The Voice Newspaper: March 2025

MARCH 2025 • ISSUE NO. 1964

WWW.VOICE-ONLINE.CO.UK

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Guiding Black youth toward success Reach Society marks 15 years of impact › p25-32

n e m o w r u o g n ti a Celebr MIDWIFE MENTOR PIONEER SEE INSIDE

Former NHS nurse celebrates her 100th birthday after impacting thousands of lives

Tina as a young midwife

TINA APARICIO’S legacy is one of resilience, service, and care.

A proud Windrush Generation nurse, she delivered over 2,000 babies, transforming lives and strengthening communities through her dedication to healthcare, education, and the betterment of others. ›› p22

Tina Aparicio has received numerous awards in honour of her long and distinguished career (Pic: John Aparicio)

Will a new Windrush Commissioner achieve justice?

Campaigners warn the new Windrush Commissioner must not replace a full inquiry into the Windrush scandal.

Lawyer Jacqueline McKenzie told The Voice an inquiry was the only way to prevent another scandal. ›› p10 Protests erupted across the UK in 2018 (pictured) as anger over the Windrush Scandal grew (Pic: Getty)

Inside THIS MONTH

The Voice says

ROUNDUP NEWSPAPER

News, views, stories & videos

THE 10 MOST POPULAR STORIES ON VOICE-ONLINE.CO.UK

6

Beverley Knight: ‘HIV stigma is costing lives.

It needs to change’

8

Finding the village: the app connecting Black mothers across the UK

14

The price of strength: how the ‘strong Black woman’ trope is harming our health

33

Black women betrayed: the systemic failures fuelling a domestic abuse crisis

44

Breaking the silence: A Black mother’s journey with disability bias

46

Nina Sparks is keeping her Olympic dream alive

International Women’s Day: a call to celebrate and support Black women

I

NTERNATIONAL Women’s Day (IWD) is more than a date on the calendar; it is a moment to recognise, uplift, and stand in solidarity with women worldwide.

For Black women, it holds a unique significance. Too often, their contributions go unrecognised, their struggles overlooked, and their voices silenced. This must change.

Black women are the backbone of families, communities, and industries. Their achievements span every sector — science, politics, business, the arts — yet they remain underrepresented in leadership, underpaid in the workplace, and underserved in health and social care. IWD is an opportunity to shine a light on these injustices and call for meaningful action to address them.

Discrimination and bias continue to shape their experiences.

They face the double burden of racism and sexism, limiting their opportunities and placing them at a disproportionate risk of domestic violence, inadequate healthcare, and economic inequality.

These challenges are not just statistics; they are lived realities that demand urgent attention.

Moreover, Black women’s voices have too often been marginalised,

This issue is 48 pages EDITOR Vic Motune E. vic.motune@thevoicemedia group.co.uk

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

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

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

even within the broader women’s movement. Their experiences are distinct, and their struggles must not be erased. The mainstream feminist discourse must do better in amplifying their concerns and advocating for policies that reflect their needs.

So how do we ensure that IWD is not just a symbolic gesture but a catalyst for change? First, we must celebrate Black women’s contributions — not just on March 8, but every day.

We must acknowledge and uplift their achievements in our homes, workplaces, and media. In this edition of The Voice you will find stories of Black women who have achieved amazing things and who are advocating for social justice.

Second, allyship must be more than a buzzword. Genuine solidarity means standing up against discrimination, advocating for equality, and ensuring Black women have a seat at every table.

Finally, we must continue to amplify their challenges and demand change at every level of society.

This International Women’s Day, let us commit to more than just words.

Let us take action to build a society where Black women are truly seen, valued, and supported.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Dwight Yorke’s Trinidad & Tobago woes continue Reggae icon Smiley Culture to be honoured with blue plaque Match schedule for Africa Cup of Nations revealed Happy birthday to the late great Bob Marley

It’s a full Drakeover at Wireless 2025

British Army told to return ‘looted’ Ethiopian treasures Wireless Festival sells out in record time

Trinidad & Tobago unveil new coat of arms after Columbus’ ships replaced with Steelpan Black History Month in U.S. axed by government agencies after Trump’s DEI purge Meet Chisola Chitambala, the entrepreneur taking on The Apprentice’s Lord Sugar

Got a story? email us at yourviews@thevoicemediagroup.co.uk SPORTS EDITOR Rodney Hinds E. rodney.hinds@thevoice mediagroup.co.uk ADVERTISING AND SALES E. advertising@thevoicemedia group.co.uk

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MARCH 2025 THE VOICE | 3

News

Celebrating Women

BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS

I

WANT them to look at me on the screen and think, ‘If she can do it, I can do it too,’” says Chisola Chitambala, the Essexbased entrepreneur, now instantly recognisable as a contestant on BBC’s The Apprentice.

However, she says that appearing on the show is not just about competing for Lord Sugar’s £250,000 investment. She’s on a mission to inspire young Black women and entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds.

Chitambala’s journey to The Apprentice boardroom began long before the cameras started rolling.

As a child, she defied school rules by selling sweets in the playground.

“I saw there was a need, and I thought, well, I’ll meet that need,” she recalls with a smile. “I was about nine or 10 years old, and I realised if I made some extra money, I could buy myself more sweets.”

This early entrepreneurial spirit laid the foundation for a career that would see her transition from pediatric nursing to founding her own business, CB Virtual Assistants, in 2021.

STRATEGY CB Virtual Assistants was born over a takeaway when Chitambala and her business partner Natalie saw a gap in the market for flexible virtual assistants. They quickly launched their company, securing their first client a few months after launching. Today, CB Virtual Assistants boasts a team of four specialists offering services ranging from social media strategy to executive assistance.

Chitambala credits the influence of her parents who emigrated to the UK from Zambia, in helping to shape her entrepreneurial journey.

She credits her mother, who started as a nurse in a care home and became the director of an organisation, as a major source of inspiration. “Seeing her growth showed me what was possible. She set the bar for the kind of impact and legacy I wanted to leave.”

It was this desire to inspire that

Meet Chisola Chitambala, the entrepreneur making an impact on The Apprentice. By Vic Motune led the entrepreneur to apply for The Apprentice. “I’ve always been a big fan of the show,” she says.

“Watching different candidates, especially from diverse backgrounds, really inspired me. I wanted to be able to do the same.”

Her fiancé’s encouragement sealed the deal. “He was like, ‘Look, I think you should just go for it.’ And I was a little unsure, but with his encouragement, I decided to apply.”

Being selected from 80,000 applicants was a surreal moment for Chitambala. “I was completely shocked – I couldn’t believe it,” she admits. “But at the same time, it felt incredible. Getting onto The Apprentice gave me an amazing platform to use my voice to inspire young women.”

On the show, the entrepreneur has faced the intense pressure of business challenges without the safety net of phones or the internet.

“You don’t have any opportunity to just Google stuff or look things up,” she says. “It’s about taking risks, learning from every experience, and pushing yourself beyond what you thought was possible.”

One piece of advice from former winner Tim Campbell, one of Lord Sugar’s advisers on the show, will

“Watching different candidates, especially from diverse backgrounds, really inspired me

TAKING RISKS: Chisola Chitambala’s hopes her appearance will inspire Black female entrepreneurs to break barriers in the business world

stay with her through her business journey. “He told me to control the controllables,” she recalls. “There’s no point stressing about things out of your control.”

Her resilience and adaptability have been key to her success, both on and off the show. “I consistently give 110 per cent in everything I do,” she says. “No problem is too great for me to find a solution to.”

Away from the challenges of running a business, Chitambala’s love for music has been another driving force in her life.

CONNECT A lifelong member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, she helped form a youth choir. She taught harmonies, performed at charity events and churches across Essex, and built a community where people could connect and belong through singing.

And beyond The Apprentice Chitambala says she will press on with her plans to revolutionise how entrepreneurs connect with investors with a new online platform, one that eliminates the need for lengthy meetings or endless presentations and streamlines the matching process.

“Imagine a world where entrepreneurs no longer need to navigate the labyrinth of traditional networking events,” she explains.

While the The Apprentice has provided a great platform, the Essex-based entrepreneur continues to remind herself of the thing she is most passionate about.

“When you come from an underrepresented community, especially in TV spaces, you want to be the person who breaks down those barriers,” she says. “I want to inspire young Black women and show them that they can achieve anything they want to.”

THE BLACK FARMER SECURES £1M FUNDING FOR SECOND FARM SHOP IN WHITE CITY WILFRED Emmanuel-Jones, the founder of The Black Farmer Ltd, has secured £1 million in funding to open a second farm shop in White City, London.

The investment, provided

by Bibby Financial Services (BFS), marks a significant milestone for the pioneering food brand, which has grown steadily since its inception in 2004.

The new farm shop builds on the success of EmmanuelJones’ first brick-and-mortar store, which opened in Brix-

ton Village shopping centre in November 2023. Known for his high-quality meats, dairy, eggs, and other products, Emmanuel-Jones has long been passionate about connecting people with authentic food experiences.

Emmanuel-Jones said: “We’re a pioneering company leading the way for Black British businesses and agricultural entrepreneurs. I’m passionate about maximising the untapped potential of small businesses, and BFS shared our vision from the

start. Their extended funding limit and tailored support have given us the confidence to take this next step.”

Colin Johnson, corporate manager at BFS, praised The Black Farmer for its innovative approach and community-driven mission. “We’re excited to support The Black Farmer Ltd with its growth plans. Our tailored funding solution and FX services will streamline their operations and help them navigate international trade challenges.”

The first farm shop in

Brixton was a culmination of Emmanuel-Jones’ twodecade journey building The Black Farmer brand.

The new White City farm shop will continue this ethos, providing not only highquality, sustainably sourced products but also a platform to address issues EmmanuelJones is passionate about, such as the lack of diversity in the food and farming industries.

“There’s a real lack of diversity within the food industry. If Black people knew how

appalling it was, they would start thinking about who they shop with. Consumers should ask about diversity as part of their purchasing decisions,” he said.

Founded in 2004 on the Devon/Cornwall border, The Black Farmer Ltd now boasts an annual turnover of £10 million. The brand has gained recognition not only for its products but also for initiatives like the Black Farmer Scholarship, which enINVESTMENT: courages ethnic minorities to Wilfried Emmanuel-Jones pursue careers in agriculture.

4 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

COULD YOUR RELAXER GIVE YOU CANCER?

Black women’s groups determined to raise awareness of the popular chemicals being used that have been linked to cancer. By Sinai Fleary

B

LACK British women are calling for an urgent ban on dangerous ingredients that are used in a number of Black hair care products which have been linked to cancer.

These include popular hair products such as chemical relaxers that straighten Afrotextured hair which contain lye, a chemical also known as sodium hydroxide, also used to unblock drains.

Other Black hair products have been found to contain endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which are natural or man-made chemicals that mimic or interfere with the body’s hormones, known as the endocrine system.

These have been linked to an increased risk of uterine cancers, fibroids, reproductive health issues and early menstruation in studies.

Now, a campaign to remove harmful chemicals from Black hair products is gaining momentum as pressure mounts on manufacturers to act.

The #NoMoreLyes campaign, led by feminist group Level Up, is calling on leading hair

and beauty company L’Oréal to eliminate toxic ingredients from hair relaxers linked to serious health risks, including uterine cancer and fibroids.

The group has written an open letter to L’Oréal demanding transparency about the ingredients it uses in its products, but other campaigners on this issue say stronger action is needed to protect Black women from the long-term health consequences of toxic hair products.

VULNERABLE Seyi Falodun-Liburd, co-director of Level Up, told The Voice: “Toxic ingredients in our hair relaxers leave us vulnerable to all sorts, more research is linking use of hair relaxers to uterine cancer, fibroids and other endocrine-disrupting illnesses in Black women.

“Our campaign is calling on L’Oréal to either make hair relaxers safe or to remove them from the shelves.”

The #NoMoreLyes campaign started in 2021, following the publication of research from Oxford University which found that Black women who used lyebased relaxers at least seven times a year for over 15 years or more had

around a 30 per cent increased risk of developing breast cancer. #NoMoreLyes’s own 2022 survey found that 95 per cent of Black British women don’t trust beauty brands that sell lye-based relaxers.

The campaigner believes the negative hair care experiences Black women have should act as a stark warning.

“We did a landmark study in 2022 in the UK, and we found that two out of three Black women in the UK have had negative experiences with hair relaxers, including severe burns and permanent hair loss,” she said.

“Before it can develop as uterine cancer or more devastating

“Two out of three Black women in the UK have had negative experiences with hair relaxers, including severe burns”

illnesses, you are seeing manifestations of the toxicity of these chemicals in the hair relaxers.”

But despite the growing evidence that some hair products pose a danger to our health, Falodun-Liburd says it will be difficult for Black women to change haircare routines as they are steeped in family traditions and cultural practices.

WARNINGS “For a lot of us, the ways we take care of our hair are practices passed down generationally, from grandmother to mother, to daughter,” she says.

She wants those in the community to check labels more diligently, but also believes manufacturers have a responsibility to put warnings on dangerous products – similar to what is now printed on cigarette packets in Britain.

“There are a lot of hair relaxers that say no Lye in the product, but when you look in the ingredients list sodium hydroxide is listed, which is the chemical name for Lye, literally the stuff that you use to unblock drains,” she said.

“So that even when Black

women feel like they are making a conscious decision that they think is healthier, it’s still not a choice that we have, because of the packaging and marketing is misleading.” #NoMoreLyes’s open letter was signed by many high-profile names including Dawn Butler MP and author Reni Eddo-Lodge, and over 6,000 people have signed the campaign group’s petition calling for change.

Chemical relaxers break down the natural protein in hair for it to be straightened and it can leave users with burns and scarring.

Falodun-Liburd revealed that at just nine years old she got her first relaxer after the hairdresser accidently gave her a full relaxer instead of just making her hair ‘easier to manage’, which left her mum angry.

“It was almost like a rite of passage. It was just something that you did, kind of like a sign of my transition to adolescence as a teenager,” she recalled.

“It felt like part of becoming a woman,” she added.

She repeated the procedure again in her teenage years

CAMPAIGNER: Seyi Falodun-Liburd is determined to raise awareness

but this time the experience did not go well.

“I was having a bad reaction to hair relaxers where parts of my hair at the back were falling out.

When that happened, I did the big chop and cut off all of my hair and started from scratch.

“There are a lot of Black women who have had those experiences, they are having severe hair loss, their hair is breaking, it’s brittle, it’s unhealthy, and so they have to start again.”

Around 15 years ago, Falodun-

MARCH 2025 THE VOICE | 5

News Feature

BEFORE AND AFTER: Richenda Polson’s hair while using commercial hair products and, inset, the stunning impact of going chemical-free; right, Jasmine McDonald, an epidemiologist at Columbia University, has warned of the harmful chemicals in Black hair products

MORE HARM THAN GOOD: Black women need to know how much damage treatments could be doing (photo: Getty)

Liburd decided to go natural and hasn’t looked back since.

Falodun-Liburd’s experience is one that Richenda Polson, from Kent, can relate to. She was always forbidden from using relaxers growing up.

She told The Voice: “I was always told that relaxers damage my hair and, to be honest, that’s what I saw.

“I saw many examples of people being burned by relaxers or experiencing hair loss.”

ROUTINE Polson ended up improperly using boxed hair dyes and straighteners which caused similar damage – leaving her with thin hair that was barely shoulder length.

Now she keeps her hair routine very simple, and has even started her own hair care brand – Golden Spice Cosmetics – which she uses.

“I alternate between clarifying and hydrating shampoo (sometimes both), regular protein treatments, trims ensuring my hair remains moisturised and in protective styles,” she explained.

“I use my best-selling product, Spice Cream, which is a hydrating,

What exactly is prohibited?

There’s a full list of over 1,500 substances prohibited in cosmetic products available on the Government’s legislation website.

l Dihexyl phthalate

l Trichloroacetic acid

Some of the banned chemicals are: l Benzidine l Carbromal l Fluoresone

There is also a list of substances which cosmetic products must not contain expect ... subject to the restrictions laid down. For the full details please visit: https://www.legislation.gov. uk/eur/2009/1223/contents

moisturising leave-in conditioner that aids in this routine, specifically when wanting protective styling.

“My hair has flourished since following this routine and using my products.”

Polson is also backing the growing call for a ban on harmful ingredients in hair products.

“The harmful stuff is cheaper but there are alternatives, and we need to be using them,” she said.

Researchers at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in America, found in a recent study that women who use chemical hair straighteners and relaxers were

twice as likely to develop uterine cancer in comparison to women who did not.

In October 2024, Jenny Mitchell, a 32-year-old African American woman from Missouri, filed a lawsuit against five hair relaxer manufacturers, including L’Oréal USA, claiming that the products had caused her to develop uterine cancer.

There was no history of the disease in Mitchell’s family, and she told reporters she started using hair relaxer products in 2000.

She had a full hysterectomy to remove her uterus, shattering her

dreams of being able to carry her own children.

America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced plans to propose a ban of the use of formaldehyde as an ingredient in hair relaxers and straightening products, citing evidence of its links to an increased risk of hormone-related cancers.

However, this ban – which was scheduled to be implemented in April 2024 – has been repeatedly delayed and has not yet come into force, angering scientists and researchers who believe drastic action is needed to help protect the health and future of Black women and girls.

Jasmine McDonald, PhD is an associate professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health based in the US. She told The Voice: “The European Union has much stricter regulations on the products that are allowed to be sold than the United States.

INDICATOR “When it comes to hair relaxers, I think there should be some type of warning or type of indicator that the product has been associated with cancer.

“However, that is just not done.”

Dr McDonald is also calling for clearer labelling on hair products, so that ingredients do not remain “unclear”, “unknown” and “untested”.

She added that Black women are at greater risk from endocrine disruptor chemicals in hair products as “a lot of this use is not just a one-time thing, it is chronic use, especially when it comes to Black women and it may be used at earlier ages. The problem is there is not enough awareness of what’s in these products and a warning of their association with adverse health effects.”

Dr McDonald is also concerned that the known harmful chemicals will be replaced with newer ones, where it is not yet known how they will impact women’s health.

“Now you have replacement chemicals that are coming in, you don’t know the history of those types of chemicals because they are very new,” she said.

Black British women spent some £200million on hair products in 2021, according to Treasure Tress – a leading Black haircare subscription service.

But despite the lucrative and booming market built off the backs of their spending power, those parting ways with their hard-earned cash are not being protected when they purchase the hair products they need.

This could stem from the fact that most of the Black hair products sold in the UK are imported from the US. With products sold by a seller outside the UK there is a chance it may not be manufactured or labelled in accordance with British safety laws.

Even with stark warnings or a change in product labelling, some Black women will continue to use the products due to freedom of choice, creativity and selfexpression and sadly societal pressures to adhere to European beauty standards.

In 2025, many may feel pressure to straighten their hair because they fear losing employment opportunities as a result of the view Black natural hair is not professional whether it be styled in twists, locks, cornrows, braids or an Afro.

Historically, Black women’s magazines have been one of the main outlets where hair products have been advertised in the Black community.

However, the lack of action from manufacturers may be changing.

Irene Shelley, Editor-In-Chief of Black Beauty and Hair Magazine, pictured inset above, told The Voice, the natural hair movement driven by Black women and highly visible on social media has forced many companies to reassess

their product ingredients.

“Companies have made in-roads in reducing parabens, phthalates, and silicones in haircare products due to the natural hair movement,” she said. “Most Afro haircare brands now offer natural hair ranges that don’t contain harmful ingredients.

“So, yes, harmful ingredients should be banned or if they are not banned, they should be slapped with a health warning label, as California does with cancer-causing chemicals.”

Shelley also said products marketed to Black women were “designed to meet a specific beauty standard – altering hair texture and skin colour” so they have contained harsh chemicals which negatively impact health.

“Coupled with the fact we also use beauty products at a higher rate than our White counterparts, further exposes us to chemicals linked to reproductive health issues like uterine cancer and fibroids,” she said.

The Office for Product Safety and Standard is the UK’s national product regulator, within the Department for Business and Trade. A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: “All hair products sold on our market, including those imported from the US, are subject to strict laws to ensure people’s safety and protect consumers from misleading claims. Distributors, including hair shops, must check that the products they sell comply with these regulations and should take immediate action if they are made aware of any noncompliance.” l Any consumer concerned that a hair product they have purchased is not compliant with regulation should contact their local Trading Standards office or Citizens Advice.

6 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

Celebrating Women

News Feature

KNIGHT UNITES WITH PM TO TACKLE HIV TEST STIGMA Chart-topping singer urges sexually active Black Britons to get tested as she reflects on death of best friend.

By Glen Munro

M

ILLIONS KNOW Beverley Knight as the queen of British soul. The successful singer has sold multiple platinum and gold albums, won three MOBO awards and enjoyed a glittering acting career, performing in theatre shows such as The Bodyguard.

But behind Knight’s fame is lingering grief.

In 2003 her best friend and someone she repeatedly describes as her “brother”, Tyrone Jamison, died from an AIDS related illness.

Reminiscing on the death of her close friend during an exclusive interview with The Voice at 10 Downing Street, the chart-topping singer said: “Tyrone once said to me that being Black, gay and then on top of that having HIV was the worst thing that happened to him.

“Hearing him say those words broke my heart, because the man I knew was strong, funny, funny, funny. He had the most perfect and beautiful smile and was full of life.

His death had a seismic effect on my life.”

