The Voice Newspaper November Edition 2020

NOVEMBER 2020 • ISSUE NO. 1912

NEWSPAPER

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SPECIAL FOCUS

Racism in Britain today See pages 14, 18, 23, 41, 46

LEWIS HAMILTON Greatest of all time Tribute inside

NEW DIGITAL UK BANK LAUNCHED The first 100% Caribbean owned UK retail bank JN Bank, was launched in Black History Month

by JN Group. In keeping with its value to support communities, a flagship branch was opened in Brixton, South London.

JN Bank has started by offering savings accounts and personal loans.

See pages 3 - 6 and 16

Inside

ROUNDUP

THIS MONTH

NEWSPAPER

Spotlight

News, views, stories & videos

David Olusoga says that for all its negativity, 2020 has been a year of progress p8

Family and friends continue their fight to get justice for Belly Mujinga

THE 10 MOST POPULAR STORIES ON VOICE-ONLINE.CO.UK 1. Renowned broadcaster and journalist Brenda Emmanus will leave the BBC after 28 years The Voice alumnus has spent almost two decades as BBC London’s Arts and Culture correspondent.

2. Desmond's star leaves a lasting legacy in Ghana Humphrey Barclay, producer of Desmond's star Gyearbuor Asante became a chief in Tafo, Ghana after visiting for his friend's funeral.

3. The legacy of the NHS's first black nurse

p14-15

Is race equality really on the horizon?

Lawrence Davies opines p18-19 Levi Roots on Windrush, his parents, and our stories

Kofoworola Abeni Pratt's persistence on her nursing journey is explored, and Black nurses in the NHS today reflect on how she inspires them.

4. This mission to 'end Afro hair discrimination' continues

Major UK teaching unions have backed World Afro Day's campaign to end Afro hair discrimination in all schools.

5. New 50p coin celebrating Britain's diversity unveiled A new coin has now entered circulation.

6. Black women in business: Sandra Murphy, the equine industry pioneer

Sandra’s revolutionary equine product finally solves a problem that’s existed for over 850 years but she's had to overcome racism to succeed.

p25

Emma Akuwudike on how county lines drug networks are putting our youngsters' lives at risk p46 After his career in the Met, Leroy Logan has put his story to paper p54

Kia Commodore

7. Caribbean at imminent risk of major ecological disaster due to oil spill An abandoned oil tanker may cause a major ecological disaster if action is not taken.

8. OBE for Brenda Emmanus, Colleen Amos and more

Brenda Emmanus, Colleen Althea Amos and Nimco Ali have been awarded bursaries.

9. Joshua Beckford: Youngest ever Oxford University student fundraises to build Nigerian school

His father says he’s fundraising to build a school in Nigeria.

10. RIP to The Real McCoy comic Collette Johnson Friends and family pay tribute.

This issue is 64 pages

KIA COMMODORE is a personal finance guru, public speaker and is the creator of the podcast and platform Pennies To Pounds as well as being a co-host on the BBC 5 Live podcast Your Work, Your Money.

Kia created the Pennies to Pounds podcast in 2019 after completing her university degree in French and Business. During her time at university she recognised that many of her friends struggled with financial literacy and how to properly manage their finances. She wanted to share her knowledge and create a platform for young people, enabling them to gain that knowledge.

After just one year, the Pennies To Pounds podcast won an award for Best Podcast of 2020 at the Brown Sugar Awards, as voted for by her peers.

Kia has worked hard over the last year, partnering with financial services brands such as Monzo, Barclays, and Hargreaves Lansdown to create and curate financial education content.

Pennies To Pounds has also been featured on the BBC and other print media as a great podcast to listen to if you need to top tips on money management.

As a black woman, Kia has not found the journey an easy one – despite the obstacles she has persevered and is well respected by her peers. Recently she was nominated by GUAP magazine as one of the top 30 young black creators in 2020.

Kia hopes her own achievements will inspire other young people to be aim for excellence in what they do.

Even though her podcast is still in its ‘infancy’, her hope is to continue to make exciting and engaging content for young people around financial literacy whilst simultaneously breaking down any barriers that stand in her way as a young black women.

The Voice salutes Kia for her determination and commitment to young people.

You can check out her Pennies to Pounds podcast online, or follow her on Twitter at @ikeeyah

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

NEWSPAPER

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NOVEMBER 2020 THE VOICE | 3

News

‘At last – we’ve finally got a bank of our own in Britain’ Moment of celebration for savers and borrowers as JN Bank opens its first UK branch in Brixton

By Staff Writer

J

N BANK launched to the public last month and opened its first UK branch in Brixton, south London. A moment of celebration for all and a decisive moment for the “black pound”.

For far too long, black Britons have been poorly served by high street banks. For whatever reason, British banks have not treated their black savers and borrowers equitably.

Former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said so when he accused our high street banks of racism. He pointed out that firms owned by individuals of black African origin are four times more likely than “white firms” to be denied loans outright.

That was nine years ago.

Now, finally, a change has come. JN Group’s first bank in the UK will change high street banking forever and grow black Britons stronger economically.

A bank of our own is a game changer. A bank that sees your potential rather than the stereotype. Or, as Martin Luther King Jr might have put it much more eloquently, a bank that will judge you not by the colour of your skin, but by the content of your character.

For far too long, black Britons have had to jump too many hurdles in Britain to achieve their wealth. Hence the handful of attempts that there have been to start a black bank in the UK. The Windrush generation ar-

Black Britons have been poorly served by high street banks.

They have not treated black savers and borrowers equitably rived in this country with hope in their eyes, believing they could make something of themselves here and that wealth sees no colour bar.

But the dream was a struggle in the cold light of day. It was harder than they imagined to make ends meet from the sweat of their brow.

CO-OPERATIVE

Particularly when it came to owning your own home. No bank would lend to the new immigrants and so an informal (co-operative) system developed in which you put your money into a savings scheme together with a group of friends and family members until there was enough money for the first person on the list to buy a house.

And they and the rest of the scheme’s members would continue putting in their subs every week until the next person on

BRANCHING OUT: Above and below left, the new JN Bank in Brixton, south London (photos: Marek Sikora Photography) the list had enough money to buy a house and so on and so forth.

It was called the ‘pardna’ (partner) and was the original savings scheme that enabled people from the Caribbean to buy their first homes in Britain, save for a holiday, buy a car or even for funerals to bury their loved ones in the UK or back in the Caribbean.

PARDNA

Pardna brought the community together and brought the discipline of saving and some people still continue with it today. However, most of us would rather use a bank, like JN Bank which says: “Not all loans are created equal.”

It was the dream of the late Messrs Dyke and Dryden, who were amongst the first self-made millionaires in this country.

The two gentlemen pooled

their resources and brought a third investor, Tony Wade, into the equation and, from their base in north London, made their fortune selling Afro combs

in this country and it was much needed at the time.”

Easier said than done. Dyke and Dryden got close, but the financial regulator put a moun-

It is vital that we not only welcome a bank of our own, but that we support it, too when the Afro was the thing – black and proud.

They went on to become the main distributors of all black products, especially hair care and cosmetics.

In their retirement, they dreamed of starting a black bank and pulled together some of the great and good of the black community to a series of meetings to see how it could happen from the ground up.

Edutainer Leo Muhammad remembers those meetings: “It was the closest we have come to starting a black bank

tain in their way to climb. It proved insurmountable for all subsequent attempts also.

Until JN Group came with enough capital to satisfy the banking authorities.

Funds built up by its members over the last 146 years of its evolvement from the Westmoreland Building Society to the commercial bank it is today.

It is so exciting to have a bank of our own and to imagine the difference it will make to us and our families and our status in this country. But it is

vital that we not only welcome a bank of our own but that we support it, too.

A bank is only as strong as its members. We are the JN Bank’s members.

It only takes a million of us to open up an account with the JNB, for it to become one of the most powerful financial institutions in the country. And we can still hang on to our existing bank accounts with the high street banks.

TALLAWAH

But the JN Bank needs us, small and big account holders, as much as we need it. It lickle but it tallawah compared to some of the other high street banks – but like all the others it’s online (www.jnbank.co.uk).

And you know what the best thing of all is? It only took me 10 minutes to open an account.

I am in – are you?

4 | THE VOICE MARCH 2020

MARCH 2020

THE VOICE| 5

6 | THE VOICE MARCH 2020

MESSAGES

LAUNCH OF JN BANK IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

His Excellency the Most Honourable Sir Patrick Allen, ON, GCMG, CD, KStJ

Governor-General of Jamaica

The Most Honourable Andrew Holness, ON, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica

T

oday history is being created as The Jamaica National Group formally launches JN Bank in the United Kingdom. Since its inception in 1874, JN has been providing exemplary service to the people of Jamaica and the Jamaican Diaspora through the provision of financial and other services.

Jamaica and the UK share historical ties with hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans establishing firm roots with the long term objective of ultimately returning home.

Jamaica National responded 32 years ago to the needs of those Jamaicans by establishing the JN Representative Office and a remittance company. These initiatives have provided a financial bridge to Jamaican families.

In recent years, Jamaica and the Caribbean have faced a formidable challenge with the de-risking of financial institutions in the Region.

Several banks have lost their correspondent banking relations, resulting in many UK residents of Jamaican heritage being unable to access banking services.

In response, Jamaica National took the bold decision to apply for a commercial banking licence in the UK. I am proud of Jamaica National’s decision to embark on this initiative to address a pressing need of our Diaspora and people in the UK. As the first Caribbean-owned bank in the UK, JN Bank will not only provide financial services to strengthen the achievements of our people in Britain, but will work closely with communities to build them and to create greater opportunities for our people of Caribbean heritage to prosper and realise their best potential.

The Government of Jamaica has been a supporter of this initiative and acknowledges the tremendous work undertaken to bring this bank to fruition. This is truly a great example of a Jamaican company, wholly owned by its members, extending itself beyond our borders to support not only our Jamaicans, but the people of the Caribbean region.

Jamaica National continues to fly the Jamaican flag high. I am pleased to officially launch JN Bank in the UK and wish you every success.

I

am pleased to share in the realization of a dream in the launch of the Jamaica National Bank in the UK. This historic event is one of which Jamaicans, and indeed the entire Caribbean, can be proud. We are celebrating the awarding of a commercial banking license to The Jamaica National Group operating in the United Kingdom. This achievement encapsulates the vision of The Jamaican National Group to be ‘a globally respected brand boldly finding ways to enrich lives and build communities.’ This groundbreaking feat will serve as a precedent and a catalyst for Caribbean financial

His Excellency Asif Ahmad High Commissioner for Britain to Jamaica and the Bahamas

T

oday is a special day not just for Jamaica National Bank, but also Jamaica as a whole, because this is a big step for the country as it integrates into the global financial system. It’s also a huge opportunity for the Caribbean to find its gateway to the world through London and, indeed, the financial system that we are connected to.

My association with Jamaican National Bank, and this project in the UK to set up an operation, goes back to when I was invited by the representatives of Jamaica National Bank to visit the office in Brixton. And what struck me was: what a vibrant operation it was, and the clear demand for the services that it had.

The challenge now is to do more, and we will be with you, Jamaica National, as you go forward. It’s not just about linking in with the Diaspora of people from Jamaica, in and around the world, who want to bring their resources here for their own needs and for the rest of the family, but it’s also an opportunity for banks in the Caribbean to use the correspondent banking services that Jamaica National will be able to offer. That basically means that Jamaica National could be the banker to the banks.

Now on this point: it is time for banks in the Caribbean region as a whole, and for governments around the

institutions who desire to enter the UK market.

Despite our geographical differences, the enduring relationship between the Jamaican Diaspora in the UK and their island home is intricately woven by our shared history and experiences, as well as the hopes and dreams we hold for our nation and its people. I commend the leadership and management of the JN Group for wisely building on the strong ties between Jamaicans in the UK and their financial obligations to their families at home.

This establishment of the Jamaica National Building Society was a convenient way for Jamaicans in the Diaspora to send home remittances, personal savings, real estate investments, make donations to charitable organizations, community groups, school, outreach groups, and other organizations. Jamaica National UK is a living monument of enterprise and vision, and is another block in building Brand Jamaica.

The opening of this bank marks a watershed moment in training and personal banking relations between the United Kingdom, Jamaica and the wider Caribbean, and will benefit all concerned.

Knowing the Honourable Earl Jarrett’s tenacity and determination not to be daunted by challenges, I am sure he has plans to extend the JN Bank to other UK locations, as well as to other countries in the region.

I am confident that this entity will continue in the tradition of a group of companies, which exemplifies excellence in service and fiduciary responsibility.

Congratulations Mr Jarrett and your dedicated team who made this happen. I am proud of you have this groundbreaking initiative.

Caribbean, to fall in behind this enterprise, not as a Jamaican thing, but as a Caribbean initiative, to ensure that this vital lifeline to the international banking system through the world’s leading financial centre, London, takes place. And that way, the risks would be insured and assured by what JN Bank has to offer.

We’ve enjoyed our association and this will now continue in the years forward. I wish everybody in the Jamaica National bank operation, both here in Jamaica and in the UK, every success in this wonderful, exciting new venture.

MARCH 2020

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8 | THE VOICE NOVEMBER 2020

Column

2020 HAS BEEN A YEAR OF PROGRESS, HOWEVER HARD HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF: Founder of the League of Coloured Peoples, Harold Moody, complained to the BBC in 1940 about the use of racist language – but a BBC reporter used the ‘N’ word in a programme this summer

Statues have been toppled and books on race have made charts. We never foresaw COVID-19 sweeping the world, but we also never anticipated the Black Lives Matter doing the same, says David Olusoga

T

HIS YEAR, for reasons good and bad, has been a year like no other. There is a quote, attributed to Lenin, that sums up what we’ve all been through this summer. What Lenin said, or is supposed to have said, is that “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”

In 2020 it has felt as if our society’s capacity and willingness to recognise the realities of racism suddenly expanded.

One way to remind ourselves how remarkable the past few months have been is to attempt to imagine ourselves back to the first weeks of 2020, and ask what expectations we might have realistically had for the year ahead.

If, at the beginning of 2020, I had been told that during the summer they would be weeks in which half of the books on the Sunday Times bestseller list would be books on black history and race I would not – for a moment – have believed them.

If someone had told me that millions of young people across the world would organise thousands of marches and demonstrations in the name of anti-racism, I would have dismissed the idea as fanciful.

If, in January, someone had told me that in 2020 the statue of the 17th Century slave trader Edward Colston, that had stood in the centre of Bristol for

Our society’s capacity to recognise the realities of racism expanded 125 years, would be toppled, I would have reminded them that in 2019 campaigners were unable to persuade the defenders of that trader in human flesh to even agree to a plaque, acknowledging the existence of his victims, being attached to the pedestal of which the statue stood.

The events of 2020, the conversations that have taken place between friends and co-workers about the realities of racism in modern Britain, the decisions taken by thousands of institutions and companies, to examine their practices and cultures and, in some cases, commit to becoming actively anti-racist organisations – none of that was predictable or predicted at the beginning of this year.

There is still a long way to go, but 2020 has been a year of unexpected progress.

While it is useful to think back to our expectations of January 2020 it is

equally instructive to cast or minds back to the days immediately after the murder of George Floyd. The task of explaining these issues, and making sense of a summer of change, fell to the British news media.

But in the immediate aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, as millions gathered to protest under the banner of Black Lives Matter, newspapers and television programmes repeated the same message that has been delivered to black Britons whenever they have seen parallels between their life experiences and those of African Americans.

INSPIRED

Black Britons inspired by the rise of Black Lives Matter and horrified by the murder of Floyd were told that the situation in the United States was unique and that any comparisons between British racism and American racism was both far-fetched and ill judged.

“You’re not putting America and the UK on the same footing,” George The Poet, pictured left, was asked on Newsnight, a week after Derek Chauvin had killed Floyd.

“Our police aren’t armed, they don’t have guns, the legacy of slavery is not the same,” he was assured.

The fact that Floyd’s murder did not involve firearms and that slavery was planted in the United States by Britain, and sustained long after American Independence by British cotton traders and bankers, were facts not allowed to get in the way of the British media’s traditional gaslighting the black community. Another way the broadcast industry failed was the controversy that surrounded the BBC’s use of the ‘N’ word in two programs.

Decisions that led to thou-

@thevoicenewspaper

sands of complaints. The producers of both programs decided that the use of the ‘N’ word was justified.

That the presenters and the production teams were white, was not seen as a problem.

It matters how it’s said, why saying it is deemed necessary and who is doing the saying.

We need to drive casual racist language out of public discourse, but the function of history is to remind ourselves

I do not believe there is ever a case for broadcasting historical racial language, no matter how offensive For the record I do not believe there is never a case for broadcasting historic racial language, no matter how shocking and offensive.

The brutal facts of black history – of slavery and the violence of Empire – are, in my view, even more offensive.

With proper warnings and framings the use of historic racial language, even the ‘N’ word can be appropriate.

@thevoicenews

that such language was once a ubiquitous tool, used daily in the oppression and dehumanisation of black people.

The ‘N’ word comes with a toxic legacy but its use and misuse by journalists and broadcasters has a history of its own.

One of the ironies of 2020 was that 80 years earlier the BBC was involved in an almost identical scandal, again con-

voicenews

cerning the use of the ‘N’ word by a white presenter.

In the summer of 1940 Harold Moody, the Jamaican doctor who founded the League of Coloured Peoples, complained to the BBC about the inclusion of that slur in a radio broadcast.

In his letter to the corporation Moody condemned the ‘N’ word as ‘one of the unfortunate relics of the days of slavery’, describing it as ‘vexatious to present-day Africans and West Indians’.

Just two days later the BBC responded. The letter read: ‘I find that our announcer was at fault.

“The points raised in your letter is fully appreciated, and is one that the BBC is at pains to keep constantly in mind.

“It was unfortunately overlooked on this occasion, and a reminder on the subject is being given to all announcers.”

Sadly the reminder issued in 1940 was not consulted by the producers of 2020.

www.voice-online.co.uk

MARCH 2020

THE VOICE| 9

2 | THE VOICE OCTOBER 2020 THE VOICE VOICE OCTOBER NOVEMBER2020 2020 210 || THE

ADVERTORIAL

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It’sspread for people invirus England the of the - theand best way to do that is knowing where Wales. We need everyone on board this idea controlling the with outbreaks areof and knowing when someone who has tested the spread of the virus - the best way to domight that ishave knowing where positive been in your vicinity, then getting as many the outbreaks are and knowing when someone who tested people to isolate ashas possible. positive might have been in your vicinity, then getting as many people to isolate as possible.

How much have you seen of the app in action?

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What would you say to members of the public who don’t believe it will make a difference?

What would you say to members ofI was the public who don’t nervous about downloading it because I was worried believe it will make a difference? about data privacy. However, the app protects privacy as it I was nervous about downloadinguses it because I wasGoogle’s worried proven Bluetooth technology, deApple and about data privacy. However, the app protects privacy aswill it know who or where you are. The signed so that nobody uses Apple and Google’s proven Bluetooth technology, deonly personal information it requires is the first half of your signed so that nobody will know who or where youall are.

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Dr Sarah Jarvis Dr Sarah Jarvis GP, broadcaster and NHS Test GP, broadcaster and and Trace NHS Test spokesperson and Trace spokesperson What are the features of the NHS app?

I was critical of the previous app, but my questions and concerns What are the features of the NHShave app?been addressed. That’s why I agreed to be a spokesperson for I was critical of the previous app, butTest myand questions andapp concerns NHS Trace. The alerts you if you have been in close conhave been addressed. That’s whytact I agreed to be a spokesperson for with somebody who has tested positive for coronavirus, but it NHS Test and Trace. The app alertsisyou if you have been in close only people who have beenconin close contact with someone for 15 tact with somebody who has tested positive for coronavirus, but you it to pass on details of your conminutes or more.

The app allows is only people who have been in tacts, close anonymously, contact with someone 15 if you testfor positive. minutes or more. The app allows you to pass on details of your contacts, anonymously, if you test positive.

Why would you recommend everyone to download the app?

Why would you recommend everyone Downloading the app is part of the solution. Every country which to download the app? has done well with Covid-19 has one of these apps. If only a small Downloading the app is part of the solution.ofEvery country which proportion the population take this up, it is going to increase the has done well with Covid-19 has one of these apps. only a alerted small and increase the number of numbers of peopleIf being proportion of the population take people this up, who it is going to increase thebe at risk of spreading the virus. are told they could numbers of people being alertedThat andmeans increase thatthe we number can get of the R number down and hopefully people who are told they could be at risk a ofgeneral spreading the virus. prevent lockdown.

That means that we can get the R number down and hopefully prevent a general lockdown.

Does the app protect your privacy?

They worked with Google and Apple to develop the app. Any Does the app protect your privacy? data shared with the app is only held on your phone, so if you They worked with Google and Apple to develop the app. decide to delete the appAny – which you can do at any time – all data shared with the app is only held on your phone, as so if youApp users are anonymous and the the data is deleted well. decide to delete the app – which you do atbe any timeto– track all appcan cannot used your location, for law enforcethe data is deleted as well. App users areoranonymous and the ment, to monitor self-isolation and social distancing. app cannot be used to track your location, for law enforcement, or to monitor self-isolation and social distancing.

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his free smartphon and Trace, is dev his free smartphone app, part of NHS Test your loved ones sa and Trace, is devised to keep you and experts. medical your loved ones safe and is endorsed by to the NH Thanks medical experts. phone users around Englan Thanks to the NHS Covid-19 app, smartto actively participate in t phone users around England andspread Wales are ablecoronavirus of the to actively participate in the prevention of app – whichthe uses Bluetoo spread of the coronavirus. By downloading the protect p than GPS to help app – which uses Bluetooth technology rather than GPS to help protect privacy – users can not

2 | THE VOICE OCTOBER 2020

ADVERTORIAL

3 OCTOBER 2020 2020 THE THE VOICE VOICE|| 11 NOVEMBER

ADVERTORIAL

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Dr Amir Kh GP and TV

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VISIT THE APP STORE OR GOOGLE PLAY TO DOWNLOAD THE NHS COVID-19 APP NOW. If you have already downloaded the app, please make sure you continue to use it to protect your loved ones.

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I was critical of the previous app, but my questi Contact tracing has helped keep the virus under control in other countries. have been addressed. That’s why I agreed to be a Can you give us some examples?

