Butterfly Magazine - Issue 11

Black-Own

ed

British Business Vol. 1 Issue 11 3rd JUly 2020

Who is

Antoine Allen?

In collaboration with

Behind the Lens

E P A C S D N A L A BLACK MEDI

K U E H T IN

THE PIONEERS

Trevor McDonald

Moira Stuart Does Moira Stuart eat jacket potatoes with Kit Kats?

- Would I Lie to You? Series9 Episode 1 - BBC 2

Transform your viewing...

Phillip Butah How refreshing it was to tune into Sky news this week and be confronted by the two bubbly black presenters, Philip Butah and Gillian Joseph. (Love Leapy)

Claudia Liza ArmaGillia

Gillian Joseph

Gamal Fahnbulleh When not working, Gamal has a love of all things history and spends his free time reading fact based novels from the classical and medieval period. He is also a selfconfessed film buff and will happily lose an evening to some classic cinema or the latest blockbuster.

Continue on page 30-31 Transform your viewing...

3

Age is just a number

I’m Only 93 –

SS Windrush passenger ‘I’m only 93! And it’s only a number.’

Alford Gardner, SS Windrush passenger visited the cast of Smal lIsland in rehearsals.

4

Transform your viewing...

Press play

e logo with the boy and the man much smaller.

Do YOU want

a voice? donate

Transform your viewing...

5

34

Bakita: KK

THE BUTTERFLY MAAG TEAM Editor-in-Chief Beverley Cooper-Chambers EDITORIAL TEAM Karen Ferrari Simone Scott-Sawyer

Contents Cover - Antoine Allen

35

iChurch What Disruptions Teach Us

37

Blackspectation

38

2

Black Media Landscape In The Uk

10

What’s on the Screen?

19

Black Scientists Matter!

20

4

Freedom is Mine with Fayida

I’m Only 93 SS Windrush passenger

7

All About Botswana

8

Library 6

Transform your viewing...

Laughter, Good For The Soul

40

Sports Arrow: Sharran Alexander

41

Encouragement

42

Living With Endometriosis

21

The Disruptor

26

Lead story: Antoine Allen

43

Last Word

44

Conversations in Black and White

Editorial Researcher Tasina J. Lewis Sharrae Newell-Barn MARKETING DIRECTOR Marvin Osemwegie SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYST Michael Brown

ADVISORY BOARD Financial Strategic Advisor Nastassia Hedge-Whyte, MAAT, ACCA,ICAJ Marketing Strategic Advisor Jeremie Alamazani, Principal at Wealth Partners Ltd. Editorial Contributors David Clarke (London) Rhea Delaney (London) Joshua Grant aka Sports Arrow (London) Natalee Grant (Jamaica) Fayida Jailler (UK) Bakita Kasadha (UK & Uganda) Chi-Chi Osemwegie (London) Donna Williams (USA) Manasses Williams (USA) Design Editor Rusdi Saleh Graphics Butterfly logo by Wayne Powell (Jamaica) Submit a story: communications@butterflymaag.com Advertising enquiries: ads@butterflymaag.com Ad copy should be submitted Friday for the following week’s publication.

Butterfly Magazine published weekly on Fridays.

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

The Blessing

All About

Botswana 10

Fascinating

Facts About Botswana Botswana Open

For Business

The Blessing Botswana Transform your viewing...

7

THE LIBRARY

‘I Want My Children

To Be Proud They’re Black’

Malcolm X – Biography

Black and British: A Forgotten History-The Homecoming

GG’s Racist badge to go 8

Transform your viewing...

Legacy Spirit of the Black Panthers @ Virtual Theater The Black Panther Party was founded in Oakland, California, in 1966 with the purpose of defending African-Americans from police brutality and violent racism. Chapters formed in several U.S. cities – including Kansas City in 1969, less than a year after deadly rioting devastated east-side neighborhoods.

The documentary Legacy: Spirit of the Black Panthers examines the history of the Kansas City organization and its founder, Pete O’Neal, now exiled in Tanzania. Produced by local filmmakers Jermaine Thomas, Lyle Gibson, and Jacquey Valentine, it looks beyond the militancy associated with the party and focuses on the services the Black Panthers provided to the African-American community, including free breakfast programs, clothing drives, health screenings, and political and educational literacy.