CARER Knight was Jamison’s primary carer during the final years of his life and the experience led her to become a patron of the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), a British charity at the forefront of the fight against HIV. During the launch of National HIV Testing Week Knight called on musicians and actors to help erode the stigma of HIV testing, within the Black African and Caribbean communities.

Knight took the rapid home test, along with the Sir Keir Starmer, the first serving Prime Minister and G7 leader to take the test publicly.

The high-profile initiative is designed to raise awareness that during National HIV Testing week, anyone in England can order a free and confidential HIV test at home.

During her appea, Knight said: “Music is a powerful and universal language. While there is a lot of music produced about love and sex it would be great if the purveyors of these songs also said, ‘let’s be safe

RAISING AWARENESS: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer meets with Beverley Knight and Richard Angell of the Terrence Higgins Trust as he takes an HIV test at 10 Downing Street (photo: PA Images)

and test’.” She added: “I would certainly encourage my fellow musicians and those involved in the arts to get involved and join relevant organisations. We want them to be visible for our community and promote testing.”

Richard Angell OBE, the chief executive of the THT, agrees with Knight. He said: “Music creates leaders that people look up to, and if used skilfully they can break down barriers. It can cause some to think if Beverley Knight can take a test so can I.” The importance of testing can be understood in the context of figures published by the THT. Their statistics reveal that of the 113,500 people living with HIV in the UK, 5,200 do not know they have the virus.

“I don’t want anyone to go through what Tyrone went through.

Watching him die was so hard, but today there is hope”

It is estimated that 1,800 of the undiagnosed HIV carriers are Black Africans and persons of Caribbean heritage.

Both Knight and Mr Starmer believe stigmas and attitudes towards HIV testing are deeply entrenched and must be challenged.

The singer said: “At the moment changing attitudes of HIV testing seems like climbing Mount Everest.

“I know how hard it can be for people in the Black community to realise that taking a test might be a necessary, because of shame.

“It’s not easy and so I wanted to live by example and that’s why I took the test myself.”

Speaking to The Voice at 10 Downing Street, Mr Starmer strongly advocated early testing. He said: “The hardest thing is the stigma and persuading people that a test is the best thing to do, which is why I have taken this test publicly.

“We know that many don’t know they have HIV and it’s really important we find those people.”

He added: “My task now is to speak to prime ministers and leaders across the world and say you should do it (test) in your own country.

“Beyond that we want people within their own communities to take the test and persuade others to do the same.”

He said that his government wanted to support all grassroots community organisations who represented those facing inequality

through what Tyrone went through and what I went through. Watching him die was so hard, but today there is hope.”

Knight added: “The final thing I would say is yes Tyrone was a Black man, he was a gay man, he was HIV positive, but HIV is no respecter of persons. If you are sexually active you need to test. Man, woman, gay, straight, gender fluid you need to test if you are sexually active.”

LOSS: Beverley says the death of her best friend Tyrone Jamison had a devastating effect on her (photo: Getty Images) but couldn’t guarantee they would eas including Greater Manchester, receive funding. He added: “Work- Wakefield and Liverpool. ing with grass root organisations is The UK Health Security Agency part of the plan, because as we do (UKHSA), the government agency this we are shifting the focus from responsible for health security in the NHS to a health care plan that England, released figures last Nois far more preventative.” vember which revealed reasons for HIV Prevention England (HPE), optimism. According to the UKHwho oversee the national HIV pre- SA, there has been a 10r cent rise in vention programme for England, testing among Black Africans duruse local activation partners to ing 2023. encourage testing. The partners Knight believes that educating provide information, advice and Black communities of the benefits testing face-to-face. of testing is critical.

HPE local partners include Afri“If early testing was available can Advocacy Foundation, African years ago large numbers of lives Institute for Social Development would have been saved, but educaand the Black Health Alliance for tion is essential” she said.

Equality, who provide tests in ar“I don’t want anyone to go

GOAL The singer and actress also believes that increased testing can be encouraged by the NHS employing more Black health-care professionals, who are culturally sensitive.

A free test can be ordered, with a result provided in 15 minutes.

Alternatively, a postal test can be initiated, with the sample sent to a laboratory, who will provide the result.

A total of £27m has been invested in NHS England’s emergency department opt-out testing programme, allowing blood tests in emergency departments to be automatically tested for HIV, unless a patient ‘opts-out’.

The Government has set a goal of ending new HIV transmissions before 2030. To ensure targets are met, and to deliver on its manifesto commitment, the Government will develop a new HIV Action Plan, due to be published in summer 2025. l A free HIV test can be ordered from: www.freetesting.hiv

MARCH 2025 THE VOICE | 7

Advertorial

Advertorial

EXPLORING THE BATTLE TO ABOLISH THE SLAVE TRADE Learn about the fight to end transatlantic slavery through the stories of the people, communities and anti-slavery movements who campaigned for abolition in a new exhibition

R

ISE UP: Resistance, Revolution, Abolition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge tells the multifaceted story of the fight to end transatlantic slavery, its aftermath and ongoing legacies.

Focusing on the period from 1750 to 1850, the exhibition explores the stories of resistance by individuals and communities from across the Caribbean, Europe and the Americas – through an interrogation of historic objects and artworks in conversation with works by contemporary artists.

Drawing on new research, Rise Up considers how Atlantic enslavement impacted everything, including the landlocked city of Cambridge. It follows the exhibition Black Atlantic: Power, People, Resistance staged at the museum in 2023.

FOCUS The exhibition highlights the often-forgotten roles played by Black Georgians and Victorians in the British abolition story and in British cultural life, with a focus on individuals including Francis Williams, Ignatius Sancho, Olaudah Equiano (aka Gustavus Vassa), Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, Ottobah Cugoano, George Bridgetower, Bill Richmond, Alexander Crummell and Ira Aldridge: all momentum-builders for change and several of whom have untold connections to the University of Cambridge.

The vital roles of countless women as resistance leaders, revolutionaries and abolitionists across the Caribbean, Europe and the Americas are also commemorated and celebrated, including Nanny of the Maroons, Phillis Wheatley, Sanité Bélair, MarieJeanne Lamartiniére, Mary Prince and Zilpha Elaw.

Over 100 carefully selected historic and contemporary artworks, objects, printed books and manuscripts on loan from Canada, Puerto Rico, France, and the USA, as well as the University of Cambridge collections and public and private collections in the UK, shed new light on the Age of Abolition and the ongoing legacies of enslavement. Contributions by contemporary artists, including

Joy Labinjo, Keith Piper, Karen McLean and Grada Kilomba, help reveal perspectives which were not historically captured.

Rise Up begins with a focus on Olaudah Equiano, one of the most famous and influential Black abolitionists of the 18th century. After publishing his autobiography in 1789, Equiano spent the rest of his life travelling across Britain to sell copies and promote abolition and Black rights. Equiano’s powerful testimony was vital in the British anti-slavery campaign, which led to the 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. The exhibition opens with Joy Labinjo’s monumental An EighteenthCentury Family, 2022, an imagined group portrait of Equiano and his family, who lived in Soham, close to Cambridge.

The exhibition has four main sections. The first examines the ‘Africa Trade’ and life on Caribbean plantations. It reveals the ways in which African and African-descended enslaved people resisted oppression on Caribbean plantations. It looks at different stories of resistance, from the individual and collective, nonviolent and violent, to reveal common aims – to regain freedom and self-governance, and to keep dignity, customs and cultures intact. Traditions such as music and dance are represented in the exhibition through examples of song lyrics and music and as well as Igbo cultural and ceremonial objects including a wooden Igba (drum), and a maiden spirit mask used in the Agbogho Mmuo masquerade.

Rise Up continues by looking at the Anti-Slave Trade Campaign in Britain, focusing on the role of Black Britons and abolitionists in the decades of struggle that led to the 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. It examines the vital role of Black campaigners such as Equiano and Cugoano, who were members of The Sons of Africa, a London-based grassroots abolitionist group that effectively petitioned establishment figures to end the slave trade and slavery

MONUMENTAL: An Eighteenth-Century Family, 2022; inset below, Toussaint L’Ouverture, 2009

(Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, Joy Labinjo. Courtesy of the Artist and Tiwani Contemporary/ François Cauvin)

the key loans to the exhibition is Clarkson’s ‘Cabinet of Freedom’ campaign chest of 1787–88, the campaigner’s ‘travelling museum’ that provided tangible anti-slavery evidence to the Privy Council inquiry.

itself. They worked in tandem with the Society for the Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade (SEAST), founded by a group of white Quakers and Anglicans, in 1787.

Alongside important historical documents, significant loans include prominent portraits of Black Georgians such as Francis Williams, The Scholar of Jamaica, c.1760, Thomas Gainsborough’s Ignatius Sancho, 1768, and David Martin’s Dido Elizabeth Belle and Lady Elizabeth Murray, c.1776.

Cambridge’s role as a centre of abolitionism in the 1780s is explored. It spotlights individuals such as Peter Peckard who used his influence as Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University to publicly decry the moral evils of slavery and racial inequality and support the work of Equiano.

Peckard’s radicalism inspired future leading abolitionists, including Thomas Clarkson and William Wilberforce. Among

SETTLERS Following the American Revolution, about 3,000 Black Loyalists and their families were transported from New York to Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1783. Promised equal status, rations, and land as white settlers, they faced much harsher realities. In 1787, the Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor coerced 400 economically challenged Black Londoners into ‘resettlement’ in Sierra Leone, becoming the first British colony in Africa. They agreed to go on condition that they would remain British subjects and live free under the protection of the British Crown and the Royal Navy.

Rise Up tells the stories of these failed schemes and the devastating effects they had, and continue to have, on Black communities.

The 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Act made it illegal for British people and ships to trade in enslaved people anywhere in the Empire. This was only a first step towards eradicating the institution of slavery, with more than 800,000 African, Africandescended and Indigenous people in the Caribbean still rendered as ‘property’. News of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act sent

shockwaves across the Atlantic, resulting in further revolutions across the Caribbean. The Haitian Revolution led to the founding of the independent Republic of Haiti in 1804: a seismic moment being the first independent Caribbean state led by former captives.

After the Haitian Revolution, other major uprisings of enslaved people followed, including in the British colonies of Barbados, Guyana and Jamaica. Focusing on key revolutionary figures such as King Henry I of Haiti, Toussaint L’Ouverture, Sanité Bélair and Amba Gladstone, through historical portraits and interpretations by contemporary artists including Francois Cauvin, Rise Up examines how such uprisings helped drive forward the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act. Rise Up concludes by looking at the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act – which made slavery illegal in almost all the British Empire – and its aftermath. It considers how despite formal abolition, newlyemancipated people across the Caribbean were forced to become apprentices, living and working as indentured servants under conditions similar to slavery, while those who were liberated often faced financial hardship and discrimination.

The exhibition explores how, to pass the Act, the government borrowed £20 million to ‘compensate’ 4,000 former enslavers for their loss of ‘property’, a debt that was paid off only in 2015. This section also spotlights new research

into the lives of historic Black people whose lives intersected with Cambridge, celebrating the achievements of individuals such as the violinist George Bridgetower and campaigning clergyman Alexander Crummell.

In its conclusion, Rise Up offers a reflection on how for peoples of the global majority, despite the passing of almost two centuries since Britain outlawed slavery, the struggles for autonomy, equality and social justice continue today.

RESISTANCE Luke Syson, Director and Marlay Curator of the Fitzwilliam Museum, said: “Rise Up explores the complex fight to end transatlantic slavery and its ongoing impact today. By focusing on the testimony of individuals as a powerful tool of resistance, and as a way of helping others to recognise injustice, the exhibition celebrates and commemorates the roles of both familiar and lesser-known figures in the struggle for abolition.

Through historical artworks and artefacts as well as contributions by contemporary artists, Rise Up examines how both word and image were tools of resistance, but also performance through music, dance and sport. Alongside historical artworks and artefacts, the exhibition will reveal how contemporary artists continue to keep these traditions alive.” n For further details about Rise Up visit www.fitzmuseum. cam.ac.uk

8 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

Celebrating Women

News

SENSE OF COMMUNITY

Mother-of-three launches UK’s first mobile app for Black mothers needing advice. By Sinai Fleary

PEER-TO-PEER SUPPORT: The Blackmums app has been described as a “safe space” for Black mothers to discuss anything about pregnancy, birth and motherhood; below, a recent advertisement for the new Blackmums app

A

BLACK BRITISH mum has launched the first community mobile app for Black mothers in the UK. The Blackmums app has been created by Sandra Igwe, founder of The Motherhood Group, a leading support group, that provides workshops, events, and advocacy for Black mothers.

The new app gives Black mothers the opportunity to share advice and information, connect with a like-minded community of other mothers, and even arrange play dates.

Speaking to The Voice, Igwe said she is delighted to see her idea come to life and help so many women.

She said: “You are really seeing a sense of a village, sisterhood and community offering advice, because Black women don’t always trust the services and they tend to want to lean towards each other.”

She added: “It’s been so amazing because we have done that with the Motherhood Group for quite a few years in person.

“We would do events for mums and then they would leave, a lot of people I know have made lifelong friends through our events and they get to do that on a larger scale and digitally now.”

The entrepreneur described the app as “safe space” for Black mothers to discuss anything about pregnancy, birth and motherhood, while it also provides peer-to-peer support.

She explained: “I wanted

IDEA: Sandra Igwe, founder of the Motherhood Group

somewhere where we could have conversations about motherhood, but also we wouldn’t have to over explain ourselves and we would understand each other’s culture as we are mums who just get it.”

In 2024, findings from an annual study by maternal health network MBRRACE-UK found that Black women in the UK are 3.7 times more likely to die during or in the first year after pregnancy than White women.

Igwe says through her work, she will continue to highlight gaps in the system and disparities, which are preventing Black women from receiving healthcare that is respectful, culturally competent, safe and of the highest quality.

“All we hear about Black mothers is doom and gloom, like we are more likely to die, more likely to have a C-section, more likely to have depression,” she says. “But where is the part where we actually say these are the community-based inventions

and solutions? I think that is what makes the app so special” Available to download on iOS and Android devices now, the app is already proving popular.

It has five main features, which includes the ability to match women who share similar experiences.

“The app actually matches you to another Black mother that’s a similar age or has had similar experiences, lives in the same area, or has the same number of kids,” she says.

It also allows Black mothers to decide if they would like to connect with another mum for oneon-one conversations and there is also a live chat option – where women can join at any stage.

“It’s like a big group chat, but if you are shy, you can just sit back and listen in to the conversation,” she adds.

Like other traditional social media platforms, Blackmums also allows users to share their day-today activities by uploading pictures.

Igwe is keen to emphasise that the app is a resource that covers many issues linked to motherhood including health issues, skin care, body image, breastfeeding, hair care, relationships and much more.

The mum-of-three revealed she did a diligent search to see if there were any apps specifi-

cally for Black mothers and was shocked to discover the domain name was still available.

“It’s the first type of app for Black mothers that is community-centered, there’s none out there,” she says.

Part of Igwe’s passion for helping Black mothers is because of her own personal experiences not being able to find culturally competent and sensitive support.

In 2016, the entrepreneur fell pregnant with her first child.

SYSTEM In a previous interview with The Voice, she said she believed she was “harmed by the system” during her pregnancy and says experienced discriminatory treatment from a midwife because of the colour of her skin.

“When I went on to have symptoms of depression, I did not want to go back to the system that I thought all worked cohesively together to not have my best interests at heart.”

Igwe never sought professional help, but says attending church regularly and setting up her organisation has been therapy to help her through depression.

“I did everything but go back to the system with my first daughter because of that fear of racism, further trauma, and babies being taken away, using what you said against you,” she adds.

She initially had the idea for the app when she had her first daughter eight years ago and couldn’t find a platform that met her needs.

She says: “I joined Netmums, Mumsnet, Panel Mums, Bounty, and I definitely craved community because I moved from London to the Midlands when I was eight months pregnant.

“I really wanted to meet other women who was going through what I was going through at the time but also resembled me.

“I didn’t want to go to anymore mummy and baby groups and be the only Black woman in the room.

“So, I would join these platforms and these platforms were talking about things that I couldn’t really relate to and I just thought ‘why isn’t there a space for Black mums?’”

Even though Igwe set up her advocacy group, she knew it needed to be digital to reach more mothers, but needed funding.

She approached investors eight years ago but reveals it was only recently that she was able to secure the funds to develop the app.

“It’s so needed, the feedback we have had has been incredible,” she says.

In 2023, Igwe launched the UK’s first Black Maternal Health

Conference, which aims to highlight racism and bias that has created inequalities in maternity care experienced by Black women in the UK. Speaking to The Voice in 2023, the founder said: “We want to rebuild trust between the Black community and maternity service providers and we believe the best way to start will be to hold the Black Maternal Health Conference, so that Black women’s voices can be heard.”

SOLUTIONS Now in its third year, the historic conference will take place on March 21 at The Minister Building in London. The theme for 2025 is “Building Better Futures: Community-Led Solutions”.

This year, Igwe will also launch the inaugural Black Maternal Health Awards UK celebrating the changemakers who are transforming Black maternal health care.

“It’s about highlighting all of the wonderful work happening in the space and sector, from grassroots, to charities, to research and allies.” l For more information on Blackmums app, visit: www.blackmums.com. For more information on The Motherhood Group and the Black Maternal Health Conference UK, visit: www.themotherhoodgroup.org

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10 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

News Feature

Is a Windrush Commissioner a substitute for an inquiry?

The government says it would give victims a voice, but campaigners say it must not replace an overdue inquiry. By Richard Sudan

T

HE GOVERNMENT has announced plans to appoint an independent Windrush Commissioner, promising to give victims and their families a stronger voice within Government.

But while some have cautiously welcomed the move, campaigners warn that it must not become a substitute for real justice, namely a long-overdue independent statutory inquiry into the Windrush Scandal.

The new Commissioner, set to be appointed by summer is expected to act as an independent advocate for those affected.

They will engage with communities, monitoring the Home Office’s compensation and status schemes, and advising ministers on reforms.

The role, according to Minister for Migration and Citizenship Seeema Malhotra, will help ensure the scandal’s lessons are truly learned.

“The appointment of a Windrush Commissioner will mark a vital step in resetting the government’s response to the Home Office Windrush Scandal and delivering the change that the victims of this scandal want and deserve to see,” Malhotra said.

“This independent advocate will ensure the voices of victims and communities are heard and acted on throughout Government. By engaging with communities, driving improvements, and holding Government to account, the Commissioner will help ensure that lasting change is delivered and the lessons of the past are truly learned.

“The Home Secretary and I look forward to working side by side with the successful candidate in this crucial work to ensure that such an injustice can never happen again, and that dignity is restored to those who have suffered.”

Many impacted by the Windrush Scandal still have questions over whether the new Commissioner have real power to challenge the Government.

One of the main concerns is that

“Many of the victims have already died, and many are elderly.

There is an urgent need for an inquiry to get underway before it is too late” the role does not match what was originally called for in the Windrush Lessons Learned Review.

That review, conducted by Wendy Williams, recommended the creation of a Migrants’ Commissioner, a role that would have covered the wider injustices of the UK’s immigration system, and not just the Windrush Scandal.

Instead, the Government has seemingly narrowed the scope, limiting the role to Windrush alone. Jacqueline McKenzie, below, a leading human rights lawyer and campaigner for justice for Windrush victims, told The Voice: “I welcome the recruitment of a Windrush Commissioner so long as the role examines how people of the Windrush Generation and their families are negatively impacted upon by the system of immigration rules and laws still in existence, and does not confine itself simply to the Windrush Scandal.

“Of course, the role recommended by Wendy Williams in the Windrush Lessons Learned Review was for that of a migrants commissioner and I would have preferred to see the creation of a role that looks at how people experience the migration system across the spectrum. Nevertheless, whilst I remain optimistic about a Commissioner of any sort, a lot will depend upon who gets the role and how skilled and proactive they are.”

READ ALL ABOUT IT: The Government plans to appoint an independent Windrush Commissioner who will advocate for victims, monitor compensation, and advise on reforms – but campaigners warn it must not replace a statutory inquiry Why is there no Windrush Inquiry?

For many victims, this appointment is no replacement for a full statutory and thorough inquiry something that campaigners have long demanded but the Government has yet to commit to.

“We have called for a statutory inquiry into the Windrush Scandal,” McKenzie told The Voice referencing a recent letter that was sent to home secretary Yvette Cooper, inset right, by campaigners.

“In the same week that the deadline for a response to our letter to the Home Secretary passes, the advert for the Commissioner is released. Now this can of course be a coincidence, but one must not be a replacement for the other.”

McKenzie and others argue that a full inquiry is absolutely essential to provide public accountability, uncover the truth, and prevent a repeat of the scandal.

Among the key issues they want investigated are: l Historic immigration and

nationality laws and how they af- think of another comparable fected Windrush victims. scandal, which has impacted the l The performance of the lives of vulnerable people, of which Windrush Scheme (which provides there has not been a statutory proof of the right to remain). inquiry. l The Windrush Compen“Many of the victims of the Winsation Scheme, which has been drush Scandal have already died, widely criticised for delays and and of those still alive, many are failures. elderly. There is an urgent need for l The impact of an inquiry to get underway before criminal convictions on it is too late.”

Windrush victims’ ability to stay in the The Impacts of delayed UK. justice She said that the failure to deliver A moment justice swiftly has had devastating for the Labour effects on families and communiGovernment to ties. rebuild trust?

