerable culinary skills to good use and cook meals for the homeless and vulnerable in Oxford. To date, Icolyn has cooked over 60,000 meals, and OSCK, which is now a charity called The Icolyn Smith Foundation, also distributes sleeping bags, clothes and shoes to the homeless. Icolyn says she feels “wonderful” being recognised for her work. And she had this advice for retirees: “We might reach a certain age in life, and feel the children have grown up, (but you need to) find something else to do to occupy your time. To just retire and sit down, it does no one any good.” And she’s also grateful to God for her award. “With all these things that have happened in my life, I give thanks to God. He is the only One who could take me through and give me the strength to go on.”
EastEnders inspires thoughtprovoking single, Stop the Fighting Gospel singer and songwriter, Carol Bertogal, hopes the song she was inspired to write (after watching a moving episode of EastEnders) will play a part in encouraging young people involved in gangs, crime and violence to pursue a positive life path. Carol, a wife, a mother of two young children, found herself in tears after watching an EastEnders storyline, where a character got caught up in gang crime and ended up being murdered. She recalled: “I was overwhelmed with emotion as I watched the programme, especially as they used real-life mothers, whose children had been killed. The programme also made me think something needs to be done to stop the youth from killing each other.” Overcome with emotion, Carol went to bed thinking about the episode, and woke up inspired to write a song; Stop the Fighting is the result. It will be released as a single on November 30, and proceeds will be donated to five charities that seek to combat youth crime. She believes she was inspired by her faith to write Stop the Fighting, and explained: “I didn’t choose this song; I believe God gave it to me to make a difference in the lives of young people. “It’s my desire for this song to make perpetrators of violence stop and think about what they are doing. We don’t want young people to die needlessly. We want them to live.” The song will be available on iTunes, Amazon Music and Google Music from November 30, 2018. Find us on Twitter and Facebook: @KeepTheFaithmag
Written by Romeo Bremmer, son of Juliet Coley (presenter of the renowned People Get Ready show) and Brianna-Kayla Lynch, the granddaughter of gospel legend Bazil Meade MBE, the books entitled ‘Hey, Black Boy!’ and ‘Hey, Black Girl!’ (respectively) feature profiles of inspirational Black people. Hey, Black Boy! includes Black male role models, such as grime artist, Stormzy; three times Olympic 100 metres champion, Usain Bolt, and civil rights leader, the late Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Women featured in ‘Hey, Black Girl!’ include Michelle Obama; Britain’s first Black female MP, Diane Abbott, and soul singer, the late Aretha Franklin. Juliet Coley worked alongside her older son, Bailey, to publish both books. She said: “It’s important to inspire young people to develop pride in themselves and their community, by highlighting well known Black achievers. These books do that, and also encourage readers to see themselves as individuals who can do great things.” The books have received a great response on social media, and Romeo and Brianna-Kayla are praying that lots of people buy copies to give away as presents at Christmas. Visit www.blackjacmedia.com to buy a copy (or several!).