Shattering

Gender Boxes Transform your viewing...

9

What’s on the Screen?

The Screeners’

TV Choice

Illustration by Wayne Powell (Jamaica)

WELCOME TO THE VIRTUAL LIBRARY

Welcome to our Virtual Library !

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

Enjoy!

Credit: Universal Pictures

Credit: Netflix

Man

US The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind

Credit: New Line Cinema

Credit: A24

A 13-yearold boy is thrown out of the school he loves when his family can no longer afford the fees. He sneaks into the library and learns how to build a windmill to save his village from a famine.

Accompanied by her husband, son and daughter, Adelaide Wilson returns to the beachfront home where she grew up as a child.

Haunted by a traumatic experience from the past, Adelaide grows increasingly concerned that something bad is going to happen. Her worst fears soon become a reality when four masked strangers descend upon the house, forcing the Wilsons into a fight for survival.

When the masks come off, the family is horrified to learn that each attacker takes the appearance of one of them.

Moonlight

House Party

Chiron, a young African American boy, finds guidance in Juan, a drug dealer, who teaches him to carve his own path. As he grows up in Miami, Juan’s advice leaves a lasting impression on him.

Although Kid has been grounded by his father, he sneaks out for a party at his friend Play’s house. But Kid has no clue about the trouble that awaits him in the form of three thugs from school.

The Real McCoy Mr. Frasier Transform your viewing...

11

Credit: Spike Lee Netflix Series

woman

12

For Coloured Girls This movie portrays the different stories of African American women. It deals with issues and problems faced by women based on a collection of 20 poems by Ntozake Shange.

Credit: BBC

Credit: HBO

Iconic filmmaker Spike Lee revisits his first feature film with this Netflix original series of the same name. Brooklynbased artist Nola Darling struggles to stay true to herself and her dreams while dividing her time between her friends, her job and her lovers — all three of them. That trio includes married businessman and father Jamie Overstreet, photographer and self-described “biracial Adonis” Greer Childs and chatty Michael Jordan fan Mars Blackmon. In addition to creating the series, Lee directs all the episodes and serves as an executive producer alongside wife Tonya Lewis Lee.

Credit: Lionsgate

She’s Gotta Have It

Insecure

The Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency

Best friends Issa and Molly belong to the same social background and face similar experiences.

They always strive to find solutions to their problems by facing them together.

A television comedy-drama series - It focus on the story of a detective agency opened by Mma Ramotswe and her courtship with the mechanic Mr. JLB Matekoni.

Transform your viewing...

Motown Magic

Credit: Keri Bolding/Windy City Live

Ben is an 8-year-old with a big heart and an even bigger imagination. With his magic paintbrush, Ben brings the streets of Motown back to life with vibrant tunes from the historic musical era.

This animated series from the makers of “Sesame Street” follows youngsters Esme and her best monster friend, Roy, on adventures in Monsterdale, where they are considered the best “monstersitters.” In their colourful world, Esme and Roy use the power of play to help toddler monsters overcome big challenges and work through familiar situations, such as trying new foods and feeling frightened during thunderstorms.

Credit: Esme and Roy

Esme and Roy

Credit: ENetflix Jr.

Credit: Netflix Jr.

small child

Home: Adventures with Tip and Oh

Hey Black Child – Maya Angelou AMAZING 3-yr old Pe’Tehn Raighn-Kem can read, write and pay tribute to one of the most renowned writers of all time. She memorized author Maya Angelou’s poem “Hey Black Child” in just a week and recited the poem to an audience during the Chicago daytime talk show Windy City LIVE.

Credit: Credit: Storytime Books Read Aloud

A continuation of where the film `Home’ left off, a misfit alien

Have You Thanked An Inventor Today

Transform your viewing...

13

Credit: Tianne King

OLDER CHILD

Credit: Marvel

Credit: Disney

The Heaven Show

Bunk’d Emma, Ravi and Zuri Ross go to the summer camp in Maine, where their parents had met for the first time.

14

Transform your viewing...

Marvel’s Avengers Assemble:

Black Panthers Quest

Black Panther has to decide if he’s an Avenger first or if his loyalties ultimately remain to the people of Wakanda.