“The impacts are enormous The Windrush Scandal and complex. We see cases all the remains one of the biggest time of individuals who had the government failures in modern right to be in the UK but could British history, affecting predomi- not prove it and so lost employnantly Black British citizens. Yet ment and pensions, lost access to unlike other national scandals, healthcare, were made homeless, there has still been no full indewere detained, removed from the pendent inquiry. country, unable to get back into Many have compared the lack of the country, torn apart from their progress to the Post Office scandal families. which saw swift and comprehen“The families and communities sive action taken. affected have not yet had a chance McKenzie warns however that to put their accounts to the state Labour’s response to this issue will and get answers. Compensation be a key test of its brittle relation- claims, even where they are sucship with Black communities. cessful, are no substitute for an “It is vitally important. I cannot investigation into the truth.”

What’s next?

For now, the Government is pushing ahead with appointing the Windrush Commissioner.

But the real question is whether this role will have the power to demand change, hold the Government to account, and challenge unjust immigration laws or if it will simply be a token gesture.

It’s surely a test for Labour which has fractured its relationship with Black communities in recent times.

Meanwhile, McKenzie and other campaigners are still waiting for a response from the home secretary about the statutory inquiry. If the Government fails to respond to campaigner’s demands for one other legal options are being considered.

“We will be considering whether to advise our clients, who are victims of the Windrush Scandal, to send a more formal pre-action letter instigate an inquiry,” she said.

The fight for justice is clearly far from over. The Windrush Scandal remains a stain on Britain’s history, and for those affected, words and symbolic gestures are not enough. They want real accountability and change.

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12 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

Celebrating Women

News

TIME TO TAKE YOUR HEALTH INTO YOUR OWN HANDS

The charity CoppaFeel! is urging young women — especially those from diverse backgrounds — to check their chests, know their bodies, and take control of their health. By Sinai Fleary

A

NEW campaign is urging young women from diverse backgrounds to regularly check their chests for any unusual changes, challenging the misconception that breast cancer only affects older White women.

CoppaFeel!, the UK’s only charity dedicated to raising awareness about early detection in younger people, has teamed up with NHS North East London Cancer Alliance (NELCA) to introduce ‘Check In.’ The Check In campaign aims to encourage people of all genders and ethnicities to normalise self-examinations and start conversations about the importance of knowing their bodies.

Designed in collaboration with young people from north-east London, the campaign features a social-first content series and an Out-of-Home initiative.

High-profile Gen Z creators, including Klaudia Fior (Wavyute) and Tolly T from The Receipts podcast, are fronting the campaign to highlight why regular checks can be lifesaving.

Tolly T told The Voice: “It’s important to be part of this campaign because these conversations can feel scary, so they’re often avoided.

If hearing me say ‘check your chest’

encourages someone to make selfchecks a habit, then the campaign has done its job.”

Early detection saves lives She added: “Black women, in particular, know the importance of advocating for ourselves when it comes to our health. This campaign takes that idea literally – taking our health into our own hands, checking ourselves, and becoming familiar with our bodies makes it easier to notice when something isn’t right.”

Breast-related conditions are the most common type of cancer among women aged 15 and older, with one in seven women diagnosed in their lifetime.

However, NHS data shows that Black and South Asian women are more likely to receive a late-stage diagnosis, highlighting ongoing health disparities in the UK. Despite the risks, national statistics indicate that only 25 per cent of 18-24-year-olds check their chests monthly, while nearly half (47 per cent) of young people surveyed in north-east London have never done so.

Since those under 50 do not qualify for routine screenings, awareness of early signs is crucial in improving survival rates. Research

CHECK IN: The campaign encourages young people of all genders, backgrounds and ethnicities to ‘check in’ with their peers and start talking about breast cancer.

The campaign features Anisa, left, sharing her story; above, Podcaster and writer Tolly T is part of the Check In campaign (photos: Axe & Saw/Kamalas Bryant)

shows that nearly 100 per cent of women diagnosed at the earliest stage survive for at least five years.

“My biggest hope is that this campaign encourages people to know their bodies, to not shy away from touching and understanding them so well that they recognize any unusual changes,” Tolly T added.

Challenging myths around breast cancer Through deeply personal stories and social engagement, the ‘Check In’ campaign aims to debunk the myth that breast health concerns are limited to a specific demographic.

Sophie Conway from CoppaFeel! emphasised that outdated narra-

tives prevent many young people – especially from marginalised communities – from taking their health seriously.

“Our research shows that myths, stigma, and taboos create barriers that stop young people from engaging with their breast health. ‘Check In’ is designed by and for young people from North East London to challenge these perceptions and start important conversations,” she explained.

Obi Onyiah from NHS North East London Cancer Alliance echoed this sentiment, highlighting the broader impact of awareness: “Raising awareness isn’t just about early detection – it’s about empowerment. By normalising these discussions, we can break the

silence, encourage early action, and and making them central to the inspire young people to take control conversation.”

‘Check In’ is being rolled out of their health.” across 858 locations in North East A community-led initiative London, chosen based on their high engagement with the target The campaign was developed in audience. The campaign invites partnership with Hackney-based creative marketing agency Tag and young people to start talking, take action, and make self-examinations shaped by over 50 young people a routine part of their lives. across London. By ensuring the The ‘Check In’ campaign follows initiative reflects diverse voices, it research published in 2022 that aims to resonate with local comshows Black women are amongst munities and spark meaningful the groups least likely to check engagement.

Tumisha Balogun, co-founder of their breasts regularly, leaving them Tag Agency, said: “Young people are at a greater risk of developing the often excluded from critical health disease. discussions, particularly around l To find out more about the breast health. This campaign is Check In Campaign and to watch the about changing that narrative campaign videos, please visit: https:// by amplifying their perspectives coppafeel.org/check-in-campaign

KEISHA CROWNED ONE OF THE UK’S MOST IMPRESSIVE FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS

AN ENTREPRENEUR who set out to transform diversity in children’s literature has been named among the UK’s top female founders as part of the ‘f:Entrepreneur #IAlso100’ campaign.

Keisha Ehigie, founder of Imagine Me Stories, a book subscription service championing diversity in children’s books, has been recognised

by Small Business Britain’s annual campaign, which highlights 100 inspirational female entrepreneurs from across the country.

Ehigie launched Imagine Me Stories in 2019 after noticing a lack of Black protagonists in children’s

literature while searching for books for her young daughter. At the time, just one per cent of UK children’s books featured Black main characters, prompting her to take action. Her business provides a subscription service for children aged 0-12, delivering books that feature Black protagonists alongside educational Black history resources. Imagine Me Stories also partners with schools across the UK to diversify their libraries and promote inclusivity in learning environments.

On being named in the #IAlso100 list, Ehigie said: “This is an amazing valida-

LIST: Keisha Ehigie was recognised by Small Business Britain for championing diversity in children’s books (photo: Keisha Ehigie) tion of the important work we are doing and I am so grateful to have made the list. We strongly believe

every child should see themselves in the books they read and this helps us shine a light on that.”

Ehigie, a Nigerian-Jamaican mother, has gained several accolades for her work in promoting diversity in literature. In 2021, she won the Great British Entrepreneur Award in the Entrepreneur for Good category and was featured in the Telegraph NatWest 100 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2022. She was also named Bookshop Hero of the Year

by The Bookseller.

The campaign was launched in 2017 to raise awareness of the impact of female business owners.

Michelle Ovens CBE, founder of Small Business Britain, praised this year’s

honourees, saying: “It’s wonderful to have Keisha from Imagine Me Stories feature in this year’s #IAlso100 – all of the female entrepreneurs in this year’s line-up are simply phenomenal.

“It is vital we recognise the impressive contribution of the UK’s female business owners and do all we can to support and encourage them throughout their entrepreneurial journey.

“As well as making a huge economic contribution to the UK, female entrepreneurs also create a wider positive impact that ripples across society and local communities too.”

MARCH 2025 THE VOICE | 13

News

Celebrating Women

UK STEPS UP PLANS FOR GLOBAL TRADE WITH NEW ENVOYS

F

OUR female MPs with African Caribbean heritage have been appointed as trade envoys in a government effort to drive exports and boost investment.

Labour MPs Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Florence Eshalomi, Kate Osamor and Paulette Hamilton are among 32 recently appointed trade envoys tasked with strengthening global economic ties.

The 32 envoys have been drawn from across the political spectrum and were selected based on their skills, experience, and knowledge of relevant markets or UK industry sectors.

The appointment of four African Caribbean heritage MPs to key trade positions signals the government’s intention to strengthen the UK’s economic ties with Africa and the Caribbean.

With a focus on fostering investment, boosting exports, and enhancing trade relations, the newly appointed envoys are expected to play a crucial role in shaping the UK’s global trade strategy.

Ribeiro-Addy was appointed as envoy to Ghana, one of West Africa’s fastest-growing economies.

Speaking about her new role, she said: “I’m looking forward to representing the UK on the global stage and working to strengthen ties, boost trade, and find new opportunities for collaboration between our nations.”

The MP recently attended her first engagement as envoy at the Ghana High Commission in London, where she participated in a workshop on the UK-Ghana Trade Partnership Agreement.

The agreement ensures tarifffree and quota-free access for Ghanaian products to the UK market, while offering preferential tariff reductions for UK exports to Ghana.

Meanwhile, Florence Eshalomi, MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell

Green, has been appointed as the UK’s trade envoy to Nigeria.

Announcing the news on social media, Eshalomi expressed her enthusiasm: “It is an honour to have been appointed… I’m looking forward to building on my close ties with Nigeria to promote a strong and flourishing economic relationship between our two great nations.”

Eshalomi, born in Birmingham to Nigerian parents, has a background in local government and race equality advocacy.

She has served in Parliament since 2019 and was previously a London Assembly Member.

Her appointment follows that of Helen Grant, who was the first UK trade envoy to Nigeria.

Kate Osamor (inset left, top), MP for Edmonton and Winchmore Hill, has been appointed as the UK’s trade envoy to East Africa, focusing on trade with Tanzania and the broader region.

The British High Commission in Dar es Salaam welcomed the announcement: “Her appointment marks an exciting step in strengthening the UK-Tanzania trade relationship, fostering investment, and unlocking new opportunities for businesses in both countries.”

Paulette Hamilton (inset above), MP for Birmingham Erdington, will work on trade with the Commonwealth Caribbean.

“This role is deeply personal to me, as my own roots trace back to the Caribbean,” she said. “And I am passionate about developing stronger trade ties between the UK and the region.”

Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds highlighted the importance of the envoy appointments, stating: “Trade and investment are key to delivering economic growth, the number one mission of this government and a key part of our Plan for Change.”

MARCH 2

10-16 FEB 2025

Four female MPs with African Caribbean heritage hope to secure deals across the world. By Vic Motune

GLOBAL STAGE: Bell RibeiroAddy is working to strike deals with Ghana

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14 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

Dr Julie Hammond Health Matters

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

WE NEED TO STOP THE FAÇADE – OUR LIVES ARE DEPENDING ON IT The ‘Strong Black Woman’ narrative is hugely detrimental to our mental and physical wellbeing

AT BREAKING POINT: We must put ourselves first before we get seriously ill, says Dr Julie Hammond

A

S A GP, I HAVE noticed a deeply concerning trend.

Black women are pushing themselves to the limit to uphold the façade of strength, often at the expense of our health.

I have encountered countless patients who embody this struggle. One patient entered my clinic perfectly poised with flawless hair and makeup. Yet her body was sending urgent warning signals that she was in desperate need of medical attention.

Her symptoms were alarming. She reported breathlessness, dizziness, and chest pain after walking short distances.

Upon deeper investigation, I discovered she had been experiencing heavy, painful periods for years, a condition many in her family seemed to accept as normal and previous medical encounters had dismissed as trivial.

I examined her and found more worrying signs. I paused before advising: “I think you need to go to the hospital for urgent tests and treatment.”

She shook her head and refused: “I can’t go to the hospital. I don’t have time for that.”

Her story is one I hear too often.

Black women who take care of their families, workplaces, and communities but neglect themselves. We have been culturally conditioned to normalise being overworked and stressed, to push through exhaustion and pain. But at what cost?

The burden of expected strength The narrative of the ‘Strong Black Woman’ carries significant health implications. Society often celebrates Black women for our resilience.

However, this expectation creates the pressure to maintain an appearance of strength that discourages us from seeking support and reinforces systems that overlook our needs and fail to address our vulnerabilities.

Research published as part of the largest and longest-running Black Women’s Health Study from Boston University has revealed troubling health disparities. Black women are at increased risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, maternal health complications, mental health issues and fibroids.

Despite these risks, we are less likely to seek medical help or receive early

intervention. In my practice, I witness this almost daily: • Women dismissing symptoms of high blood pressure – headache, blurred vision, chest tightness – as ‘just stress’ • New mums struggling silently with postnatal depression and anxiety because they are worried that seeking help would be perceived as a sign of weakness or a reflection of their parenting capabilities • Women who push through their pain and refuse to prioritise rest due to the toxic belief that they are unbreakable until they are at a crisis point.

Systemic healthcare challenges A 2016 study* has also found that health professionals are less likely to treat Black women’s pain and emotional distress as serious, which has been linked to delayed diagnoses and poorer health outcomes. This systemic dismissal of our suffering has created a negative feedback cycle where many Black women are delaying or avoiding seeking healthcare altogether.

Even in the workplace, we are expected to remain eternally composed with vulnerability frequently misinterpreted as weakness, forcing many of us to suffer in silence.

Breaking the cycle The expectation that Black women must

always be strong has contributed to the significant health challenges we face.

However, there are practical steps you can take to safeguard your well-being.

1. Give yourself permission to rest Rest is not a luxury. It is essential for longevity and well-being. If we cannot look after ourselves, we cannot effectively support those who depend on us. This means: • Setting boundaries • Saying ‘no’ to additional commitments when you are already stretched • Asking for help • Prioritising adequate sleep and rest periods 2. Effectively advocate for yourself in medical settings You are the expert on your body, and your experiences and observations are valuable.

• Write down your symptoms and questions before your appointment • Ask questions until you fully understand your diagnosis and treatment plan • Request specific tests when appropriate • Seek a second opinion if you feel your concerns were not adequately addressed • If you are feeling worried, bring a trusted friend or family member along for support • Take notes during consultations • Request written information about your condition and treatment options

3. Find your support system Vulnerability requires spaces where we can be open, honest and supported. This can be accessed through: • Community support groups for shared experiences and encouragement • Speaking openly with trusted friends and family • Local healthcare advocacy organisations • Online support communities for Black women • Local counselling services for professional guidance You can also speak with your GP for referrals to local support services or visit www.nhs.uk to explore available resources in your area.

Redefining strength Several weeks after her initial visit, my patient returned for a follow-up. She had been admitted to hospital, received blood transfusions and was now awaiting treatment for fibroids.

As we concluded her appointment, I shared with her a message I wish every Black woman could hear: “You are allowed to be soft and vulnerable.

“True strength is not about constantly pushing through it all. It is about knowing when to rest, ask for help, and put yourself first.”

Reframing the ‘Strong Black Woman’ narrative requires systemic change both within healthcare and society.

Health professionals must recognise and actively dismantle biases that minimise Black women’s health concerns.

They must also acknowledge the unique challenges faced by Black Women and the profound emotional and psychological toll of constant resilience.

Beyond healthcare, our communities, too, must create environments where emotional vulnerability is embraced rather than dismissed.

Most importantly, we need to redefine strength as a balance of physical, emotional, and mental well-being. This cultural shift sets a healthier precedent for future generations, where seeking support is seen as a courageous act of self-love, not weakness. l Dr Julie Hammond is a

multi award-winning GP, health advocate and innovator. She is the founder of the mamAR app: www. mamarhealth.com and is also writing a book on The Fourth Trimester due to be released in 2026.

References: Hoffman KM, Trawalter S, Axt JR, and Oliver MN. 2016. Racial bias in pain assessment and treatment recommendations, and false beliefs about biological differences between Blacks and whites. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(16): 4296-4301.

Boston University: Black Women’s Health Study. https://www.bu.edu/bwhs/

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16 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

Celebrating Women

Opinion

Daniella Maison

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

THE SILENT SACRIFICE OF OUR BLACK WOMEN The unwavering commitment to defending those around us can come at a profound cost

THIS MONTH m a r k s International Women’s Day, and in the aftermath of Elianne Andam’s horrific murder, we need to talk about the stark reality of Black women and girls being martyred in our role as protectors.

In a world that often overlooks our struggles, Black women have long borne the heavy mantle of protectors, shouldering the intersectional weight of racial and genderbased violence while safeguarding our families and communities. This unwavering commitment to nurturing, and defending those around us, can come at a profound cost.

Three horrific incidents have made British headlines in recent months and each of them illustrate this cost.

In January, Hassan Sentamu was found guilty at the Old Bailey after admitting to killing 15-year old Elianne in a shopping centre with a kitchen knife in “white-hot anger at having been disrespected” after she stood up for her friend, his ex-girlfriend.

FRENZIED Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Inspector Becky Woodsford said it was a “violent, aggressive and frenzied knife attack on a young girl” and praised Elianne’s bravery, saying “she was doing what was right, she was standing up for her friend”.

Lianne Gordon, 42, had just returned from holiday in Jamaica when she became the victim of a gang feud in Hackney last year. Lianne was shot in the head while she stood in the doorway of her home trying to shield her two children.

Last summer, Cher Maximen was stabbed at Notting Hill Carnival in front of her three-

HORRIFIC: Elianne Andam, 15, was fatally stabbed in Croydon; Lianne Gordon was fatally shot in Hackney in December 2023; Cher Maximen was at Carnival with her young child when she was stabbed (photos: Met Police/Facebook) year-old daughter in broad daylight as she tried to save a man from being attacked. She was stabbed in the groin with a machete as she tried to intervene.

Black women often find ourselves cast in the role of societal protectors, a position thrust upon us by a culture that exploits our strength while simultaneously devaluing our humanity.

This expectation is not a badge of honour but a heavy chain that binds us to a life of sacrifice. We are expected to be the emotional anchors, the caretakers, and the fierce advocates for justice, often at the expense of our own wellbeing, and sometimes at the cost of our very lives.

It’s a role that strips us of our

The construct of the hard-bitten and well-seasoned tough-nut has served to justify the persistent neglect and disregard of Black women

vulnerability and humanity, forcing us to shoulder the weight of protection while society turns a blind eye to our own struggles.

In almost every article I write about the issues facing Black women, stereotyping is integral.

The “strong Black girl’ and the ‘angry Black woman’ tropes are stereotypes that Black girls face from the moment we enter the school system.

It is an age-old, colonialborne, race-gender bromide that prescribes and attributes expectations for Black women and contributes to our demise.

The construct of the hardbitten and well-seasoned toughnut has served to justify the persistent neglect and disregard of Black women.

The stereotype of Black women as mannish, violent and dangerous has also defined us as in need of a firmer hand. As such, there is less empathy towards Black female victims of domestic violence or Afrofemicide.

Because of this palpable bias, Black girls are more likely to be harshly disciplined. Black women are 29 per cent more likely than white women to be remanded in custody at the Crown Court.

Following a conviction, Black women are 25 per cent more likely than white women to receive a custodial sentence.

Pigeonholing Black women as the saviours of the world is not a compliment; rather, it reflects deeply embedded racist ideologies. The strong Black woman schema, has been characterised by three components: emotional restraint, independence, and caretaking.

Hence Black women are perceived as warriors, portrayed as “capable” of being both man and woman in any given situation.

Yes, a lifetime of marginalisation may have given us resilience, but it has also given us scars. We are still vulnerable. We are still soft, feminine, tender and delicate.

It is unfair to minimise the lengths we as women go to, to create safe environments for ourselves, but it is exhausting.

The UN’s Right to Move campaign reminded us that we are unsafe when the clocks go back.

Sharon Gordon and Marianne Kilonz remind us we are unsafe in our homes. Johanita Kossiwa reminds us we are unsafe when we walk down the street. Kennedi Westcarr-Sabaroche reminds us we are unsafe in our cars.

The brutal reality is that no amount of self-defence or safety awareness can fully counter the physical dangers women face.

Often, men can step in to offer a protective barrier against the vast many threats a woman faces

everyday. Brothers, we need your protection. We need you as our allies. Some contend that depending on male protection diminishes female empowerment.

It doesn’t. It represents much needed teamwork that is crucial to our survival in an Afrofemicide crisis wherein Black women made up 62 per cent of female murder victims in London last year alone.

CAMPAIGN The Right to Move campaign was devised around the idea that women shouldn’t bear the responsibility to protect themselves in public spaces.

The campaign asks bystanders to do three simple things. Stop, Support, Report: 1. Stop and offer your help ( focus on the person not the perpetrator) 2. Support the person to safety (check what would make them feel safe, walk them to the bus/ train, call a taxi, wait with them until a friend arrives) 3. Report it only if they want to (this could be: Calling 999, Text British Transport Police on 61016 or to the security or management team of the event or space.

Each day, we imbibe large quantities of fear and systemic racism that have become our norm. We transmute it deep within our nervous system

and generate cortisol and inflammation. Then, we endure the reports that question why Black women are more likely to suffer with a history of stress related ailments.

We are to die on the altar of self-sacrifice, prioritising of everyone else, and minimising our own needs ‘Black Women are lauded for being martyrs, Because our emotional and physical deaths are acceptable collateral damage.

Black Women will save the world.

But who will save us?’

Dr Tyffani Dent Elianne, Lianne and Cher serve as a stark reminder of the perilous intersection of our roles as caregivers and warriors, illuminating a painful truth: the very strength that empowers Black women to advocate for others can sometimes lead to our own demise.