NHS Test and Trace. The app alerts you if you have NHS Test and Trace is a system that works. The app is there to help tact with somebody who has tested positive for people. We’re not miles away from where we need to be to reverse is only people who have been in close contact w epidemic spread. Many countries in Asia have controlled the epidemic, minutes or more. The app allows you to pass on d including Japan and South Korea. New Zealand has completely contacts, anonymously, if you test positive. trolled the epidemic, as has Australia. Australia used a contact tracing app alongside testing and manual contact tracing, and social distancWhy would you recommend everyone ing. We need all of these things. to download the app?

Downloading the app is part of the solution. Eve So, every single person who downloads this app will make has done well with Covid-19 has one of these app a difference? proportion of the population take this up, it is goin We will make a difference. Our team agree that the more peonumbers of people being alerted and increase ple who download it, the more we can add to the control efpeople who are told they could be at risk of sprea fort. If more of us do it, the more we can turn the tide. We That means that we can get the R number down need solidarity, because we really need schools and univerprevent a general lockdown. sities to stay open, and most of the time we want people to get back to pubs, restaurants and theatres - but we can’t Does the app protect your privacy? do it if the virus is out of control.

They worked with Google and Apple to develop th data shared with the app is only held on your phon It’s the difference between existing and living life, isn’t it? decide to delete the app – which you can do at an We’re all frustrated. As scientists, we’re also humans and we the data is deleted as well. App users are anonymo want to be able to hang out with friends and go out. Look app cannot be used to track your location, for la around the world: once you get control of the virus, we’re all ment, or to monitor self-isolation and social distan better off - and it’s good for our livelihoods too.

12 | THE VOICE NOVEMBER 2020

Dotun Adebayo

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

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

DISNEY’S ‘SORRY’ WON’T CHANGE ITS RACIST PAST The studio must go beyond pardoning its portrayals of black people and take action

W

HAT IS it about the biblical instruction ‘if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off’ that the Disney Corporation doesn’t understand?

For nearly a century it wasn’t offended by the racist content of its classic movies but now, apparently, it is to say the least embarrassed by some of it and, in light of George Floyd’s killing and the Black Lives Matter movement, it’s now strengthening its ‘parental advisory’ of racist content in its movies.

But it is unwilling to cut off the offending right hands from its movie channel.

This “sorry” is about as far as the company is willing to go in contrition for subliminally poisoning the minds of our children and our children’s children with racist garbage all these years in cartoon ‘classics’ like Dumbo (in which the exaggerated southern black brogue of the crows – I know, I know, you couldn’t make it up – is voiced by a white actor in the vocal equivalent of blackface: “Ah seen a horse flah, ah seen a dragon flah...ah seen a house flah!).

Through the eyes and ears of modern Britain it is shocking to see and hear the way that racism was drip-fed to us from childhood through the lens of a camera and the medium of a cinema or television screen.

Little did we know, in the old days, that the little box in the corner of our living rooms that our parents were so proud of being able to afford to rent, was a filter through which our daily discrimination was being rationalised.

Black people are, after all, less intelligent than white people goes the rationale from watching the dopey big black ape in Disney’s Jungle Book.

Of course our parents knew these films were racist Black people are less intelligent than white people, therefore, they get the menial low-paid jobs and hence they are more likely to rob little old white ladies and steal their handbags and when the cops go about their legitimate duty in stopping and searching them they get all this jive talk from Jumbo and, therefore, the policeman has to smack ‘em in the chops and lock ‘em up for assault.

What other conclusion could you draw from a cartoon?

Of course our parents knew these cartoons were racist.

That’s why they didn’t let us see them.

That’s why they didn’t want us spending our time watching that little box in the corner of the West Indian/African living room when they weren’t around to regulate its usage.

They knew that little white boys and girls were being conditioned at an early age that black was ugly and stupid and dangerous and they didn’t want their children being indoctrinated to believe the same.

So we had to go to the pictures, and guess what we found there?

Racist movies I no longer watch: The Disney film Fantasia featuring a ‘black’ version of the half-man half-horse centaur of Greek mythology. Fantasia presented a version of the centaur as half-man half-donkey to an America that still believed that black people were only three-

fifths human. The donkey is less than the horse and in the Disney movie characterised with the same racist tropes of being lazy and lacking intellect and having no other purpose than to be a servant.

At one point the half-man half-donkey has to get down on its knees to polish the hooves of its white centaur counterpart.

By 1969 the blatant racism of Fantasia proved untenable and Disney edited the half-man half-donkey out of the film forever. Yet it refuses to do that with films like Dumbo and Jungle Book, which are equally offensive and equally pernicious.

ONE OF THE ‘GOOD ONES’: Sidney Poitier starred as a police detective in 1967’s In The Heat Of The Night

SUBTEXTS

But Disney isn’t the only culprit. The annals of cinema and television history are littered with racist subtexts that have propped up the old world order for decades with the message that white people are better more beautiful, more powerful, more smart and, hence, they were born to rule over us and, what’s more, God is an Englishman.

Hence films such as In The Heat of the Night, ostensibly an anti-racist movie in which a black man waiting for a train in the South is the obvious suspect for a murder, until he opens his mouth and it is clear that this black man is virtually a white man.

Not all of us can be or desire to be Sidney Poitier, if the message of the film is that there are a few good negroes out there who we really ought not to lynch as they talk just like us.

The aspect of the film’s message that speaks to black people is; scrape off as much as you can of your blackness and you can come on in and join us white folks, if you can find a white dude to vouch for you.

Then there’s the 1968 orig-

inal Planet of The Apes. Nuff said.

Soul Man from 1986 is a complete p*sstake of black people and our culture that if I were a white guy I would be embarrassed by the blackface.

But if I was a white guy, I would still have an impression of black people as a race of style over black lives matters and therefore feel justified in giving you lot the s****y end of the stick... if I was a white guy (sung to the tune of Topol’s If I Was A Rich Man).

Still back in the ‘80s, in The Toy starring Richard Pryor of all people, an old slavery days trope of the white kid who is smarter than an adult black male and has authority over

him is rolled out for every adult black male to know their place.

And it ain’t funny either when the stereotypes are on the other foot as they are in White Chicks from 2004 starring two of the Wayans brothers who cannot resist the ‘white girls are easy’ stereotype.

LASCIVIOUS

But the two films that take the biscuit when it comes to racist stereotypes are Mandingo, from 1975 which is as the title suggests a tale of how lascivious we apparently are and always available for a quick rumpty tumpty with white folks, but the abiding message is we’ll do to

you what we did to Emmett Till if you so much as look at a white woman.

But even worse than all the above is the 1969 Hammer House of Horror movie The Oblong Box, in which I featured when I was eight years old, and before my father knew how racist the film was in its depiction of Africans.

Just Google ‘Dotun’ + ‘Oblong Box’ to see my scene on YouTube with all its voodoo-hoodoo-juju.

In this day and age when no statue commemorating a man who enslaved his fellow humans is safe from the hands of outraged humans, it is a wonder that these racist films are able to still exist.

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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www.voice-online.co.uk

MARCH 2020

The Jamaica National Group congratulates Paulette Simpson on being awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), for outstanding achievements and service to the country.

Paulette Simpson was recently appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer of JN Bank in the United Kingdom (UK), the first Caribbeanowned bank to be established in the UK. She has been a part of the Jamaica National family since 2002 and will continue in her role as Executive, Corporate Affairs and Public Policy, for The Jamaica National Group in the UK. She also provides strategic management support for the Voice, Britain’s leading Black newspaper, which is a subsidiary of the JN Group.

Paulette also serves as Deputy Chair of both the Windrush Advisory Panel and the Windrush Commemoration Committee.

A passionate advocate, Paulette is very active in the community and assists various charities across the UK with their work to improve the lives of Jamaicans in the UK and Jamaica.

She was recognized twice in 2018 and 2019 as one Britain’s most influential people of African and African-Caribbean heritage in the annual UK Powerlist published by Powerful Media.

Congratulations, Paulette!

THE VOICE| 13

14 | THE VOICE NOVEMBER 2020

Special feature: Racism in Britain today

THE FIGHT FOR BELLY On March 21, Belly Mujinga began a shift at Victoria Station. Just days later, she was dead. Here, a Voice reporter writes about the fight for her justice following a sickening assault in her place of work

T

HE FAMILY of Belly Mujinga have written to the Prime Minister calling for a public inquiry into the circumstances of her death, further to the BBC’s Panorama investigation Belly Mujinga; Searching for the Truth, which was broadcast on October 12.

Belly’s husband and widower, Lusamba Katalay, told The Voice: “We must have answers to find some peace. Belly was not supposed to be working outside on the concourse on March 21, 2020 at Victoria Station. She was not on the rota.

She was scared to be outside because of the COVID virus and her health conditions.

“Her manager knew that.

Belly made a video of her fears about working outside the ticket office on March 17 (sent by WhatsApp). She was not protected and not given adequate PPE.” The family’s lawyer, Lawrence Davies of Equal Justice solicitors, confirmed the finding in the Panorama investigation that Belly had made a complaint of race discrimination against her supervisor. He said: “Belly raised a race griev-

GONE TOO SOON: Belly Mujinga died on April 5 after being spat on at London’s Victoria Station. Here she is pictured with her husband, Lusamba Katalay; inset below left, Lusamba during a meeting with Lawrence Davies

She was scared to be outside because of the COVID virus ance against her supervisor on February 10, 2020. As far as we can see, the employer, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), ignored it.

This same supervisor sent Belly outside to work that day when she should have been working within the ticket office.

PUNISHMENT

There was no written grievance outcome and the ACAS Code seems to have been ignored.

Belly felt the supervisor retaliated against her for bringing the race grievance, and sent her on the concourse that day as a punishment.”

The family’s letter to the Prime Minister of October 12 demanding a public inquiry

stated that there were serious public concerns due to the alleged facts that: 1. GTR never reported the coughing/spitting assaults to the police, at the time of the incident or subsequently. The police were only made aware of the alleged assault by the trade union which contacted the police’s media department on about May 11, 2020; 2. GTR’s failure to report the matter to the police meant that the original CCTV evidence was automatically deleted by Network Rail, 28 days after the incident; 3. The police have confirmed to the family that the failure to report the assaults hampered their investigation eg: they were unable to collect DNA evidence or access the 180 CCTV camera original footage, and enhance the same; 4. GTR failed to provide masks to their frontline staff at that time and forbade their staff to wear their own masks outside on the concourse; 5. GTR’s chief medical of-

@thevoicenewspaper

ficer is alleged to have advised at the time that frontline staff were able to work outside without masks and have up to 15 minutes of contact with COVID victims without any risk of infection.

his action was involuntary?

Belly was scared and backed away from him on both occasions.

“She told me that evening that she had been scared because he said he had the COVID

They were not interested.

They ordered Belly and me back outside on to the concourse, after the assault There was no informed medical basis for such terrible advice.

Lusamba watched the CCTV coverage obtained by the British Transport Police.

He said: “The police officer said she had ‘no doubt’ something had happened. It was an assault, and it happened on two occasions.

“He pointed his finger at her and after walking away came back and shouted and coughed at her again – how can he say

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virus before coughing and spitting at her.

“She said she tried to wipe off the spit from her face and clothes afterwards”.

Belly’s work colleague Motolani Sunmola said she reported the assault to the supervisor and a manager.

She said: “They were not interested. They ordered Belly and me back outside on to the concourse, after the assault.

“I begged him not to do that.

He said that we would have to

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declare ourselves unfit to work and leave, or go back outside.

Our lives and safety did not matter to him.”

She added: “I had brought my own race grievance against the same supervisor.”

Motolani also developed COVID symptoms and became very ill. She recovered and later resigned from her employment at GTR.

TRIBUNAL

She has brought a claim to the Employment Tribunal claiming race discrimination and victimisation. Her tribunal final hearing is due to be heard in September 2021.

Belly’s family have also written to the Coroner to ask for an Inquest to be established.

Belly’s trade union, the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association, has supported the call for an inquest.

GTR responded to the Panorama broadcast which examined these concerns by stating: “The medical condition which

www.voice-online.co.uk

NOVEMBER 2020 THE VOICE | 15

Special feature: Racism in Britain today News

MUJINGA’S JUSTICE

Belly Mujinga suffered from was not on the government’s shielding list at the time of the incident.

“Had it been, the company would have told her to shield, as we did with nearly 400 other colleagues.

“The following week, after the incident, her doctors said she should in fact shield.

“At that point she was told not to come into work, and to self-isolate.”

It also stated that neither Belly, nor any of her colleagues present at the time, made a complaint of deliberate coughing, or spitting, or asked for the police to be called.

The family’s lawyer stated: “The problem for GTR is that they said that they did not call the police because they were unaware of the COVID spitting/ coughing assault. However, they were aware of it.

“Motolani states that she told them at the time and Belly’s trade union informed GTR in writing of that allegation that

a crime had been committed on April 29, 2020, and even then GTR failed to report the matter to the police.

“This discrepancy is another reason why we are seeking a public inquiry.

“If GTR had reported the alleged crime to the police at the outset, then DNA evidence and the original CCTV footage could have been obtained and preserved.

SUPPORT

“As it was, the police told the family that their investigation was hampered by the late reporting of the alleged crime.

“The public are very concerned by what happened to Belly.

“You can see that by the enormous support the petition has garnered,” said Mr Davies.

The petition at change.org (https://www.change.org/BellyMujinga) in support of Belly Mujinga’s family’s search for justice now stands at over two million supporters.

NO STONE UNTURNED: Belly’s widow, Lusamba, and colleague Motolani Sunmola are spearheading the campaign for an inquiry into Belly’s death

16 | THE VOICE MARCH 2020

Students from Lambeth College visit JN Bank UK offices in June 2019 to discuss the JN Bank branch uniforms.

Community is at the heart of what we do I

n keeping with its ethos of supporting and reflecting the community it serves, JN Bank reached out the local students at Lambeth College to design its branch staff uniforms.

Karina Goulding, course leader at Lambeth College is the creator of the Level 2 Diploma in Art and Fashion Design which provides students with the opportunity to explore the materials, methods and processes that support art and design activities within the fashion and textiles sector. The course has been designed to develop the knowledge, technical skills, and understanding required to help students prepare for a rewarding career in a number of creative fashion-based roles.

Several students from this course collaborated with the JN Bank UK team and shared their design ideas for the JN bank staff. The designs were then shared with a local seamstress, Novlette Jennifer Ellis, who worked closely with the students and course leader Karina, to create the final items for the female branch staff. JN Bank UK applauds Lambeth College, the course leader, Karina & the entire class for their support and involvement.

A special thank you to Iluliana Jacobs, Jo Paine, Tanez

From left to right, Karina Goulding, Fashion and Design Course Leader at Lambeth College, with students Tanez Alexander, Iluliana Jacobs and Joanna Paine. ( photo taken July 2019).

Students from Lambeth College work with local Seamstress, Novlette Jennifer Ellis (photo taken July 2019).

Alexander, Beth Rees Jones, Klarke Pilkington and Michelle Antia for going the extra mile with us on this journey.

Lambeth College sits at the very heart of the community in south London and is well known for its welcoming and inclusive nature. It provides excellent support services for all students, and staff go the extra mile to help each and every person to be successful in their chosen career, no matter what life throws at them.

Students from Lambeth College discuss design ideas with JN Bank team member Petrian Menzies and the Seamstress, Novlette Jennifer Ellis (photo taken July 2019)

MARCH 2020

THE VOICE| 17

18 | THE VOICE NOVEMBER 2020

Special feature: Racism in Britain today

IS RACE EQUALITY ON THE HORIZON? O

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted some of the many injustices that black people face on an everyday basis, both at home and in the workplace. After years of failed safeguards and promises, will 2020 be the year when voices are finally being heard? By Lawrence Davies LLM

N MAY 1, 2020, it was revealed by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) that a significantly higher proportion of black and minority ethnic (BAME) people were dying of COVID-19 and that people from ethnic minority backgrounds lived in areas hit hardest by COVID-19. It estimated that after accounting for differences in age, sex, and geography, that the death rate for people of black African heritage was 3.5 times higher than for white Britons.

The Government declined to establish a public inquiry, but it announced its own investigation into why that disparity existed.

On October 22, 2020, Dr Raghib Ali, stated that “structural racism is not a reasonable explanation” for the disparity.

Dr Ali added that he was not convinced by the narrative that racism played a part in coronavirus death. The report of Baroness Doreen Lawrence, commissioned by the Labour Party, into the disparity is expected in due course.

POVERTY

When one factors in that black people are more likely to be living in poverty, be unemployed, to live in poorer accommodation (damp being a particular respiratory issue), or in more overcrowded housing conditions, to be less able to access equal healthcare, to be in lower paid work, on the frontline, to be working in a hospital, or doing night work, to have to work longer hours (or multiple jobs), to be more likely to be targeted for misconduct and dismissal (especially if they complain of racism), to be less likely to be able to take sick leave (for fear of retaliation or loss of employment), and more likely to be suffering from depression or

UNFAIRLY TREATED: Belly Mujinga’s complaint against her employer was dismissed – just months before she died following a shift at Victoria Station

Many BAME households have no choice but to keep working through the pandemic stress (due to glass ceilings and racial harassment at work and in society) but have no viable mechanism to address and resolve that at work – then, the likelihood grows that structural racism is a reasonable explanation for the disparity.

Dr Ali had commented on May 12, 2020 that it was “becoming apparent that the vast majority of doctors – and, to a lesser extent, other healthcare workers – who had died were from ethnic minorities; a poignant reminder of the contribution that immigrants make to the UK, but also something that needs urgent investigation to understand why”.

The clue perhaps could be found in his own observations when he commented, “I felt the real heroes were the health care assistants, cleaners, porters and catering staff – those who continue to come to work despite being poorly-paid and underappreciated” and who made the “ultimate sacrifice”” in order to help others.

He did not pause to think sufficiently why these workers, the majority of who were BAME, were “poorly paid” or “under appreciated”.

It is evident that Dr Ali assumed “structural racism” played no part and then had to be convinced it did. Structural racism, like unequal pay, is an inconvenient truth for the

maintenance of the low wage economy. Dr Ali was not convinced because he did not drill down deep enough to find the underlying reason for the low

sidered individual workers’ experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as that of Belly Mujinga.

She worked in a low paid,

This reduction in protection means that more employers will probably now do less to support black workers racially harassed by customers pay, under-appreciation and COVID-19 fatality disparities. A public inquiry would have done that, and could still do that.

I wonder what would have happened if Dr Ali had con-

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frontline public service role.

She was given no adequate PPE. She had no mask and she was not permitted to wear her own mask.

The ticket office itself was

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later closed for health and safety breaches. I would add that Belly’s employer had a £1.8 billion turnover in 2019, so it is likely more could have been done to protect workers.

Belly’s employer never reported the assaults on her to the police. They never disclosed the fact that Belly had brought a race complaint against her supervisor, that same supervisor who chose not to ring the police.

Due to the fact that the police were not called, the relevant CCTV evidence was lost when it was automatically deleted after 28 days.

The DNA evidence was also lost. The crime that was allegedly committed became harder to prosecute and later both the

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British Transport Police and the CPS said that the alleged white male perpetrator should not face criminal charges.

The Government abolished equality law protection for victims of third party (customer) racial harassment in October 2013. Now that the Equality Act 2010 no longer obliges an employer to protect black staff from racial harassment from a third party customer, a racist customer is more likely to be right.

This reduction in protection means that more employers will probably now do less to support black workers racially harassed by customers. This is very unfortunate given that incidents of harassment has doubled in the workplace since 2017.

www.voice-online.co.uk

NOVEMBER 2020 THE VOICE | 19

Special feature: Racism in Britain today In many ways Belly’s case can be seen as a microcosm of the racism that exists in the UK currently. Its resolution may be the beginning of a better path towards race equality, and a failure for her family to achieve justice may prove to be a regressive step towards greater inequality.

On some indicators we are improving on race equality, which is good, but on others we would seem to be regressing. So are we moving forward?

One starting point is to consider the British Social Attitude surveys, and see if the way in which people view racism has changed. These surveys however have demonstrated for many years that about 25 per cent of the British public consistently admit to being, “very or a little racist”.

It therefore follows that up to 25 per cent of people with whom you work may be biased in the way they make decisions or how they treat BAME workers.

VICTIMS: Charles Ehikioya says he was racially profiled with no good reason, while Anne Giwa-Amu left her job following harassment

OVERT

In 2017, the TUC produced a report ironically entitled Is Racism Real?. It found that 37 per cent BAME staff suffer racial discrimination at work. At that time, 16 per cent suffered overt abuse or harassment at work.

Post-Brexit, in 2020, the TUC produced another report, this time unironically entitled Dying In The Job. This report found that twice the level of BAME staff were suffering harassment at work, when compared to 2017.

It also found that 15 per cent of the harassed staff, in cases such as that of Anne GiwaAmu, left their jobs as a result of that harassment.

The damage to their health and/ or the need to protect their well-being once trust and confidence has broken down due to the racism, and failure of the employer to tackle it, meant that unemployment or starting again elsewhere was the only viable way forward, to recover their mental health and dignity.

CONTEXT

In that context, is it really any surprise then that Belly and her black African work colleague Motolani had suffered racial abuse from customers on the concourse at Victoria Station?

Or that Belly had complained about racism from her supervisor at work?

It is of concern that while racial harassment has doubled at work from 2017 to 2020, regrettably, the ability to obtain justice for that harassment remains almost completely out of reach for most BAME victims.

In fact, the situation is so dire that only a small percentage of race victims formally complain

about racism at work, and currently only about one to two per cent of those win their race claims at the Employment Tribunal. Further, the small percentage of race victims that win at tribunal seldom receive adequate compensation.

For example, the highest award for racism at work last year was about £30,000.

On a more positive note, anti-discrimination work has, more recently had, and continues to have, the benefit of the momentum of #MeToo movement and the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

The question then is – have these movements made a difference to race claim outcomes in the UK? The answer, sadly, is no, or, at best, not yet.

In the UK it remains the case that only one per cent of the victims of discrimination at work formally challenge that conduct, and in not being challenged, the discriminatory environment at work does not change, and is not likely to do so.

Further, there is growing evidence that the racism at work is also deeply ingrained into pay structures. Many know that women workers are paid about 18 per cent less than men.