Credit: Netflix

young adult Credit: Netflix

Black Lightening Jefferson Pierce, a vigilante with the power to harness electricity, is forced to come out of retirement and fight the increasing crime in his neighbourhood.

Credit: Netflix

An anthology series that revolves around a group of people’s personal lives and how technology manipulates their behaviour.

Credit: Freeform

Credit: Netflix

Love Jacked

Black Mirror

Roxanne Roxanne Grown-ish Zoey Johnson starts to attend college but soon realises that her life is not turning out to be the way she imagined it.

The most feared battle emcee in the early 1980s in Queens, New York, was a fierce teenager from the Queensbridge projects. At the age of 14, Roxanne ShantĂŠ was well on her way to becoming a hip-hop legend, as she hustled to provide for her family while defending herself from the dangers of the street.

Transform your viewing...

15

Credit: Netflix

Credit: FX Original

gen z

Been so long

While New York witnesses the evolution of the ball culture and the rise of the Trumpera, an LGBTQ ball fixture, Blanca, starts her own house and turns mother to a gifted dancer and a sex worker.

During a night on the town, a dedicated single mother meets a charming yet troubled stranger.

Credit: E4

Pose

Based on the acclaimed film of the same name, this Netflixoriginal series follows a group of students of colour at Winchester University, a predominantly white Ivy League college. The students are faced with a landscape of cultural bias, social injustice, misguided activism and slippery politics.

Through an absurdist lens, the series uses irony, self-deprecation, brutal honesty and humour to highlight issues that still plague today’s “post-racial” society. Creator Justin Simien serves as an executive producer.

16

Transform your viewing...

Credit: Netflix

Dear White People

Chewing Gum Tracey Gordon, a religious, Beyoncé-obsessed 24-year-old, is fast to find out that the more she learns about the world, the less she understands.

via@bbciplayer

grandPA

Credit: BBC/RICHARD TAIWO (TICE123)

via@bbciplayer

Arena, I Am Not Your Negro

The Start of Slavery – The BBC’s Real McCoy via@bbciplayer

Arena, Miller Meets Mandela

Coming to England, Coming to England: Transform your viewing...

17

Credit: Netflix

grandma The Holiday Calendar A photographer inherits an antique Advent calendar that seems to predict her future — including a budding romance.

Olive Morris Credit: Netflix

Just Wright

Credit: Netflix

Leslie, a down-to-earth physiotherapist, falls for an NBA star, Scott, while helping him recover from an injury. But he loves her friend Morgan, who hides her real personality from him.

Greenleaf The Greenleaf family, which runs sprawling Memphis megachurch Calvary Fellowship World Ministries, appears to be a loving and caring clan. Beneath the surface, though, exists scandalous secrets and lies.

Greed, adultery and sibling rivalry are among the issues that threaten to test the family’s faith and tear the group apart. The scandalous happenings are uncovered by Grace, the estranged daughter of church leader Bishop James Greenleaf, when she returns home after a 20-year absence. Oprah Winfrey has a regular role on the show as Mavis, Grace’s aunt.

18

Transform your viewing...

The Death And Life of Marsha P Johnson Filmmakers re-examine the 1992 death of transgender legend Marsha P. Johnson, who was found floating in the Hudson River. Originally ruled a suicide, many in the community believe she was murdered.

Black Scientists

Matter !

By Amara & Jessica

Inspirational Scientists!

Transform your viewing...

19

Freedom is Mine

Yemen

BY FAYIDA JAILLER

T

he African diaspora in Yemen are referred to as the Akdam, meaning ‘servant’ in Arabic which already gives an indication of how this darkskinned ethnic group is treated in Yemeni society.

However the community prefers to be called the Muhamasheen, meaning ‘the marginalised ones’. They are considered to be at the bottom of the Yemeni caste system, and are therefore socially segregated and shunned. The Muhamasheen reportedly make up 10% of the population of Yemen, at though statistics vary, they are estimated to be between 2,000,000 and 3,500,000 in Yemen today. The majority speak Arabic and live in the capital of Sana’a, but there are also concentrations of Muhamasheen in Abyan, Hodida, Hajja and Taiz.

There is not much concrete information surrounding the origins of the Muhamasheen, with several theories in circulation. They are believed to be descended from the Sudanese slaves or Ethopian soldiers who occupied Yemen during the 6th century.