In a society that demands our resilience, it is imperative society hears to our voices, honours our sacrifices, and works collectively to dismantle the barriers that threaten our lives.

WRITER, ACTIVIST AND AUTHOR DANIELLA MAISON’S NEW BOOK, THE N WORD, PUBLISHED BY AUSTIN MACAULAY, IS OUT NOW.

MARCH 2025 THE VOICE | 17

Celebrating Women

Darell J. Philip

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

‘CONSISTENCY IS THE KEY’

Sheila Simon’s 39-year career as an educator came to an end last year. Here she reflects on her time at Gayhurst Community School in Hackney

L

AST SUMMER was an emotional time for one educator as the curtain was brought down on an illustrious 39-year career in education.

Sheila Simon’s career as an educator at Gayhurst Community School based in the east London borough of Hackney came full circle when she retired last summer. While it proved to be an emotional time for Sheila, her colleagues, family and the school community who loved and knew her, it was also a moment of pride for the many years she had dedicated to the education of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

She told The Voice: “For 39 years I worked at Gayhurst Community School and it was a pleasure to do so. As the day drew near for me to retire it left me feeling emotional but having dedicated my time to the job tirelessly for so many years I knew that this was the year that I had to retire.”

STRUGGLE Growing up, Sheila, a mother of two adult children from Newington Green in Hackney, did not enjoy her time at school where she attended in Islington due to finding core lessons such as English and maths difficult which she often skipped.

However, Sheila fell in love with creative and foundation subjects such as RE, sewing, art and pottery where she prioritised attending.

After leaving school without any formal qualifications, Sheila discovered she was dyslexic while studying for her NVQ Level 2 and 3 as a mature student which ultimately explained why she struggled so much at school.

It was her childhood experience of education which would shape her career and lead to her love of working with

CARNIVAL QUEEN: Clockwise from left, Sheila on her way to Carnival, with her 25-year long-service award; helping out at Gayhurst Community School in east London, on holiday in Gambia, with her daughter

children exhibiting challenging behaviour and learning difficulties. She started as a play worker at Wally Foster’s Playgroup in Hackney before being employed as an Early Years Foundation Stage Educator at Gayhurst Community School in 1985.

Her strict, no nonsense approach which kept many a student and colleague in check was also balanced with a fun, and nurturing side which both children and adults alike came to love and appreciate.

“Working with children presenting with challenges and learning disabilities has been one of my main highlights,” says Sheila. “Thinking back on my own childhood, I was a bit of a loud mouth who found school challenging because of my, at the time, undiagnosed dyslexia.

For me, as an educator, there has been no greater reward than to work with children who like myself have struggled with learning due to challenges including disabilities. Knowing that I have taught children and

before them, their parents too, brings me great pleasure and pride.”

Another moment of pride for Sheila was being recognised in Hackney Council’s Long Service Awards for her many years in education.

On receiving the award in March 2022 from the then Hackney Mayor, Philip Glanville, alongside Hackney Deputy Mayor, Antoinette Bramble, Sheila said: “This is a special moment for my family.

I have given over half my life to

education because I love it and I do not want to stop.”

Yet the time did come for this stalwart of education to retire and of her many years in education she has no regrets but just fond memories.

“It’s been a pleasure working with many of the school staff, community, but most of all, with all the children whom I will never forget. It was great to be invited back to assist in the summer school there and for a few days after I would pass by the closed school gates and reflect on my

time there. But the reality quickly hit home that I had now retired.

As I looked on outside, through the quiet, empty school gates, I said to myself, ‘Sheila, you’ve had a good run, it’s now time for you to move on.’”

Since retirement, Sheila, who celebrates her 64th birthday this month, has found time to reconnect with family and friends and pursue other interests.

“I’ve been able to spend more time with family, catch up with friends and get some well needed rest. Last summer I got to travel to Cornwall, go to the Carnival and received an invitation to a Windrush dinner and dance reception which I loved. I also travelled to Gambia during the Christmas period for a wedding which was a great experience for me.”

Sheila has also found time to do volunteer school to home children drop offs in the mornings and afternoons, as well as get some rest and time to herself during the middle of the day.

When asked what the secret was to her longevity in her job, Sheila passed on to the next generation of educators the following pearls of wisdom: “Consistency is the key. It’s about getting up each morning and loving the job you do because I loved the job I did and was consistent with everything I did concerning the children, hardly taking a day off.”

PASSION Paying tribute to Sheila’s stellar 39-year career in education, Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, Hackney’s Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Education, said: “Sheila Simon’s 39-year career as an educator in Hackney is a testament to the spirit of teaching, showing passion, dedication, and an unwavering commitment to nurturing young minds. Sheila’s work at Gayhurst Community School has enriched the lives of countless students, colleagues, and the wider community.

“It reflects the hard work and dedication of all our teachers.

I would like to thank Sheila for making Hackney a better place through education, and wish her a long, happy retirement filled with the same passion and joy that was brought to the classroom every day.” l Darell J. Philip is a teaching assistant, academic mentor and award-winning journalist

18 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

Dotun Adebayo

Celebrating Women

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

ONLY BEYONCÉ CAN MAKE HISTORY NOW As Google erases Black History Month, it seems the mainstream only wants to focus on the fun

T

EXAS, HOLD up. Let’s talk about Black history.

It’s the biggest selling album in the past 12 months and, just a few weeks ago, the Grammys confirmed that it is the Best Album of the year too.

And later this summer Beyoncé will be coming over here and performing it in front of a sell-out crowd at the Tottenham Stadium. Not once. Not twice. But six times over.

When Cowboy Carter rides into town in June, she won’t be the only rodeo in town.

Billy Ocean, for example, will be at the Royal Albert Hall just a week later. But Cowboy Carter will be the one everyone will be talking about. Because Beyoncé isn’t wearing her six gallon hat for joke.

And them cowboy boots ain’t made for walking. There’s bare bucks in that cowhide. You better believe that.

MILLIONS And then there’s the history.

SIX sellout nights at one of the biggest football stadiums in the country with a capacity of 62,850.

That’s over 370,000 tickets, at a price of between £70 and £900.

Let’s say for the sake of argument that the average ticket price is £200, that’s £74 million (not bad, eh?) for a week’s work. Which, if my calculation serves me right, will be the most money any Black female artist has earned in Britain – ever.

Now that’s what I call Black history.

It’s the kind of Black history that everybody gets, everybody buys into, everybody can whistle to. And like all historical moments in this bite-size modern world it will be condensed for posterity into an emoji on the Google Calendar.

I swear, 50 years from now there will be a Google Doodle remembering Beyoncé’s six sell-out nights at the Spurs.

And nobody will argue with that. Beyoncé in Tottenham is historic. It’s Black historic. And the whole world loves that. Especially if it’s accompanied by

a soundtrack (it’s the beat, the beat, the beat). Because as George Michael almost said, “guilty feet don’t need no rhythm if Black history is a song and dance”.

Whereas Black History Month is troublesome if you’re a White dude. Because there are some uncomfortable home truths in those 31 days in October (when Black History Month is celebrated in Britain) that you may not want to be reminded of every year.

So is it any wonder that Google has decided to remove Black History Month from its calendar?

That’s right. It’s been expunged, deleted, consigned to the dustbins of search engine history.

Black History Month as we know it is dead to all intents and purposes because if you’re not on Google, you don’t exist.

And if you’re not on the Google Calendar? Who gives a wotsits?

Well, the entire media for one thing – newspapers, radio, telly and I daresay online new media, too. Yes, other search engines are available but every self-respecting professional journalist has a butcher’s at the Google Calendar because marking anniversaries is part of journalism and marking them ahead

There is little space in the new mainstream for the rich and conflicted tapestry of circumstances that make up Black history if it triggers White guilt

GIDDY UP: Beyoncé’s six sold-out Tottenham shows will make history. But mainstream narratives embrace her success while sidelining the Black history that provokes discomfort; inset, Google highlights Notting Hill Carnival but ignores Kelso Cochrane’s 1958 murder, which sparked it (photos: Getty Images)

of time is part of good journalism.

It’s in the title. A journal is a record of events.

So, for example, every year Black History Month is covered in the mainstream media because it ticks a lot of boxes for them and, in the event that the month is significant in any way, they won’t look like the numbskulls who didn’t reference a significant month for a sizeable proportion of their readership.

But what the removal of Black History Month ( from a calendar as widely consulted as that of Google) does, is to make Black History Month an irrelevance.

It’s like, “if your name’s not on the list you can’t come in”. And if you can’t even get past the gatekeepers, you’re not really relevant. Not in the mainstream.

The mainstream wants to hear about, talk about, write about and

read about Beyoncé for history month. Not Marcus Garvey or Malcolm X or the Mau Mau rebellion and the murder of Stephen Lawrence.

The Google Calendar wants to mark the Notting Hill carnival, not the racist murder of Kelso Cochrane in 1958 by a gang of white teddy boys in west London that was the motivation for the biggest street party in Europe.

And even if, in that case, you can focus on the street party (it’s a good one and, like Beyoncé, it’s not just the biggest but the best), in many other cases you cannot avoid the elephant in the room.

George Floyd, for example.

There is no skirting around him.

Not unless you want to expunge the Black Lives Matter movement/moment from Black history – as many people have done, just to avoid mentioning the ‘how to choke a Black man to death’ conversation.

Mark my words, come October there will be less talk about Black History Month. Come October there will be less coverage and schools will start dropping it from their curriculum.

SCANT RESOURCES And all because Google has decided that it is not important enough of a date to make their calendar. With less coverage and less take-up as an educational tool there will be less funding for Black History Month and the occasion will go right back to where it started from, where it was a pretty basic and unsophisticated landscape with scant resources.

It will be embarrassing. And it won’t just be White folk who won’t want anything to do with Black History Month. It’s the ‘history’ part of Black History Month that is problematic. The further and further we get from our history over the last 5,000 and in

particular the trauma of the last 500 years, the less it means to us.

There is little space in the new mainstream for the rich and conflicted tapestry of circumstances that make up Black history if it triggers White guilt.

So ride on, Cowboy Carter. You are the acceptable face of Black History Month. And if we could only keep on partying like it’s 1999, Black History Month I am sure will be restored to its rightful place on the Google Calendar. l 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 X: @radiodotun

19 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

Special Feature

ADVERTORIAL

WINDRUSH FOUNDATION

W

s r a e Y 0 3 s e t a r b e Cel

who arrived in the UK not only from 22 June 1948, but also others during and before WWII.

indrush, until the 1940s, was a word associated with the thirty-fivemile-long river that rises in the Cotswolds, and joins the Thames near Oxford, England.

‘Windrush village’ is in the civil parish of Gloucestershire and derives its name from the River Windrush. The village name is said to have been first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086. But Windrush would become associated with a ship and a generation of people who arrived from the Caribbean at Tilbury Docks on 22 June 1948, with a new social genre.

SAME PEOPLE The notion of a Windrush Generation was first expressed in May 1948 by Samuel Beaver King (better known as Sam King), aged 22, before he and several RAF WWII ex-servicemen boarded the Empire Windrush in the following words: “We dubbed ourselves the pioneers on the second Mayflower…” He considered that ‘Windrush pioneers’ and ‘Windrush Generation’ were one and the same people. They were frontiersmen and women who contributed significantly to laying foundations for Caribbean people and others who would later settle in Britain.

King was the first to have expressed to others the journey’s significance, and that the iconic arrival at Tilbury Docks on 22 June 1948 should be commemorated. He was the first person to organise what became known as Windrush Day. During the journey to England, he collated and kept contact details of dozens of passengers.

After settling in London, Sam King struggled to find work commensurate with his skills and experience. He had hoped to join the Metropolitan Police believing that his military background would stand him in good stead when he applied. The six-man selection panel thought otherwise and rejected him outright. He found a job with the Post Office instead, working in Waterloo before becoming a Sorter based in Victoria, and then in Whitechapel, London. It was the start of a successful 34-year career that would see him rise to the rank of senior Post Office manager.

GENERATION In December 1967, King placed an advert in the Weekly Gleaner offering an award to those who were on the Empire Windrush and who should contact him at his Camberwell address. It was meant to bring together passengers to commemorate the ship’s arrival on 22 June 1948, Windrush Day. It should be noted that there were replies from several passengers who by then had left Britain to settle in the Americas.

They were of the Windrush Generation

whom he intended to bring together. 22 June 1968 was the 20th anniversary of their arrival at Tilbury Docks and King wanted to commemorate the occasion with them. He did so in collaboration with The Sunday Times reporter, Dick Adler. The Sunday Times Magazine Supplement of 30 June 1968 included a four-page special feature that included the stories of Windrush passengers.

Their remarks showed life in Britain was not as comfortable as they had

expected. Racism was the main issue and the Windrush commemoration a sober event.

COMMEMORATIONS King went on to organise many other Windrush commemorations until he co-founded with Arthur Torrington, Windrush Foundation in 1995. They worked together before King’s passing in June 2016.

In November 2024, Sam King was

featured at Dalston Junction Station, Hackney, as TfL’s ‘face of the Windrush Line’, shown here: Windrush Foundation is to receive £89,500 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to mark 30 years of providing heritage education services in the UK. In 1995, co-founders Sam King and Arthur Torrington went on a mission to help young people, especially of Caribbean heritage, learn about the history and experiences of individuals

SUPPORTED The occasion will also feature the lives of Ignatius Sancho (1729-1780), Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797, Dr Risien Russell (1863-1939), Sam King (19262016), Nadia Cattouse (1924-2024), Connie Mark (1923-2007), et al. The project will publish an anniversary brochure including photographs, etc, showing some of the projects completed over the years.

Director Arthur Torrington CBE said, “The award is great news. The National Lottery has supported our work since 2005, and it has helped us to improve the quantity and quality of services we have delivered. Windrush is now better known and appreciated.

In celebration of its 30th anniversary of providing funds for good causes since 1994, the National Lottery selected 30 Game Changers across Community, Heritage, Sport and Arts & Film. They included Windrush Foundation as one of the Gamechangers. 2025 is our year to celebrate.”

Windrush Foundation is recruiting project workers, advisors, and volunteers who will deliver a variety of edutaining events in 2025.

Further information from: info@windrushfoundation.com www.windrushfoundation.com

Sam King poster, Dalston Junction, Hackney, London.

Courtesy of Windrush Foundation There were 10 other posters at the station that summarised Sam King’s Windrush journey.

They feature information on his decades of service for the betterment of local communities and of British society. He was the person whose seminal work gained the accolade and haloes for members of the Windrush Generation from 1988. It is hoped that he would be seen as a role model and one of Britain ‘s post-WWII heritage pioneers.

Arthur Torrington CBE, Co-founder, Director of Windrush Foundation.

Sam King MBE, Face of the Windrush Line, Dalston Junction Station, Hackney

20 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

Celebrating Women

Opinion

Charlotte Pearson

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

MY LEARNING LED TO MY OWN AUTISM DIAGNOSIS I had never considered myself as neurodiverse — but in fighting for my son’s future, I uncovered the truth

FOR MOST of my life, survival was the only goal.

Dreams and success seemed out of reach, so I never imagined them for myself.

When my son was diagnosed as autistic, doctors said he might never speak or integrate into society.

But I refused to accept that as his future. I immersed myself in learning how to support him, even giving up my newly opened shop without hesitation. This journey led me to co-found a support group for SEND parent carers.

From understanding my son to understanding myself What I didn’t expect was that, in learning about my son and gaining a deeper understanding of neurodiversity, I was also uncovering truths about myself.

The more I learned, the more I saw myself in the struggles of those I supported.

That realisation led to my own autism and ADHD diagnosis.

Suddenly, my life made sense. My challenges, my way of thinking, the exhaustion of masking – it wasn’t a personal failing, but undiagnosed neurodivergence.

During this time, my daughter was born, and in time, she too was diagnosed.

But this journey wasn’t just about neurodivergence – it was about recognising a much deeper, generational pattern of systemic failure, where multiple factors combined to keep families like mine trapped in a vicious cycle.

I saw my own childhood struggles mirrored in my children – the battles for support, the lack of understanding, the fight just to be recognised.

Then, I looked at my mother and saw her in me – navigating the same exhaustion, the same battles, the same invisible weight she carried, but with no support or understanding.

Breaking generational cycles and systemic barriers The more I reflected, the more I saw the pattern. Thriving often depends on access. Privileged families pass down more than wealth – they inherit knowledge, networks, and security.

Meanwhile, those in survival mode pass down struggle, limitation, and lost opportunities.

The system doesn’t just exclude – it reinforces these cycles.

From parent to advocate: finding my voice My diagnosis was the start of something bigger. It explained my struggles but also forced me to redefine everything I thought I knew about myself.

I had big dreams and drive, but I was raised in a world that, subtly and overtly, reinforced limitation.

Ambition wasn’t encouraged – it was something for other people.

Even when I started making progress, imposter syndrome crept in. Because breaking generational cycles isn’t just about opportunity – it’s about unlearning everything you’ve been conditioned to believe.

Society stacked the odds against people like me – then had the audacity to make us feel like failure was our own doing.

The system withholds knowledge, resources, and opportunities, then calls it a lack of effort.

For years, I thought success wasn’t for people like me. Then I realised I could build my own space. If the table isn’t built for you, build your own.

But never shrink your dreams

INSPIRATION: Pearson uses her platform to talk to groups across the country about the importance of inclusion (photos: Charlotte Marian Pearson)

I’ve had to fight, not just against external barriers, but against the deeply ingrained narratives that told me I wasn’t enough.

Creating change beyond my family I’ve battled constantly for my children’s rights. Each victory showed me that change was possible – but the system shouldn’t make families fight so hard for what they deserve to thrive.

Looking at my son today, I know every fight was worth it – he’s thriving as a confident advocate, aspiring actor, model, and talented drummer – proof that with the right support, potential can flourish. But the reality is, many children are still without support.

Determined to push for change, I set up The MosaiQs and expanded my work. I worked alongside politicians, schools, and local authorities to push for real systemic change.

But as more people became aware of their struggles, something deeply concerning was happening.

As more people sought support, the system pulled back – budget cuts left many without help.

Awareness without action creates both hope and frustration.

The world doesn’t exist in silos, and neither do we. True inclusion isn’t one-size-fits-all — people exist across overlapping identities and experiences, shaped by

ALL FOR THEM: Pearson says she is determined to fight for a future where her two children, who are both neurodiverse, can thrive

neurodiversity, disability, culture, race, gender, and socio-economic background.

The MosaiQs represents this approach: not narrowing the focus to one area, but recognising that real change happens when we address the whole picture.

Representation matters: from the runway to advocacy I’ve always encouraged my children to embrace their strengths beyond their struggles. My son, after struggling with bullying, found confidence through modelling.

Watching him thrive made me realise something: if I truly believed

in this message for him, I needed to believe it for myself too.

I had been scouted for modelling at 14, but I walked away, convinced I didn’t belong. It took me 20 years to challenge that belief. When I was scouted again, I accepted. Since then, I’ve walked Paris runways and worked with global brands – proving I belong in these spaces.

I had spent years telling my children to recognise their brilliance and believe in their ability to achieve anything without limiting their dreams.

Now, I was proving that to myself.

I know firsthand that my approach works – because I am living proof of it.

A message to those who feel unseen For years, I thought success wasn’t for people like me. Then I realised – I could build my own space. The greatest change in my life didn’t come from fitting in – it came from realising I didn’t have to.

If you’ve ever felt unheard or underestimated, know this – your story matters.

If the table isn’t built for you, build your own. But never shrink your dreams.

True inclusion fuels economies, strengthens communities, and improves quality of life for all.

Looking ahead, I’m expanding access through collaboration, digital innovation, and advocacy that drives real impact. There’s more to come, and I’m excited to keep building a future where no one is left behind. n Charlotte Marian Pearson, founder of The MosaiQs, advocates for neurodiversity and inclusion, breaking systemic barriers and driving change in education, corporate spaces, and media. To find out more about her work visit charlottemarianpearson.com or @charlottemarianpearson on Instagram.

MARCH 2025 THE VOICE | 21

Lyndon Mukasa Eye on the Diaspora

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

JAMAICAN DIASPORA CREATING SUSTAINABLE FARMING SOLUTIONS Farm Up Jamaica aims to reduce the country’s overdependence on food imports

CHALLENGES: Urbanisation, high costs, foreign competition, and climate change have restricted the growth of Jamaica’s agricultural sector (photo: Getty Images)

F

OR DECADES the agriculture industry across the Caribbean has faced multiple challenges.

Urbanisation, high costs, foreign competition, and climate change have restricted sector growth. Additionally, better-paying service jobs and historic social stigmas have made it hard for young people to remain in agriculture.

In Jamaica, however, efforts have been made to reverse this regional trend and meet the challenges that Caribbean agriculture and food production face in the 21st century.

The organisation Farm Up Jamaica is a charity set up by the Jamaican diaspora that has started a number of innovative programmes in order reduce the country’s overdependence on food imports, as well as create sustainable jobs for the most vulnerable in Jamaica’s population, particularly unemployed young people.

Founded by Neil Curtis in 2013, Farm Up Jamaica unites Jamaicans worldwide to support agriculture amid job and food insecurity. The charity collaborates with farmers, diaspora landowners, international organisations, and Jamaican government bodies. Its Young Soldiers for Food Security programme offers agriculture students hands-on farming experience on an organic farm every

weekend. Farm Up Jamaica provides them with transportation and a stipend to inspire them to create a vision for themselves that can positively impact their communities while preparing them to transition into Jamaica’s next generation of environmentally-conscious farmers.