However, few know that BAME workers suffer a much wider pay gap.

In October 2020, a new study based on Office for National Statistics (ONS) data suggested the BAME pay gap figure for

London based workers was 24 per cent. To understand the scale and magnitude of unequal pay you should consider the Birmingham City Council case. In that case, tens of thousands of low paid women who worked as carers, cleaners and

With unequal and lower pay, life is harder for BAME workers on every level cooks sued Birmingham City Council for equal pay for equal value of work against binmen and street cleaners. They won £1,200 million in compensation. This means, by extrapolation, that actual public sector equal pay debt owed to women workers is about £140 billion, and the total societal equal pay debt owed to women is £1 trillion.

It follows that it is likely that the BAME equal pay debt is up to £300 billion in total.

If you transfer that £300 billion currently owed in equal pay to BAME workers today, then tomorrow we can realistically talk about eradicating the 24 per cent BAME pay gap going forward. It will only be by

taking that £300 billion step that we will begin to take our first real step towards race equality at work. Until then, despite some progress, I suspect that we remain decades away from race equality at work.

Further, with unequal and lower pay, life is harder for BAME workers on every level – from financial security to health care to housing quality to education, to the amount of influence you have and whether or not you are heard, or your life is felt to matter.

DAMAGE

The £300 billion of course does not begin to compensate for, or address, the psychological damage done to black workers by race discrimination over the years.

The Government will probably say that they cannot afford race equality at work if that is the true cost, but the reality is that we have just committed £1 trillion of public monies to tackle COVID-19 pandemic.

So race equality is affordable, if achieving it is decided to be as important to our society as fighting COVID-19.

Some would say it is a lower priority, and perhaps that is the real test of whether black lives do matter. This is because without race equality we will continue to have a situation in which BAME people die years before white people die, and who will continue to dispropor-

tionately suffer fatality during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the question for you is, does that matter, and, if so, what are we prepared to sacrifice to achieve race equality?

Until then, most of the progressive race equality measures, from pay reporting to appointing a head of equality, will remain symbolic and not substantive.

Further, the only proven effective measure, positive discrimination, is still itself seen to be undesirable, or unworkable.

Yet it worked in the Northern Ireland police force, which is the only time positive discrimination has been attempted by us. It was permitted further to a special derogation from UK and EU equality law. It achieved an increase in Catholic representation in the predominantly Protestant police force from eight

per cent to 30 per cent in a decade, without any Protestant backlash and with no reduction in policing standards. In fact, in being more representative of their community, the police became more effective in detecting and tackling crime.

Meanwhile, in London, Bianca Williams and her partner have complained of racial profiling to the IOPC. And a black police officer, Charles Ehikioya, who was himself stopped on his way home from work, and he believes racially profiled in that regard, has also notified the IOPC. Dawn Butler MP raised similar concerns.

All were then targeted for online abuse. All were policed by an unrepresentative force, which has declared itself free of institutional racism.

So there is still a long way to go.

Equal Justice solicitors which was formed in 2005, is an award-winning specialist employment law firm. Its CEO, Lawrence Davies, is a leading anti-discrimination lawyer, who received a Lifetime achievement award from the National Black Police Association. Equal Justice solicitors recently won the Anne Giwa-Amu v DWP race case in March 2020, which is reported to be the third highest UK race award. (www.equaljustice.co.uk),

20 | THE VOICE NOVEMBER 2020

Midlands News

by Veron Graham

MAXIE’S MBE HONOUR

Well-decorated Midlands campaigner Maxie Hayles now recognised by the Queen for his efforts

V

ETERAN BIRMINGHAM-BASED campaigner Maxie Hayles’ career which has seen him champion anti-racist movements in his adopted city of Birmingham, across Europe and on the wider international stage, has been rewarded with an MBE in the Queen’s Honours List.

Speaking exclusively to The Voice, the Jamaican-born septuagenarian said: “The award is not for me, it’s for my people.

Getting an award didn’t matter to me – I already have a name from travelling the world to tackle abusive practices.

“For 40 years, I’ve sacrificed, leaving the comfort of

A MAN OF DISTINCTION: Clockwise, from main, Hayles won the National Award for Building a Fair and Just Community in 2000; Hayles following the release of his book, Taking It To The Max, in 2016; Hayles, right, receives his portrait from artist Colin Gabbidon in 2013; Hayles scooped an award at the European Diversity Awards in 2013 my home, dealing with threats from far right groups – when I was chair at BRAMU (Birmingham Racial Attacks Monitoring Unit) and Sandwell Racial Harassment Unit.

MORTGAGE

“I had a mortgage to pay and children to put through university. I have had avenues closed to me: I couldn’t apply for certain jobs for example because of my reputation, which in the eyes of some, was a troublemaker, all because I have a passion for justice.”

Mr Hayles became aware he was in line for an MBE some two months ago – but was

sworn to secrecy. Now able to speak freely on his triumph, he is determined to make good on what he sees as an opportunity.

“I believe that and so see this award as an honour to open doors, to get people talking and to inspire young people, show-

on behalf of my late mother and ancestors, because I stand on their shoulders. They aren’t here to get the recognition they deserve, so I am here to claw something back for them.”

I have accepted this honour FLASH on behalf of my late mother and No interview with the likes of Mr Hayles could pass without ancestors, because I stand reference to the Black Lives Matter movement: on their shoulders “Some may see it as a flash in Going on to quote a US civil rights legend in explaining more of what the MBE means to him, he added: “CT Vivian once said that of all the things we can get, if it helps people it matters. If it can’t, it doesn’t.

@thevoicenewspaper

ing them that here is hope – especially when you consider where I came from.

“God has lifted me from the lowest point to receive this honour.

“I have accepted this honour

@thevoicenews

the pan or a moment, instead of a movement as Sir Keir Starmer said when he made a slip of the tongue earlier this year.

“I applaud the Black Lives Matter, which is a movement.

It is so very encouraging to see

voicenews

that there are so many young people, and not just black people, who have seen or experienced the injustice and aren’t willing to take it anymore. I am so very very proud to see this at my age.

“The Black Lives Matter movement has given us an opportunity to talk about the issues, to have those uncomfortable conversations with White people. We are not to blame them – as it’s easy for them to say they did not create the institutionally racist structures that exist – but to ask for their help to dismantle the structures that help racism to be perpetuated, and which they have benefited from.”

www.voice-online.co.uk

NOVEMBER 2020 THE VOICE | 21

Midlands News

OSIME RELEASED FROM PRISON Autistic 22-year-old threatened with deportation

A

‘BROKEN HEART’: Osime Brown had been living in social care when he was imprisoned in 2018

N AUTISTIC man with the mental capacity of a fiveto six-year-old who was set to be deported to Jamaica has been released from the Leicestershire prison where he was serving a five year sentence.

Last January, The Voice broke the story concerning the 2018 imprisonment of Osime Brown, now 22, and the continuing refusal of the courts to refrain from returning him to Jamaica where he was born, which he believed was a bus ride from his Black Country home.

A campaign to prevent his deportation which has ensued since has garnered support from thousands of people in protest activities across the country, 34 UK MPs and a petition with over 130,000 signatures as the case gained international recognition.

Osime had been living in social care since 2014, and offi-

cial court papers reports Osime committing a series of offences since the age of 16 which “culminated in a sentence of five years’ detention for robbery, attempted robbery and perverting the course of justice” in August 2018.

KNOWLEDGE

Clinically diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, Osime was set for deportation in accordance with the UK Borders Act 2007 as a foreign criminal despite having no knowledge of the land of his birth, nor any family, friends or familiarity there.

“The pressure of the signatures and letters by solicitors saying that if he was detained there and something happened to Osime it will be on their hands seems to have encouraged the authorities to let him go,” his mother Joan Martin told The Voice. Her team

Offer to help youngsters in need of employment YOUNG PEOPLE, whose job prospects have been the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, are to be guaranteed training and career opportunities under a new youth employment offer launched in Wolverhampton.

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and their partners have developed a new offer of employment and skills support for everyone aged 16-29 who lives in the region and is unemployed, at risk of losing their job, or leaving school, college or university.

The package includes access to vocational training, more work coaches, funded work placements, access to apprenticeships and more support to become self-employed.

The offer was hatched amidst widespread calls for extra support for young people, also a report by the TUC which argued that COVID-19 has exposed the “discrimination and insecurity” in British working conditions, also that people of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) workers were more likely to be economically affected by the virus, “because they are disproportionately stuck in insecure jobs on low pay”.

Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street, Minister for Employment Mims Davies and City of Wolverhampton Council Leader and chair of the WMCA’s Youth Unemployment Taskforce, Cllr Ian Brookfield, officially opened the youth hub which will provide the support for young people at The Way Youth Zone in Wolverhampton.

INDUSTRIES

The offer to young people is a crucial part of the WMCA’s plan to drive the region’s economic recovery from the pandemic by equipping local people with the skills they need to land jobs in growing industries.

Support for young people will be delivered through a new online platform, providing a ‘one-stop shop’ for them to find out about the jobs, apprenticeships and training options available in their local authority area. It will also include career ideas, job hunting tips, travel information and wellbeing support.

Mr Street said: “We know that young people are being hardest hit as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s critical that we help our young people to move into further education, training

WARNINGS: Leicester’s Dr Ivan Browne or work, including through traineeships, apprenticeships and work experience placements.”

Cases of COVID-19 have continued to mount up despite government guidelines from directors of Public Health in both the East and West Midlands,: including Dr Shade Agboola in Warwickshire pictured inset left, and Leicester City’s Dr Ivan Brown.

of solicitors have applied to the court with new evidence, including a heart condition, and are awaiting a new date to clear his name.

“Osime has a broken heart – physically and emotionally.

He’s at home but struggling – not sleeping well through trauma.

“It’s also down to persistence, I’m a Christian and I know that this is God. A lot of things have happened to us.

“We’ve been exploited and taken advantage of by people in power. This would not have happened to Osime if he was white. They look at his blackness and his maleness and decided he’s guilty. I continue to pray and hope that this ordeal will be over soon and his name will be cleared.”

In addition, Ms Martin plans to host a series of video conferences to raise awareness of and encourage against criminal injustice.

Councillor’s call on BLM protests A COVENTRY councillor has been reprimanded for calling for Black Lives Matter protestors to be targeted with illegal water cannons.

Cllr Glenn Williams, who represents the Bablake area of the city as an independent, was found to have breached the local authority’s rules with comments that he posted on social media. The councillor also described illegal immigrants as a “swarm” that are “arriving on our shores.”

Cllr David Welsh of the authority’s ethics committee described Cllr Williams’ comments as “offensive” and “distasteful”, while Steve Atkinson called them “divisive, provocative and offensive.”

Cllr Williams had resigned from the Conservative Party four years ago after claiming speakers whose first language isn’t English were “taking over” the country.

He claims that the complaints against his latest comments were “frivolous” and a “witch hunt” against him.

Told that this “pattern of behaviour falls short of what this city should expect from its community leaders,” Cllr Williams is to be formally censured at the full council meeting.

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

22 | THE VOICE ADVERTORIAL

NOVEMBER 2020 ADVERTORIAL THE VOICE| 1

NOVEMBER 2020

PHE launches new mental health campaign

PHE launch

New initiative to support children, young people and their parents

M

ost families have experienced upheaval in their daily lives during the pandemic.

With children and young people now back at school or college, PHE’s new mental health campaign provides NHS-endorsed tips and advice to help children and young people’s mental wellbeing, and equip parents and carers with the knowledge to support them.

Research reveals that the coronavirus outbreak has caused an increase in anxiety in young people. What’s more, over two-fifths (41%) of children and young people said they were more lonely than before lockdown and more than a third said they were more worried (38%).

New PHE survey data found that when asked about their top three worries around coronavirus, over half (52%) said the mental wellbeing of their children topped the list.

It’s a relief for most parents and carers that their children are now back at school, but, as we adapt to a new normal many anticipate their children will experience new stresses.

This includes facing the challenges of catching up with missed education,

getting used to new schools or colleges and re-building relationships with friends.

The new advice available on the Every Mind Matters website is designed to help parents and carers spot the signs that children may be struggling with their mental health and support them. In addition to the advice for parents and carers the site also provides tools to help young people build resilience and equips them to look after their own mental wellbeing.

NHS’s Top 5 Tips for supporting children and young people’s mental wellbeing as they go back out into the world.

1. Be there to listen: Ask the children and young people you look after how they are doing regularly so they get used to speaking about their feelings 2. Stay involved in their life: Show interest in their life and the things that are important to them 3. Support positive routines: Be a positive role model and support positive behaviours including regular bedtime routines, healthy eating and getting active

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4. Encourage their interests: Being active, creative, learning things and being a part of a team are all good for mental health. Support children and young people to explore their interests 5. Take what they say seriously: Help the children and young people you look after feel valued in what they say and help them work through difficult emotions.

Singer, DJ and television presenter Marvin Humes said: “Many families have experienced an upheaval in their daily lives in some form over the last few months and, like many parents, we know this will have impacted our kids in some way.

“I’m backing this campaign because it’s so important that parents have the support they need to look after their children and their mental wellbeing as we navigate the months to come.”

Vanessa Boachie, Psychological Therapist, Founder and Creative Director of Inside Out, a not-for-profit social enterprise committed to helping young people improve their mental health and wellbeing said: ‘Through my work with Inside Out, I’ve seen firsthand how young people

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helping young people improve their mental health and wellbeing

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have been challenged and affected in recent months.

“For many black people, this has been more pronounced due to the fact that these communities have been disproportionately affected by negative health outcomes when it comes to COVID-19.”

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NOVEMBER 2020 THE VOICE | 23

Special feature: Racism in Britain today

THE STOP AND SEARCH APP A HELPING HAND: The new Legal Lifelines App can help support you in the event that you are stopped and searched by police

We know too well that too many of us are stopped and searched without good reason.

Here, Michael Herford explains how a new piece of tech can give you peace of mind

H

AVE YOU or anyone you know been stopped and searched? Do you live with the constant fear that you, or someone you love will be stopped and searched? If the answer is yes to either of these questions, read on.

“This is a high crime area…”; “You look suspicious”; Regrettably, for many, these are words from police that many readers of this article are already familiar with. There is no getting away from the facts, that those from black and minority ethnic (BAME) commu-

Those from BAME communities are targeted by police nities are disproportionately targeted by the police. Official statistics show that 193 of every 1,000 people stopped and searched by police are black.

Only 24 out of 1,000 are white. What is more shocking is when you consider these fig-

ures in proportion to the ethnic makeup of the UK, BAME communities account for around 13 per cent of the overall population of the UK, of those three per cent are black.

Sadly, this is nothing new and for those of you who have

older family members – they will tell you the disproportionate stop and search of young black men in particular, has blighted our community for generations.

“Get the f***k out of the car!

Where are the f**king drugs?!

Tell me NOW!” An unidentified officer screamed at me, whilst shining an incredibly bright light into my face on a dark, cold night. Multiple other officers dressed menacingly all in black as my friends (BAME law students) also got roughly

pulled towards them and sworn at. This was my personal experience of an aggressive stop and search by the police, an experience that will stay with me forever.

Continued on page 48

24 | THE VOICE

NOVEMBER 2020

News feature

OSIME’S FAMILY CONTINUES FIGHT TO KEEP HIM IN BRITAIN Joan Martin, the mother of 22-year-old Osime Brown, is determined to stop her autistic son from being deported to Jamaica – although she admits she faces the toughest of battles to convince the authorities to change their mind

By Alannah Francis

T

HE MOTHER of a 22-year-old autistic man is continuing her fight to halt his deportation following a successful campaign to allow him to come home to Dudley instead of being transferred to an immigration removal centre on his release from prison in October.

Osime Brown has faced deportation to Jamaica since he was convicted of taking part in a mobile phone theft and sentenced to five months in prison in 2018. Both Brown, his supporters and a witness to the crime, say he is innocent.

Brown went into care aged 16 and struggles to comprehend the prospect of being removed from the UK and taken to a country he left when he was just four years old – and has not returned to since.

“He’s not in the right frame of mind to analyse [it] and I don’t think he will ever, because if he believes he can take a bus from Jamaica to get here, that shows you the vulnerability of my son,” his mother, Joan Martin, said.

He’s not in the right frame of mind to analyse it and I don’t think he ever will, because he believes he can take a bus from Jamaica to get here A letter from the Home Office disputed that Brown would face severe difficulties settling in Jamaica, citing: “You are familiar with the culture of Jamaica as you were raised by your mother/relatives in Jamaica for the first four years of your life,” The Independent reported.

Martin describes the letter’s claims as “absurd”.

“There’s no way a four-yearold can form a relationship and go back and pick up from where he started, it’s all changed. I

came here when I was a woman in my 30s and I went back to Jamaica and I passed where I used to live and didn’t know.”

She added: “Seventeen years of his life he’s not a British citizen and four years of his life he’s Jamaican – how does that equate, how?”

For Brown, whose autism means he requires routine, the prospect of adjusting to a new life in a country he doesn’t know presents additional challenges because he has no support network in Jamaica.

DIFFICULTIES

Martin isn’t just concerned her son would experience difficulties adjusting to a new life in the Caribbean country, she fears his life would be over.

“I always say it, he would die.

He could not cope in Jamaican culture because, number one, he didn’t grow up in Jamaica ... and with his vulnerabilities, he could not cope there,” she said.

Brown’s health problems have reportedly increased during his time in prison. He now has problems with his heart and he’s suffering from PTSD, Martin added.

While in jail, Brown’s men-

ONE OF THE BOYS: Osime Brown when he was growing up in England

HAPPIER TIMES: Osime with his mother, Joan, as a youngster tal health suffered and he selfharmed, which left him with multiple physical scars.

“They have destroyed my baby,” Martin said.

Martin, a qualified mental health nurse, feels Brown has been let down by the institutions, such as the care system, that were meant to help him,

I always say it, he would die.

He could not cope in Jamaican culture because, number one, he didn’t grow up in Jamaica and she believes his race has played a pivotal role in how he has been treated.

She said: “I would be ignorant and be blind to the fact if I say that race didn’t play a role in Osime’s situation.

“They treat him like an outcast, he was treated like hanging fruits and not like a human being and it’s all done because he’s black.”

Martin added that she’s learned as a black woman with an autistic child who falls “into the iron grip of those institutions” it can be a “life sentence of grief, rejection and pain”.

@thevoicenewspaper

While she doesn’t feel Brown has received the support he needs from the state, Martin is grateful for those who have rallied around her son, her and her family.

Members of the public have signed petitions and protested, and MPs including Bell RibeiroAddy and Nadia Whittome have

@thevoicenews

publicly criticised the government’s handling of Brown’s case and raised the issue of how neurodivergent individuals are treated by the criminal justice system in parliament.

Without the support from the public and public figures, Martin said she would have already been “crushed by the weight of indifference of the system”.

Martin is determined to stop Brown from being another black man deported to a country that he has almost no knowledge of, a process that she compares to a conveyor belt.

And she’s not just calling for

voicenews

an intervention in Brown’s case but for a review of how others in similar situations to him are treated.

“I will not stop fighting, and this fight is not only for Osime it’s for other children and young people that are suffering under the cosh of this environment,” Martin said.

INQUIRY

“And I also need a public inquiry. I’m pushing for that and I won’t stop until they do a public inquiry into not only Osime’s case but in all other cases – whether in care or not in care – that find themselves into the justice system because they don’t help them.”

The family has started a fresh appeal against Brown’s deportation. Lawyers are gathering evidence, including documentation relating to his health conditions, to support the argument that he should be allowed to remain in the UK. While they await a court date, Martin is calling on the black community to join her fight.

She said: “We need them to rally behind us, push with us.

If we get all our community to come together, we can win this because this is an injustice.”

www.voice-online.co.uk

NOVEMBER 2020

THE VOICE | 25

WINDRUSH SPECIAL FEATURE

GOING BACK TO HIS ROOTS GRATEFUL: Levi Roots says that former trade unionist Lord Bill Morris was a huge inspiration to him while growing up in Britain (main photo: Tony Attille)

Since Levi Roots’ parents moved to Britain when he was four, he has understood the importance of hard work – and justice

By Alannah Francis

L

EVI ROOTS was born in Jamaica in 1958, 10 years after the SS Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury, bringing with it hundreds of passengers from the Caribbean.

His parents, Lassel and Doreen came to the UK when he was just four years old, like many others from the Caribbean, they worked hard to build a new life for themselves and help build Britain.

“Well, my connection (to the Windrush Generation) is a marvellous one because it’s what inspired me to be who I am today because it’s about my parents,” Levi said.

“My parents came over just like many people in the Caribbean and I see those people as some of the greatest entrepreneurs, some of our greatest business people.”

APPROACH

This entrepreneurial approach to life manifested itself through hard work, sacrifice and resilience.

Levi’s parents weren’t the only members of the Windrush to inspire him. He talks fondly of former trade unionist Lord Bill Morris who came to the UK from Jamaica in 1954 and retired from the House of Lords earlier this year.

“When I was growing up

It was people telling their stories you felt for. The stories told when the scandal first broke out tugged at the heartstrings of everyone and I wanted inspiration to see certain black people that were from the Windrush Generation that went through that struggle and then [elevated] themselves up there to a position to try and say to us, ‘Look you can do it because I’m up here as well too and I did it through hard work’ – it was Bill Morris.

“He was one of my first heroes because of the position he held at the time.”

As someone who has been inspired by the Windrush Generation, Levi has also been an advocate for them, speaking out about the scandal that saw many people who came to the UK from the Caribbean have their right to live and work in the UK disputed by the government.

“It was sad.

It was heart breaking because it was the people that were telling their stories that you felt for. You felt for these individual people. When you cast a big net on it, [it’s a] big injustice, yes, but when you saw some of these people that were telling their stories when the scandal first broke out, I think it just tugged at the heartstrings of everyone,” Levi said.

“I felt it for my own parents who put so much in this country, especially for my mum who worked all the jobs and all the worst jobs that you can possibly think of but yet she’s not still thought of as a British person by the British,” he added.

Levi is grateful that his mum made sure he went through the process to document his British citizenship.

But he watched others, including one of his best friends, who has been in the UK for nearly 60 years, experience problems with their citizenship status.