There is proverb in Yemen that goes: “If your plate is touched by a dog, break it. But if it is touched by a Khadem, break it.” The Akhdam (meaning servants) or Muhamasheen (meaning

20

Transform your viewing...

the marginalised) exist today at the bottom of Yemen’s social hierarchy.

Living largely in abject poverty in slums on the outskirts of major cities with very little access to basic human rights including education, clean water, sanitation, and economic opportunities.

According to a UNICEF report in 2014, only 1 in 5 Muhamasheen children over the age of fifteen knew how to read and write.

The Muhamasheen are subjected to constant racial discrimination, ignored by the government and excluded from wider Yemeni society who consider them dirty and immoral.

Unsanitary living conditions make their community more susceptible to preventable diseases such as malaria and polio, with a relatively high infant mortality rate compared with wider Yemeni society. They are also at greater risk of contracting HIV. The Muhamasheen have been particularly adversely affected by the civil war in Yemen, their neighbourhoods frequently hit by shelling and airstrikes, destroying their fragile homes built from scrap materials. Sadly, they are often ignored by Yemeni humanitarian Organisations distributing aid. With the death toll in Yemen at almost 100,000 since 2015, there is no official data on the death toll among the Muhamasheen.

Welcome to the Disruptor

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

Less Talk More Action

The True Story of Africa WODE MAYA is on a mission to united young Africans to tell the true story of Africa to the world.

Originally from Ghana, he has been living in China for the past 6 years, speaks fluent Mandarin and has a successful youtube channel with the ambitious goal to unite Africa and Asia.

Behind the screen, Wode Maya is a hardworking, young African man leading by example in everything that he does and preaches.

Transform your viewing...

Credit: Theoisback

Wode Maya

21

Botswana’s Hearing Aid Pioneers

Are Betting On Solar Power To Go Global Credit: Unicef

Elizabeth Mutheu

A Trained Nurse Turned Contractor in Kenya

Zimbabwe:

Solar Ear – a rechargeable hearing aid 22

Transform your viewing...

How To Spend A Day In Black-Owned Lisbon, Portugal

L

isbon is often described as a vibrant city with scenery that’s unlike any other place you will find. The views of the city’s colorful houses combined with its iconic seven hills as the yellow and red trams roll through neighborhoods are simply iconic and make the perfect postcard.

One thing that isn’t talked about enough is Lisbon’s rich diversity in culture, especially within the black community.

Like many European countries, Portugal played a horrific role in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Portuguese and Brazilian ships transported close to six million slavesover a 400-year period.

As a direct result of colonization, Lisbon is a city full of influence from Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, and São Tomé and Príncipe. From the music, food, and culture, here’s how you can spend a day in Black-owned Lisbon.

Start Your Day With A Walking Tour Togolese native Naky Gaglo is the creator of the Africa Lisbon Tour. Gaglo will guide you on a journey to explore Lisbon’s African Roots.

Participants will learn about the influence that the Portuguese Expeditions had in the history of Africa, and Europe, alongside the inheritance that still remains in the lifestyle of the Portuguese people, according to Gaglo.

I left America to build

Ghana’s First Shopping Mall

Transform your viewing...

23

Negro Dollars into White Hands...

Black Pounds into Others’ Hands A Change is Coming...

24

Transform your viewing...

All roads lead to Be part of the change

Support UK Black Owned Businesses

Coming

Soon

Black art sand crafts market

Your chance to showcase your business in the Black community...

Let’s show some support for this black owned seafood shop in London

People can’t buy Black unless they know about you and can find you…

All roads lead to Noire Street…

Transform your viewing...

25

lead story

I am a person who has a voice and trying to use it to promote issues that I am passionate about and think society should know more about and should be discussing.

BM. How did you get into broadcast media?

What kind of challenges did you face?

AA: My path into broadcast media is probably different to most people’s route simply because the degree I studied at King’s College, London was War studies. Not your normal journalism degree but now I have a pool of knowledge that I could draw on in my chosen career. I wanted to be a war correspondent and documentary filmmaker. My interest is in global conflicts and there are always conflicts happening somewhere in the world. However, how media houses report

Anthony Joshua

I presented many live shows. I was fortunate to be booked by a marketing brand to present the Rugby World Cup. I enjoyed interviewing people like Jonah Lomu, Martian Johnson, and SĂŠbastien Chabal. I was booked at the fan zone for UEFA Champions League finals in Milan where I had the pleasure of interviewing Ruud Gullit, Edgar Davids, David Trazaguet and many other players.