When the students graduate, they are offered a job placement with profit sharing and entrepreneurial opportunities

that will hopefully draw in and keep more young people in the agricultural industry.

Another initiative is the Climate Smart Institute which trains farmers and students in climate-smart agriculture (CSA), focusing on mitigation and adaptation.

CSA aims to boost productivity and incomes, enhance climate resilience, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ensuring sustainable agricultural development and food security in a changing climate.

The Diaspora Navel String Program Farm Up Jamaica engages the diaspora in strengthening Jamaica’s food security through the Diaspora Navel String Program. This initiative connects diaspora members to farming districts, raising funds for local agriculture. The charity conducts feasibility studies, soil tests, and farmer consultations to determine suitable organic crops and create cost-per-

acre budgets for underutilised land. Local farmers and youth receive training in sustainable organic techniques, working together to cultivate and harvest crops on a scheduled basis. When the crops are sold, financial rewards are shared among farmers, youth, and diaspora members involved in the program.

Is this the future for Caribbean agriculture?

Over the last 11 years, Farm Up Jamaica has done extensive practical research and development on the ground in Organic Agriculture and socio economic improvement. They have developed a guided approach that converts some of the older agricultural practices of Jamaican farmers into sustainable methods that meet the 2030 Sustainability Goals of the United Nations.

This is important as there is a growing need for the Jamaican government to invest strategically in growing this sector as the climate crisis continues to put pressure on the agricultural industry.

Despite this, in 2023 Jamaica experienced its second highest domestic crop production level with over 779,254 tonnes of crops despite these challenges.

The efforts by organisations like Farm Up Jamaica have helped to provide education and support for an industry that faces increasing challenges and if it continues to be successful hopefully can eventually expand across the region.

If you are interested in getting involved with Farm Up Jamaica you can make your enquiry here: website-www.farmupjamaica.org email-info@farmupjamaica.org

DOES TINUBU’S TIES TO THE CIA COMPROMISE NIGERIAN SECURITY? IN NOVEMBER 2024, Nigerian president Bola Tinubu was dragged into a scandal that if proven to be true, could have catastrophic implications for the sovereignty of Nigeria as well as having dire consequences for Nigeria’s relations with its neighbours (especially in the context of the fragmented ECOWAS).

The issue started after Tinubu was found to be linked to bank accounts allegedly used to launder money for a heroin ring based in Chicago in the United States in the early 1990s.

This follows on from a motion filed by Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin who has been pushing to obtain unredacted information on Tinubu. However, a new dimension to this scandal emerged when according to Hundeyin the CIA, FBI and the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) all submitted a

ALLEGATION: Nigerian president Bola Tinubu (photo: Getty Images) joint memorandum arguing against the release of sensitive details on president Tinubu which included language suggesting the president might be an “active CIA asset”.

The CIA and Africa The US Central Intelligence Agency is a department of the US government tasked with collecting information from countries and

carrying out covert operations around the world.

In Africa, the CIA has a long and controversial history as it has been implicated in the destabilisation of governments and the asassination of progressive African leaders.

During the Cold War, the CIA was involved in providing information to various rebel groups across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to locate, imprison and eventually murder the DRC’s first leader Patrice Lumumba in 1961.

The CIA has been implicated in other operations across Africa from offering support to puppet leaders to providing the information that led to the arrest of Nelson Mandela during his anti-apartheid campaign in South Africa.

Tinubu as “a CIA asset” It is within this context that the

seriousness of these allegations can be viewed from.

A CIA asset is, however, not a direct employee of the CIA like an agent, but instead is someone who is in a position of power with access to valuable information that could benefit the CIA and US interests.

Many Nigerian analysts are concerned with the possibility of Tinubu’s links to the CIA since it undermines the principles of state sovereignty.

If Tinubu is a CIA asset then it means that as president he could still be beholden to a foreign agency that could limit their ability to act as an independent leader of a sovereign country. This could undermine trust in his leadership as well as inflame further instability across the country.

For president Tinubu’s part he has denied any links to the CIA and

has labelled the accusations as an attempt to undermine his legitimacy as Nigerian president.

Representatives from the CIA itself have argued the restrictions on the release of information regarding Tinubu have more to do with his role in drug trafficking in the 1990s, and the release of sensitive information could endanger those involved in the operations including Tinubu himself.

But given the history of CIA in Africa and the potential access that the organisation has to the Nigerian president, how can we be sure and guarantee that Nigeria is safeguarded against foreign influence? l Lyndon Mukasa is a writer

and researcher. He studied International Development at the London School of Economics

22 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

Celebrating Women

HER CENTURY OF SERVICE IS AN INSPIRATION TO US ALL

Tina Aparicio, who recently celebrated her 100th birthday, arrived in the UK in 1958 and dedicated her life to the nursing profession. By Vic Motune

O

N A summer day in August 1958, as the SS Colombie set sail from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, a bittersweet melody filled the air.

An orchestra played as 33-yearold Albertina Aparicio, known to all as Tina, stood on deck, waving a final farewell to her beloved mother, Mencina, and her children, John and Gloria.

While sad at being parted from her family, her sense of purpose was unwavering.

She was embarking on a journey that would change not only her life but the lives of thousands of others in Britain, the country she was travelling to.

For three decades until her retirement in 1988, Tina Aparicio dedicated her life to the nursing profession, navigating immense challenges and making an indelible mark on healthcare in the UK. As one of the pioneering Caribbean nurses who arrived in Britain in the post-war years, her career is emblematic of the resilience, skill, and compassion they brought to the NHS at a critical time.

Born on January 31, 1925, in Trinidad, Tina began her career as a teacher before feeling a calling to nursing.

Encouraged by her friend Sybil Batson, a district nurse-midwife

Tina’s son John, left, and other well-wishers helped her celebrate with a specially made cake; inset, one of the many hundreds of cards Tina received from well-wishers

in Tilbury, Essex, she made the difficult decision to leave her homeland and train as a nurse in England.

Like many Caribbean nurses of her generation, she answered the British government’s call to help build a health service that was struggling to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population.

Arriving in Plymouth in 1958, she took up a position at Tilbury and Riverside Hospital, initially working as a general nurse before training as a theatre nurse.

However, it was midwifery that captured her heart.

But working in this field proved far from easy. She and her peers encountered hostility

and discrimination, both from colleagues and patients, in an era when racism was overt and painful reality.

“During my career, I remember how only Black and Irish nurses would associate with each other,” she recalls. “I remember once we went for training and we had to share rooms at our accommodation as the White nurses refused to share a room with a Black person.”

Despite these challenges, Tina persevered, rising through the ranks to become a respected senior nurse.

She worked in some of the UK’s most pressured hospitals, demonstrating extraordinary skill in handling medical emergencies and mentoring and training new midwives and shaping the future of maternal healthcare in Essex.

COMMITMENT Tina delivered over 2,000 babies during her career, focusing primarily on home births. Her compassionate nature and dedication made her a beloved figure in her community, with many girls even named after her.

Tina’s career was filled with dramatic and triumphant moments, showcasing her unwavering commitment.

In one instance, while rushing to assist a woman in labour, police initially stopped her for speeding but, upon realising the urgency, escorted her with sirens blaring.

In another case, Tina correctly predicted twins for a patient, despite a doctor dismissing the possibility – only for her

to deliver two healthy babies.

Balancing work and family, she also encountered humorous moments, such as when her young son John answered a call from a worried father.

Misunderstanding the phrase “waters had broken,” John innocently replied that they weren’t plumbers.

The now great-grandmother also recalls caring for an aristocrat named Lady Antonia Erskine and then meeting the daughters of Britain’s wartime prime minister Sir Winston Churchill who visited Lady Erskine while she cared for her.

In 2023, as part of the NHS’s 75th anniversary c el ebrations, Tina’s story was featured in a national touring exhibition entitled Heart of the Nation: Migration and the Making of the NHS, an initiative by the Migration Museum.

The exhibition highlighted the indispensable role of migrant workers in shaping Britain’s healthcare system.

Last month, Tina celebrated her 100th birthday. Family, friends and former colleagues gathered at a village hall in Brentwood, Essex, to join her in marking this milestone and reflect on a life and career that has had a profound impact on so many people

and the healthcare system she worked in.

Denize Ledeatte, Museums Director, National Windrush Museum and Mia Morris OBE, Board Member, National Windrush Museum said in a letter to Tina: “Reaching this significant milestone is not merely a testament to the passage of time, but a celebration of a life that has been characterized by purpose, commitment, and an unwavering dedication to the betterment of others. Your remarkable career, which began in Trinidad and Tobago, is a vivid illustration of your passion for education and service.

“You have made indelible contributions to the National Health Service (NHS) and the communities you served.

“Delivering over 2,000 babies and providing essential care to countless families are just a few highlights of a career that has profoundly transformed lives.

“As a distinguished member of the Windrush generation, your story is one of resilience and courage in the face of myriad challenges. The perseverance you have demonstrated throughout your life serves as an inspiration to many, particularly in highlighting the significance of

MARCH 2025 THE VOICE | 23

News Feature

Like many Caribbean nurses of her generation, Tina answered the British government’s call to help build the new NHS after it was founded in 1948

Shortly after beginning training in 1958 she realised that midwifery was the area of nursing she loved the most

Tina delivered over 2,000 babies during her career

The camaraderie enjoyed with her colleagues was an important part of the job

The centenarian has been described as ‘an inspiration’

cultural contributions to the fabric of society.”

Vishnu Dhanpaul, High Commissioner of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, said it was an honour to celebrate her milestone birthday. Highlighting her influence on society in a letter to her he said: “Your remarkable journey from teaching in Trinidad and Tobago to dedicating decades of service as a midwife in the United Kingdom reflects a life of purpose and commitment, delivering over 2,000 babies and providing care to countless families.

“Your contributions to the NHS and the communities you served have been truly transformative as a distinguished member of the Windrush generation, your courage and perseverance in the face of challenges continue to inspire.”

JOURNEY Mike Seaton, Clerk and Centre Manager, The Kelsick Educational Foundation, said: “Many congratulations for your 100th birthday. What a journey you have had and what an amazing inspiration you have been to all that you have come into contact with. I could not help but recall the arrival of my own two sons, and the important role the midwifery team played in their safe arrival and looking after Brec, my wife.

Thank you to all the midwives and maternity staff. The NHS is something we are truly proud

Tina with a friend not long after arriving in the UK; above, pictured a few years ago with her grandchildren

All photos taken and supplied by John Aparicio of and you have played such an important role in making it such a valuable part of our lives.”

Reflecting on how the NHS has changed since she joined in the 1950s Tina says:. “There is not enough empathy and compassion in the NHS now. Employees pay

more attention to the computer screen as opposed to the individual.”

She also recalls the strict discipline of her early years. “In my day, the matron was very strict.

We could not even wear make-up and we weren’t allowed to walk in public in our uniforms, as that

helped with infection control.”

As Britain’s healthcare system faces increasing pressures, Tina fears for its future. “I can see it moving into the private sector where people will have to pay for service. However, I’m not sure that would be a good thing.”

These words serve as a powerful reminder that the NHS was built on the dedication of selfless individuals like Tina Aparicio.

As we celebrate her remarkable life, we must never forget the sacrifices that made our healthcare system what it is today.

Tina’s story is Britain’s story – a testament to the strength of the Windrush generation and the enduring impact of those who, like her, took a leap of faith in search of a better future.

Her century of service is an inspiration to us all.

24 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

Celebrating Women

News

EMPOWERING BUSINESSES Black-owned companies secure over half a million pounds of TV advertising airtime. By Vic Motune

RECOGNITION: Kameese Davis is one of the entrepreneurs selected as winners of Channel 4’s Black in Business 2024 initiative, backed by Lloyds Bank

OUR BLACK-OWNED businesses have been selected as winners of Channel 4’s Black in Business 2024 initiative, backed by Lloyds Bank, to empower Black entrepreneurs through TV advertising and business mentoring.

Now in its second year, the initiative provides each winner with £150,000 worth of TV advertising airtime on Channel 4, running from July, alongside mentorship from senior executives at both Channel 4 and Lloyds.

The Black in Business initiative aims to address systemic challenges Black entrepreneurs face by providing practical support.

With the backing of Channel 4 and Lloyds, the winners will gain national exposure and expert guidance to help scale their businesses.

The winners are: l Flake Bake: London’s largest handmade Jamaican patty maker.

of Black business owners only received funding once they had already grown a successful business, compared to 35 per cent of White business owners.

The research, published in 2022 report revealed that 84 per cent of Black entrepreneurs faced discrimination in their business journey.

Ewan Douglas, Head of Sales Nations & Regions at Channel 4 Sales, said: “I’m proud that we had the opportunity to be introduced to so many promising businesses.

Our winners’ entrepreneurial journeys were inspiring, and we are excited to work with them.”

Elyn Corfield, CEO of Business and Commercial Banking at Lloyds, added: “These talented entrepreneurs have shown tremendous passion in growing their businesses. Creativity and resilience are key, and we look forward to seeing them thrive.”

F

l Flora & Curl: A West Midlands-

based natural haircare brand. l Alonuko: A luxury Londonbased bridal and evening wear brand. l Nylah’s Naturals: A haircare brand using advanced ingredient technology.

Kameese Davis, founder of Nylah’s Naturals, highlighted the initiative’s impact.

She said: “I am delighted to have secured this opportunity through Channel 4 and Lloyds. Given the disparities Black and female founders face in accessing capital, this is transformative. It will amplify our voices and help further our mission to promote hair wellness and provide solution-focused products for women dealing with challenges like hair loss.”

Mike Williams, founder of Flake Bake, added: “We are thrilled to be recognised for our hard work and vision. Black in Business will help

us connect with customers and drive growth.”

Speaking about the impact of being selected as a winner Gbemi Okunola, founder of Alonuko, said: “Growing up watching Channel 4, I could never have imagined my business would one day advertise on this channel. Winning represents the hard work of my

incredible team and a pivotal step 4 Sales, said, “All our finalists forward as we continue to grow.” showcased a remarkable blend Rose Ovensheshi, founder of of purpose, research, and quality.

Flora & Curl, added: “I am incred- Choosing the winners was tough, ibly honoured to be chosen. My but they demonstrated strong team and I are buzzing, and we products and readiness to scale can’t wait to see the sales uplift and through TV advertising.” national recognition.”

Black in Business was launched Christopher Remie, Commercial after research by Channel 4 and Development Lead at Channel Lloyds found that 56 per cent

The Black British Book Festival partners with The London Book Fair 2025 T he Black British Book Festival (BBBF) is proud to announce its continued partnership with The London Book Fair (LBF) for 2025, fostering opportunities for diverse authors and promoting inclusivity within the publishing industry.

This year’s event will take place from 11th to 13th March 2025 at Olympia London. Building on last year’s success, the Black British Book Festival will once again host the Author Lounge, a dedicated space for diverse authors to share their stories, connect with publishing professionals, and showcase their work.

UNMATCHED “This collaboration is an exciting opportunity to spotlight diverse authors and their incredible stories on a global stage.

We’re thrilled to be partnering with The London Book Fair again to create meaningful opportunities for representation within the literary world,” said Selina Brown, Founder/CEO of the Black British Book Festival.

“We are delighted to work with the Black British Book Festival once more. Their Author Lounge brings an unmatched vibrancy to the Fair, highlighting the importance of diverse voices in the publishing industry.

Together, we’re creating a more inclusive and representative literary landscape,” commented Adam Ridgway, Director of The London Book Fair.

CONNECT The Black British Book Festival and The London Book Fair are committed to fostering inclusion and creating a platform that celebrates the richness of Black literature, providing opportunities for authors to connect with audiences and industry professionals alike.

For more information about The London Book Fair, please visit: www.londonbookfair.co.uk and follow them on X, Instagram and Facebook at @LondonBookFair.

MARCH 2025 THE VOICE | 25

Special Feature

Reach Society’s 15th Year Milestone

THE ANATOMY OF REACH SOCIETY

THE 2019 CAREERS CONFERENCE: The Society, a master in its craft, is best known for designing and rolling out large inspirational events. The 2019 Careers Conference event (above pic) was well attended with around 1700 young people, including parents.

I

By Vic Motune and Dr Dwain Neil

n 2010, Reach Society (the Society) was just an idea fuelled by a good deal of passion. Today the Society is proud to share its contributions to inspiring some 50,000 young people across 6 cities, and the vast majority are from the Black community.

This year, 15 years later, is a milestone for the Society and it will be celebrated under the ReachSociety15 schedule of activities. Primarily, beginning early January, an article will feature in the Gleaner; an interview with Rudi Page from MCW Ltd for broadcast on social media and Fresh FM Radio; and a themed Networking Conversation

(NetCon) by the Society moderated by Prof. Donald Palmer a director of the Society.

PLATFORMS In March, an 8 page supplement about the Society will feature in the Voice Newspaper, as well as their social media platforms. In April, there will be a reception for the Society’s supporters and stakeholders in the RSA House, RSA (the Royal Society of Arts), off the Strand, Charing Cross, hosted by Lord Simon Woolley, feature some of the Society’s patrons, leaders and supporters.

On 21 June, the Society will be hosting

the annual Windrush Day Thanksgiving Gathering (in which some Windrush Nation Awards shall be made to a few unsung heroes).

In July, there will be a second reception hosted by Lloyd’s of London, one of the Society’s strategic supporters.

On 25 October, there will be the annual Recognition Awards dinner honouring corporates and role models for their support of the 2025 inspirational events, which will also feature the contributions of the Society over 15 years. The Society’s evolution and growth is based on the concept of showcasing pathways to success to young people aged 9 to 24.

CAREERS There are three large events that were designed for this purpose which are the Careers Days, the Employability Days, and the Careers Conferences. The Careers Days, for pupils under the age of 11, are designed on the treasure hunt principle. The Employability Days, for young people aged 11 plus, are designed around engagement with role models, corporations (large and small), themed workshops and candid discussions with teams of experts.

The Careers Conferences have a similar format to the Employability Days but its a much larger affair on

Congratulations to the

Reach Society

on their 15th Anniversary!

a bigger scale’. Each of these events will attract from 1,000 to 2,000 young people, aged 13 plus. The attendees will have access to scores of role models, dozens of corporate exhibitors, ten themed workshops and a large Panel of Experts (professional men and women).

A significant feature of these events is the access that attendees gain to work experience, apprenticeships, bursaries, scholarships, summer schools, nongraduate and graduate employment.

The Society’s evolution and growth is also based on the participation of a cont on page 26

26 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

Special Feature

Reach Society’s 15th Year Milestone

cont from page 25

have conferred 6 awards on the Society. The most high profile of which was the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS) which was received in 2017. The Society’s leadership team were honoured to be recognised by Her Majesty the Queen for this award; and for the other awards from institutions such as Lloyds Banking Group, City & Islington Colleges, Business in the Community (BITC) and Anglia Ruskin University.

large number of volunteers of which there are more than 250 to be found in urban centres such as London, Birmingham, Manchester, Luton, Leicester and Wolverhampton. These volunteers are drawn from a wide range of backgrounds, educational levels, expertise and ages from the Black community.

PATHWAYS Some are entrepreneurs running their micro-businesses, some are very senior executives in the private and public sectors, and some are retired and are driven by their sense of compassion to inspire young people to discover pathways to success. All have helped the Society to impact young people, year after year. The Society’s journey over 15 years is comprised of 150 monthly NetCons; 70 inspirational events (of which 56 are Employability Days and 14 are Careers Conferences). It is also built on roughly a dozen partnerships. The Durham University partnership are Durham STEP (Space to Explore Potential) provides year 12 (aged 16 plus) Black pupils with a summer school experience. And from the assessment, the successful ones are made attractive A-level offers to accept undergraduate places at Durham. This partnership was started in 2018 with a score of year 12s, and in 2024 the University made offers to 150. This dramatic growth rate is indicative of the success of this ongoing collaboration. There are also ongoing partnerships with the Amos Bursary, RAFFA International Development Agency, the Enfield Caribbean Association (ECA), the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Lloyd’s of London.

2014 CANDI College Partnering, Role Models Cohort, Jan’14

INCOME Perhaps the Society is most uniquely placed in that its leaders have built the operation without any government grant. By choosing to generate income via a portfolio of services and products, the Society has generated sufficient income which has been used to grow the operation, year on year, from its base in London through to other cities across the UK. Income is now being generated in a number of ways. Firstly, from the sale of six books, all written and published by the Society. Secondly, from the sale of exhibition space in our inspirational events.

Thirdly, from the effective design and hosting of an annual Recognition Awards evening for thanking stakeholders and volunteers. Fourthly, from the design and roll out of bespoke inspirational events for institutions in the education sector such as schools, colleges and universities.

This mix of products and services have helped the Society to become a viable and sustainable social enterprise that is fit to inspire young people across the UK. (left pic) The 2022 Visit to Lloyd’s of London HQ: L to R - John Neal, Lloyd’s CEO; Mark Lomas, Head of Culture; Jo Scott, Head of Lloyd’s Foundation; Prof. Donald Palmer; and Dr Dwain Neil OBE, Reach Society, Directors

AWARDS The Society’s journey has also attracted the attention of onlookers who have admired the work being done and

Reach Society’s 15th Year Milestone

Corporate Champions: Durham University & Lloyd’s of London Community Partners: 42 London, Deloitte, RAF; Amos Bursary, London Black Educators’ Network, Enfield Caribbean Assn, RAFFA et al REACH SOCIETY AT A GLANCE:

• Young People 50,000+ • Role Models 250+ • Networking Conversations 150 • Inspirational Events 70 • Government Grants 0

Employability Days 56 • Careers Conferences 14 • Partners 12 •

Cities 6 •

QAVS & Other Awards 6 •

W: www.reachsociety.com | Contact us on: 07949 431 992 | E: info@reachsociety.com | See X: https://x.com/reachsociety10 to learn more

Receiving the QAVS in 2017 from Sir Ken Olisa

Evokes the Society’s Motto – Building Connections Reach Society’s Core Purpose To encourage, motivate and inspire young people, especially young Black men, by showcasing pathways to success.