“It was very heart breaking to see that and again it just reminded me of my own story that I just about got my own

self sorted out. But again, that was through my mum because I was running up and down in those days in the ‘70s and ‘80s

up. Because of COVID that’s come along, it’s kind of put a block on a lot of stuff, especially serious issues that people

I do think that we’ve got to keep this fight and keep at it until we get proper justice for some of these people and I didn’t really take much notice of it,” he said.

While Levi has helped raise awareness of the scandal, he believes that addressing the issue is something that needs to remain in focus.

“I do think it’s up to the press and the media to keep that vibe

would have still been talking about,” Levi said.

While the COVID-19 outbreak has dominated headlines, the Windrush scheme and the Windrush compensation scheme continue to function and be accessible. The Windrush Help Team has continued to process

applications during the pandemic and is working to help and support those seeking to obtain the documents required to demonstrate their legal right to live and work in the UK.

COMPENSATED

“I do think that we’ve got to keep this fight and keep at it until we get proper justice for some of these people,” Levi said.

“This is something that’s changed a lot of people’s lives for the worse.”

He added: “Going forward again it’s about keeping up the pressure. We need full justice and we need everyone to be compensated who was affected by this Windrush scandal.”

26 | THE VOICE

NOVEMBER 2020

WINDRUSH SPECIAL FEATURE

‘WE NEED TO TELL THE STORIES OF WINDRUSH’

Alannah Francis speaks to filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon, who’s determined to secure the Windrush Generation legacy

B

RITISH TRINIDADIAN filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon is a prominent advocate for the Windrush generation.

The co-founder of the Windrush Caribbean Film Festival, she is working to ensure their stories are told and their legacy isn’t forgotten. We spoke to her about what the Windrush Generation means to her.

A CHILD OF INDEPENDENCE: Frances-Anne Solomon’s parents came to England in 1958

@thevoicenewspaper

Alannah Francis: Tell me about your personal connection to the Windrush Generation...

Frances-Anne Solomon: My parents came to England in 1958. They were part of that generation and so growing up … that’s the kind of folklore of my life.

My grandfather (Patrick Solomon) was one of the architects of Trinidad and Tobago independence, so he came to England in 1960 to make a case for independence and that’s also like part of the folklore of my life, that we were born free.

That we who were born after independence were children of independence, we were not born in the colonial times, we were free.

Now there’s a lot said about the scandal and the scandal of all those people who came, faced racism and fought against racism, were denied citizenship ultimately and opportunities and to this day are trying to redeem their dignity. But it was a much more complex period than that.

I really wanted to try and reclaim those stories from the dustbin of history, like they’ve all been thrown away, we haven’t heard them before.

Maybe not the dustbin, but we

@thevoicenews

We who were born after independence were children of independence – we were not born in the colonial times haven’t been allowed to tell our stories of that time and really.

I would not be who I am today if it were not for that generation of my parents and my grandparents basically, who paved the way for us to have amazing lives.

AF: Why is it so important that these stories are reclaimed?

FAS: It was an important period not just politically but also culturally, and there was so much music and art that came out of that time and I feel like we don’t know those stories, so it’s been important.

There’s been no proper documentation of the work that was done to bring us to this point.

In a way, perhaps we enter the frays, the battles that we’re having to fight kind of bewildered and not really knowing how to navigate them.

AF: How would you summarise the Windrush Generation’s contributions?

FAS: For me these were heroes, whether it was Claudia Jones,

voicenews

CLR James, my grandfather PVJ Solomon or David Pitt.

AF: The Windrush Caribbean Film Festival has launched a Paulette Wilson award in honour of the late Windrush justice campaigner who herself was affected by the scandal. Tell us how this came about.

FAS: The Windrush Caribbean Film Festival came into being due to my last film Hero, which toured England last year.

It received such an incredibly positive response and really showed us all (we’re about 50 organisations that came together to do this, grassroots organisations), showed everybody the kind of hunger that there is among black audiences, particularly, but also just in general people to understand more, to hear their own stories, to see themselves reflected, to be the heroes of their own stories.

We have this network, we have this platform. We’re able to tell stories, we’re storytellers so that’s why we set up the festival. And within that, when we thought, ‘Festivals give awards, who would we reward?’, we wanted to reward those who had progressed the narrative of social justice in the UK, who had really worked to push that narrative forward and to reveal these untold stories.

And when we wanted to think about what we would name the award we thought it was important to name it after a fallen hero, to commemorate her life, which ended far too soon.

I think our job as storytellers is to continually tell the stories, continually make sure that those stories are heard.

www.voice-online.co.uk

AUGUST 2020

Start here to see if we could help you confirm your legal status and claim compensation.

Did you come to the UK before the end of 1988?

Yes

Yes Have you struggled to prove your legal status in the UK?

Have you suffered losses because you couldn’t confirm your legal status?

Yes

Here to support you and your family We’re here to help you apply for the Windrush schemes.

Call the free helpline: 0800 678 1925 Visit: gov.uk/WindrushHelpTeam

Your information won’t be passed on to Immigration Enforcement.

THE VOICE | 5

28 | THE VOICE MARCH 2020

SIMPLY THE BEST

Record breaker Lewis Hamilton: 8-page tribute edition

• Focus on the Next Racing Generation Academy • Hamilton Commission: Driving for change • Sporting Equals pay homage to the greatest of all time • The Voice: There from the start

30 | THE VOICE

NOVEMBER 2020

Northern Lewis Hamilton: News #92 special tribute

A place in history

DESTINED FOR GREATNESS: Lewis Hamilton caught the attention of peers and the media from the beginning of his career

Game-changer never doubted his dreams

By Rodney Hinds

E

VEN WITHOUT breaking records, Lewis Hamilton had earned his place in history.

After all, he is the chief reason that our community tune into Formula One coverage most weekends.

Hamilton is a game-changer in the same way as Tiger Woods and Venus and Serena Williams.

The fact that we can mention the Stevenage-born racer in the same breath as those luminaries confirms his status.

I knew he had something about him even before he started accumulating multiple world titles. I first came across him at Springfield Youth Centre in the heart of east London where he visited to hand young people their annual sports prizes.

He was charismatic, humble and encouraging. He left the

He was charismatic, humble and encouraging

background, can put down as a future agenda item. And he’s done all this with negative headlines and cynicism to the fore.

I remember attending the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and hearing some of the barbs that came out of the mouths of some of Fleet Street’s finest.

youngsters energised, focused and starry-eyed. Trust me – they were not alone!

Hamilton has since gone on to become the greatest driver of all time and no doubt he will record his 100th win sometime in 2021.

But it is not just about track success. His has been a triumph over adversity, after all a black man participating, never mind winning, in an elite sport is rare.

What he has done, and not just for his own community, is make Formula One an item that a young person, from any

CRITICS

I can tell you now that some of his critics have had problems with his roster of achievements but even more of a challenge with his skin.

I scratch my head daily as to why Hamilton has not been the subject of a knighthood as yet.

No doubt it will come, but for me, the glaring omission has been disrespectful.

Many have arguably achieved a whole lot less but have been bestowed the honour.

That lack of respect has not taken him off track, rather

fuelled his fire, to so speak. He has curtailed the careers of the likes Sebastien Vettel, Nico Rosberg et al as he has done the business around the world.

His winning and tough-asteak mentality has seen Hamilton earn begrudging praise from the aforementioned critics to not only become the ultimate Formula One driver but also

see him establish the innovative Hamilton Commission, which seeks to give young people a leg up into the world of motorsport.

I recently recorded two decades as sports editor at The Voice. Hamilton has been an essential part of those years.

He and his father, Anthony, would hold press conferences

in central London often and not one would go by without The Voice getting their time and access to the champion-elect.

Many of today’s sports stars start humble before their success brings on amnesia.

But Lewis Hamilton has proved that he is a GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) that simply won’t be tied down!

Sporting Equals chair pays tribute to a champion as he cements win #92 Here, Densign White congratulates record-breaking Lewis STEVENAGE-BORN Lewis Hamilton won the Portuguese Grand Prix to create history.

In doing so, the six-time world champion broke Michael Schumacher’s race win record with a 92nd success.

The chair of Sporting Equals gives his view on Hamilton’s achievement…

“Lewis Hamilton is without a doubt the greatest talent we have seen in motor racing and he is so incredibly deserving of this mantle. A true trailblazer, he has entered the history books as a record-breaker – that too during Black History Month. The significance of this victory is not lost upon myself nor I’m sure the wider black community, and while we will all celebrate this triumph, we should also take time to reflect.

FEAT

“Lewis is the first black man to achieve this feat, we should all now work together as allies to ensure he is not the last.

“Racism in sport is an open secret which periodically is revisited as a topic. In light of the tragic events that occurred this summer with George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless others we should not let the current passion, momentum and appetite for change so quickly slide.

“As chair of Sporting Equals and a gold Commonwealth Games champion for judo, I know the struggles Lewis would have faced all too well.

“I commend him on his efforts to change the current state of play and improve conditions with his diversity commission, his passion for racial equality is one of the reasons why he was recognised as one of Sporting Equals’ British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (BEDSA) as a recipient

ROAD TO CHANGE: Lewis Hamilton on track for the Sportsman of the Year award. However, if true change is to be delivered we cannot simply rely on individual actions, we must all as a collective, as a community and its allies come together and demand change.

“On June 12, 2020 I joined Sporting Equals in their call for a 20 per cent target for ethnic representation on sports boards.

“We need direct and decisive action which will lead to diversity in a literal sense but also allow for the growth and development of diversity of thought.

“I would like to send my heartiest of congratulations to Lewis while also asking everyone to remember none of us win, unless we all win.”

Visit www.sportingequals.org.uk

NOVEMBER 2020 THE VOICE | 31

Lewis Hamilton: #92 special tribute

THERE FROM THE START

The Voice’s Joel Campbell has followed Lewis Hamilton from his early karting days – and feels privileged to have witnessed one of the best coming of age stories in the world of motorsport

I

CAN still remember walking into the fantastic McLaren Technology Centre in Woking 14 years ago, waiting to be taken to a brilliant white room where I sat waiting for the next big thing in Formula 1.

In came Lewis Hamilton and the first thing I wanted to talk to him about was his love for Sizzla Kolanji.

We got that out of the way and then it was onto the obvious touch points such as ambitions in the sport, how he expected his brand to transition beyond just racing, how important his dad was to his journey, etc etc.

I left there in no uncertain terms about the burning desire he had to be considered a great in the sport and whenever I interviewed him again throughout the 14 years, that steely resolve and oh so firm handshake, have never wavered.

Fast forward to 2020 and he is the best to ever do it.

In a sport that is all about the numbers and fine margins, from the millions of pounds of investment required to run an F1 team to the hundredths of a second that can separate the drivers in a race, it was interesting to hear Hamilton dismiss them all together when asked about his mindset approaching each race.

His attitude centres on the pursuit of greatness, always has done. Yet, it is the numbers which make him great and a look at them over the course of his career to date make for wonderful reading.

Hamilton’s win in Portugal marked his 92nd victory in Formula One - his eighth win of the 2020 season and his first at the

He’s handled it all like a champion Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, in the debut race at the course.

Of the 262 F1 races he’s been in, Hamilton has reached the podium 161 times.

He is six time-world champion and if the season goes as it has, he will equal the great Michael Schumacher who finished his career having bagged seven F1 titles.

ENDEAVOURS

Hamilton’s stock this year hasn’t only risen because of his sporting endeavours, his work away from F1 in shining a light on the inequalities that blight the world, be they racism, sea pollution and most recently the police brutality in Nigeria, have all added value. It’s safe to say we’re now watching a living legend.

That’s safe to say because it would be difficult for you to point towards another present day sports person doing what he’s doing and using their platform to right the world’s wrongs.

Safe to say who ever is in your mind right now, has a long way to go before they are considered the best in their respective sport to ever do it. Hence why I say he is a living legend.

I genuinely cherish the fact I have witnessed this period of sporting history from as close

up as I have done and nothing will stay with me more than his win in the wet and rain at Silverstone in 2008, on his way to his first title. For me that was and is the most epic race in British F1 history.

I could have been at Wimbledon that day, witnessing another epic moment in sporting history, but I wouldn’t have swapped experiences for the world (and trust me, I love Wimbledon).

Fans of the young driver back then will never forget the awesome rookie year Hamilton experienced and to this day there are those who believe he should of won it. Oh the thought.

Maybe it’s something another rookie driver should seriously consider shooting for because only the gods know if the benchmarks Hamilton are setting now will ever be reached.

Will there ever be another driver as good?

Critics will point to him being in the best cars in order to amass the records he has done.

I say, the best driver should be in the best car. Show me one better in his era?

With the ups there have been downs. Show me another driver in the sport that has ever been racially abused?

He handled that black face saga in Spain back in 2008, where he was called a “black sh*t”, in the same way he’s done everything in his career, like a champion.

For me and for many, Hamilton has been a legend for some time. Nothing about this season has seen him relegated from that lofty status, if anything, still he rises.

How Hamilton passed Schumacher PORTIMAO WAS all about Lewis Hamilton, as he moved clear of Michael Schumacher on a record 92 F1 wins.

But there was so much more to Hamilton’s victory, and to the very first Grand Prix at the Algarve International Circuit...

• The all-time wins record was broken in Portugal for the second time – Alain Prost surpassed Sir Jackie Stewart’s 27 wins at Estoril in 1987.

• Speaking of Prost, Hamilton’s win tally is now the same as Prost’s (51) and Ayrton Senna’s (41) combined.

• Even before his record, Hamilton had more wins (91) than 2nds, 3rds and 4ths combined (90). Hamilton won on the 28th different circuit in his F1 career, extending a record he already held.

• Hamilton now holds the all-time records for most wins, podiums, points, races led and pole positions.

• Hamilton extended his streak of points finishes to 45 in a row – no other driver has scored in more than 27 in a row.

• Hamilton won by the largest margin in 2020 – 25.592 seconds.

• Hamilton, Bottas and Max Verstappen shared the podium for the 7th time in 12 races this season.

• Hamilton ended in P1 / Bottas P2 / Verstappen P3 for the sixth time... making it the second-most common finishing order in F1 history.

• Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel finished 10th for a 4th time this season, having never done so prior to 2020.

PART OF THE FAMILY: Joel Campbell has been on the scene with the Hamiltons since their early rise to fame, as seen with, from main, dad Anthony, a young Lewis and brother Nicolas

32 | THE VOICE

NOVEMBER 2020

Northern Lewis Hamilton: News #92 special tribute

THE NEXT GENERATION Carol looking for her newly established NRG Academy to inspire the future Lewis Hamiltons

By Karen Palmer

C

AROL GLENN has been a motor sport race official since 1988.

In response to the events surrounding the death of George Floyd, which generated significant protest under the banner of the Black Lives Matter movement and notable support from Lewis Hamilton, Carol has set up the Next Racing Generation (NRG) Academy with the avowed aim of encouraging drivers from diverse backgrounds to undertake training in motorsport as a career.

The Academy was formed to provide support for drivers of any age or background to enter the world of motorsport at any level from karting to F1.

This would include all or any of the following: • Driver training/coaching

I’m hoping my NRG initiative will become that incubator to find the next black world champion • Mentoring • Media training • Career and education guidance • Alternative roles within motorsport, including: motorsport engineering, marshalling, press and PR, hospitality and event management, and a holistic approach to an understanding of racism, black history, diversity and equality for all NRG Academy has been approached by the newly formed Hamilton Commission, working in conjunction with the Royal Academy of Engineering on a research project, concerned with the aim of improving the representation of black people in UK motorsport.

The Hamilton Commission’s mission is to take young ambitious people, particularly those from under-represented groups, from conception through to the

pinnacle of motorsport (see page 34).

Carol told The Voice: “I am hoping that Lewis will not be the only successful black racing driver at the top of his game and that the sport becomes more diverse.

“Soon there will be lots of other youngsters climbing that ladder, and one day Lewis will be handing them his helmet for them to try and equal his incredible record.

“So that is why I feel that my initiative in forming Next Racing Generation Academy will become that incubator to find the next black world champions.”

Meanwhile, the Academy will take the young people through the various stages on their development.

It will be a mix of motorsport and academic guidance, as well as mentoring and training.

• Team management • Training - Media – interview skills, how to deal with media - Fitness and health - Driver coaching - Social media • Karting to circuit racing to F1 • Mechanical engineering • Mentoring - Training on racism - Black history - Business • Funding/sponsorship • Other avenues of motorsport - Rally - Speed events

LEADING THE WAY: Carol Glenn’s vast experience in the world of motorsport makes her ideally positioned to ensure Next Racing Generation Academy achieves all of its exciting objectives

- Marshalling - Media • International opportunities - Replicated in other countries - Driving opportunities Within the next five years Next Racing Generation Academy will be the go-to Academy for all those who aspire to work within the motorsport sector.

It will become an incubator for progression within the sport.

Through their work with the

Hamilton Commission, NRG hopes to have increased the number of students from diverse backgrounds attending universities studying STEM subjects.

NRG currently has 15 youngsters from the ages of 13 to 19 signed up and are also actively looking for anyone else interested in a career in motorsport, and they

especially wanting to hear from any girls.

Visit https://nrgmotorsport.co.uk/

Is this Lewis also destined for greatness?

FUTURE STAR: The outstanding Lewis Appiagyei

THERE IS a young British racing driver who shares an uncanny connection with his F1 hero Lewis Hamilton.

His name is also Lewis and his father’s name is Anthony – just like Hamilton’s dad. Lewis Appiagyei, 16, from London is also a racing driver born on the 7th, just like world champion Hamilton.

Not too long ago Lewis and Anthony (Appiagyei) walked through the doors of McLaren just as the Hamiltons did many years ago.

It was like history repeating itself or lightning striking in the same spot twice.

If Lewis Appiagyei goes on to sign for McLaren then his destiny of becoming a world champion will be hard to bet against.

Young Appiagyei also stands at

1.74m tall, yes the same height as the six-time world champion.

On numerous occasions in the past, Lewis Appiagyei finished his races in the same position as his idol, racing on the same day/race weekend.

Young Lewis has predicted that he’s going to be an F1 champion in the future.

RECORDS

He first made the news as a seven-year-old go-karting child prodigy.

He broke several track records and won championships as he moved up the ranks.

He is the current junior champion at Buckmore Park (Winter Series), one of the breeding

@thevoicenewspaper

grounds of British motor racing legends.

Over the years, the protege has amassed a tally of records for fastest laps and race wins, one of which includes a Guinness World record for sim racing. He also holds a record for one of the fastest laps on Buckmore Park, the race circuit owned by the late John Surtees. The record he set back in 2012 still stands today.

Just as Anthony Hamilton introduced his son to radio controlled car racing, Anthony Appiagyei introduced his offspring to sim racing on his PlayStation Portable.

Both Lewises were just seven when they were introduced to the world for their racing skills.

Hamilton appeared on BBC’s children’s programme Blue Peter,

@thevoicenews

voicenews

while Lewis Appiagyei featured on the entire back cover of The Voice for winning back-to-back races at Brands Hatch.

The similarities they share are startling to say the least. Lewis Appiagyei believes that on some level he has been dealt similar cards as his hero.

The first couple of times it happened it seemed just a weird coincidence, but the frequency with which this is happening now is quite astonishing.

The young north Londoner, for his efforts to date, has been announced on this year’s Forbes Africa 30 under 30 list as the youngest person on the list and possibly the youngest British/ Ghanaian ever to receive such an accolade.

www.voice-online.co.uk

NOVEMBER 2020 THE VOICE | 33

Lewis Hamilton: #92 special tribute

LEWIS HELPS LEAVE A LASTING LEGACY

Young talented trio determined – and inspired – to follow in the footsteps of a sporting superstar

By Natasha Henry

T

HE INFLUENCE of Lewis Hamilton won’t be fully appreciated until long after he retires.

To be the first of anything is an achievement, but to be the first black man in a sport like Formula One that is notoriously exclusive and wealthy is an achievement that deserves global respect.

But it is not until you speak to aspiring young black racers that you really start to comprehend what Hamilton’s legacy in the world of motorsport actually means.

The Voice of Sport spoke to three young men hoping to follow in the tyre treads of Britain’s most successful racing driver while being supported by the charity, BAME Motorsports Foundation. The charity, launched by their respective fathers, aims to help, guide and support young children keen to get behind the wheel and emulate the Mercedes driver.

Now 13 years old, Aaron Mensah’s interest in the sport was born in 2016.

He explained: “I got into racing because I saw Lewis Hamilton win his second world championship on television and realised it was something I wanted to do when I was older.

“I started watching videos

of him and thet made me even more inspired.”

Karting, well motorsport in general, is an expensive sport for children to have as a hobby, unlike football where all they need is a ball and a couple of jumpers for goalposts.

A quick search online found several used karts costing at least £3,000, and that is before you add in the price of race gear, parts, repairs and travelling expenses.

COMPETING

This was echoed by Corey Alleyne who started competing in the sport in his teens.

The 18-year-old said: “I first started by watching F1 and loving the sport, but never knew how to get into it.

“But my dad found out that there was a karting championship doing a race in Cork and we went and looked at everything and talked to some teams.

“We spoke to as many people who knew about what they were doing, and we met a mechanic who actually bought our first car for us.

“He found it on the internet, we paid him back and he tested me three times – at the end of that we realised I was ready to start a championship, so we did.”

This kind of helping hand is

something that he and his father wish to pay forward as they’re keen for their vanload of kit to help another up-and-coming driver when Corey no longer needs it.

All three young men admitted to being aware of the extra attention their presence creates as they go about their business, while being targeted on track was also a common thread.

Sadly, it didn’t stop there, with Corey’s father Peter explaining that he was questioned about how his son achieved his win at the end of one particular competition.

Thankfully, his GoPro evidenced that his victory was down to talent only.

LAUDED

Joshua Bugembe – the youngest of the trio at 10-years-old – is already being lauded as a driver of the future by Motorsport UK, and his face as he talks about receiving a voice note from his hero, Hamilton, is similar to a child at Christmas.

In a world where many doubt the strength of parenting within the diasporic community, one thing all three young men stressed was the importance of the education their parents have instilled in them.

The constant rule is: No school, no racing.

Joshua said: “If I don’t do well at school then I miss out on driving. If I feel ill on Friday, then I can’t say I’m fine on a Saturday.

I have to be good all week and work hard.”

In a sport that is ridiculously competitive by nature, with only 20 drivers taking to the track in both Formula One and the Formula E Series, the talented trio are all aware that regardless of their achievements, they can learn as much in the classroom as they can on the race track.