Interview with

Antoine Allen conflict has changed considerably in recent times. To be sent to a conflict zone actually takes quite a long time to organise and it is extremely dangerous. As a freelancer it is now quite rare to be sent on assignment abroad. Before, it happened frequently, but now it is more costeffective to ask an on-site correspondent to report. In saying that, if you are one of the more seasoned journalists you may be fortunate to be sent to global trouble spots.

Getting Started While studying I had lots of practice presenting in different arenas. At the O2 academy I hosted Battle of the Bands. At the same time, 26

Transform your viewing...

Credit: Misan Harriman

Who is Antoine Allen?

My Sports Portfolio I started to build a portfolio of sports interviews as I secured many opportunities to present at high profile events. I now have an interesting show reel with sports celebrities. However, my passion is, and has always been making documentaries. This is the hardest form of media to get into as a presenter because you can, if you want make the entire documentary without a presenter. Also, the growth of reality TV means that less documentaries are made, and it is now a lot harder to get into that world than I thought it would be. Therefore, I started doing thing myself.

That was really impressive for an article. I did a video of me reading the article. The video had over 100,000 views.

Being Black Abroad

Anthony Yarde on his dad dying from COVID 19

Antoine Speaks I started a YouTube channel, called Antoine Speaks where I discuss a variety of topics just to show that I have the ability not only, to ask questions, but also, to speak up as an individual.

A few of my videos went viral and then I started blogging and a few of my blogs went viral.

Therefore, I wrote a post called, “Most people will not share this because African lives don’t matter”. It was based on the terrorist attacks that happened in Kenya and comparing that to the terrorist attacks that happened in France and people’s lack of reaction to the Kenyan terrorist attack. Plus, I discussed why people did not react and why the perception of deaths in Africa has normalised people’s minds? I pointed out that they [people] lack an empathic reaction to African deaths. They seem to be emotionally attached to French deaths in a similar situation.

The blog was about how normalised deaths in certain places has become based on the imagery given by the media or the narratives that society receives. That article has about two million views.

I went on to present another Champions League final in Cardiff and a few days later, I went to India to be the stadium announcer for the Asian Athletics Championship. I continued to do freelance presenting whenever I could. In 2018, I accepted an offer to be a full-time presenter in Germany, so I moved to Berlin. I am originally from Northampton, but I had moved to London when that opportunity arose. However, that was the first time I had lived outside of the UK. It was a great experience of just growing and trying new things, presenting every single day in comparison the freelancing. Some issues of racism did arise in terms of what people said and I had to pull them up on that. But it was from the perspective of a lack of Black people in the country. What people do not understand is that the perception of Black people all around the world, especially in Europe, comes from both America and the UK. Many places in Europe do not have Black people.

Therefore, they have never interacted with Black people. Then what they think is socially acceptable online and in music, becomes part of their vernacular. There were two instances where two guys used the N word in the office and I had to tell the manager to tell them the use of that word is not acceptable and it is not what should take place in a work place and not what should take place in society either. I was only there for six months. However, I am unsure if the two times I pulled them up about racism was part of the reason my contract was not renewed; that being said, it was a close-knit team and I was the only Black guy in the office and the one that had to call out some racism.

Transform your viewing...

27

Black Pete While in Germany, I made my first international documentary. I made a documentary about Black Pete, also known as Zwarte Piet in Dutch, which is about their annual black- face “tradition”. There is something they call Sinterklaas which is when St. Nicholas arrives on a boat, gives kids sweets and then eventually he leaves on a boat a few weeks later but he has helpers by the name of Zwarte Piet, which means Black Pete and is essentially a black-faced character which over time has been toned down. Originally, he had big red lips and an afro. Due to the Anti Zwarte Piet movement, which was about kicking out Zwarte Piet, they have been able to tone it down slightly. Zwarte Piet is no longer portrayed with big red lips and Amsterdam has changed it from Black Pete to Chimney Pete and instead of a black face, he just has little bits of dirt on his face because he came down a chimney. However, in places outside of Amsterdam, and even in Amsterdam sometimes, you can still see black Pete. It is an ongoing issue each year which many people have campaigned against. I went to Holland to see it for myself, made a documentary about it and it has over 100,000 views online and it did really well. I also wrote an article about it on my website. It has been covered before, by British media, but only on really small online spaces and from what I have seen, no British person has been there themselves to talk about it. It did well online.