100 Young People at Entrepreneurial Experience Day 2024

MARCH 2025 THE VOICE | 27

Special Feature

Reach Society’s 15th Year Milestone

WHY FORM REACH SOCIETY IN 2010?

A role model speaking with a young person at a Careers Conference

W

Reach Society leaders at the QAVS reception in 2017

A pair of role models speaking with a young person at a Careers event

By Rodney Hinds

hy was Reach Society formed? That was the question the leaders of the Society were mostly asked.The short answer given was that our compassion would not allow us to keep on looking the other way and ignoring the fault lines in the nurturing and development of young Black people in the education system.

The deeper answer is related to the Reach Report that was published in 2007 by the then Labour government into the under-attainment of Black boys in the UK. The report made a few recommendations of what should be done to mitigate this issue which had persisted for decades.

The recommendation that was acted

upon and which gained a good deal of publicity was about the identification of a cohort of 20 national Black role models, all male; and who would be deployed to engage and inspire young people, especially Black boys and young Black men; they were also expected to influence institutions to adopt a different attitude towards young Black men entering the workplace.

In 2008, the national role model programme (NRMP) was launched by the Labour government with the Windsor Fellowship being given the responsibility to prepare the national role models and deploy them across the country. However, after just 18 months, the initiative had run into difficulties

.which resulted in the government losing confidence. Consequently, it was wound up. The NRMP was expected to operate for three years but ceased operation after just eighteen months.

Two of the architects of the Reach Society’s idea - Rob and Donald - were closely involved with the NRMP; the third, Dwain, was not, but closely observed the endeavour. However, once the government announced the ending of the NRMP the three friends met to discuss the implications for the boys and young men in the Black community.

The main outcome of their meetings was the realisation that it was the responsibility of the adults in the Black community to inspire the young

people in their community, and not the government. The next step taken by the three friends would change everything.

They decided to do something this matter, and after six months of discussion the idea of Reach Society emerged. It was based on a vision that, “Every Black boy and young Black man should become aware of the Reach Society, and that they should be able to make a positive connection with one or more of the Society’s role models of Black professional men.”

In order to work towards this vision there would be three programmes that would be pursued in parallel. The first programme would build awareness of the Society, the second would prepare and

deploy role models, and the third would build a robust foundation for the future.

Throughout the six months in which the idea of Reach Society was being developed, the architects were acutely aware of the work they had done in their families with their eight children, and they were guided by their deep compassion to construct a project that could make a difference to a large number of young people. As time went by, it became clear that it was this deep sense of compassion that has helped the leaders of the Society to find solutions to all the issues and challenges encountered over the years.

After 15 years the metrics tell their own story.

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REACH Society on 15 years

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28 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

Special Feature

Reach Society’s 15th Year Milestone

DOES COLLABORATION MATTER?

T

Natalie Keogh with Dr Dwain Neil at STEP Dinner 2022

Sending Our Warmest Congratulations to Reach Society We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the founders and members of Reach Society, led by the esteemed OBE Dr. Dwain Neil and his team, on reaching their 15th anniversary milestone in 2025.For 15 years, Reach Society has been a beacon of inspiration, empowering Black boys and young Black men to unlock their full potential through mentorship, networking, and role models. Your commitment to fostering self-development, representation, and leadership has created lasting opportunities and strengthened the community in profound ways.

At V Jay Theatre Productions, we deeply appreciate the invaluable support, guidance, and encouragement you have provided us over the years. Your work continues to be a great source of inspiration, motivating me to push forward on my own creative journey. This year, I am especially excited to take my Windrush solo theatre play, Streets Paved with Gold, to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival—a step that reflects the very spirit of perseverance and self-development that Reach Society champions. As we celebrate your incredible milestone, we are also looking ahead with excitement, as V Jay Theatre Productions marks 30 years of storytelling and cultural expression in 2026. Your dedication to building connections and nurturing future generations continues to inspire us, and we look forward to many more years of shared success and community impact.

V Jay Theatre Productions: Website: VictorRichards.com Facebook: victorrichards.75 YouTube: vjaytheatre Instagram: victorrichards2905 X (Twitter): victor_richards

By Vic Motune

he Networking Conversation (NetCon) programme was designed to build awareness of the Society in the community, which has worked brilliantly. However, to embed the Society in the Black community there have been almost two dozen collaborations with individuals, groups and corporates in the private and voluntary sectors. What follows is an overview of the key features of some of these collaborations or partnerships.

• The first collaboration was triggered by Daniel Norris with City & Islington College, CANDI in 2013 for the design and roll out of Employability Days for year 12 students. It ran for five years.

• The next collaboration was started in 2014 with talented Black boys from the Amos Bursary, AB and it is still in operation.

• The third collaboration was with the newly formed University College for Football Business, UCFB in 2015. It led to a full degree scholarship for a Black young man, Demani Jules-Carbon, who today is on the Society’s leadership team.

• The fourth collaboration was with Grace Foods UK in 2017 and Brunel University London.

Three Black young men gained full scholarships to study for degrees and after graduation they are pursuing rewarding careers.

• The fifth collaboration in 2018 was with

the Church Urban Fund, CUF which led to the Society’s first Employability Day outside of London in Wolverhampton for roughly 300 young people.

• Reverend Chris Beales triggered the sixth collaboration with Durham University. The Durham STEP summer school (of Black British year 12 students) had grown from 20 to 150 by 2024; and is ongoing.

Lee Xavier, a solicitor and one of the Society’s role models triggered the seventh collaboration in 2019 with Jesus College, Oxford for year 10 students and facilitation of a Perfect 10 Workshop in the Careers Conference. It ran for four years.

• Professor Clive Fraser triggered the eighth collaboration in 2019 which brought the first Employability Day to Leicester via the University by the same name. This project encouraged local people to host their own inspirational events thereafter.

• Donald Douglas, the chairman of the Association of Jamaicans UK Trust, in 2021 triggered the ninth collaboration known as the Friendship Network, FN for the leaders of several third sector groups, which is ongoing.

• In 2021, the tenth collaboration started with MCW Ltd ( founded by Rudi Page) for ad hoc communication projects broadcast on social media and Fresh FM Radio; it too is ongoing.

MARCH 2025 THE VOICE | 29

Special Feature

Reach Society’s 15th Year Milestone

(left to right) Professor Sir Geoff Palmer; Dr Nelda Frater GP; Lord Herman Ouseley; John Budu-Aggrey; Marva Rollins OBE; and Professor Trevor Williams.

E

OUR PATRONS MATTER

meritus Professor Sir Geoff Palmer, Marva Rollins OBE, Dr Nelda Frater GP, John Budu-Aggrey and Professor Trevor Williams are the five patrons of Reach Society (the Society). The organisation is fortunate to have them as they bring their distinctive perspectives and areas of interest to the Society.

• Professor Trevor Williams became our second patron; he is an economist with several years of working at Lloyds Banking Group; and he now runs a management consultancy.

• John Budu-Aggrey became our third patron; he is an engineer and entrepreneur who founded Alpha BSE Training that has imparted young adults with the portable skills needed to become self-employed in the construction sector.

• Emeritus Professor Sir Geoff Palmer became our fourth patron; he is the new Chancellor of Heriot Watt University, in Edinburgh; and the inventor of the Barley Abrasion Process (BAP) in the 1960s that revolutionised the whisky brewing and malting industry. He also led the effort to found

the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling (ICBD) at Heriot Watt University. His BAP has generated hundreds of millions for the UK over the last sixty five years. Sir Geoff is also a champion for equality and fairness.

• Marva Rollins OBE became our fifth patron; she is a retired superhead teacher in the primary sector; she founded and runs a consultancy that specialises in the training of Black educators for senior leadership.

• Dr Nelda Frater became our sixth patron; she is a GP who founded the

Frater Clinic that operates from Harley Street. She is the founder of a charity that does important work in a couple of countries in Africa. In 2024 she founded the International Medical Faculty (IMF) which specialises in fostering the networking of Black and Brown medical professionals and for assisting young people to access the UK healthcare sector.

Our patrons are consistent supporters of Society’s inspirational activities for impacting young people across the UK. Dr Dwain Neil OBE the chairman of the Society says, “Our

cohort of high achieving patrons are a beacon of success that inspires the leadership team to always do its very best to make the Society matter in the Black community aka the Windrush Nation.”

In closing, the Society also pays tribute to Lord Herman Ouseley who was the Society’s first patron, and who sadly passed away in October 2024, after a short illness. Lord Ouseley was excited about the Society’s model for engaging young people and our policy of remaining independent of grant funding from the public sector.

Celebrating 15 Years of Impact:

Congratulations to Reach Society

On behalf of RAFFA International Development Agency, we extend our warmest congratulations to Reach Society on the momentous occasion of its 15th anniversary. This milestone is not just a celebration of time; it is a tribute to the positive impact Reach Society has had on young people across the community and beyond.

We would also like to applaud the leadership of Dr. Dwain Neil OBE, Dr. Donald Palmer, and Rob Neil, who have played pivotal roles in steering Reach Society towards its impactful trajectory. Their vision and dedication have inspired not only the organisation but also the young people they serve, encouraging resilience and ambition in the face of challenges.

At RAFFA International Development Agency, we are proud to have supported Reach Society through various initiatives over the years.

Under the inspiring leadership of our CEO, Angela Clarke BEM, RAFFA has forged a path of collaboration and support for community-focused projects. As we reflect on the achievements of the past 15 years, we look forward to the future with great optimism.

The journey of Reach Society is far from over, and we are excited to see how it will continue to impact the lives of young people, advocate for cultural esteem, and foster a network of change-makers.

Together, we can further our commitment to creating meaningful change, empowering future generations, and celebrating the rich tapestry of our community. www.raffa.org.uk

@RAFFA.worldwide

30 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

Special Feature

Reach Society’s 15th Year Milestone

SEEK NO GOVERNMENT GRANTS! services.

Some of the architects favoured the adoption of the grant option. However, one architect argued that virtually all projects that were founded on government grants failed within a short period because the amounts of grant money were always insufficient, and it was always tied up in conditions that were not aligned to growth.

The other option for generating money was the sale of goods or services, and that too seemed impossible, as two of the three architects had no commercial experience or expertise. However, one of the architects had over 35 years of business management experience which was gained in the private sector.

It therefore fell to him to lead the foundation programme for generating income for the Society.

By Rodney Hinds and Dr Dwain Neil

T

he idea of building Reach Society without any grants from governments (be they local or central) was conceived from the very start.

During the first six months, from March to September 2010, when the architects of the idea which became Reach Society were meeting in a Starbucks in Harrow, the issue of resourcing had to be addressed.

It was clear to the three architects (Dwain Neil, Donald Palmer and Robert Neil) that the essential resources were manpower and money. As there was no legacy resources to draw on, it was agreed to draw on volunteers in the community to provide the manpower.

On the matter of money to pay for essential items such meeting places, a website, transportation etc., it had to be generated or attracted from rich sources.

FOUNDATIONS The most obvious potential sources of money the team identified were grants from government or foundations. And the less obvious potential source of money was from the sale of products or

CAREERS CONFERENCE: The 2013 Book Launch and Sales

NETWORKING Another architect volunteered to lead the programme for building awareness of the Society in the Black community; and it was described as the networking programme.

The third architect declined to volunteer to lead the third programme for training and deploying volunteers to outreach tasks. So someone else was invited to undertake that task, which

was described as the representation programme.

Within the first 60 days of the roll out of the Reach Society’s idea it became obvious that the project needed consistent coordination. The agreed solution was the creation of the role of a coordinator to ensure the work kept moving forward in time.

MONEY It was at this stage in the evolution of the project that the team, of roughly 10 volunteers, chose Dwain Neil to be the project coordinator, or the chairman.

With Dwain at the helm of the project, he and Donald (who was the other confirmed programme leader) set about the task of attracting a third volunteer to lead the vacant representation programme. It was at this stage that Grantley Yearwood stepped up.

Within the first 100 days, the Society had found its 3 programme directors Dwain, Donald and Grantley. The scene was now set for the team of volunteers to set about the task of turning the idea into an entity that could deliver the plan of inspiring young people in the Black community to develop their potential.

In tackling the matter of money for use in the Society, the early costs were met from donations from volunteers.

MARCH 2025 THE VOICE | 31

Reach Society’s 15th Year Milestone However, the foundation programme director proposed the idea of selling books for inspiring young people. The first book in the Society’s collection was launched in 2013 at the Society’s second Careers Conference rolled out in Charing Cross hotel on the Strand.

“Our Story By Us For Us,” was the first book conceived, written and published by the Society. The book launch went well as dozens of copies were sold on the day. The guest speakers included the Society’s patrons Lord Herman Ouseley and Prof. Trevor Williams; George Ruddock, deputy editor of Gleaner Media Group spoke. In addition, the co-authors Paula Neil, Dr Keith Davidson and Dr Dwain Neil also spoke. Generating the first income in this way was a source of a good deal of pride which encouraged the Society to continue with this process.

LAUNCHED The platform for this historic moment was formed in 2012 when the Society launched its first Careers Conference in HMS President the Royal Navy building. This event was observed by an executive from Lloyds Banking Group, Jeremy Adams. He then invited the Society to take part in the Lloyds Community Funds or LCF competition which was rolled out as an awareness building project for

the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The Society took part in the LCF competition in the 33 London boroughs; and it won one of them.

The prize was a donation of £5,000 for use on the project described in the application which was to finance a second Careers Conference the

raising activity via a sponsored run in Hyde Park, sponsored golfing days in Mill Hill, and the receipt of donations from volunteers. The Lloyds Bank donation was the largest single income at that stage.

The leadership team chose to host the second Careers Conference

Ritchie Neil with STEP Students 2024 following year.

This unexpected windfall of money was the perfect shot in the arm that the Society needed because it arrived after a year of high fund

in the Charing Cross hotel on the Strand, and introduced the first exhibition fee. The income generated more than covered the total cost of the event which allowed the Society

Special Feature to create its firm surplus from the selling of a service.

Taking the income from exhibition fees and from the sale of the first book, the Society had demonstrated to itself that it could generate income from the supply of a product and a service. This gave the team the confidence to adopt this model of income generation; and by prudent handling of this income the Society had found a model for building a sustainable project without any reliance on any government grant.

INVITING The success of the Careers Conference also taught the Society that the objective of inviting lots of young people to one venue was a better way for engaging and inspiring them. Consequently, the approach of sending one or two volunteer role models to a school or community group to speak with a dozen or so pupils was reduced. Only when the situation demanded it would role models be deployed in this manner.

By the end of 2012, the Society had proven the concept for operating a viable or self-funding product for inspiring young people to develop their potential. In the ensuing years, the Society refined the design of the inspirational events and now operated three different styles, the Careers Day, the Employability Day and the Careers Conference.

32 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

Special Feature

Reach Society’s 15th Year Milestone

Congratulations to the Reach Society on their 15th Anniversary!

The Reach Society plays a vital role connecting talent from black and ethnically diverse communities to employers who recognise the benefits of a diverse workforce.

Our work with the Reach Society has enabled us to engage with thousands of young, talented people

and has helped us increase diversity in our Insight Weeks, Apprentice and Graduate programmes.

We’re proud to support the Reach Society as part of our Inclusive Futures Programme, a set of initiatives supporting black and ethnically diverse groups from the classroom to the boardroom.

Starting your career

Inclusive Futures

The British Army Salutes The Reach Society on their 15th Anniversary The British Army and I would like to offer our congratulations to the Reach Society on the landmark of their 15th anniversary.

Positive role models and mentorship are vital to broaden opportunities.

The partnership we are proud to have with the Reach Society allows us to highlight the professional and personal benefits available in the Army to their network, and provide a touch point to an organisation many may not be aware of, or have considered.

Brigadier Karl Harris CBE

As an organisation committed to enabling people to thrive and celebrate their heritage whatever their background, The British Army celebrates this great achievement, and wishes the Reach Society the very best for the future.

SCAN HERE

MARCH 2025 THE VOICE | 33

News

THE TIME HAS COME TO ACT

Organisations call for urgent action to tackle the epidemic of violence against Black women.

By Vic Motune

B

LACK-LED organisations are calling for urgent reforms to tackle the epidemic of violence against Black women, warning that systemic failures continue to leave them vulnerable and unsupported.

Their calls follow a recent report by the National Audit Office (NAO) published earlier this year, which found that the government’s efforts to tackle domestic abuse lack coordination, leaving many victims without adequate support.

The NAO report highlighted concerns that funding for specialist domestic abuse support services is inconsistent and that there are too often delays in implementing key policies, warning that without urgent action, many vulnerable women will continue to fall through the cracks.

A crisis ignored However, campaigners say the report, like many others, ignores the disproportionate impact of domestic abuse on Black women, which is often exacerbated by a lack of targeted support.

Research by grassroots and community organisations has found that Black and minoritised women face additional obstacles when seeking help, including discrimination, a lack of culturally competent services, and a reluctance to engage with authorities due to fear of criminalisation or deportation.

Southall Black Sisters (SBS) told The Voice that Black and migrant women experiencing domestic abuse were more likely to be turned away from refuges due to a lack of specialist support. Many were also ineligible for public funds because of their immigration status, leaving them trapped with their abusers.

“Black, minoritised and migrant women’s experiences of domestic abuse and other forms of violence are often invisibilised in official reports due to a lack of intersectional focus,” a spokesperson said. “The resulting outcome obscures the structural reform urgently needed to safeguard them.”

The organisation said that government policies such as No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) as well as institutional discrimination severely undermine the emergency response and support systems for Black, minoritised and migrant women.

These barriers manifest themselves in victim disbelief, racist stereotypes, and presumptive criminalisation, making it harder for Black, minoritised and

migrant women to access protection. “At the intersection of race and immigration status, policies like NRPF force women into an impossible choice between abuse, destitution, or deportation,” the spokesperson said. “By institutionalising these failures, the system not only discourages women from seeking help but also emboldens perpetrators, amounting to a form of ‘dual perpetration’ by both the state and the abuser.”

The femicide crisis: a deadly reality The urgency of these calls is underscored by shocking statistics on femicide.

According to figures obtained by the Press Association from the Metropolitan Police, of the 21 femicide victims in recorded by the force in 2022, nine victims (43 per cent) were Black women.

Worryingly, data for 2023 shows that Black women made up 62 per cent of the total femicides listed for that year.

The list is taken from January 1 to December 31, 2023 and had 13 femicide victims recorded by the Met. Eight of them were Black women.

With Black women only making up 14 per cent of the population in London – according to the 2021 census – the new femicide figures show that Black women are being disproportionately targeted.

The victims include Lianne Gordon, who was shot dead in Hackney on December 5, 2023.

Officers and paramedics found three people with gunshot wounds.

Despite the efforts of the emergency services, the 42-year-old mother died at the scene.

The list also includes Johanita Kossiwa Dogbey who was randomly approached from behind and attacked by Mohamed Nur in Brixton,

“Black, minoritised and migrant women’s experiences of domestic abuse and other forms of violence are often invisibilised in official reports”

DISTURBING: Violence against Black women is widespread and overlooked, compounded by barriers in reporting, media bias, and systemic discrimination, making them more vulnerable to fatal outcomes (photo: Getty Images) in May 2023. Nur was jailed for life with a minimum term of 32 years.

Valerie’s Law: a step towards change?

In response to these long-standing issues, campaigners have been pushing for legislative reforms, including Valerie’s Law. Named after Valerie Forde, a Black woman who was brutally murdered alongside her baby daughter in 2014 after police failed to act on her warnings, the proposed law seeks to mandate cultural competency training for frontline workers dealing with domestic abuse victims.

The initiative, spearheaded by the charity Sistah Space, calls for police officers, social workers and other professionals to be trained in recognising and responding to the specific experiences of Black women facing abuse. Supporters argue that without this training, Black women will continue to be failed by the system.

However, despite widespread support, Valerie’s Law has yet to be implemented. Campaigners are frustrated by what they see as government inertia, warning that delays in reform will cost more lives.

In an interview with The Voice last year, Sistah Space said that Black abuse victims are still being failed and that there is no definitive action regarding Valerie’s Law. In a statement, the charity said: “Specialist support organisations

VICTIMS: Johanita Kossiwa Dogbey, above, and Valerie Forde and daughter Real-Jahzara, who were both brutally murdered by Roland McKoy such as Sistah Space continue to misogynistic, and homophobic. Yet, encounter Black women who have MPS leadership continues to deny been forced to endure dissatisfac- these findings despite mounting tory experiences from various agen- evidence” SBS said. cies within the Violence Against “We’re calling for a full acceptWomen & Girls (VAWG) sector, be- ance of these findings. For Black cause of the intersectionality of rac- and minoritised women with NRPF, ism and misogyny.” it is crucial that the government Black-led organisations such as introduces a firewall to prevent SBS and Sister Space are demand- data sharing between the police, ing urgent systemic changes to statutory agencies, and Immigraprotect Black women from domes- tion Enforcement (IE). Without this tic abuse. These include sustain- protection, victim-survivors risk able funding, the implementation of deportation simply for seeking help, Valerie’s Law, reforming immigra- forcing many to remain trapped in tion policies, and ensuring account- abusive situations. All victim-surviability in the criminal justice system vors with NRPF must have the right to address racial biases in policing to status and support, regardless of and prosecutions. immigration status.”