All three may currently be in different stages of their journey, but there’s one thing they all agree on; if Lewis can do it, so can they!

IN PURSUIT OF THEIR DREAMS: Clockwise, from main, Joshua Bugembe, Corey Alleyne, centre podium, and Aaron Mensah

34 | THE VOICE

NOVEMBER 2020

Northern Lewis Hamilton: News #92 special tribute

DRIVING FOR CHANGE World champion teams up with Royal Academy of Engineering to inspire diversity across Formula One

By Rodney Hinds

S

IX-TIME Formula One world champion, Lewis Hamilton MBE and the Royal Academy of Engineering have announced the Board of Commissioners for The Hamilton Commission, a research project that will work to identify the key barriers to recruitment and progression of black people in UK motorsport, and provide actionable recommendations to overcome them.

The Hamilton Commission will be co-chaired by the world champion himself and Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, chief executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

The Board of Commissioners is an independent group made up of 14 experts and industry leaders from within the UK who represent a range of perspectives on the challenge.

The Commissioners have

been specially selected to represent a wide range of expertise spanning critical areas of influence including motorsport, engineering, schools, colleges and universities, community and youth groups, as well as major UK political parties. Each of the Commissioners will bring valuable expertise, knowledge and experience from their respective fields to The Hamilton Commission.

REVIEW

Their responsibilities will be to review and inform the research methodology; to examine the research findings and help identify the key challenges and opportunities facing young black people entering STEM careers, particularly in UK motorsport; and to advise on the final actions and recommendations that result from the research.

Hamilton said: “Since I began my professional racing career in

Formula One, 14 years ago, I was the only driver of colour and to this day, sadly, that is still the case.

“However, what is more concerning is that there are still very few people of colour across the sport as a whole.

“In F1, our teams are much bigger than the athletes that front them, but representation is insufficient across every skill set – from the garage to the engineers in the factories and design departments.

“We are dedicated to this cause and together, we will make a change.”

The first meeting of the Board of Commissioners took place recently, where the Commissioners shared their initial insights and thoughts on the research plan with Hamilton and Sillem.

The Board will meet quarterly to discuss and inform the latest Commission research.

The Hamilton Commissioners • Karen Chouhan, lead equality officer with a specialism in race policy for the National Education Union • Jeremy Crook, chief executive of the Black Training and Enterprise Group • Tracey Crouch MP, former Sports Minister and Conservative Party politician • Dr Nike Folayan, co-founder and chair of the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers, AFBE-UK • Professor Alice Gast, president of Imperial College London • Mark Hamlin, chair of Project 44 • Dr Zubaida Haque, former interim director of the Runnymede Trust • Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, co-founder of Stemettes and

trustee at the Institute for the Future of Work • George Imafidon, pictured above, co-founder of Motivez, One Young World Ambassador and Royal Academy of Engineering scholar

• Glen Lambert, head of School of Construction, Science and Engineering at College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London • Professor David Mba, Pro-Vice Chancellor Research and Enterprise, and Dean of the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Media at De Montfort University • Izzy Obeng, managing director at Foundervine and non-executive director for Capital Enterprise • Chi Onwurah MP, Member of Parliament representing Newcastle upon Tyne Central and also Shadow Minister Digital, Science & Technology • Martin Whitmarsh, former CEO of the McLaren Formula One Team, Chairman of BAR Technologies Limited

NOVEMBER 2020 THE VOICE | 35

Lewis Hamilton: #92 special tribute

‘It’s a Herculean effort’

Sky Sports’ Brundle hails Hamilton’s ‘masterful’ win in Portugal and says the star is outstanding

By Rodney Hinds

S

KY SPORTS’ expert analyst Martin Brundle has paid homage to record-breaker Lewis Hamilton.

Analysing Hamilton’s 92nd Formula One success in Portugal, Brundle – famous for his track walks – told the Sky Sports website: ‘‘It was a masterful performance on a day when getting heat into the tyres was the challenge and so he could let the car go to an extent, rather than endless tyre management. One of his finer drives among many. ‘‘A relatively small number of us have been privileged to race Formula One cars. It’s hard to become an F1 driver, and to remain one for several seasons. ‘‘It’s a mighty challenge to score points, podiums, victo-

It’s hard to become an F1 driver and to remain one ries and world championships, to keep yourself mentally and physically in good shape. ‘‘To stay on top of the ever more complex technology.

“To take the knocks and disappointments, endure the politics, survive the crashes, and witness the tragedies. To endlessly tolerate the most intense spotlight. What Lewis continues to achieve is a Herculean effort and an outstanding performance by any metric for any sports person in history, in my opinion.”

Brundle has a word of sympathy for Hamilton’s team mate, Valtteri Bottas. ‘‘Poor guy. If Hamilton wasn’t around he’d be a megastar – instead, he just has to take questions on basically what went wrong. I find it uncomfortable to interview him immediately after a race, looking in his eyes to see a mix of fading adrenalin and disappointment, trying to find the right words to tread a middle ground of celebrating another podium while he’s been trounced again by his teammate. ‘‘If you’re going to have to fight Hamilton then it might as well be in the equal fastest car, but if Lewis re-signs for multiple years then Valtteri will surely have to look elsewhere on the grid for his own self-esteem and motivation.’’

Dad hails ‘incredible’ record

FAMILY AFFAIR: Lewis Hamilton, centre, with dad Anthony and mum Carmen

LEWIS HAMILTON’S father said his son equalling the all-time record for career Formula 1 victories was “a dream beyond anything we could have imagined”.

The Mercedes driver’s Eifel Grand Prix win was the 91st of his career, matching Michael Schumacher’s record.

Schumacher suffered a severe brain injury in a skiing accident in 2013 – his son Mick present-

ed Hamilton with one of his father’s old helmets to recognise the Briton’s achievement.

Anthony Hamilton said: “It was tinged with a bit of sadness because we spent many, many years watching Michael win numerous races and titles and here we are, emulating the great Michael Schumacher. And to have his son present Lewis with that helmet was just a very humbling experience.”

‘What Lewis Hamilton means to me’ Aaron Mensah: “I got into racing because I saw Lewis Hamilton win his second world championship on television and realised it was something I wanted to do when I was older. I started watching videos of him and I was even more inspired.”

Corey Alleyne: “I truly believe that if Lewis can do it, people like me, Josh and Aaron have the same chance.

He’s in his late 30s now and he’s continuing to get better, learn and every single time he gets in the car. You rarely hear excuses from him – he

just gets it done. He’s constantly pushing himself to the absolute limit and he’s beaten every single teammate he’s ever had, so to me, no one else can compare.”

Joshua Bugembe: “He makes me feel really excited because it’s a lot of world records that he’s beaten and he’s carrying on to beat them. I just want him to have the most world records in F1 until I go up there and then I want to beat him!”

Read their full stories on page 33

IMPRESSED: Sky Sports’ Martin Brundle praised Lewis Hamilton

The facts and stats

Date of birth: 07/01/1985 Place of birth: Stevenage, England Team: Mercedes Country: United Kingdom First race: 2007 Australian Grand Prix First win: 2007 Canadian Grand Prix Podiums: 162 Points: 3,686 Grands Prix entered: 262 World Championships: Six Highest race finish: 1 (x92) Highest grid position: 1

36 | THE VOICE

NOVEMBER 2020

Northern Lewis Hamilton: News #92 special tribute

GRABBING HEADLINES

We’ve backed Lewis from the start. Here are just some of the times he’s featured across The Voice...

The Voice Media Group salutes Lewis Hamilton on his record breaking career

MARCH 2020

THE VOICE| 37

38 | THE VOICE

NOVEMBER 2020

Faith

‘RACISM IS PART OF THE FABRIC OF OUR SOCIETY’

‘T

Despite laws and failed promises from politicians, intolerance is engrained within communities in Britain and across the world, says Bishop Joe Aldred

HE QUESTION is racism, the answer is strong laws, black agency, and good neighbourliness.’

I want to be clear at the outset that this two-part reflection is an opinion piece about how, in light of my own experience, African Diaspora people in the UK can go beyond vitriolic rhetoric about racism and find ways to flourish in spite of its unwelcome existence.

Since coming to the UK as a boy in 1968, the issue of racism seems to be front and centre of life in this land and beyond.

I arrived months after Enoch Powell’s infamous ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech in Smethwick, where I came to live.

Racist tension was palpable back then. Now, after years living in the UK, and as I prepare to retire, I profoundly regret that race has played such a significantly negative role in the lives of so many; in some sense in everybody’s lives.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu once referred to racism as, ‘to spit in the face of God’, who made all humanity in the divine image and likeness.

Racism continues to be a blight upon the lives of many and it is hardly surprising there is great and urgent desire for society to be rid of it. I am told that former prime minister David Cameron’s government planned an initiative that faltered, to end racism by 2020!

When it comes to eradicating racism from UK society, I am a sceptic. Although a man of great faith, I do not believe racism will ever disappear completely from among human beings here or elsewhere in the world.

Racism, to put it in religious jargon, is a sin. As such it is a consequence of fallen humanity, driven by selfishness and greed, ignorance and prejudice.

How we all wish evils such as paedophilia could be expunged from amongst us, along with murder, stealing and lying.

What we know is that because

Racism continues to be a blight on the lives of many we can’t magic them away, we have to make arrangements to contain, restrain and punish perpetrators.

I long ago decided that when it comes to racism I cannot afford the luxury of making my flourishing contingent upon waking up one morning and, ‘abracadabra’, racism is no more, all racists gone, and the system of white supremacy evaporated.

In its current form racism has been around since the Transatlantic Slave Trade and is currently showing little sign of disappearing, hopeful as the Black Lives Matter movement makes us feel.

HAVOC

I have theorised that after centuries of wreaking havoc upon untold millions, the hegemonic hold of racism over us if we can’t kill the beast, we must at least work out how to decentre, neutralise and transcend it.

My tips therefore for dealing with racism in society and how to flourish in its face are threefold. First, strong and effective anti-racist laws to resist it, punishing perpetrators and thereby restraining and limiting its effect.

Second, black agency, meaning power of autonomy and self-determination.

Third, good human to human neighbourliness, meaning from a position of a common humanity live with fellow humans of any and all heritages as equals.

First then, strong and effective anti-racist laws. In July 2020, Government Minister for Women and Equalities, Kemi Badenoch, pictured right, responding to a statement that being black

in this country amounts to a death sentence, said “…this is one of the best countries in the world to be a black person”.

This may be a stretch, but if we think in terms of anti-racism laws in European countries, she is most probably correct.

Anti-racist laws brought in after tragedies such as the racist murder of Kelso Cochrane in 1959, and Stephen Lawrence in 1993, in addition to other laws and police reforms have not made the UK perfect, but have made it a legally safer space for black people to live than where such laws are not in existence.

Laws have the ability to hold perpetrators to account, when applied well; what laws cannot do is change people’s hearts. The law cannot stop your house being burgled but it can hold the burglar to account.

The homeowner must also take all necessary steps to make their home safe against would be burglars.

As mentioned previously, racism, in my view, comes from the same place as other sins of humanity and to think of it as in some way special or different is to lull us into a false sense of security that our agitating against microaggression, for example, will actually eradicate this universal phenomenon.

Worse still, some of our strategies centre whiteness that preoccupies us, sapping energies better spent building black flourishing without apology.

Living in the UK for over 50 years has taught me that microaggressions happen all the time and are generally not subject

@thevoicenewspaper

DIVISIVE: Enoch Powell’s 1968 speech warned of the ‘consequences’ of immigration to Britain to any laws. In fact we are all guilty of them to some degree or other.

not a term I use but it is in use Part two of this article will be much to the chagrin of non-Ja- published in the December issue. maicans.

Living in the UK has taught me that microaggressions happen all the time Recently as I was bigging up my birth island of Jamaica I was pulled up by a Barbadian over how boasty Jamaicans are! And how dare Jamaicans refer to other Caribbean people as ‘small islanders’?

This i s

@thevoicenews

There are better examples of microaggression between Africans and Caribbeans, but I desist. Point is microaggressions are subjective matters and if they become, as I fear they are becoming, the currency by which community relations are transacted then as Jesus might say, ‘s/he without sin, you cast the first stone’.

I suspect we are on stronger ground when we lean upon the anti-racist laws of the land for protection against racists, and trust our human agency and goodwill towards fellow humans to walk towards our own and their mutual flourishing.

voicenews

Bishop Joe Aldred PhD is responsible for Pentecostal and Multicultural Relations at Churches Together in England and is a bishop in the Church of God of Prophecy. He is Honorary Research Fellow at Roehampton University, Trustee of Movement for Justice and Reconciliation, and of NCLF – A Black Christian Voice; Patron of Housing Justice and Patron of the Nurses Association of Jamaica, in addition to several other voluntary roles.

He is a broadcaster on various platforms including the BBC’s Daily Service. Joe has a Master’s Degree and a PhD in Theology from Sheffield University; is author and editor of several books including Respect: Understanding Caribbean British Christianity and Thinking Outside The Box – On Race, Faith And Life.

www.voice-online.co.uk

ADVERTORIAL

NOVEMBER 2020

THE VOICE| 39

Mercedes’ recent and further recall of diesel vehicles in the UK adds fuel to claims of emissions fraud, say lawyers Vehicle owners should still join consumer group action even if vehicle is ‘fixed’

M

ERCEDES BENZ’S latest recall of additional diesel vehicles in the UK for an emissions related software update is a strong indication the manufacturer knows it has a larger dirty diesel problem, according to lawyers working on a potential group action litigation on behalf of UK Mercedes owners.

London law firm Fox Williams LLP, in collaboration with US class-action law firm Hagens Berman, is building a group claim in England and Wales that will allege Mercedes deliberately engaged in emissions fraud in the sale of its diesel and BlueTec vehicles by programming an emission defeat device during test conditions which limited illegally high, dangerous levels of Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions normally evident in real-world driving conditions.

ACTION This follows Hagens Berman’s multiyear investigations of a similar fraud in the US and its successful role in leading a class action lawsuit there which has paid out more than US$700m to US Mercedes owners.

“The evidence strongly suggests that Daimler and Mercedes have been involved in similar practices.“ Hagens Berman has also been involved in litigation against Volkswagen in the

US where it was found that a comparable defeat device was used and again, the firm also secured substantial compensation for US vehicle owners.

Fox Williams’ and Hagens Berman’s legal teams have learned that since as recently as September 10 2020, Mercedes Benz has been sending out mandatory recall notices to UK Mercedes diesel

“

Any UK vehicle owners that have the mandatory repair are still eligible to join our claimant group

”

said: “This recall exercise is further compelling evidence Mercedes diesel and BlueTec vehicles have a nitrogen oxide problem that needs fixing.

“Any UK vehicle owners that have the mandatory repair are still eligible to join our claimant group given the alleged deception and fraudulent representation occurred at the original point of sale or subsequent purchase.”

SOFTWARE UPDATES Michael Gallagher, co-managing director of Hagens Berman UK, added: “The fact Mercedes is doing this at the instruction of the German Transport Authority is telling. Of further note

Fox Williams and Hagens Berman UK had previously appealed to owners of the following Mercedes models powered by BlueTec diesel-fuelled engines and sold from 2008 up to 2018 to register with a view to joining their group action litigation: A-Class, B-Class, C-Class, Citan, CLA, CLS, E-Class, GL- Class, GLA-Class, GLCClass, GLE-Class, GLS, M-Class, SClass, SLK, Sprinter, V-Class, and Vito.

These models include passenger and commercial vehicles and vans, such as people movers, shuttles and taxis.

“We believe Mercedes vehicle owners and lessees in England and Wales will likely have good claims for losses.“

is the scope of the recall. We believe Mercedes is developing software updates for almost the entire Euro 6b and Euro 5 diesel fleet in Europe and that the cheating impacts more vehicles than we originally thought. We absolutely don’t accept Mercedes’ argument that the emissions control system of US vehicles is materially different to European models.”

Earlier estimates suggested that approx 1.2 million potential claimants owning (or having owned) impacted vehicles purchased in England and Wales have been affected by the Dieselgate scandal, based on Mercedes selling more than 600,000 impacted vehicles here between 2008 and 2018. However, Fox Williams and Hagens Berman now believe this number could be higher if

vehicle owners which prescribes an update to engine control unit software.

We absolutely don’t accept Mercedes’ argument that the emissions control system of US vehicles is materially different to European models.

Michael Gallagher, co-managing director of Hagens Berman UK COMPLIANCE It is not known how many letters have been sent but it is believed the exercise, requested by the Germany Federal Office for Motor Vehicles (KBA) and being overseen by the UK DVLA in compliance with the Code of Practice on Defects in the UK, strengthens the case against Mercedes for emissions fraud relating to UK vehicles.

“Any UK vehicle owners that have the mandatory repair are still eligible to join our claimant group.“ Andrew Hill, the Fox Williams partner who is leading the UK based action,

additional models are also likely emitting dirty diesel emissions.

AFFECTED Not only private owners and businesses, such as fleet operators and hire car companies, but also lessees of vehicles affected may be eligible for damages.

Steve Berman, Managing Partner, Hagens Berman and Co-Managing Director Hagens Berman UK said: “We have already seen Daimler settle with the US authorities and US vehicle owners over its Dieselgate problem.

“The evidence strongly suggests that Daimler and Mercedes have been involved in similar practices in England and Wales and that British consumers also have a right to compensation for unlawful, deceptive and otherwise defective emission controls implemented

by Mercedes.”

Hill adds: “We believe Mercedes vehicle owners and lessees in England and Wales will likely have good claims for losses caused to them from unwittingly owning or leasing dirty diesels.

Compensation could be in the range of £5,000 to £10,000 per vehicle.”

Those unsure if their Mercedes vehicle is affected by the dirty diesel technology, can contact Fox Williams and FreeText “DIESEL” to 622777 and we will text you a link to a quick form or go to the website to register your interest www.mercedes-dieselclaims.co.uk.

It is intended the Fox Williams-led group action claim will be conducted on a no-win, no-fee basis, meaning that there will be no out-of-pocket cost to sign up to or participate.

. 1891

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NOVEMBER 2020 THE VOICE | 41

Special feature: Racism in Britain today

WHY OUR RIGHT TO PROTEST TRUMPS (ALMOST) EVERYTHING PROTESTING IN A PANDEMIC: While mass gatherings are against Britain’s COVID-19 regulations, these protests were a clear reflection of the need for change both in the UK and across the globe

History tells us that peaceful acts of defiance can have a profound effect on the world – and we hope that 2020’s Black Lives Matter protests will do the same, says Sailesh Mehta “Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted…”

— Frederick Douglass

O

NCE IN a generation comes an injustice so great that it unites decent people across cultures and continents.

Remaining silent becomes an act of complicity. The only decision to be made is the extent to which the injustice is protested.

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has sparked demonstrations in every major American city, and across the world.

In London and eight other UK cities, peaceful demonstrations have taken place and more are planned.

Protestors in the USA have

already achieved what was unthinkable a few months ago – many town halls and Governors are discussing “defunding” the police, with a view to returning more policing functions to community based activities.

It has become a major topic of discussion on American TV and will become an election issue for Donald Trump.

DIFFICULTY

A moral difficulty arises when a demonstrator risks the spread of COVID-19 and therefore trespasses on the right of others to health and life.

A legal difficulty arises when attendance at a mass demonstration is in breach of Regulation 7 of the Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020, which prohibits public gatherings of more than six people.

Does this Regulation, written in haste, but designed to protect

lives, trump deeply ingrained rights of expression and association, enshrined in the Human Rights Act 1998?

The problem with the rights in Article 10 and Article 11 of the European Convention – freedom of expression and free-

the Convention rights – to protect health and public safety, and for national security reasons in an unprecedented crisis.

Public attitude to the Regulations and their enforcement has been ambivalent for good reason.

Politicians and experienced police offers know that not every law should be enforced dom of peaceful assembly – is that they come with an important caveat.

Governments can limit such freedoms in the interests of national security, public safety or the protection of public health.

It is a caveat that is often used by the State, but only sometimes correctly.

The Coronavirus Regulations 2020 were enacted for reasons exactly matching the caveat in

Dominic Cummings’ risible ‘Barnard Castle’ defence and the Prime Minister’s lamentable defence of his chief strategist have led to a “one rule for them and another rule for us” feeling in the public mind.

That the police and prosecutors have made numerous errors in the application of the new law, has also reduced regard for the Regulations.

Add to this mix the inexpli-

cably different rules on gatherings, as between Scotland, Wales and England and the Government’s gradual loosening of the social distancing rules even though it had not achieved its own benchmarks – and one has a set of Regulations in which the public have little confidence.

CLEAR

The law is crystal clear: the Black Lives Matter marches are in breach of Regulation 7 of the 2020 Regulations.

The marchers will know this and have decided to take the risks attendant to breaching the law.

The Home Secretary and the Metropolitan Police Commissioner have both urged protestors not to take to the streets, emphasising the health risks.

The Police have resisted the temptation to make mass arrests or hand out instant fines

to thousands of protestors who are in clear breach of the 2020 Regulation. There is a reason for this.

Politicians and experienced police officers are well aware of the truism: not every law that can be enforced should be enforced.

They have sensed that BLM is an important movement with a momentum that cannot be stopped with exhortations or arrests.

It has caught the public imagination in every continent. It is a movement about an Article 2 right – the most fundamental right of all : “everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law”.

It has a powerful moral underpinning.

Peaceful demonstrators who march in breach of the law know that there are likely to be consequences. Martin Luther King knew this.

Continued on page 44

42 | THE VOICE NOVEMBER 2020

Tribute: The late Leroy Reid

Accounting pioneer who helped black businesses and sole traders for over 38 years Well known UK-based Jamaican accountant, Leroy Emanuel Reid, FCCA, FAIA, died in London after a long illness. He was 84.

L

eroy Reid established his own chartered certified accountant and registered auditing firm, Leroy Reid & Co, in the United Kingdom for over 38 years and was regarded as one of the most recognised firms which assisted many Jamaican-own businesses with their accounting and tax affairs.

His firm guided many businesses, whether sole traders or large companies, through the often tough regulations associated with UK Accounting and Tax laws.

Born in Chapleton, Claredon, Jamaica in 1936, Leroy Reid migrated to Britain in 1978 where he worked in various accounting firms before establishing Leroy Reid & Co in 1982 which not only provided accounting services to the Jamaican Diaspora but also the wider diverse British community.

ternal local examinations prior to entering Clarendon College where I studied Business and Commerce at General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level.