However, it would have been nice for it to be picked up by a mainstream media here in the UK. But due to the coronavirus pandemic, they are now having discussions about its continuity.

Black Pete’s racist history

28

Transform your viewing...

We will see in October / November if they can have the parades that they normally have. If they do, then it will be interesting to see what the parades will look like and this time, I might go out with a camera team and try and see what has been happening since my documentary.

Antoine and an Agent I came back from Germany after I got a new agent here and I was able to take the next step because I had someone in my corner who was able to pitch my ideas for me. The nature of the media is, you do not just apply for a jobs, most of the times when you see a job advertised, most people have not applied for the job, they have been for auditions but those auditions are not posted on places like Gumtree. Auditions are usually sent out to agents and then the agents let their clients know if they have been selected or not. Therefore, if you do not have the right agent, then you might not hear about certain opportunities. I had a decent agent but with the nature of the media, I still wasn’t getting a lot of work and I was not getting booked. I had a few meetings with some production companies, I thought they went well but nothing came from them and it just meant that a lot of time was wasted, and I believe my ideas were strong enough to be made into a documentary. The issue here is, not many documentaries were being made. However, they are certain presenters who are not Black and have had a lot of documentaries commissioned for them, despite their limited experience.

Therefore, they have been able to build a profile for themselves, which is yet to happen for a Black presenter in the UK. In terms of ITV, I saw an advert and they were looking for a presenter for ITV London, I applied, and I got the job. Since then I have interviewed with Anthony Joshua, Mo Farah, Sadiq Khan, Wimbledon winners, Olympic Gymnast gold medallists and a whole

range of people. Recently, I was inducted into the Football Blacklist, which is a list of Black journalists who are in football and it was really nice to be recognised.

Am I the right person to tell your story –Yes Right now, my focus is on being able to get to a position where people contact me, asking me to do their interviews or to highlight their stories.

Meaning there will be a level of trust they will have in me, believing I am the right person to tell their story. I would also like to build my profile up enough so I know that I have a big enough platform so I can help people with their stories and get enough people interested and get enough people hearing about them. In regard to my wishes it is kind of a catch 22 because I can only produce the work and I just have to get people to try and follow me which is the hardest part. Although the work might be good, getting people to click follow when you are not a social influencer or a YouTuber can be quite hard, even with me being on TV. When you are on TV, you may get recognised on the street, but in terms of them picking up their phone and then following you can be quite challenging. However, if the person is already online, they can click follow straight away. It is harder to build an audience when you are on TV because people might know you in real life but in terms of online, your audience does not grow that fast.

BM: what you think the future of black television is in the UK? We need collective engagement

AA. Entertainment wise, we have people like Mo The Comedian who is doing really well for himself, we have other who are also pushing through.

We have different writers, different directors.

We have had success from Kidulthood and lot of different avenues. In mainstream Hollywood, we have John Boyega killing it and a lot of really young British talent. For me what I would like to see is more collaboration between all the people I have mentioned. For example, a lot of the comedians in the UK have a big following so it will be nice to see a return of The Real McCoy but with younger talent. The older talent that made The Real McCoy can be the ones writing and be directing and it could go full circle and that is what I would like to see. I have had this idea for a long time, and I do not know why it has not happened yet. Could it be because people do not want to work together or is it because it is not being commissioned? At the moment, I see a lot of people doing their individual shows rather than working as a collective and then after that, going off on their individual ways, which might explain why there are no more boybands anymore and everyone is just going solo and that is one aspect, entertainment wise.

Transform your viewing...