“The 2023 Casey Review found The spokesperson went on: “A the Metropolitan Police Service long-term solution lies in expand(MPS) to be institutionally racist, ing the combined model of Domes-

tic Violence Indefinite Leave to Remain which allows victim-survivors to apply for settlement and the Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC) which provides victim-survivors short-term access to public funds.

“Currently, the MVDAC only grants recourse to public funds for three months, an unacceptable short window for victim-survivors to stabilise their lives and regularise their status. A permanent extension is urgently needed.

“Long-term, sustainable, ringfenced funding for specialist, community-based ‘by and for’ services is also urgently needed to ensure Black, minoritised and migrant women receive the holistic, culturally informed wraparound support they require.”

34 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

News

A TASTE OF THE CARIBBEAN

CELEBRATION: Celebrity chef Ainsley Harriot was one of the winners at last year’s UK Caribbean Food Awards

Prestigious event celebrates the very best of Caribbean cuisine and food businesses

P

REPARATIONS ARE underway for the third annual UK Caribbean Food Awards, set to take place in December 2025, celebrating the best of Caribbean cuisine in the UK. Founded in 2023 by Dawn Burton and Marsha Barnett, the awards have quickly become a prestigious platform for recognising excellence in the Caribbean food industry.

PLATFORM A spokesperson for the event said: “The idea was born out of a need to provide a dedicated platform for Caribbean food businesses to gain visibility, credibility, and industry recognition.

“Despite the growing popularity of Caribbean cuisine in the UK, many businesses struggled to receive the acknowledgment

they deserved. The UK Caribbean Food Awards has since become a prestigious annual event, bringing together industry leaders, media, and food lovers to honour excellence in the Caribbean food sector.”

The event has expanded significantly since its inception, featuring over twenty award categories, including Best Caribbean Takeaway, Best Restaurant, Best Street Food Trader, and Best Chef.

Among past winners was celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott, who took home an award in 2024.

The upcoming ceremony is expected to be the largest yet, featuring a gala dinner, live entertainment, and special guests.

The success of the awards is a reflection of the growing popularity of Caribbean cuisine across the UK. Once primarily enjoyed within Caribbean communities, dishes like jerk chicken, curried goat, and

& Food Expo ahead of the awards ceremony. The expo will offer Caribbean food brands the chance to showcase their products to customers, distributors, and investors, while industry leaders will host panel discussions on growth and innovation.

ackee and saltfish are now widely available in restaurants, food festivals, and supermarkets.

The influence of Caribbean culture in cities like London, Birmingham, and Manchester has contributed to this shift, alongside the rise of street food markets and pop-up vendors introducing new

APPETITE “We want this year’s awards to be more than just a celebration,” the spokesperson added.

“It’s about building a stronger, more connected Caribbean food industry and ensuring that the businesses behind these incredible dishes continue to thrive.”

With the UK’s appetite for Caraudiences to authentic Caribbean evision have propelled the cuisine ibbean cuisine showing no signs flavours. Supermarkets have reinto the spotlight, with influencers of slowing down, the UK Caribsponded to this increasing demand such as @thatgirlcookshealthy and bean Food Awards continues to play a vital role in honouring by expanding their product ranges @caribbeanpot championing its to include traditional Caribbean flavours and helping to cement its excellence and solidifying the cuisine’s place in British gastronomy. ingredients such as Scotch bonnet mass market appeal. l For further details peppers, callaloo, plantain and As anticipation builds for the about the event e-mail info@ patties.

2025 event, organisers are introMeanwhile, social media and tel- ducing a new initiative: a Business ukcaribbeanfoodawards.co.uk

GREAT VA£UE with GRACE Prize Competition Great Value with Grace Competition T&Cs February, March, April 2025 Terms and Conditions 1. This competition is open to residents of The UK aged 18 or over, excluding employees of Grace Foods UK Ltd. (which is the “Promoter”) and their immediate families, agents, and anyone else professionally connected with this competition.

2. No purchase is necessary in order to enter the competition. Access to the internet is necessary in order to enter, along with having a social media page.

3. By entering this competition, you are deemed to have read and accepted these terms and conditions. The Promoter reserves the right to disqualify any entries which do not comply with these terms and conditions.

Welcome to our exciting new GREAT VA£UE with GRACE recipe series, where we show you how to create delicious dishes at home, and to help make your GRACE FOODS and products go that little bit further!

This month, we are giving one lucky person the chance to WIN an Air fryer together with a Goody Bag of Grace & Dunn’s River-brand products and kitchen goodies to help you create your own great value meals for family and friends.

You can find our wide selection of authentic, great value Grace Foods products from GRACE and DUNN’S RIVER in the World Foods aisles of all good supermarkets and convenience stores nationwide.

Visit our website at: www.gracefoods.co.uk/recipes for our full range of exciting Great Va£ue with Grace recipes and money-saving cooking tips.

Good Luck!

4. The competition opens on 10th February 2025 at 3:00 pm and closes at midnight on 11th May 2025 (which is the “Competition Period”). There are 3 individual competitions running, one each monthly in February, one in March and one in April. The winners will be contacted on the 27th of each month.

The winners will be contacted on the 27th of each month.

5. The 3 x winners will each win the following prize: 1 x Goody Bag of Grace & Dunn’s River brand food and drink products, plus 1 x top rated brand airfryer.

6. TO ENTER YOU MUST: Send a photo to @gracefoodsuk of your ‘Great Value with Grace’ recipe dish with the hashtag #GreatValueComp 7. Once the Competition Period has closed, the winner will be selected by random selection from all valid and eligible entries submitted during the Competition Period and announced on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

Prizes will be sent out within 60 days of receiving relevant details.

8. There are no cash or other prize alternatives available in whole or in part.

The Promoter reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value in the event of unavailability of the intended prizes.

MARCH 2025

THE VOICE |35

JUNE 2024

36 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

THE VOICE | 29

News

CONGO AND APPLE AT WAR OVER ALLEGED USE OF CONFLICT MINERALS

HUGE DEMAND: Men, women and children mine cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (photo: Getty Images)

African nation files criminal complaint against tech giant after accusing it of being complicit in the way it gets hold of region’s resources. By Sinai Fleary

Shipping Barrels & Personal Effects to the entire Caribbean

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EXPORT Export By Sea & Air Full Container Loads & Less Than Container Loads Service Cargo Consolidation Door to Door Services Home Shipping & E-Commerce Departure and Arrival Notifications / Online Tracking Road Freight (Europe & USA) Export Documentation & Customs Clearance IMPORT Import By Sea, Air & Road Full Container Loads & Less Than Container Loads Service Own Fleet Container Haulage Brokerage, Clearance & Delivery

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LEADING investigating magistrate has been appointed in Belgium after the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) filed criminal complaints against tech giant Apple subsidiaries.

In December, lawyers for the DRC accused the tech giant of having a supply chain with “blood minerals” sourced from Africa. The company has strongly refuted the allegations.

Now, a lawyer for the mineralrich African nation told Reuters a top judge from Belgium has been appointed to the case.

“I can confirm the Belgian investigating judge has been appointed,” said Leo Fastenakel, one of the lawyers representing the Congolese government in Belgium. “We believe he is a serious and rigorous judge,” he added, without naming the magistrate.

Any decision on whether or not offences have been committed will be based on an investigation carried out by the investigating magistrate, another lawyer on the case told the news agency in December.

An investigating magistrate has been appointed in Belgium after DRC in December filed criminal complaints accusing the company’s subsidiaries of using so-called conflict minerals in their supply chain, a lawyer for Congo has said.

Congo is a key supplier of tin, tantalum and tungsten, also known as 3T minerals, which are used in computers and mobile phones.

According to UN experts and human rights organisations, some artisanal mines are managed by armed gangs that have committed civilian killings, mass rapes, looting and other crimes.

Lawyers representing Congo contend that Apple uses minerals stolen from the east African country which are laundered through foreign supply lines, making the company complicit in crimes committed there.

Apple is also accused of using deceptive commercial practices to assure consumers the tech giant’s supply chains are clean.

After the criminal complaints

were filed, a spokesperson for the company said it “strongly disputes” the allegations.

“As conflict in the region escalated earlier this year, we notified our suppliers that their smelters and refiners must suspend sourcing tin, tantalum tungsten and gold from the DRC and Rwanda,” Apple said in a statement, referring to fighting in eastern DRC. “We recognise the situation in the region is very challenging and we have increased our support to organisations that do vital work helping communities,” it added.

In April 2024, lawyers representing the DRC demanded the tech giant’s CEO Tim Cook, as well as Apple subsidiaries in France, respond to a series of detailed questions about whether the company’s supply chain is tainted by blood minerals pillaged from the country.

According to lawyers representing DRC, the company has provided no substantive response to the questions.

Tin, tantalum and tungsten are also widely used in the jewelry, automotive, aerospace, medical equipment, and many other industries.

Regulatory bodies have implemented legislation and initiatives aimed at preventing conflict minerals from entering industrial supply chains. These regulations require companies to verify the origins of their minerals and ensure they are not sourced from conflict-affected areas or linked to the financing of armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As a result, companies operating in Western markets must increasingly adhere to strict due diligence measures.

Several key initiatives are working towards a conflict-free mineral trade, including the International Tin Supply Chain Initiative, Solutions for Hope and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).

In 2010, the US Congress passed a law addressing conflict minerals. It mandates that USlisted companies determine whether their products contain any of four key minerals sourced from Congo or its nine neighbouring countries.

Lifestyle

38

Tamara is a Lifestyle ‘One To Watch’ in 2025.

Find out why

41

40 AMBITION AND STAYING POWER Nadu Placca-Rodriguez

Vee Kativhu is inspiring young women all over the world

44 Oneness Sankara: There are some words no mother wants to hear

38 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

Lifestyle

Media

‘I COULDN’T DO WHAT I DO WITHOUT WOMEN’

T

HE NODS of approval at seeing Tamara BartonCampbell listed among The Voice Ones To Watch in 2025 came aplenty, via email, text, WhatsApp, DMs — you name it, people were pleased.

In one message, the person simply wrote: “You know she’s HER, right!?”. And after doing a little research, that seemed to embody the feeling BartonCampbell has managed to consistently foster through her successful career as an Executive Producer and Manager.

The Founder and Creative Director of Renaissance Studios, a Black women-led production studio, you will read from a quick glance at her LinkedIn profile, that the mission, ‘is to reflect the diversity of the world around us by telling authentic stories that celebrate communities, cultures, and the global diaspora’. And she’s been doing a sterling job.

“I would say The Dating Pool is one of the works I’m most proud of that we’ve done, and the Sickle Cell Diaries,” Barton-Campbell says when asked about her proudest endeavours to date.

She continues: “And it’s interesting because both of those were curated by my sisters.

“My sister Kyra has sickle cell and for years we’ve always wondered, what are the issues within that industry, the medical industry as to why there’s never been a cure as to why there’s discrimination within that space.

“Kyra was commissioned by

CELEBRATED: Tamara Barton-Campbell was named as One to Watch by The Voice

Tamara BartonCampbell says her success is the result of collaboration and support. By Joel Campbell

Channel 4 a few years ago to do the Sickle Cell Diaries. That probably is one piece of work that we’re really really proud of.

“Another piece of work is The Dating Pool.

“My sister Charlene, who is the head of development at Renaissance Studios, came up with this idea of speed dating in the back of a car that was then picked up by Channel 4.

“We’ve got a few things coming soon in regards to The Dating Pool that I can’t really talk about yet.

But we will.”

FAMILY At the time of doing this interview Barton-Campbell intimated that the news she was withholding could break in International Women’s Month, so keep your eyes peeled.

As well as clearly being a family affair, Renaissance Studio’s is also home to a plethora of talented women Barton-Campbell says if not for them, she wouldn’t be where she is today.

It’s a sisterhood, a thriving one at

that. Having taken over The Voice headquarters on the afternoon of this interview, she explained why there was no way she could have come without her trusted team.

Speaking on the women that inspire her away from her immediate family, she enthused: “Outside of my sisters, my mum, my granny, outside of those people, I look for people in my life who have helped me over a period of time.

“As a teen, as a young woman growing up, trying to understand the world, trying to add to the world, trying to find herself.

“A lot of those women are here today. You have Abi, who is very instrumental when it comes to faith. We’re up every day at 5am. We’re praying. We’re giving thanks. We’re talking.

“We’re talking about business at 6am every day talking about the challenges, and we’re talking about the things that are happening.

“I haven’t done that before with any woman in my life.

“And I think us being united together enables those things to happen. That’s why I couldn’t really do today without those women. Because when I look at every time we’ve been commissioned we do call up these people. We call up all of those people to help us, you know, and I think it is about unity, for me.

“It is about the women who have opened doors for me. That’s why I continue to open doors for other women and continue to make sure that I’m there for them as well when and if they need me.”

Driven by a commitment to make a positive impact BartonCampbell also founded The Rebirth Project, a CIC and charity extension of Renaissance Studios.

Put simply, she said: “The Rebirth Project is a charity which we set up to teach and train young people how to get into the film and TV industry.”

It’s working. Check out the Voice website for coverage on our recent trip to the Leisure United Parsloes Park, Bobby Moore Sports Hub, in east London where presenter,

POWERHOUSE: Creative Director Tamara BartonCampbell is making waves in her industry

(photos: Jessie Nsingo-Izilein)

Nyamka Becktemba, rose to the occasion in order to interview the likes of actor Idris Elba and Premier League footballer Jarrod Bowen.

Becktemba is one of many women who has worked with Renaissance Studios and The Rebirth Project. Barton-Campbell understands all too well the value of on job experience.

Explaining where it all started for her, she said: “I was 11, actually.

“I went to a space called YCTV, Youth Cable Television, me and my sisters. And we were taught how to get into film and TV, a variety of aspects.

“So producing, directing, singing, dancing. But the interesting thing was, the people who would take those lessons were a David Bowie or a Ruby Wax. “You would turn around, and all of a sudden, Harrison Ford is there?

“So when you’re in that kind of environment, you become more curious, more inquisitive about how that works.

“And that’s really how it started.

My sisters and I, we grabbed the opportunity and we just continued from there.

“In my 20s, I decided I wanted to continue producing. It was something that made me really happy. The environment made me happy. And then I continued working for a variety of production companies in Central London, working in film, working in TV, working with some of my friends who do amazing things.

FEARS “And I was like, actually, I want to create amazing things with my friends who do really good things, and that’s where a lot of it started.”

Branded content, film, TV and music production, she’s done it all. She really is, HER. It’s been a journey, one that hasn’t been without its challenges.

And with fears that there is a waning appetite for all things pushing in the direction of greater diversity, equity and inclusion, there could be challenging times ahead.

Watch the full interview online to find out more on her views about the attack on all things DEI. She’s seen it all before though and is winning no matter what.

Better still, she’s bringing an army along with her. A very capable

and competent army at that.

Sharing her thoughts on what future success looks like, she said: “I think things like seeing an idea come to life and being out there.”

She added: “We come from a community of people who have been hidden from the processes of film and TV. And when you’re hidden from certain processes or certain processes have been hidden from you, should I say, success looks like your idea being on TV. “Success looks like things happening. Success looks like me, when I was by myself at a time in a studio space, thinking, ‘Oh, my gosh! How am I now going to be able to pay the bills? How am I going to be able to answer some of these briefs?’

“Success looks like my sister saying, actually, we just left our day jobs at Discovery Channel, and decided we’re going to come and work with you.

“Success looks like growing as a team and going out there and being united and having a vision that is quite cohesive. That’s what success looks like for me.” l Full interview on our website

MARCH 2025 THE VOICE | 39

Lifestyle

HELPING YOU MAKE SENSE OF SOCIALS

A

UTHOR, DR. Elaine Wi l liams-Morgan wants you to join her on a ‘journey of exploration’ as we all wrestle with the ever-changing options across social media.

Williams-Morgan’s new book Avalanche of Leads: Why You Should Use Social Media to Build Your Brand explores social media, the modern class of information technologies built on Web 2.0 and the Internet.

A native of Jamaica, WilliamsMorgan has had a distinguished career as a media executive and consultant, managing media, leading change, and supporting digital transition efforts.

For over 20 years, she has served major media and other organisations in the Caribbean and the United States, including the RJRGleaner Communications Group, CVM Television and the Caribbean Media Corporation.

Having worked with a range of corporate brands, Elaine Williams Morgan is now imparting her wisdom in a new book. By Joel Campbell Her new book is an informative insight into the most popular of the myriad social media platforms across the globe as well as their industry applications.

“The wide-scale adoption of social media is driven by the growing number of social media platforms and the avalanche of leads available through these platforms,” said Williams-Morgan.

She added: “Additionally, adoption is driven by the potential positive effect of these networks on a firm’s brand profile, customer acquisition

opportunities, and innovation capabilities. It is for these reasons that social media integration is increasingly seen as imperative for organisational leaders seeking to grow their customer base, as well as for individuals seeking to establish their presence in the new business ecosystem.

“Join me on this journey of exploration as we get social.”

An experienced business educator, Williams-Morgan develops and delivers courses to meet organisational training needs, promote digital literacy, and support brand building, using social media and other new technologies.

She says her latest book is designed to provide the reader with a better understanding of the development of social media and its disruptive effects on life and business.

Books

INVITATION: Elaine Williams-Morgan urges you to join her on a journey of exploration through her new book.

40 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

Lifestyle

Events

‘I KNOW WHAT I’M GOING TO BRING TO THE TABLE’ Events planner Nadu PlaccaRodriguez has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry. By Joel Campbell

N

ADU PLACCARodriguez is the founder of The Zoo XYZ, a global ‘purpose-driven’ event agency.

A highly experienced event planner with over 15 years in the game, she’s known and respected having worked with big players like Afro Nation, Spotify and Afropunk, to name a few.

But it’s one of her latest endeavours that captured Lifestyle’s attention.

Her organisation did a report in 2021 looking at the racial disparity across UK event trade bodies and associations. There wasn’t a single Black person on any board.

“I think now there’s one, which three years on, is not a really good look,” she says.

Determined to reclaim the narrative surrounding Black events, highlighting their significance; economically, socially and culturally, The Zoo XYZ have started a series of ‘Black Events Matter’ forums, with the aim of facilitating conversation centring Black event professionals and their experiences.

COMMUNITY Motivated by their research which found that the Black community contributed heavily towards the £34.3 billion UK events industry, she explained: “It’s more about getting the right sort of people around the table, having in-depth conversations.

“I’m privy to a lot of conversations quite high up around associations, thought tanks and I really want to be able to open this up to the community that it affects the most, that are always the last to hear.

“Knowing how those things affect us all, I want more people to be around the table to contribute to the conversation. Everyone needs to have a part of this pie.”

Placca-Rodriguez’s ability to navigate different audiences, bringing complex ideas to life and delivering unforgettable events with purpose and precision has been her USP from the jump.

Those that know, know.

She’s a quiet storm personified.

Diligent and caring, focused and gets the job done.

Delving into what she has brought to life and her modus operandi, she explained: “This is the only thing I’ve known.

“I started off volunteering in 2008 or 2009 when I first got into it, and from there I just kept on building and building, making sure I was present in spaces until I was noticed.”

She added: “With The Zoo XYZ I think education is kind of the foundation of everything we do. So wherever we are, wherever we’re doing it, we’re trying to educate and just pass on knowledge of experience in the industry.

“Then we’ve got our event management, which we can do at any scale. You’ve got a budget, we can do it.

“And we’ve worked with the likes of Def Jam, Stormz, Universal Music, Spotify and Giants of Africa. All around the world.

“The UK is where we’re based.

We’ve got a branch of the business in Ghana, and in 2025, we’re opening in New York as well.

“So we’re here to support all events, all shapes and sizes, anywhere.”

Ambitious, tenacious, it hasn’t all been plain sailing for the south London-born entrepreneur.

She said: “I’ve had four different businesses. I’ve had friends that have tried to steal it from me.

Things that have gone tits up. You work for people from university and you think you’re going to make millions, but you’ve got 200 pounds in the bank.

“You have to start somewhere.

It’s a journey and journeys are highs and lows and that’s literally

I think I’ll always be from south London. It doesn’t matter where I am in the world

DRIVEN: Nadu Placca-Rodriguez’s USP is delivering events with purpose and precision been the process over the last couple of years.

“One thing I can say is that all work so far, to this day, has been through word of mouth. Now that is for me, a massive testament in terms of the work that we do, I have people that say if they know that Nadu is on site, they don’t have to think about anything. And that’s what’s important to me, that people have the confidence of knowing that when they’re working with us, they trust that we can deliver.”

Asked if, as a young woman growing up, she ever saw herself where she is today and how her humble beginnings shaped her vision, she credits being a Blue Borough native for her steely resolve.

“I’m from south-east London and yeah, you know what, it’s so important because it shaped every part of me.

“Back in the day, a lot of events that I put on, like in Ocean Music venue, for example, old school, I was working with the Bashy’s, people who are around now, that have lasted the test of time.

“So being able to have relationships with people from back in the day just proves so worthy in this day, being able to have that reputation, and be able to move with a bit more with ease.

“I think I’ll always be from south London. It doesn’t matter where I am in the world.”