“On successful completion of my studies I enlisted in the Jamaica Constabulary Force where I served for four years. In the Constabulary I was assigned to office duties and was promoted to an office clerk that carried the rank of First Class Constable.

BEGINNING

In a previous interview with the Weekly Gleaner, in which he reflected on his journey from humble beginnings in Clarendon, to a successful and respectable accounting firm in south London, Leroy Reid gave an insight into how it all began and the challenges he had to face along the way.

He reflected: “I was born in Chapleton, Clarendon to Arthur Harris Reid and his wife Enid Alice nee Thompson. Arthur was a Resident Magistrate Court Bailiff whilst Enid operated a mixed small farm consisting of sugar cane, chocolate and other mixed crops. They had nine children, five boys and four girls.

“At age six, I attended the Woodhall Elementary School where I remained until the age of 15 and studied for the ex-

“It was at this stage I decided to study accountancy and was told by two Business Colleges in England that it would be advisable for me to study two subjects at advance level standard. They recommended Accountancy and Economics and these I completed in 1960 and was offered a place in Business and General Accountancy for the September 1961 intake at Balham and Tooting College of Commerce in South West London.

“In July 1964 I became available for the job market and having made three applications,

was offered two positions one with the British Council as a pay and record officer and the other with the Government of Jamaica in the Income Tax Department as an Assessor in the Special Investigation Unit.

CAREER

“It was not very long before my appointment with the Tax Office was confirmed that I received a call from Coopers and Lybrand local office to enquire if I would like to join their London Office to be trained in audit and taxation at their Abacus House City of London Office.

“After one year in the firm I had covered British Steel, Clarke Shoe Company, Firestone Tyre Company, British Oxygen Company and many others too numerous to mention. In February 1971 I was offered the position as a Manager at the Kingston office in Jamaica. Six months later I was promoted to a Senior Audit Manager and 18 months later I was appointed a Partner.

“I returned to England in 1978 and joined Pannell Kerr Foster as the Audit Manager but just eight months later went to work for Peter Davis & Partners who made me a Partner and changed its name to Davis Reid & Company where I remained until March 1982 when I purchased Louis Braithwaite and Company a small practice in Harrow West London, hence the birth of Leroy Reid & Co from April 1, 1982.

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NOVEMBER 2020 THE VOICE | 43

Tribute

“The new firm was involved with a number of varied engagements including teaching of accountancy and taxation at Croydon College in Croydon for 12 hours each week and the remainder of 24 hours with Leonard Bloch & Co a firm of Chartered Accountants in the West End of London.

ETHICS

“By the end of the first year the firm began receiving various assignments through the Commission of Racial Equality.

Our staff complement had to increase due to additional projects financed by the Councils of Hammersmith and Fulham; Westminster; Wandsworth; Lambeth; Croydon and Islington and the inclusion of a number of Income Tax and Value Added Tax Investigation.

“Our client list is made up of client’s from almost every nationality and our motto is ‘Out of many one people as we work to a standard and not a price’.

I would describe our growth as organic and thank God for his blessing.

“I am a firm believer in giving back of your time and resources to society and it’s for this reason why I have spent a lot of time in community work and teaching. I have taught on a part-time basis at the following institutions: St Andrew Technical High School; College of Arts Science and Technology (UTECH); University of the West Indies – Faculty of Economics; Durham Commercial College; Croydon Technical College; and Community Roots College.”

…we had a good working relationship with him

…vast knowledge and experience

Many of us have known Mr. Leroy Reid for over 20 years. He was our boss and Senior Partner for his accounting practice Leroy Reid & Co. We called him ‘Sir” or “Mr Reid” , not only in the workplace, but wherever we met him as a mark of respect.

Mr. Reid was a great friend of Jamaica National, we were privileged to have interacted with him consistently over the past 10 years.

We felt comfortable and had a very good working relationship with him; he had confidence in us. All of us were always ready to go the extra mile when he called.

He was a active person who loved to get things done, even if he had to work after normal hours to do so. His favourite saying was “when a task has begun may it be great or small, never leave until it is done”.

Mr Reid would go the extra mile to assist you, or call on one of his contacts within his vast network to do so , just to make sure that you are sorted. Those days are gone, gone but not forgotten. It’s really hard for us to accept that he is no longer with us; we will never get accustomed to it.

As work colleagues we all agree that Mr Reid was humble, kind, generous, and peaceful. Mr Reid’s final words to us were “God Bless”.

Gone before us, Mr Reid, Sir, Leroy but the precious memories will remain in our hearts. The faithful man Job had these comforting words to say. (Job 14vs 14-15) If a man dies, can he live again? All the days of my appointed time I will wait till my change come.

Thou shalt call and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.

We extend condolences to the Reid Family.

The Management and staff of Leroy Reid & Co.

…demanded a high standard My first encounter with Leroy Reid was during early 1984. I had visited his practice office, in Norbury, as a prospective client but nonetheless checked in, the following Monday morning, as a trainee accountant, operating under the direct supervision of this commanding figure.

I had been mysteriously lured away from the world of a successful record business operator to join him in a novel professional environment. Mr. Reid had inspired me into becoming a duly qualified accountant aspiring to the academic height of attaining a master’s degree.

He demanded a high standard of performance and would be severely critical if one fell short. We therefore always, had to be on point. Although my presence at the practice was short lived the underlying effort of that disciplinarian paved the path for us to emulate.

His teaching has made an indelible mark on all his discerning trainees. I stand testament to that fact and will be eternally grateful.

CHARITY

One of the many charitable organisations he assisted was the Friends of the Heart Foundation of Jamaica, whose spokesperson Winnifred Smikle said: “Leroy Reid’s firm has been doing the accounts for FHFJ since the beginning of the Organisation. Over the years he was a constant source of support and encouragement and will be greatly missed.”

Leroy Reid leaves behind wife Reita Reid and two sons, Colin and Edmund.

His passing has left a vacuum but also, wonderful memories...

Roy Anthony Seretse Forbes-Allen MBA

…warmth, caring and understanding When I think of Mr Leroy Reid of Leroy Reid & Co; it’s his ability to show warmth, care and understanding that I truly remember.

His care was not a passive one, it was genuine sincerity from one professional human being to another.

Carl Campbell – Artistic Director, Carl Campbell Dance Company 7

He was always willing to impart his vast knowledge and experience to assist us personally and through the expertise of his firm. Mr Reid was the consummate gentleman and we will always have fond memories of him regaling us with stories of life in Jamaica and his long endearing relationship and Jamaicans in the UK. We are grateful for the many moments taken to offer support and encouragement and we will miss him; a true son of the Jamaican soil.

The Jamaica National Family (UK and Jamaica)

...honest and helpful

I met Mr Leroy Reid in a professional capacity, through Mr Roy Forces-Allen; during which time I found him to be honest, helpful and thorough in the execution of his role as my accountant.

Over the years we became very good friends.

I am very sadden of his passing and wish to offer my sincere condolences to his family. May God help you get through this difficult time and ease your pain.

Mr Carlton Troutt, C P Travel

…a safe pair of hands I fondly remember Mr Reid as a true and kind gentleman who went above and beyond in acts of kindness for friends new and old. He attracted positive people around him and made them feel that they were in a safe pair of hands.

He will be sadly missed but not forgotten. May he rest in peace.

Norma Stride, Amron Premier Care

…patience and understanding Although Mr Reid was my Accountant, he was also my friend. He was such a lovely person. I love the fact that he treated me so much as a friend and not just as a client. He will be sadly missed by all of us.

Rest in peace.

Noel McKoy - Black Cab

Mr Reid was truly a master of his craft, he was extremely reliable, helpful and professional. Both myself and sister had been with Mr Reid for 30 years and he served us well throughout the years and was like a father figure to us.

We had also learnt that we are distant relatives who came from the same district of Woodhall in Jamaica.

The reason why we loved Mr Reid and always used his services was because he had patience and understanding when it came to our finances and payment schedules.

He was truly a blessing to us as well as many of the cab drivers. He will be truly missed.

Josephine & Mencielita Manning - Black Cab Owners

44 | THE VOICE NOVEMBER 2020

Special feature: Racism in Britain today

FREEDOM FIGHTERS: Both Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela’s acts of peaceful defiance helped change laws

Continued from page 41 Nelson Mandela was often arrested and suffered incarceration for many years. Mahatma Gandhi, whose non-violent movement helped to topple the British Raj, expected to be arrested and imprisoned for his breaches of the law.

These were political acts in defiance of the law, which helped to change the law.

It is a shame that some peaceful demonstrations also attract a minority of those who loot, attack and burn and engage in other criminality.

OPPROBRIUM

They rightly attract the opprobrium of peaceful protestors and the public.

They have no place in movements such as BLM, whose leaders have warned against all non-peaceful activity.

The toppling of the Colston Statute in Bristol is viewed by many to be a criminal act outside the BLM movement.

In this heady mix of law, politics and morality, millions of marchers across the globe have made individual political decisions to break the law. They should expect arrest and

Victims of centuries of inequality have seized the moment punishment, while hoping that the authorities will turn a blind eye There is, for a very short period of time, a small window of opportunity to acknowledge and address the institutional stain of slavery, segregation, poverty and unequal treatment.

In 1964, Martin Luther King Jr, pictured below, wrote a book, Why We Can’t Wait, when responding to critical voices urging him to slow down.

Ironically, black African Americans were forced to continue their waiting until now.

The protestors have decided

not to “quietly submit” to injustice and have taken up Frederick Douglass’ injunction to seek change through agitation.

As Professor Howard Zinn has said: “Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.”

Victims of centuries of inequality have seized the moment and believe that some ideals are worth breaking the law for.

Already, they are seeing the fruits of their action in the USA where policing methods are likely to change radically.

CONTEXT

What we are witnessing here and in the USA is the non-adherence to and the non-application of a law. Both decisions are political but made in a legal context. Where there is a disconnect between a clear breach of the law and a moral imperative to peacefully demonstrate, the State can enforce the law or turn a blind eye.

Whatever it does will be criticised by a proportion of the public. On this occasion the State has (for now at least) opted to permit the march of history to pass through unimpeded, while Justice sometimes winks.

Sailesh Mehta is a barrister and was one of the founding members of the Bar Human Rights Committee. He is a leading advocate who has defended and prosecuted in some of the most serious and important cases over the last 30 years.

MARCH 2020

THE VOICE| 45

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46 | THE VOICE NOVEMBER 2020

Special feature: Racism in Britain today

HARROWING TRUTH Gangs are increasingly exploiting children and vulnerable adults to move and store drugs around the UK. But what can be done? By Emma Akuwudike

C

OUNTY LINES is the term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks, transporting drugs into one or more supply areas within the UK and using dedicated mobile phone lines or other form of “deal line”.

They are likely to exploit children and vulnerable adults to move and store drugs and money, and they will often use “coercion, intimidation, violence (including sexual violence) and weapons” (Home Office, 2018).

An over-saturation of the drugs market in larger cities and a need for organised crime networks to seek a drugs market further afield, has led to county lines.

Gangs will target coastal towns and smaller rural areas where they can be anonymous and unknown to local police forces. There is a lower police presence and less competition from rival gangs, which may reduce the likelihood of serious violence being meted out against them.

County lines offending is still a comparatively new phenomenon. Much of the information published is from the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Home Office. The creation of the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) and awareness of the links to modern slavery and human trafficking (MSHT) within county lines, has resulted in better identification and reporting.

The county line or “deal line” is the dedicated mobile number given to customers and is used primarily to take orders for drugs. It is the line operated by someone higher up in the ranks and is a marketing tool, offering incentives and attractive deals to drug addicts. It is often an unregistered pay-as-you-go phone.

Criminal practitioners who deal in these types of cases will

Gangs will target smaller areas where they are unknown be familiar with the bulk text messages in a call schedule prepared for trial.

It is common for operators of drugs lines to send bulk text messages to numerous customers in an effort to tout for new business. Some will use social media platforms to market their brand or to recruit, but this varies between different county lines.

From experience, a download of these mobile phones, and a statement from a drugs expert to interpret drugs messages is usually all that is required to establish that this is a drugs network’s county line.

The NCA estimates that there are more than 2,000 individual deal line numbers in the UK linked to around 1,000 branded county lines.

Gangs from larger cities such as London, Liverpool, Manchester and the West Midlands are operating all over England, Scotland and Wales.

London remains the largest export location for county lines (County Lines Violence Exploitation and Drugs Supply, NCA, 2016).

The primary motive for county lines activity is financial (Spicer, 2019). In addition, there is a receptive consumer market, less capable or intimidated local suppliers and limited access to drugs supplies in contrast to urban locations (NCA, 2016).

The NCA estimates individual line profits in excess of £800,000 a year and some lines generate several thousand pounds profit from a single daily delivery trip. The Ministry of

WORKING TO SAVE LIVES: The NCA provides much of the information regarding county lines drug offences across Britain Justice (MOJ) Practice Guidance suggests an annual turnover of £0.5 billion in UK county lines activity.

It is perhaps understandable that the young, impressionable mind would be lured by the misguided appeal of this lucrative and comparatively “lower risk” aspect of the drugs trade.

TARGETS

Organised crime networks will recruit, force and traffic children, young people and vulnerable adults to transport their valuable commodities, which are typically heroin and crack/cocaine. These are often wrapped in cling film and inserted anally (“plugged”).

A person of any gender or nationality can be recruited.

Gangs have a perception that white British children are more likely to avoid detection.

The most common group targeted are males aged 15-17, but children as young as 11 are also falling victim to drugs gangs.

They are usually intimidated, groomed, threatened with serious violence or death or enticed by perceptions of a better

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lifestyle. Organised crime networks will often use vulnerable young people at the bottom of the chain known as “runners” to courier drugs, cash and weapons. Runners will also deal drugs at street level to the end users. There is still a hierarchy within the drugs business model with the “elders” overseeing

to invade the home of a vulnerable adult or drug user and use it as a base for their drugdealing activities in exchange for supplying them with drugs (“cuckooing”).

Drugs gangs will also book hotels and rent properties to store drugs, firearms and cash.

There have been reports of

prostituted for sexual favours as a payment for drugs. There remains the belief that women attract less attention and are less likely to be stopped by the police.

I have often defended vulnerable women of good character who find themselves standing trial, alongside their boyfriends for firearms and drugs conspiracies because their properties have been used to store loaded guns, drugs and cash sometimes without their knowledge.

They are usually intimidated, threatened with violence or enticed by a better lifestyle ROLE OF YOUNG

and managing the drugs line from a safe distance, therefore remaining under the radar to minimise risk and avoid detection from law enforcement.

Adult drug users will sometimes be used to deal drugs in order to sustain their own habit or to work off a debt, thus creating a dependency and indebtedness to the gangs.

Drug users can be spotted and recruited through their regular attendance at chemists to collect their methadone. It is very common for drugs gangs

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gangs permanently relocating to these rural areas.

ROLE OF FEMALES

The most common use of females will be the use of their premises. They will often be used as drivers, to book hotels, hire cars and launder cash.

They are targeted because they are vulnerable and are often class A drug addicts. They are often coerced and subjected to physical, domestic and sexual violence. There have been reports of females being

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PEOPLE

Disenfranchised children with vulnerabilities are preyed upon by gangs. They usually face the following issues: • Poverty • Unstable home life • Social services intervention • Parental substance misuse • Looked-after status • Behavioural issues • Developmental disorders • Missing episodes • School exclusion • Unemployment • Previous criminality.

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NOVEMBER 2020 THE VOICE | 47

Special feature: Racism in Britain today

BEHIND COUNTY LINES VICTIMS: The most common group targeted are males aged 15-17; organised criminal gangs are likely to exploit young people, using them to conceal drugs including heroin and cocaine

Some gangs are bold enough to recruit directly from schools, pupil referral units, care and foster homes or homeless units (NCA 2019).

Children with no criminal history (“clean skins”) can be targeted as they are perceived to draw less attention or may receive lighter sentences if caught.

As a practitioner, it is heartbreaking to see children barely out of puberty facing trial for such serious offences.

Ordinarily, victims of child abuse would be the subject of social services intervention and would receive support and counselling, however the drugs dimension often leads to prosecution and criminalisation.

These are the real victims and the unfortunate casualties of this multi-million pound trade.

GOVERNMENT APPROACH

In an effort to enable those agencies who work with children and young persons to easily identify victims of criminal exploitation, the Home Office

has issued guidance as part of its multi-agency strategy to tackle county lines criminality.

It is working with other government departments such as the National Crime Agency (NCA), National Police Chief’s Council, Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) (Criminal Exploitation Of Children And Vulnerable Adults: County Lines, gov.uk).

Children and young people involved in county lines are often identified by the following factors: • Frequently missing from home for long periods of time • Regular trips out of town • Unexplained items, e.g. additional phones • Expensive items/clothing • Truanting • Unexplained injuries • Being caught with large amounts of drugs and/or cash.

It is imperative that parents, providers, educators and youth workers are equipped to recognise the signs. As a community we all should.

Sadly, some parents may turn

a blind eye because they derive some benefit from their son or daughter bringing extra money into the home.

Many young people are forced into a parental role as they witness their single or vul-

demic has led to an increase in demand for drugs.

Lockdown has meant some loss of anonymity for organised crime networks but has undoubtedly forced organised crime networks to change their

Drug dealers have been able to capitalise on children not being in school nerable parent struggle to make ends meet. I accept that this may not always be the case, but the narrative is all too familiar.

DURING THE PANDEMIC

The lockdown has been a mixed blessing. A temporary decrease in other lower level crimes has enabled the police to focus on targeted cross county operations. This has led to a number of arrests and the dismantling of some county lines.

Just how the pandemic has affected county lines is too early to determine. The pan-

business model and become more creative.

There has been an increased use of cuckooing as drugs gangs are forced to distribute drugs literally from behind closed doors.

Drug gangs have also been able to capitalise on children not being in school, the reduced visits by social and care workers who have had to work from home.

This creates an increased vulnerability for organised networks to capitalise on.

CONCLUSION

County lines activity and the

associated violence, drug dealing and exploitation has a devastating impact on young people, vulnerable adults and local communities (Criminal Exploitation Of Children And Vulnerable Adults: County Lines, gov.uk).

This thriving industry is primarily dependent on the recruitment and exploitation of the vulnerable.

There is no easy solution to tackling this complex and multi-layered problem. As with any commodity, as long as there is demand, there will be supply.

The drugs industry is no exception.

The safeguarding of the vulnerable should be placed on an equal footing to dismantling these organised crime networks.

Quality education, parenting classes, early youth intervention/mentoring, family support, increased drug rehabilitation services for drug users, eliminating poverty and a multiagency collaboration are some suggestions called for in tackling county lines offending.

I have often thought that more resources need to be spent in targeting those at the helm of this miserable trade.

After all, it is not the “runners” that have the financial resources to import these commodities from overseas.

This article has been published with the kind permission of legallifelines.co.uk.

48 | THE VOICE NOVEMBER 2020

Special feature: Racism in Britain today TOTALLY SECURE: The app can be downloaded to any iOS or Android device, while you can get hold of your footage by contacting the Legal Lifelines team. Pictured is Sayce HolmesLewis, founder and CEO of Mentivity

QUICK AND EASY: Simply scan this QR code on your mobile phone to be directed to your app store, where you can download and install the Legal Lifelines App Continued from page 23 I felt threatened, shocked and bewildered at my treatment by the police and this experience shook me to the core.

My previous interactions with the police had been amicable. It was my first encounter with the police force, rather than the police service.

Stop and Search has come back into the public eye of late, due to the recent stops of high profile members of our community – Dawn Butler MP; Bianca Williams, a national heroine, and Sayce Holmes Lewis, CEO and founder of Mentivity, to name but a few.

We have shared the collective trauma of seeing our community leaders and role models go through the humiliation of being wrongfully accused of criminality, it seems purely based on the colour of their skin.

As a community, we have resigned ourselves to the fact that being stopped and searched is an unwelcome rite of passage that many will endure and suffer in silence. The humiliation, trauma and feeling of violation is one that is endured and dealt with often with incredible dignity by the community. The community that

highly represented among the NHS and other frontline services, helping keep our nation safe during the pandemic and in a time of national crisis.

Following my traumatic experience, I went on to complete my studies and qualify as a solicitor. My own personal experiences and struggles to enter the legal profession against the odds have weighed heavily on me. I feel I have a responsibility to the community to use my experiences, knowledge and network to give back to the community that is disproportionately targeted by law enforcement.

LEGAL LIFELINES

I founded Legal Lifelines, a law firm and legal knowledge hub dedicated to providing the community with unprecedented access to the best legal minds in the United Kingdom on issues that affect us as a community.

THE STOP AND SEARCH APP

The Legal Lifelines App provides users with the ability to activate the SOS function which gives the user to either 1) start recording an interaction with police or 2) call a lawyer who can advise them on their rights should they need advice.

The recording is stored on the user’s phone, but also in a cloud which means that should the users phone be damaged, broken or seized, the user can obtain the footage which will be uploaded using military grade encryption technology and kept in a secure cloud.

Only the owner of the phone can deactivate and stop the recording by entering a previously selected PIN. This way the recording cannot be turned off by the police and the footage cannot be lost or damaged.

The app also allows users to benefit from regular articles written for the community from the nation’s best legal minds on issues such as stop and search.

Legal Lifelines also hosts webinars with community leaders and the nation’s leading barristers who then engage in a question and answer sessions from the community, completely free of charge.

Michael Herford is the founder of Legal Lifelines, a legal support network for the community. He is a criminal law specialist.

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Is my footage recorded in the app secure? How can I access it? We answer some frequently asked questions How do I download the Legal Lifelines Stop & Search App? Go to The Apple App Store, or The Google Play Store for Android and type in ‘Legal Lifelines’ and the app will appear. Download it like any other app. It is free to download and use.

Can I use the app straight away?

Yes, but the SOS function requires you to enter your details and a unique PIN before it is activated. We recommend that the user activates the PIN function ASAP. The reason is, should you request your footage, or ask the Legal Lifelines team to review it for you, we need to know which is your footage.

How long does Legal Lifelines store the footage for?

We store all data sent to our cloud for 30 days, If the footage is required in an on-going case, then we’ll of course extend that period if asked.

one has to be), due to it being uploaded to our secure cloud platform.