29

Black presenters and the News News wise, they are a lot of up and coming Black reporters doing really well like Jaydee Dyer on Sky Sports on a regular basis and has his own show presenting the NBA. On TV, we have Black people at the BBC, I am on ITV and we have Black people in Channel 4 and there is a whole ray of young talent. Ten years from now, it could be me hosting Good Morning Britain one day if that is the avenue I choose to pursue. Ten years from now, any of the people I just mentioned could be doing their own Victoria Derbyshire type show or have their own show like Oprah or Jeremy Vine. There is a lot of talent in the media right now, if given the right opportunity, I am sure will quite easily excel.

A Lack of Black Commissioners For me I would mainly like to make documentaries series and in between the have feature interviews; a block of six to ten interview whereby each episode is just one interview. The nature of the news is, if you do an interview, it’s only going to be three minutes max but online it can be longer. I would rather have a 30 minutes, prime time, sat down with AJ or Stormzy or Jessica Ennis, you know, interviews with prominent figures. A setup where we sit down properly and discuss their ups, their downs, their successes, and failures. That is what I would like to see. However, as Black people what we do not have is commissioners, if we do, not to a high degree, which then limits what we can put out. With Black people, I truly believe we have unlimited talent, but we do not have unlimited opportunities. We are at the right place now whereby people are listening and able to put their voice out there. The question is, are people willing to be the first person over the trenches.

Meaning you often get hit the most. Whoever is willing to do that means that whoever is coming behind them can carry the baton a little bit further than they did. However, the nature of Britain will always be the same, we are 3-5% of the population. Therefore, that will always limit the amount of shows and products we can produce and specifically Black orientated shows.

Now we can be the face of anything but when you are trying to be the face of the specific

30

Transform your viewing...

culture you come from and your culture is a minority, it is hard to justify 50% of television shows being Black for only a 3% population.

Those are not actual figures but in terms of what television is like, that is the reason why it may not get to the point of 50/50. But it should get to the point where, if there is a generic show, everyone can apply and we should all be able to get equal opportunities and whoever is the best fit for the show or the brand, gets the job. We are not at that point yet.

So, in terms of the future of the media for Black people, I think there are going to be lots of opportunities and there is going to be an increase in programmes and it will be a great opportunity for our up and coming young talent in years to come. The nature of social media means that young Black talents might skip journalism and decide to become a YouTuber like KSI and do very well for themselves and earn way more money that any journalist will ever make in their entire life. More doors will definitely be open for the up and coming Black talent to choose what they will like to do.

BM: What advice would you give a company trying to set up a Black- owned television network in the UK. Leverage the moment AA: Firstly, build a roster of people who need experience and then connect them with the people who have the experience. People without experience will be able to work longer hours because they need the show reel. However, you will need people with experience to guide them and show then how things are done so they understand Jaydee Dyer - A Journey to Sports Broadcasting (Sky Sports)

because you cannot have the blind leading the blind. If possible, reach out to people with a large following like the musicians and sports people and ask them to either fund or just give their time. An interview with a mega star in the black community can get you a lot of views, which can help with buying equipment and paying staff.

We have to start building a collective community whereby those with followers are able to help those who are on the come-up. You can also reach out to brands that support the BLM movement for sponsorship. We have to leverage the moment where people are acting like they care and test them to see if they actually do care.

BM: Do you think a Black- owned television network is the way forward?

AA: Yes, it is good because, it is creating more opportunities. The more jobs that people can apply for, the better the likelihood of them getting one of them. If there is only BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky and Talk Radio in the UK that people can apply for, then for every one application, thousands of people will apply. Another issue Black people have is, 50% of all Black people in the UK live in London.

Therefore, if a Black person applies for a job in

let’s say at ITV London, Channel 4, or Sky, you are competing against the 50% Black people in London, White people your age and lots of other different people. Meaning if there is another organisation that people can go for opportunities and to gain experience, then it increases their chances. It doesn’t mean that one it better than the other it just simply means there are more options available to people to add credits to their CV, which increases their chance of building a career. It also gives the opportunity to make content specific to their community, allowing them to build contacts and experience on something they are really passionate about and already have specific knowledge.

If anyone has a product that only 3% of the population is using, then media wise it might not be that popular or that relevant a wide audience because there are so many options for people to choose from. However, if you can give people a product that gives them the opportunity to better themselves, build experience who knows you might be someone who is Black but into gaming or tech or into sport or into business.