Will anyone else access my footage?

No one will look at the footage apart from the user who requests it, or their legal team, should they instruct them to. In certain circumstances, the police could request the footage if for example, it is relevant to a case. The police would have to request this through the relevant legal channels.

Is my footage safe?

Yes! Once the footage reaches our secure cloud platform, it is triple replicated across different geo locations within Europe and encrypted with military grade AES 256 Bit encryption at rest – and in the unfortunate event that you do not have any access to internet (3G, 4G, 5G, WiFi) then we also save a local copy of the footage to your device (just look in your video gallery).

How do I access the footage?

Contact us via our website and request it and we will provide you with your footage once you verify that you are the user of the app.

Is the footage admissible in a court of law?

Yes, we retain the original metadata of the video file to ensure data integrity to ensure that any footage will be admissible in court.

Who owns the footage?

You! By uploading the footage to our cloud, we do not state any ownership or claim over the footage. We’re the data controllers (some-

Will the app work abroad?

No. This app is designed for use in England and Wales. The lawyers are qualified to advise in these jurisdictions.

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MARCH 2020

THE VOICE| 49

MARCH 2020

THE VOICE| 43

Lifestyle Book some time for reading p52-53

Retired Met officer: Leroy Logan p54

African-born DSP on the rise

MICHAEL, MATTHEW AND MEPLAYLIST

Room for two at the Tate

p61

52 | THE VOICE NOVEMBER 2020

Lifestyle

Books

Book some time off Lifestyle editor Joel Campbell loves a good read, and this month he has some suggestions for your perusal. Whether it’s an early Christmas gift, something to get you through your day or that self help title a friend really needs, there’s something here for everyone...

The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X Written by Les Payne and Tamara Payne

An epic biography of Malcolm X finally emerges, drawing on hundreds of hours of the author’s interviews, rewriting much of the known narrative.

Les Payne, the renowned Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist, embarked in 1990 on a nearly 30-year-long quest to interview anyone he could find who had actually known Malcolm X – all living siblings of the Malcolm Little family, classmates, street friends, cellmates, Nation of Islam figures, FBI moles and cops, and political leaders around the world.

His goal was ambitious: to transform what would become over a hundred hours of interviews into an unprecedented portrait of Malcolm X, one that would separate fact from fiction.

Emily Knight: I Am Becoming Written by A. Bello Homecoming. Sacrifice. Family.

Fire. The Knights are finally reunited and ready to defeat Neci once and for all.

But Neci is one step ahead and is targeting them one by one. When one of Emily’s best friends is kidnapped, Emily leads the elite team on a rescue mission but nothing can prepare them for what Neci has planned.

The eagerly anticipated third book follows the incredible success of Emily Knight I Am...

Awakened, which received a prestigious Carnegie nomination and enjoyed first place in the London’s BIG Read 2019.

tion and a strong moral compass into this young Jamaican girl. And she works incredibly hard for her academic success.

Will this be enough for Rowna to escape a life of poverty? Will she create her own rags-toriches?

Or will she succumb to the poverty default mode, like many other Kingston girls have?

I’m Still Here: Black Dignity In A World Made For Whiteness Written by Austin Channing Brown her friends and cousins are all desperate for her to conform, but Kirabo is inquisitive, headstrong and determined.

Up until now, she has been perfectly content with her life at the heart of this prosperous extended family, but as she enters her teenage years, she begins to feel the absence of the mother she has never known.

The First Woman follows Kirabo on her journey to becoming a young woman and finding her place in the world, as her country is transformed by the bloody dictatorship of Idi Amin

A Journey For Rowna The Loner Written by Sherene Whyte

Fatherless and abandoned by her mother, young Rowna is left with her maternal grandparents in Jamaica with nothing to her name. Grandma Pearle is the poverty-stricken but kindly soul who raises Rowna and she has big plans for her granddaughter from day one.

Rowna’s life isn’t easy, though. Growing up in Kingston means a childhood full of ups and downs.

Emotionally traumatised from being abandoned, her darkest hours would be enough to lead any ordinary girl down the wrong path as she grows older.

But her beloved grandma has instilled discipline, love, ambi-

Austin Channing Brown’s first encounter with a racialised America came at age seven, when she discovered her parents named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man.

Growing up in majority-white schools and churches, Austin writes, “I had to learn what it means to love blackness”, a journey that led to a lifetime spent navigating America’s racial divide as a writer, speaker and expert helping organisations practice genuine inclusion.

How The One Armed Sister Sweeps Her House Written by Cherie Jones

locals who often end up serving them: braiding their hair, minding their children, and selling them drugs.

Lala lives on the beach with her husband, Adan, a petty criminal with endless charisma whose thwarted burglary of one of the Baxter Beach mansions sets off a chain of events with terrible consequences.

A gunshot no one was meant to witness. A new mother whose baby is found lifeless on the beach. A woman torn between two worlds and incapacitated by grief. And two men driven by desperation and greed who attempt a crime that will risk their freedom -- and their lives.

Skin: It Takes Blood And Guts Written by Lucy O’Brien Lead singer of multi-million-selling rock band Skunk Anansie, solo artist, LGBTQIA+ activist and all around trail blazer, Skin, is a global icon, and she has been smashing stereotypes for over 25 years. Her journey from Brixton to one of the most influential women in British rock is nothing short of extraordinary.

“It’s been a very difficult thing being a lead singer of a rock

The First Woman Written by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi For one young girl, discovering what it means to become a woman in a family, a community and a country determined to silence her will take all the courage she has.

Growing up in a small Ugandan village, Kirabo is surrounded by powerful women.

Her grandmother, her aunts,

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A debut novel from a brilliant Caribbean writer, set in Barbados, about four people each desperate to escape their legacy of violence in a socalled ‘paradise’.

In Baxter Beach, Barbados, moneyed ex-pats clash with the

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voicenews

band looking like me and it still is. I have to say it’s been a fight and it will always be a fight.

“That fight drives you and makes you want to work harder… It’s not supposed to be easy, particularly if you’re a woman, you’re black or you are gay like me. You’ve got to keep moving forward, keep striving for everything you want to be.”

Born to Jamaican parents, Skin grew up in Brixton in the 1970s. Her career as an artist began in the ‘90s, when Skunk Anansie was formed in the sweat-drenched backrooms of London’s pubs. Since then she has headlined Glastonbury and toured the world, both as lead singer of Skunk Anansie and as a solo artist.

Her success has been groundbreaking in every way, which has come at a personal cost. She has always been vocal about social and cultural issues, and was championing LGBTQIA+ rights at a time when few artists were out and gay.

Told with honesty and passion, this is the story of how a gay, black, working-class girl with a vision fought poverty and prejudice to write songs, produce and front her own band, and become one of the Britain’s most influential women.

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NOVEMBER 2020

THE VOICE | 53

Lifestyle Fixing Our Broken Immigration System: Welcome To Britain Written by Colin Yeo

How would we treat Paddington Bear if he came to the UK today?

Perhaps he would be made destitute as a result of extortionate visa application fees; perhaps he would experience a cruel term of imprisonment in a detention centre; or perhaps his entire identity would be torn apart at the hands of a hostile environment that seems to delight in the humiliation of its victims.

In this vital and alarming book, campaigner and immigration barrister Colin Yeo tackles the subject with dexterity and rigour, offering a roadmap of where we should go from here as he exposes the iniquities of an immigration system that is unforgiving, unfeeling and, ultimately, failing.

Reproduction Written by Ian Williams Reproduction tells a crooked love story which takes strange, winding paths shaped by community, family and fleeting interactions that leave an inedible imprint.

Felicia, a 19-year-old West Indian student, and Edgar, an impetuous heir of a wealthy German family, meet when their ailing mothers are assigned the same hospital room.

An odd-couple relationship blooms between Edgar and Felicia, ripe with miscommunications and reprisals for perceived and real offences that have some unexpected results.

Fast-forward, their son Armistice is a teenager fixated on a variety of get-rich-quick schemes that are as comic as they are indicative of the immigrant son’s fear of falling through the cracks.

When Edgar re-enters Felicia’s life at a typically inopportune moment, the book’s exhilarating final act is set in the motion and Reproduction is revealed.

The Tapestry Of My Life Written by Pauline Hanson Gilman

GET STUCK IN: Whether you’re looking to escape reality or delve deeper into the real world, this collection has you covered

This book represents a tapestry of Gilman’s life and the raw profound emotions of each situation that she was dealing with at each point of her life.

Putting words down on paper made her acquire a sense of solace which in turn, came with a freedom of comfort. This collection of poems will resonate with someone.

Our voices were not made to be stifled and quieten down. They are made to be heard.

Let us not be afraid of the dark to come into the light, let our dreams become reality, break our shackles, let us all rise like the phoenix from the ashes.

This book is about the awareness of emotions in all aspects of our lives and learning how to find and explore our coping mechanisms.

Life Inna Lockdown 2020: Behind Closed Doors Written by Dee Bailey

had not planned to capture a snapshot in print in an anthology of personal stories of a global experience. Read, enjoy and relate.

Passport To Here And There Written by Grace Nichols

embraces connections and reconnections, with the ability to turn the ordinary into something vivid and memorable whether personal or public, contemporary or historical, most notably in a sonnet-sequence which grew out of a recent return trip to Guyana.

Her ninth collection of adult poems and her fourth book with Bloodaxe, Passport to Here and There makes a significant contribution both to Caribbean and to British poetry.

Soul Of A Woman: A Journey To Self Love Written by Neusa Catoja

This is an important book for many reasons, but mainly because it has recorded history, an unprecedented event called ‘lockdown’.

Never in our wildest dreams or imaginations would any one of these 22 authors, have anticipated what was ahead as Big Ben’s long-arm struck midnight on January 31, 2019. We wished our loved ones and friends a happy new year.

This collective of authors

In Passport to Here and There, Grace Nichols traces a journey that moves from the coastal memories of a Guyana childhood to life in Britain and her adoptive Sussex landscape.

In these movingly redemptive and celebratory poems, she

We are all faced with different challenges in our lives: some we have the strength to overcome, some we stay stuck and, some pains in life become unbearable.

Soul Of A Woman shows us how we can redefine ourselves, working through the universal principals around our identity; responsibility; vulnerability; and what ‘perfection’ means to us.

This guide, told through the lens of one transformational coach Neusa, hones in on her journey of success and self-discovery, she demonstrates how

our fulfilled dreams can still fall victim to destructive behaviours.

These issues have plagued almost every woman and young girl in our society, we battled daily with lack of confidence; body dysmorphia; self-doubt; depression; anxiety; addictive tendencies; eating disorders; and suicidal thoughts.

You will learn how to overcome these personal demons by embracing the principles of this book and focusing on personal responsibility you are better equipped to forge a new beginning at the feet of your destiny.

54 | THE VOICE NOVEMBER 2020

Lifestyle

Books

Leroy’s telling his story After 30 years in the Met, ex-superintendent Leroy Logan has witnessed his fair share of inequality.

And now his experiences are in writing for all of us

BY ALANNAH FRANCIS

L

EROY LOGAN’S autobiography, Closing Ranks: My Life as a Cop, has been 10 years in the making.

But with the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, the issue of the relationship black communities have with the police making headlines around the world, and his story being told as part of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series, it seems right on time.

“Good things take time as they say,” he told Lifestyle.

While the retired Metropolitan Police superintendent remains one of the most highly decorated and recognisable black policemen in British history, it didn’t always appear as though he was destined for a career in the force.

RESEARCH

His journey to become a police officer followed several years working in science and research, which could have led him into medicine, and more poignantly, a horrific encounter his father had with police in which the senior Logan was badly beaten. His father later successfully sued the Met over the incident.

“Policing wasn’t on my radar at all,” he said.

Despite positive encounters with police officers through his work at The Royal Free Hospital, Logan’s initial thoughts when his boss at the hospital asked if he’d thought about becoming a policeman were, “Do I look like a racist thug?” The response was generated from his negative experiences.

After taking some time to contemplate the career change, Logan decided he would join the Met. His faith is a central element of his

“We’re only as strong as the weakest and only as fast as the slowest” story. It’s what he credits his resolve to remain as a policeman against the odds in a hostile environment.

“It wasn’t just a job, it was a vocation, it was like I was commissioned to do something, and I would do it to the best of my ability, and I suppose do it until the Lord takes me type thing,” he said.

A founding member and former chairman of the National Black Police Association (NBPA), Logan’s career is full of examples of his ambition to change policing from the inside.

Following the murder of 10-year-old Damilola Taylor in November 2000, Logan was involved in the operational side of the investigation. On observing the reluctance black residents had in opening up to white officers, he had an idea.

“I brought in a cadre of black officers to assist with the house to house inquiries because the

white officers were going to the houses that overlooked where Damilola was stabbed in Peckham and people weren’t even opening their doors.

“I got a team together, a lot of them from the Black Police Association, and they had an instant response people within the households were opening up their doors, allowing the officers to go in, actually telling them what they saw, giving a good profile of how to identify the witnesses and the suspects which eventually contributed to securing the convictions.”

He refers to it as an example of diversity in action.

“Let my people use their life skills, their culture, their experience to build bridges with the community,” he said.

His 30 years of service in the police has given him tremendous insight into the challenges black officers face within the profession.

He highlights disproportionalities black and minority ethnic (BAME) officers face in terms of disciplinary action and the unequal obstacles they often experience when it comes to rising through the ranks.

“I’d like to think that the more reflective the organisation, the more fit it is for the 21st century,” he said.

“The Met police and other police services have to realise there is an inextricable link in how you nurture your BAME staff so that you’re better equipped to deal with the needs of a diverse community.”

Since retiring in 2013, Logan has remained committed to using his skills, experience and expertise to improve the relationship the police have with black communities.

“Even in retirement I’m still working to address the inequalities and injustices and not just in policing but other agencies to make sustainable and irreversible improvements,” he said.

One of the ways he demonstrates this dedication to addressing inequalities within the criminal justice system is

@thevoicenewspaper

TOP COP: Leroy Logan, pictured inset during his time in the Met, details his experiences in his new book (photos: Mark Harrison) through his work with Voyage Youth, a social justice charity that aims to empower marginalised black young people.

“I know the importance of giv-

Lord Macpherson inquiry sense of policing because all the recommendations that came out of it improved policing. Unfortunately, a lot of that’s been erod-

“Even in retirement I’m still working to address inequalities and injustices” ing back because we’re only as strong as the weakest and only as fast as the slowest,” he said.

While Logan wants things to improve so his grandchildren’s generation don’t have to experience the same things his parents’, his and even his children’s generation have with the police, he argues things have gone backward since the Macpherson report.

“The whole look and feel of policing reminds me of a pre-

@thevoicenews

ed and it’s gone back to a preMacpherson era,” Logan said.

He added: “I would have never thought in 2020 that relationships between the police and the black community would have been as bad as this. I think it’s the worst it’s been for decades.”

In Closing Ranks: My Life as a Cop, Logan tells his story in his own words. His life will also get the small screen treatment in Steve McQueen’s Red, White

voicenews

and Blue, one of five films in the director’s Small Axe anthology series. John Boyega will play Logan.

“When I finally heard it was Steve McQueen and I had my first meeting with him in late 2016, I was amazed,” Logan said.

“I was so impressed when I heard John Boyega wanted to play me. I think he really wanted to work with Steve McQueen and he liked the character that he was playing.

“And I couldn’t think of anything better.”

He added: “It’s timely, it’s beyond my wildest dreams, and again it reinforces the book.

“I always say though that the film is a taster, but the book is the main course.”

In Closing Ranks: My Life as a Cop by Leroy Logan is out now

www.voice-online.co.uk

MARCH 2020

THE VOICE| 55

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56 | THE VOICE NOVEMBER 2020

Lifestyle

Music

Randall signed to Decca Classics

24-year-old US violinist looks set to release his debut album after taking world by storm

BY JOEL CAMPBELL

D

ECCA CLASSICS has recently announced the signing of 24-yearold violinist Randall

Goosby.

A protégé of one of the world’s legendary violinists, Itzhak Perlman, Goosby was the youngest ever winner of the junior division of the prestigious Sphinx Competition in his native United States.

A First Prize Winner in the 2018 Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York, he is also the first ever Robey Artist with Young Classical Artists Trust in London.

Speaking from his family home in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Goosby said: “I’m so thrilled to be working with the Decca Classics team for the release of my debut album.

“It’s a record label that has been home to some of my favourite artists and musical role

models, and I’m delighted to be joining such an esteemed roster.

“For me, music has always been a way to inspire others. It’s part of my quest as an artist to amplify black voices in classical music, bringing heightened recognition to this incredible music.”

Dominic Fyfe, label director of Decca Classics, enthused: “Randall and I first met back in February 2019 and I have followed his development closely.

“It’s rare to find such a supremely eloquent player and an equally articulate advocate for the value of classical music.

“In his playing Randall looks back to a golden age of violin greats, as befits a student of Itzhak Perlman, and in his advocacy for music education, outreach and diversity he is a forward-looking ambassador for the future of our industry. Randall will inspire us, and we welcome him to Decca Classics.”

Goosby’s debut album, set for release in spring next year, will journey across more than a

“It’s part of my quest to simplify black voices in classical music” century of African American music for violin, tracing its roots in the spiritual through to the present day.

The album will feature works by composers William Grant Still and Florence Price, plus newly commissioned music

by Goosby’s friend and fellow Sphinx and YCA artist, Xavier Foley.

Born of an African American father and Korean mother raised in Japan, Goosby can’t remember a time when he wasn’t connected to classical music.

From the moment he picked up a violin at the age of seven, the immediate sense of joy he felt when playing shaped his

childhood, inspiring marathon practice sessions and regular trips from his home in Memphis, Tennessee to New York City, where Perlman had arranged a full scholarship to study with him at The Juilliard School, New York City.

INCREDIBLE TALENT: Randall Goosby is pursuing an Artist Diploma in New York City

TRIBUTE

Goosby recently featured at the UK Gramophone Awards alongside composer John Williams in a tribute to Perlman who was recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

He has also performed frequently with Perlman, most recently in the Bach Double Concerto with the Grand Rapids Symphony.

He recently made his Kennedy Centre debut in Washington DC and in 2021 will make his recital debut at London’s Wigmore Hall.

Goosby complements a demanding performance schedule with volunteer commitments that allow him to use his artistic skills to inspire and serve others. He has participated in

community engagement programmes across the United States, including Opportunity Music Project, which provides free lessons, instruments, and mentoring for children from lowincome families in New York City, and Concerts in Motion, which provides private house concerts for elderly and homebound patrons.

Last year he was named the inaugural Robey Artist with

YCAT in partnership with Music Masters.

He is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma with Perlman and Catherine Cho at Juilliard, where he earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees, as a Kovner Fellowship recipient.

Goosby plays a Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu of 1735, on generous loan from the Stradivari Society, Chicago.

This is Brukout!

THE VOICE

NOVEMBER 2020 | 57

by Seani B

Making the quality count Salaam Remi is someone who oozes class, talent and has worked with some of the best in the business – so it’s no surprise that he has had such an impact

T

HE LONGEVITY of careers can be dependent on many things – timing, success, location, the team around you…the variables are endless.

One of those key fundamentals is quality music.

My guest this week has been creating just that for over three decades – from the world of the dancehall, through to hip hop and global smashes in the pop market.

Grammy-winning producer Salaam Remi linked up with me on the eve of the release of his new single with the legend that is Supercat, pictured inset below right.

When that one dropped in the inbox there was a buzz of excitement all around!

EXCITED

“I wanted people to be excited, ‘cos I was excited”, he tells me from his quarantine pad in Miami.

“It’s a feeling I have had before when I have released tracks, but I don’t think anyone was expecting the track to drop when it did, so I felt that was the perfect time to release it!”

Salaam is one of the coolest guys in the game.

Ultra laid-back, no hype and just about engaging in musical vibes.

His discography takes in the likes of The Fugees, Shabba, Patra, Born Jamericans, Ini Kamoze, Amy Winehouse, Nas, Spragga Benz…the list goes on.

“For me, there are hits, and there are TUNES. I grew up around this – my Dad managed (legendary DJs) Chuck Chillout and Funkmaster Flex, so I used to be around the DJ booths with the DJs. “It taught me how to create tunes that connected with audiences because I used to see the reactions that they would have,

“It’s a feeling I’ve had before, but I don’t think anyone was expecting the track to drop when it did.

It was the perfect time to release it!” and, I used to strive for that reaction for my productions.

“I would say I started to get to that point in around 1990 around the New York area, and over the next couple of years it turned national before Ini Kamoze and Fugees turned it international.”

“When you are talking about ‘tune’, for me a prime example of this would be 1996’s You’re Makin’ Me High remix featuring Mad Cobra on the Metric riddim.

A seamless and perfect blend of R&B and dancehall made by someone who clearly understands and appreciates both genres individually and can form a third entity with them together. Pure class!

“The label didn’t ask for a dancehall mix – they actually asked me for a Hip Hop mix, which I did!

“At the time, I was working on Cobra’s album and I built the riddim around Toni Braxton’s vocals and got Cobra to jump on it with a quick eight bars.

“He was known in America because of his hit Flex, so I donated that dancehall mix to the label!”

Repping the culture is something that Salaam does with an

incredible amount of integrity.

His Caribbean flag-waving has been from then until now, and his affiliation and respect for Supercat was shown in 2012 when he produced The Don for Nas with a big Supercat sample front and centre.

“They used to tour together when they were both signed to Columbia in the early ‘90s”, he tells me.

“Hennessey and Weed were regulars for Cat and Nas on them promo tours! Nas was someone who knew Supercat’s work and actually heard the sample that we worked with.”

So fast forward to working with Cat in the present day.

What is that like?

“Cat is all about the reasoning – if he doesn’t vibe with it, it isn’t gonna happen.

“We recorded this during quarantine, and with the George Floyd situation being played out at the same time. I was in Miami on FaceTime and he was with an engineer in New York with me suggesting this remotely.

UNIQUENESS

“He wanted to reflect what was happening with the uniqueness of the feeling of the people and that came through his lyrics.

“Cat always stands with the people. I was happy to be able to get that done and it feels good.

“He is still sharp and was liaising with me about the riddim and all elements during the recording and mixing. Don Dadda don’t take talk!”