You don’t have to be Black and only talk about Black things. So, the difference here is building a Black-owned organisation and not a Black organisation. Then you can have a show with an Afro-Caribbean presenter talking about business and if you are White and into business, then you can still watch that show and that is the way to build it. Although they might be Black faces from the community, the things they talk about are not solely Black or just about the Black existence because that is just addresses a limited audience in the UK. Unless you are speaking on a global level and then the audience becomes massive but then that presents its own challenges due to the language barriers and cultural differences, which can add to the cost of production.

The way forward One Black organisation will be unable to employ all the Black people in the country that would like to work in the media. Therefore, we need multiple media organisations that happen to be run by Black people or heavily manned by Black people, spread out across the country, not just London.

Transform your viewing...

31

K U E H T N I E P A C S ND BLACK MEDIA LA

Charlene White Lukwesa Burak My #NopataPata to get the message out “No Touching”. I think there was an appearance by Hubby at the window. I danced so much that #1 Son knew the moves... and joined in!

Andi Peters

Dr Maggie Aderin Pocock Space Scientist The Sky at Night 32

Transform your viewing...

Rageh Omaar

Alex Beresford

Ronke Phillips

Joyce Ohajah Driving Diversity and Inclusion in Marketing | CMO London 2018

Tyrone Francis And just like that - the statue of Robert Milligan has been removed from West India Quay in East London

Jessica Creighton I will continue to fight, support, campaign, disrupt, dismantle, be vocal + really bloody visible! If I don’t make it that little bit easier for those coming up, what the hell am I here for?!

Transform your viewing...

33

Photo: contributed. Bakita Kasadha

Bakita: KK

SPEAK YOUR

TRUTH Meet Bakita: KK

Overcoming self-stigma to achieve your potential

[

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

[

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

34

Transform your viewing...

Click for video

faith on tv

iChurch

Churches that already had a strong, online presence raised the bar by preaching to empty pews. On the upside they gained a new ‘homechurched’ congregation.

Dr Cindy Trimm

WHAT DISRUPTIONS TEACH US Transform your viewing...

35

Racism and the Seventh Day

Adventist Church

The WOUND Racism is a demon that has haunted the Seventh-day Adventist Church for many years. Here’s the history.

Steve Harvey 36

Transform your viewing...

n o i t a t c e n p o i s t k a t c c a e l p B s n k o c i a t l a B t c e p s k c Bla e

by Donna Mari

Williams

Our Elohim

By Donna Marie Williams

As we wait in the quandary of the next steps And watch the celebration of our pets As they are humanized And we are demonized We petition our Creator Who is our Mediator Counsellor, Avenger and Advocate And learn from His etiquette So we can better witness Instead of sabotaging His bigness Because in Him there is no lack We don’t have to worry about being black Or be concerned about the body If the soul is shoddy Salvation for all Is the goal of His call Some say, “beam me up Scotty” But we say, “up up on the wings of our Daddy”.

Dankey Seh Worl Nuh Level Translation: Donkey says the world is not level (balanced). ... The Jamaican equivalent notes that donkey (a voice of wisdom) says the world is not level. It is possible for you to do everything right and still end up failing.

Vladimir Laborde Some home truths about racism.

Transform your viewing...

37

Relax

LAUGHTER GOOD FOR THE SOUL

Guyanese break u

p

Hole food Bird Pee

Officer in Law

Red sea

Rum Pie Rates

38

Transform your viewing...

Taxi

Delcita

The phone

Bubble bath Snowcone

Cat Medic Cat nap

Idiot

Weight

Lies

MRI with spider Transform your viewing...

39

Sports Arrow

Sharran Alexander

Credit: pics.wikifeet.com

named ‘Heaviest Sportswoman’ 2012

‘I don’t ever expect to be slim and I don’t want to be’: Britain’s only female sumo wrestler tips the scales at 27st and stays in shape by eating 5,000 calories a DAY

40

Transform your viewing...

Encouragement

Encouragement

Stronger

Jimmy Cliff Transform your viewing...

41

Black Woman

Living With Endometriosis

Arming Yourself With Knowledge (Part 6)

42

Transform your viewing...

Last Word

The Real McCoy

BAbylon

Transform your viewing...

43

Support Your Black Television Network

Pixabay.com

donate

In Case You Missed It

I’ve Always Been British

Click for Website