One of the reasons I wanted to highlight this maestro is to highlight his commitment to what we do as a culture on so many levels – Salaam has been a massive supporter of reggae and dancehall and comes from a place of appreciation for the music, the culture and the hierarchy behind the scenes.

He never tries to be “Mr Big Man”, instead he uses his position to enable others and bring eternal people into our scene so their appreciation of the values and output of Jamaica gains respect and grows.

Big up Remington Salaam!

BIG HITS: Top and

above, Salaam Remi is one of the most respected producers in the music industry and collaborates with some of the best in the business, including American rapper Nas, left

58 | THE VOICE NOVEMBER 2020

Lifestyle

Music

STREAMING TO SUCCESS

MePlaylist perfectly positioned to be a major hit around the world – which should be a surprise to no one SHINING LIGHTS: Matthew Knowles – the father of superstar Beyoncé – and Michael Kay Kiladejo are heading up the MePlaylist operation

BY JOEL CAMPBELL

“I

N TIMES of crises the music industry has always found ways to modify and adapt.”

Those were the words of Matthew Knowles when asked where he saw the industry heading in a post-pandemic world.

Artists all over the planet have, like most people, found it hard to adapt in the seven months of uncertainty since coronavirus became the bane of Earth’s existence.

Streaming, however, is one of the music business sectors which has seen an upsurge in fortunes as more people make use of the contemporary way to consume their favourite tracks.

So it’s no surprise that following quickly on the heels of the announcement of the high profile executive appointments of Knowles and Michael Kay Kiladejo at Africa’s one-of-akind, on-demand music streaming start-up, MePlaylist, the fastgrowing DSP, has now revealed distribution deals have been struck with both FUGA and Symphonic.

With a mission to diversify the menu and enrich the global music palette, MePlaylist has now added some seven million

songs to the catalogue available to users.

Kiladejo, President of Global Licensing and Content Acquisition at MePlaylist, enthused: “It’s a time of dynamic growth for the music business.

“So much of that dynamism is coming from the African industry and its collaborations with global partners.

“It’s all the more exciting to be in the business of delineating the musical palette and exposing great material to even wider audiences.

EXPERIENCE

“It gives us great pleasure to open up shop and work in partnership with both FUGA and Symphonic distribution, to provide the musical consumer with their own uniquely tailored MePlaylist experience.”

Drilling down into more detail about his decision to enter such a competitive and potentially volatile space, Kiladejo added: “We see a lot! Africa is a fastgrowing market in the music business, and that growth is reciprocated in the digital sphere.

“We spotted the potential to enter at a relatively early stage in the growth cycle, thus facilitating a bridging of the gap between the emerging market and some of the more developed spaces.

“In terms of doing things a bit differently, our management

“It’s proving to be a time of dynamic growth for the music business” team has a strong A&R and creative background, which sits alongside the technology. This is reflected in the overall feel of the platform, which aims to offer a more intimate experience for the artist, as well as the consumer.”

Kiladejo says fostering even more relationships with distributors will obviously be a central part of the MePlaylist strategy moving forward but, in an age when Digital Service Providers could soon be 10-a-penny, how else will the platform stand out?

“As the emerging markets continue to expand, they demand a bespoke approach, and the advantages that exist for the more established DSPs, might not necessarily carry on over to those markets,” he added. “MePlaylist is an international DSP with a very localised outlook, and it’s very much our point of view that the artists are a strong focus for us.

“A lot of thought goes into that, alongside what we are doing that is different, and will

@thevoicenewspaper

evolve the business of streaming on to the next level.”

Understanding the emerging markets is a key part of the MePlaylist strategy, and Knowles said his experience in the business has furnished him with the knowledge that room for growth in any plan is integral to its ability to succeed.

“What I’ve experienced with a number of start-ups (House of Dereon fashion line, Music World Entertainment, Destiny’s Child), is that it begins with strategic planning.

“I’ve watched over the years many successful industry leaders who started with the fundamentals of, ‘What differentiates me from my competitors?’

“That has always been my focus. Often the greatest competition is within ourselves.

“We have to concern ourselves in our growth that we are always scalable and are strategic with our product offerings.

“Our focus at MePlaylist is to bring an unimaginable consumer experience in the music streaming space. Obviously, that will take time as we begin our building blocks. We have assembled an incredible team and we will deliver.”

Knowles’ unique birdseye view of the industry leads him to believe that the artists who best balances the creative output and business savvy will be the biggest benefactor of the way

@thevoicenews

music consumption is heading.

He added: “I watched over the years the constant evolution of the music industry.

“Technology changes, product offerings, subscription, streaming, I could go on and on. What hasn’t changed are the fundamentals of music business. What hasn’t changed is a great artist with a great song.

CREATIVITY

“Through the power of technology, I believe we will see more and more independent artists, and independent record labels and executives. The key here will be the willingness by both to submerge themselves equally in gaining the knowledge and understanding of the business of music equally as they do in the creativity of music.

“When I look at the future of music, I see a greater awareness of emerging markets like Africa, China and India, with almost half of the world’s population. At MePlaylist we understand the importance of these emerging markets.

“Although touring and live events have taken a downfall during this pandemic, streaming has continued to grow. In times of crises the music industry has always found ways to modify and adapt.”

voicenews

MePlaylist will soon be very much in the conversation where the acquisition of music is concerned and as an African-born brand, Kiladejo believes that it’s of the utmost importance that black people are represented in that space.

He said: “MePlaylist is about to debut a newly designed online web player, and an app, for both Android and iOS phones.

We are also in talks with rights holders, to add tens of millions of great new songs to the platform for our users to enjoy.

“What you should see over the next 12 months is MePlaylist introducing engaging new content, and branded initiatives to our users, both on and off the platform, and seeing a steady growth in our subscriber base numbers.

“As Africans, it’s very important to us that we, and people that look like us, take a seat at the table, in all spheres of the music business. That sort of representation is good for the global market as a whole.

“Streaming is still a relatively young medium, and Africa with the huge numbers in its younger population, is well placed to fuel the next level of expansion.”

www.voice-online.co.uk

MARCH 2020

THE VOICE| 59

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60 | THE VOICE NOVEMBER 2020

Motoring Car of the month: Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio 2.9 V6 Price: £67,195

A DREAM DRIVE

Alfa Romeo has done everything possible to guarantee the Giulia Quadrifoglio is a winner

BY RODNEY HINDS, MOTORING EDITOR

I

T’S BEEN a momentous year in one way or the other. Good times, fun, laughter and good old fashioned entertainment has been at a premium.

Those aforementioned feelgood adjectives were, however, conjured by my seven-day evaluation of the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio.

Let me give you a little back story.

I’ve been test driving vehicles for nearly two decades now and the Quadrifoglio had always been on my dream list; after all, it looks a million dollars and is built by a manufacturer that knows a thing or two about how to fuse good looks with speed.

I was so excited about the car’s arrival that I was telling friends, family – and basically anybody who would listen – what was going to arrive on my drive sometime soon!

And you know what…the Quadrifoglio proved to be everything I had expected and a whole lot more.

It moves like a dream. Despite not having all-wheel drive, 0-62mph takes a ridiculous 3.9 seconds, and the Giulia goes without

the 155mph speed limiter common on most of its rivals, so can reach 191mph. That’s very nearly supercar pace in a comfortable saloon with room for your lucky friends.

The Quadrifoglio 2.9 V6 engine generates 510 HP and produces 600Nm of torque between 2500 and 5000 rev/min.

This engine is extraordinarily powerful yet

Interior quality hasn’t surprisingly and historically been the manufacturer’s strongest point but Alfa Romeo has focused its efforts inside for the facelift.

The plastic trim, noticeably around the gearlever, has been replaced with carbon fibre, while the infotainment screen is now a touchscreen and features a more intuitive menu as a result.

POINTS & PLUGS

“Reaching 0-62mph STUNNING As the jewel in the crown of the Giulia range, takes a ridiculous the car gets plenty of standard equipment; stunning Quadrifoglio has xenon head3.9 seconds in this” the lights, 19-inch alloy wheels, active suspenextremely lightweight, made entirely out of aluminium.

The engine is combined with an 8-speed automatic transmission that allows you to change gears in only 150 milliseconds in race mode. The gearbox can be controlled via the aluminium paddle shifters on the steering wheel in addition to the leather wrapped shifter in the centre console.

There’s very little body roll, even in the more comfortable suspension setting, while the adaptive dampers give a better ride than any of its rivals. It copes with broken tarmac and bumps with ease, giving the impression it was fine-tuned with big city roads in mind.

sion and wireless phone charging.

The new touchscreen shows driving stats and the display for the reversing camera, while connectivity is taken care of with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Options include an upgraded stereo system, plus costly performance-focused extras like the sports exhaust system and carbon-ceramic brake discs.

Alfa Romeo has competed successfully in Grand Prix motor racing, Formula One, sportscar racing, touring car racing and rallies. The world famous Italian car maker has produced yet another winner with the Giulia Quadrifoglio!

 Sometimes, your dream car can be a nightmare – this one most definitely wasn’t  It had to be returned after seven days! @thevoicenewspaper

@thevoicenews

NEARLY A third (29 per cent) of UK motorists – over 14 million drivers – get nervous when driving in the dark, according to new research by SEAT UK. With the days getting shorter and the clocks having gone back on October 25, the lack of daylight hours means most drivers will have to make more trips in the dark.

The survey of 2,000 motorists also revealed that 31 per cent of drivers actively avoid driving in the dark if possible.

Of those who said driving in the dark makes them nervous, over two thirds (68 per cent)

voicenews

said this is because they do not like having lower visibility.

Perhaps. surprisingly, 18to 24-year-olds (37 per cent) are most likely to feel nervous about driving in the dark, while experience counts, as only 25 per cent of over 55s have concerns.

London drivers (40 per cent) are significantly more likely to get nervous when driving in the dark, and are also more likely to avoid getting behind the wheel when it is dark (43 per cent), followed by motorists from the West Midlands (34 per cent).

www.voice-online.co.uk

NOVEMBER 2020

THE VOICE | 61

Lifestyle

Art

Art back where it belongs Lockdown meant that exhibitions were ground to a halt earlier this year – but the Tate is back with two stunning collections

BY JOEL CAMPBELL

T

HE PANDEMIC may have stopped the works of Zanele Muholi from being exhibited earlier this year due to the nationwide lockdown – but this month sees 260 photographs brought together to present the full breadth of the artist’s career to date.

For the first time ever, Tate

Modern presents a UK survey of visual activist Muholi, an artist came to prominence in the early 2000s with photographs that told the stories of black lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and intersex lives in her homeland, South Africa.

From their very first body of work Only Half the Picture, to their ongoing series Somnyama Ngonyama, Muholi challenges dominant ideologies and representations, presenting the participants in their photographs as fellow human beings bravely existing in the face of prejudice, intolerance and often violence.

During the 1990s, South Africa underwent major social and political changes.

While the country’s 1996 post-Apartheid constitution was the first in the world to outlaw discrimination

based on sexual orientation, the LGBTQIA+ community remains a target for violence and prejudice to this day.

In the early series Only Half the Picture, Muholi aimed at depicting the complexities of gender and sexuality for the individuals of the queer community.

INTIMACY

The collection includes moments of love and intimacy as well as intense images alluding to traumatic events in the life of the participants. Muholi also began an ongoing visual archive of portraits, Faces and Phases, which commemorates and celebrates black lesbians, trans gender persons and gender non-conforming individuals.

Each participant looks directly at the camera, challenging the viewer to hold their gaze, while individual testimonies capture their stories. The images and testimonies form a living and

growing archive of this community in South Africa and beyond.

Exhibition open from November 5 – March 7, 2021 LYNETTE YIADOM-BOAKYE While you’re booking your tickets for Zanele Muholi you might want to check out Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s latest offering.

Widely considered to be one of the most important figurative painters working today, Yiadom-Boakye is celebrated for her enigmatic oil paintings of human subjects who are entirely imagined by the artist.

This exhibition, the first major survey of Yiadom-Boakye’s work in the UK to date, will bring together over 70 paintings spanning almost two decades, including works from her graduate exhibition and new paintings shown for the first time.

Exhibition open from November 18 – May 9, 2021

THOUGHT-PROVOKING: Work by Zanele Muholi, above, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, left, will be on display at Tate Britain

62 | THE VOICE NOVEMBER 2020

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THE FIGHTING SPIRIT Fitz Walker and Noel Loban broke barriers to join the world’s wrestling elite

By Shaherah Jordan

W

RESTLING IS recognised as one of the oldest competitive sports in the world and is highly respected across the globe.

Greece is usually cited as being the birthplace of wrestling, but there is a long history of hand-to-hand combat competition in other regions such as India and Africa.

In some parts of Africa, wrestling as a sport evolved from training for war and in others it was a form of initiation into manhood.

Britain has a well-documented history of black athletes across mainstream sports such as cricket, football, rugby and basketball, but very little is known about our black wrestlers – particularly those who have competed on the international stage.

The Voice of Sport spoke to Fitz Walker and Noel Loban about their career and achievements.

Fitz Walker Lloyd ‘Fitz’ Walker was the first black wrestler to represent Great Britain at the Olympic Games. Fitz competed at the 1980, 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics. He also represented England at the 1982 and 1986 Commonwealth Games. Walker also won the British National Championships for 14 years in a row.

Walker credits a lot of his success to a team of wrestlers and coaches who were his advocates.

“They had seen what had gone on before and didn’t want the same thing to happen to

“You needed to be the best or else it was an excuse for you not to be selected”

me. They dealt with all the politics. If there was a dispute or something that needed to be sorted out, they would speak on my behalf,” he recalls.

Before his Olympic debut in 1980, the Jamaica-born wrestler represented his country at the Commonwealth Games in 1978.

This was made possible by his advocates who recognised his potential and reached out to the Jamaican Olympic Committee (who were also responsible for the Commonwealth Games delegation) on his behalf.

With this network of support, Walker was able to throw all of his efforts into training. “You had to be so much better than all the others because if you weren’t better than all the others it was an excuse for someone not to select you.”

After retiring from competition, Walker went into coaching and currently coaches juniors at the Y Club in Manchester.

Noel Loban Noel Loban was Britain’s first black wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics and is the last British wrestler to medal at an Olympic Games.

Loban was born in London and migrated to America as a child. While in America, he turned to sport to help mitigate the impact of a tumultuous childhood.

Following a mediocre start to his collegiate wrestling career, he quickly improved and soon earned a spot as co-captain of the team and went on to eventually win the 1980 NCAA

National Championships. Despite his success across the pond, he was denied an opportunity to try out for a place on the Great Britain Olympic team in that year. Two years later during a personal visit to the UK, he arranged to drop in on a national training session.

He says: “I was just planning to observe but I ended up being put through my paces. I grappled for about an hour with different wrestlers from different weight categories and nobody got a takedown on me.

“Three weeks later there was a tournament in France, and I was invited to be a part of the team that was going. I ended up winning that tournament, and the rest is history.”

Loban represented Great Britain at the 1984 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal.

He went on to represent Great Britain at the Commonwealth Games in 1986, the World Championships and European Championships in 1987, the 1988 Olympics and the 1994 Commonwealth Games. Before retiring from competition, he competed in the Bundesliga for three years.

Loban is now the director of Student Athlete Development at North Carolina State University.

Both Walker and Loban acknowledge the discrimination that was present in society during their careers, but neither reflect on it bitterly. This may be a testament to their character, a reflection of the sport or a combination of both.

“It’s just how our society was at the time,” says Walker.

“I knew I was going places and I knew I had to rise above that. I never made it an issue that stopped me from doing what I wanted to achieve.”

Loban feels that it was the nature of wrestling that transcended above the discrimination that was prevalent in the wider society.

“Wrestling is a sport that separates the men from the boys.

You may not like each other when you are on the mat, but after the match there is a certain respect.”

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OLYMPIANS: Jamaica-born Fitz Walker, above, and Noel Loban, inset, both represented Great Britain during their successful wrestling careers (inset photo: Steve Brown)

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Sport

A 2020 vision

PIERRE’S PRECIOUS GIFT

Gunners captain Aubameyang’s Black Lives Matter Arsenal shirt to be a crowd-pleaser

By Rodney Hinds

T

HE MUSEUM of London has announced that it will be collecting one of Arsenal’s iconic Black Lives Matter tribute shirts worn by captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang during the 202021 Premier League season.

The striker will donate his shirt to the museum as part of its ongoing Collecting COVID project which is also documenting the Black Lives Matter protests that took place in London earlier this year.

The Black Lives Matter logo was added to all Premier League shirts when the season re-started this summer, following anti-racism protests across the globe. The museum aims to ensure that this social movement and pivotal moment is documented in its permanent collection as part of Collecting COVID. The project team is working with the Black Cultural Archives

“I hope this will be the moment we remember football stood up against racism” and community networks to identify how best to capture the Black Lives Matter protests during the London lockdown.

Many of Arsenal’s most defining moments in history are thanks to the contribution of its black players. and last year Aubameyang became the latest black player to captain the club, following the likes of Patrick Vieira, Alex Scott and Thierry Henry.

Aubameyang’s donation marks the first item of this collecting strand to be announced and symbolises an important moment in London’s history as well as the vital role that football can play in delivering important social messages to a global audience.

G a b o n - b o r n Aubameyang said: “I am proud to be the latest black player to captain Arsenal

and it’s an honour to have the opportunity to donate my Black Lives Matter shirt to the Museum of London’s Collecting COVID project.

“I hope this will be remembered as the moment that football stood against all forms of racism and that it will inspire young people for the future.”

Foteini Aravani, digital curator at the Museum of London, said: “We are very excited about the generous offer from the captain of Arsenal, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

TOP GUN: Arsenal captain

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with his shirt which is being donated to the Museum of London as part of its on-going Collecting COVID project

COMMUNITY

“Arsenal has always served to create a sense of community for people in north London, across the UK and around the world, from their first match in 1886 to now being one of London’s most successful football clubs.

“Aubameyang’s jersey will act as an important reflection and response to Black Lives Matter as a movement and its resonance through London and its people.”

The Collecting COVID project, first announced in April, is an active collecting project that seeks to reflect Londoners’ lives during the time of the COVID-19 crisis in order to keep a record to ensure future generations of Londoners will be able to learn about and understand this extraordinary period.

Respected Densign gets the royal seal of approval

By Rodney Hinds

HONOURED: Densign White

HIGHLY RESPECTED Densign White has been awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire).

White has been recognised for his services to sport, and particular his services to bettering diversity in sport.

The Olympian stands as chairman of Sporting Equals, a charity whose purpose is to promote ethnic diversity in sport, and organiser of the annual British Ethnic Diversity in Sport Awards (BEDSA).

White has also been chief executive of the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation since November 2014.

The organisation is seeking sport recognition for MMA (mixed martial arts) from the Olympic movement, in the face of well-publicised political

opposition from other sport stakeholders.

His athletic sporting credentials include triple Olympian, World Championship medallist, five times European medallist and Commonwealth champion.

At the close of his competitive days, White embarked on a career in sports administration, serving 11 years as the chairman of the British Judo Association, from 2001 to 2012.

He moved on to serve internationally as the European Judo Union head sports director and has acted as an executive member of the British Olympic Association.

In 2018, White was elected to the Council of the Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA), an organisation founded to tackle corruption in sport.

As one of the few black adminis-

trative leaders in international sport, he has this year been appointed to SIGA’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force.

White said: “I have been fortunate my whole life to have been involved in sport in a variety of roles, including as athlete and administrator.

“It is incredibly humbling to receive any recognition for one’s work but especially from the Queen’s honours committee.

DIVERSITY

“This award is a recognition also of the incredible, dedicated and hard-working team at Sporting Equals trying to promote diversity and end discrimination. I passionately believe in fairness.

“In this regard, sport still has some way to go. The concept of a level playing field needs to be applied

on and off the field of play equally.”

IMMAF president Kerrith Brown added: “I met Densign through judo at the age of 12. We went on to represent Great Britain together in the Olympics.

“Over the years we have worked together in various contexts and have ended up at the helm of the same organisation in mixed martial arts.

“Densign is long-time friend, confidante and colleague.

“He has now achieved one of the highest recognitions you can receive in this country, and it is a fitting reward for his determination, consistent beliefs and values.

“This is also massive for the sport of MMA to have someone with his sporting values recognised by the establishment as the backbone of its international governing body.”

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NOVEMBER 2020 | THE VOICE

AIMING HIGH

LIVING THE DREAM: Veteran TRAILBLAZER: Ben Odeje, pictured main and above, was dropped darts star from the England set up after being hailed as Deta man ofHedman the matchhas set many records in her sport – but could there be some others still to come?

Darts star Deta setting her sights on finishing the PDC Championship on top of the world

By Liam Kenny

V

ETERAN DARTS player Deta Hedman has defied the odds yet again when she toppled superstar Fallon Sherrock and qualified for the PDC World Darts Championship 2021 – at the tender age of 60.

Jamaica-born Hedman described her latest win as ‘‘unbelievable’’ as she becomes the second oldest debutant and the sixth woman to compete on the sport’s grandest stage.

Hedman upset the odds and narrowly pipped Sherrock to second

position on this year’s order of merit, joining number one Lisa Ashton in the December showpiece.

She told the Voice of Sport: ‘‘I surprised myself, I really did! The

normal at the Royal Mail. This meant I hadn’t been able to practice, but when I played the challenge tour the week before and got some good wins, it gave me my belief back.”

qualified in 2003. Hedman added: “It’s crazy isnt it? Even at my tender age I’m still getting records.

“When I played the Challenge Tfour the week before and got some good wins, it really gave me my belief back”

“I’ve joked to the PDC that I could persuade Al to dust off his darts and we could represent Jamaica at the upcoming World Cup, as they are a team short.”

Coronavirus restrictions mean it is unclear exactly where and when the World Darts Championship will take place, or if fans will be allowed in.

But Hedman says she is just happy to have made it there.

week, before I played the Challenge Tour and that’s what set me up really, it gave me the belief.

“I hadn’t been throwing well and I’d been working more days than

Despite her achievements, that include over 200 ranking titles, qualifying means that Hedman and her and brother Al become the first siblings to play at the tournament, as he

JOKED

“It doesn’t feel real yet, but when I see my name up there in the draw and against an opponent, it will sink in.

“If the fans can be there it will be great, but it really doesn’t matter. I’ve got there and that’s it – what will be will be.”