Many who are not from that neck of the woods might find this hard to believe but being from south London was not the reason she called the company The Zoo XYZ. She explained: “So at the Zoo we (the team) all have animals and my animal is a chameleon, and I say a chameleon, because I feel like I can go into different spaces and blend in with different cultures, and be able to move accordingly.

She added: “In this industry we deal with so many different people, so many different personalities for me, It’s always like a menagerie. That was a word that stuck to me.

“We (the team) were having a good night, having a drink and we said ‘you know what? It’s like

a zoo. It’s literally like dealing with a zoo’. I don’t know if you know but events are one of the most stressful jobs in the world.

Statistics have shown.

“We’re dealing with crazy pressure, crazy people, crazy things. That’s where it came from.

It was like, ‘that’s what it’ll be’.”

Unsurprisingly, it’s not until after an event has been delivered that Placca-Rodriguez allows herself the space to feel any sense of accomplishment.

VIDEO She admits to breaking down in tears at seeing a random video from the first ever event she executed at The Royal Albert Hall, a whole year after she’d done it.

“People didn’t know that I didn’t sleep for three months, but no one cares about the stuff that goes on behind the scenes. But to know that that’s what I achieved. That for me is the most fulfilling thing.”

If you’re thinking about putting on an event and want to hire The ZOO XYZ, do make sure you come correct.

She was on the Lifestyle Ones To

Watch in 2025 at the start of this year for a reason. There are plenty of people watching her, and have been for a while.

Where once Placca-Rodriguez would have worked with everyone, things are different now.

“People come to me for the same reason people go to other people. We’ve had clients that maybe thought we’re priced a bit too high, and then they try to go somewhere else, it messes up and then you’ve got to come back.

That’s OK. We can still help you, but we have a different kind of nurturing service.

“I think, when it comes to events, I know what I’m passionate about and I know what I’m going to bring to the table and when we choose the clients that we work with, and I think we’re in a great position now where we can choose, we also have to see that passion.

“It has to be matched to know that, actually what we’re going to create is something amazing. And I think you can see that from the work that we’ve done.”

MARCH 2025 THE VOICE | 41

Lifestyle

Education

VEE’S ON A MISSION TO EMPOWER YOUNG MINDS

Dr Varaidzo Kativhu is helping young people reach their full academic potential. By Joel Campbell

S

TANDING AT the back of a YouTube Black Edition event, watching Dr Varaidzo (Vee) Kativhu host with consummate ease, it was hard not to be impressed by the girls’ education activist.

She’s one of three women who feature in this month’s Lifestyle pages who were also highlighted as ‘Ones To Watch’ in 2025, on our list published in January.

For those not au fait, Kativhu uses her online platforms to support over 300,000 underrepresented youth to reach their full academic potential.

She’s also a Young Leader at the United Nations.

The ‘YouTube visionary’ has had quite the journey over the last few years and it all started with her phone and a compelling desire to document her journey through higher education.

She explains: “Right now I’m 26 years old, which is crazy because time is flying, and I don’t know where the years are going. But I began YouTube when I was, I think, 20 or 19.

“And I began YouTube because

ROLE: Dr Varaidzo Kativhu is a Young Leader for the UN (photo: Getty Images)

I’d gone to an institution that was very much lacking in diversity, and that bothered me a lot, because I think they spoke in the media about wanting to be more diverse and the more I looked around the University of Oxford, I realised that people like me just were not in places like that.

“And I didn’t understand why, because I’d met some incredibly bright young Black people in my time who were far smarter than I was, and would have run circles around people in that institution, but they weren’t there, and I didn’t understand that disconnect of people having the ability and having the knowledge and the passion, but not being able to get a space in places like that.

“So I began kind of investigating myself like, why do we have a lack of people that look like me, or sound like me in places like this, because you’re telling me that having a seat at this table means that we get to go on and change the world.

“So I was in this place where they were telling me that leaders came here. Future leaders were here. People who make decisions

about our country come here, and those decisions are made at tables like this.

“But when I was looking around the table, no one looked like me, no one sounded like me, and that bothered me because it was sending a message, a message that intelligence had a race. That intelligence had a skin tone. It had a household income, it had an accent.

“I didn’t like the message that was being sent, and I’m not that type of person that wants to sit there and just be mad about something. I want to do something about it.

“So I took my phone, put it on the windowsill, and I just began sharing my journey, being unapologetically a Black girl in an institution that historically rejected me and I was thriving.”

Her content resonated. Soon young people began subscribing.

She had 50 people subscribe, then 100 and then 1,000. “It just grew,” she says.

DEGREE A proud YouTuber for the past six years (current subscriber count at 278k), Kativhu vlogged her way through four years of an undergraduate degree in classical archaeology and ancient history at Oxford.

She then vlogged her whole Master’s Degree in International Education Policy at Harvard University during the pandemic.

And she’s currently vlogging her Education, Leadership and Urban School Settings Phd journey, at Claremont Graduate University in Los Angeles.

Along the way, in what she says has been “a beautiful journey”, Kativhu has been recognised by the University of Bradford, becoming the youngest recipient

‘YOUTUBE VISIONARY’: Dr Varaidzo Kativhu has more than 278,000 subscribers (photo: Getty Images) of an Honorary Doctorate from the institution.

Her work has all been centered around “education, empowering young people and breaking barriers”.

“I read my personal statement online for millions to see,” Kativhu enthused, explaining how she engages with her growing audience.

“I talk about being at McDonald’s.

I talk about growing up in a single parent household with no money.

I just share everything, just to let everyone know you can do this if you want to, and I’m going to be there to help you.”

Understandably Kativhu says YouTube changed her whole world. “My life has not looked the same since I picked up that camera,” she says.

It’s the reason she encourages anyone out there with ambition of amplifying what they do through the use of social media to just get on and do it.

She is the founder of Empowered By Vee, a charity aimed at widening access to higher education and in her spare time, she enjoys volunteering and fundraising for education-focused charities and is currently an active ambassador for All Hands and Hearts, United World Schools, CAMFED and GirlUp Zimbabwe.

I just share everything to let everyone know you can do this if you want to, and I’m going to be there to help On being appointed as a Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations in 2023 by the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, she said you never know who is watching you.

“So, being on the internet, crazy things can happen right, your video can end up God knows where, being watched by God knows who.

“So, as much as I had these incredible subscribers and people that I now look at as like a second family, which is weird to say, because I haven’t met them all, but it feels like that. I had them watching, engaging, using the content. Schools were using it too.

They were playing it in classrooms.

Teachers were making it part of their curriculums and teaching other students with my videos.

“And when that began to happen it began to enter rooms that I wouldn’t have even imagined, rooms where things like education policy were being discussed, rooms like the UN.” FOUNDATION She added: “The YouTube Channel gave me this base and foundation that catapulted me onto global stages.

“I would be sitting in rooms with people like the global partnership for education, sharing what I’m hearing from my audience and using that as data to share what needs to be changed and improved in the school setting based on what they were saying.

“So I began to become this middle person that had the youth voice in my back pocket.

“It just took a life of its own.

So, yeah, slowly, after being on the internet, I was appointed as a Young Leader for the United Nations, and I’ve been in that role for the past two years, and it’s been phenomenal.” l Watch the full interview on our website to find out more on just how phenomenal Dr Varaidzo (Vee) Kativhu has been

42 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

Lifestyle

Beauty

MAKE YOUR SKIN GLOW

STATE-OFTHE-ART: DSLC has clinics located across London

Shantelle Clarke and her colleagues at Diamond Skin Aesthetic and Laser Clinic are on a mission to help all Black women love the skin they are in. By Joel Campbell

S

HANTELLE CLARKE says she’s always been interested in beauty, and over the past five years she’s turned that interest into Diamond Skin Aesthetic and Laser Clinic (DSLC), a place where caring about the nuances involved with treating melanated skin, is of paramount importance.

Inspired to set up shop in the beauty clinic sector by her own journey, Clarke tells Lifestyle she wanted to ensure other women of colour had access to the knowledge and services that were on offer to aid their journey towards loving the skin they are in.

DSLC has clinics located in London across three sites with a fourth, the most recent one to open, in Knightsbridge. It’s been a rapid ascension.

Speaking at their Ladbroke Grove clinic earlier this year, the budding entrepreneur explained how she found herself working with skin expert Evelyn Assiam, to become one of the few Black female proprietors in the industry.

EXPERT “I’ve had a journey where I had a few issues with my skin and despite all the things I went through, Evelyn was there. She was like, come Shantelle, you’re not walking around like this.

“When it comes to skin sometimes you just need an expert and Evelyn is that expert.

With 30 years experience, there’s nothing she hasn’t seen.”

She added: “At DSLC we focus more on lasers. So, doing treatments with lasers when it comes to hair removal, laser skin pigmentation removal, mole

removal, basically everything lasers. Before, there weren’t really treatments that you could do with ladies on Black skin. And so that’s something that I wanted to home in on, focus on, making sure we can treat skin types five and six.

“Skin type five is more like mixed race, dark skin and skin type six is like African Black skin, like mine.

“So we wanted to make sure we can focus on treating all skin types, but predominantly being able to treat skin type five and six.”

Assiam’s 30-year journey in the beauty space actually started having studied at London College of Fashion.

Following what she says was “two years of full on training”, after that she found herself at a reputable company where she began to hone her skills. She soon outgrew the environment.

“I worked for Regis for about a year or so, and I decided I wanted to do my own thing. So I set up, and then I started from there, and I’ve been doing that ever since.”

She added: “I met Shantelle at one of the beauty exhibitions. I thought, I’ve seen her face before.

I approached her one time, and I said come and see me, let’s do something on your skin because I thought that she needed skin treatment done.

“Shantelle’s been doing all sorts of treatments that are not homing in on the right sort of treatment that would get the result that she wanted for her skin. So I called her in, and then she started coming to the salon. And that’s how we started.”

Be it Caucasian or Black skin, working in the industry, ‘upskilling’ regularly over three decades has given Assiam the knowledge to ascertain what’s best for each client.

Living in ‘Black skin’, however, means that she knows what it really needs.

She explained: “Black skin’s quite oily, it tends to be a bit more oily than your average Caucasian skin and we’ve also

The treatments are aimed at helping you to keep your skin and slow down the signs of the aging process got melanin production. We also have a tendency to have a dry, ashy look which a lot of people don’t understand, and you need to exfoliate and slough off all these dead skin cells to reveal that glowing skin underneath there.

“A lot of the time it’s just educating your clients on what to do and what to use, to achieve the skin type that they’re looking for.”

In an industry that rarely presents the importance of administering culturally appropriate care as front and centre of its marketing, DSLC is a breath of fresh air. Often in the position of having to correct the work of rogue operators who have limited knowledge on skin types five and six, Clarke said a lot of the time clients that walk in require “tweakments, not treatments” and exposure to the right products.

“A lot of products and stuff that

you see available, when they’re doing their market research, when they’re doing their trials, a lot of it’s done on Caucasian skin, typically.

“So not all products can be used on skin of colour or skin with melanin.”

Clarke said her team is adept at finding the right balance of ways to treat all clients, no matter what their wants, desires or preferences.

“If you take care of your skin, especially with the correct products, the correct treatments that we do, the treatments are aimed at helping the minimising of volume loss and helping you to keep your skin and slow down the signs of the aging process.”

TECHNIQUE She enthused: “For example, we could do a facelift with one of our lasers, our 5D laser treatment or we could do a non-surgical non-laser treatment for done

by Evelyn, which she does using a massage technique which is proven to slow down aging, stop you from getting wrinkles and it also helps in giving you that revitalised, rejuvenated skin and builds collagen, naturally.”

Clarke says popular services at DSLC are not unusual to those requested up and down the country, with “Botox or antiwrinkle injections” leading the way.

She’s a huge advocate for laser hair removal although a

bit of debate ensues during the interview over whether electrolysis, a slightly dearer treatment, is a better way to go. Watch the full interview on our website to make up your own mind. Or better still, book a consultation.

What isn’t in doubt, however, is the ambition of Clarke, Evelyn and the rest of her team. With clinics in JOURNEY: Harley Street, Wembley and Shantelle Ladbroke Grove, she detailed Clarke what scaling the business from here looked like.

“I think scaling for me is to make it accessible to everyone. So was even in CES (annual we’re opening another branch in technology trade show). They Knightsbridge because it’s quite bring out so much different tech. central.

“They’ve got this new thing “We’re trying to scale up by from L’Oreal, which is amazing. making our company accessible. You literally just swab your face We’ve had clients that were based and put it into the machine. It can in south London, for example, tell you exactly what you need. and getting to north-west is not Your skin type. So training and the most convenient for them. staying in the know is the best “Also, one of the things that we way to keep up”. pride ourselves on is that Evelyn She concluded: “I don’t think will be training all the therapists, people look at just the owner, and they will have to get Evelyn’s I think people look at can this seal of approval, and trust me, person give me the results I want? getting her seal of approval isn’t “We position ourselves, not just the easiest. Evelyn’s standards are based on being a Black business very, very high.” alone, we are results driven.

She added: “Training, knowing Because results matter. what else is out there, what “Yeah, we may be Black machines can do the job better? owned, but we have clinicians Are you doing your treatments to and doctors that come from all the highest standard? Can you do different parts of the world. When combination treatments? you walk through the door, I want “We always go to every single you to be here because we can beauty show, cosmetic show. I solve your problem.”

JANUARY 2025

THE VOICE | 19

44 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

Lifestyle

Stage

‘EVEN IF WE HAVE OUR UNIQUE STRUGGLES IT’S ALL ONE STRUGGLE’

STORY TO SHARE: Oneness Sankara is using her experiences to help others (photo: Irven Lewis)

I DIDN’T know, I’m so sorry” are not the words any mother wants to hear when someone looks at their child for the first time.

If you ever meet my son you will know for sure that there’s nothing to be sorry about. Yet on this particular occasion, I couldn’t quite get the words out.

Here I was at a familiar cultural celebration when a man that I know from within the community greets me, looks at my then fourmonth-old son and says, “I didn’t know, I’m sorry”.

He then proceeds to violate my personal space with an uninvited sympathy hug.

Was it simply hormones and the ‘new mum’ lack of sleep that swallowed my voice?

Or was it the extra exhaustion from the numerous tests, hospital visits and just about managing to make it out of the house that day which made me freeze on this particular winter’s day?

Indeed it was cold outside; but inside was supposed to be about warmth, unity, and most importantly safety. Historically, when the Black community in the UK would gather, it would be a safe haven from the tensions and discrimination present in

When Oneness Sankara witnessed disability discrimination first-hand, it ignited a new-found passion to put an end to it once and for all the wider society. And up until that point I had felt that safety. So what was different now?

Well, it was the first time that I had shown up in my community as a mother of a child with Trisomy 21, aka Down’s syndrome.

It was the first time that I had experienced this level of proximity to disability discrimination. As a creative, I’ve worked with people with disabilities, and in my personal life I have a close friend who is a wheelchair user yet I still didn’t realise how much of an issue disability bias is.

I didn’t realise how much it exists in all parts of society – including the Black community.

Part of my ignorance was making the assumption that people from marginalised groups understand discrimination and therefore would be more understanding when seeing prejudice in general.

My mentors had taught me as MLK says, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Thus, even if we have our unique struggles it’s all one struggle.

I came to learn that everyone didn’t get that lesson and there was a lot of misinformation when it comes to disability.

As a Black mother of a child with disabilities, I am first a Black woman. I already face significant disparities when it comes to systemic barriers in healthcare

and education. Be it Black women being 3.7 times more likely than their white counterparts to die during pregnancy, childbirth, or our underrepresentation in leadership roles; all roads point to intersectional discrimination.

I highlight this to show the incredibly weighted space that Black women advocate from.

Even before we get to speak up for our children with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities), we must navigate this nuance. If you didn’t know prior to reading this — let me make it clear. Being a parent of a child with SEND is a challenge

irrespective of gender and ethnicity. This is mainly because of how society is structured to not be inclusive. Therefore as a parent and carer you are required to do a lot more in your caring.

From learning about your child’s condition, diagnosis, learning needs to managing behavioural support and healthcare strategies, it is a full-time job many times on top of another full-time job.

Having the experience of raising my son has made me want to be part of changing the world as it pertains to inclusion and creating a more supportive society for families with SEND children and

THE FUTURE IS NOW FROM March 6-9, 2025, east London’s vibrant arts scene will come alive with Afro Futures, the seventh edition of Certain Blacks’ annual indoor festival.

Afro Futures marks a milestone for Certain Blacks, aligning with the company’s 10th anniversary.

The programme includes work developed within a changing cultural climate and gathers a boundary-pushing lineup of artists from various backgrounds and disciplines.

The festival contains work from Sean Khan and The Modern Jazz and Folk Ensemble, with special guests Jacqui McShee and Rosie

Frater-Taylor, which explores the traditional along with the new in a cross-cultural retake of modern folk music.

In The Brownie Club meets The Cocoa Butter Club, two clubs known for their audacious soirées host an evening of cabaret that challenge notions of Black/Brown/ Diverse entertainment and education.

Best Friends by Crying in the Wilderness Productions balances humour and sensitivity in a poignant play of friendship and assisted death, tackling a highly relevant topic in today’s England. l More details at www.certainblacks.com

adults. I think a large part of the ignorance pertaining to inclusion comes from lack of representation in entertainment and media, societal and cultural stigmas, systemic marginalisation and historical exclusion.

Through my work as a writer, performer and advocate, I seek to change perspectives and bring about positive change and disability justice.

I’m pleased to be developing a play called T21 Alchemy. The play explores SEND and neurodiversity from the perspective of a mother raising a child with Down’s syndrome.

I’ll be sharing work in progress on this project through spoken and music at the Certain Blacks Afro Futures festival.

This festival is the perfect place to begin developing T21 Alchemy as it’s about illuminating what currently exists whilst writing a new future for mums like me and children like my son who experience the world differently. l T21 Alchemy by Oneness Sankara is at Rich Mix on March 8 at 4pm as part of Certain Blacks Afro Futures festival

MARCH 2025 THE VOICE | 45

TOP SPORTS COVERAGE 24/7 VOICE-ONLINE.CO.UK/SPORT

OF SPORT NEWSPAPER

MARCH 2025 | THE VOICE

BLOCKBUSTER BOUT

British rivals to fight in world title unification at Royal Albert Hall on March 7.

By Rachel Rose

I

N RECENT years, women’s boxing has begun gaining the attention and exposure it truly deserves. Continuing this trend, Natasha Jonas fights Lauren Price on an all-female fight card at the Royal Albert Hall on March 7.

Other boxers on the card include Caroline Dubois and Cindy Ngamba, below, who will make her pro debut.

Some of the fighters came together at the famous hotel, The Dorchester, in London for the last time before they face each other in the ring.

Until this point, the energy and words between Jonas and Price have been tense, but at this press conference, they both seemed to want to say less.

Price said: “Enough talking has been done, it’s time to get in the ring.”

Jonas responded and told her opponent to “have a good camp, and be careful what you’ve wished for.”

As it stands, Price seems to be the favourite, with her clean record sitting at 8-0-0, two by way of knockout. She is also Jonas’ junior by 10 years.

RELAXED This correspondent does not feel this should mean people sleep on Jonas, with her record sitting at 16-2-1, nine wins by way of knockout. What Price has in age, Jonas has in years of experience; it will be an extremely exciting evening.

Jonas smiled and seemed relaxed as she talked about the age factor. “People doubting me isn’t new, I have had people doubt me for a long time, coming in as the underdog is where I am happy. I’ll show them again.”

Price hit back with: “I back myself. Yes, Tasha will be my biggest test to date, but I believe in what I am capable of.”

Both women have something to gain and something to prove.

The Voice of Sport asked Jonas if she believed the years of experience, the struggles and the slower journey she has had in the boxing industry through years of fewer opportunities for women, will give her the upper hand come the big night.

She responded: “Yeah, there’s definitely a strength in the struggle. When we came through the England squad, there was no kit, we were very under-funded, we couldn’t always get to the tournaments, and we didn’t have much support.

That makes you want to do well to

BELTS ON THE LINE: Natasha Jonas and Lauren Price with promoter Ben Shalom of BOXXER; below, Caroline Dubois

prove everyone wrong, to prove yourself right and to break down that door to say we’re here; we’re here to stay and we deserve to be here more than anything.

“I do believe, for me personally, that it gives me the upper hand. I just think, I’ve been through it all. You know, mentally, physically and emotionally. I’m unshakeable at this point.”

Price has spoken repeatedly about her self-belief in this fight. I asked her how she keeps her mind so strong.

She said: “I’ve got a really close relationship with my nan. I was brought up by my grandparents from three days old, and each fight she writes me a card.

“Well I say a card, it’s like a book.

She’ll write inspiring and motivational quotes in there, and I bring basically every fight night or fight week. I bring all my cards with me.

So, from

“I think your mentality comes from putting the work in. I’m a great believer that if you work hard enough, then you can achieve anything” the Olympics, every time, I lay them all out and it’s just like a superstition.

Mentality wise, I think that comes with how hard I work.

“I give my life to the sport. I’ve lived in Sheffield for the last seven years, Monday to Friday, up and down that motorway.

“I’ve got a great team with Rob McCracken. I think your mentality comes from putting the work in. I’m a great believer that if you work hard enough, then you can achieve anything.”

While attending the press conference, I was able to pick the brains of another incredible champion fighting on the undercard, Caroline Dubois, who is making waves rapidly in the boxing world.

I asked her if having to lie about her gender when she started boxing as a child and having to fight for her place has made her the boxer she is today.

She said: “I think you realise how badly you want something when you have to go through such big obstacles to get to it. It’s very easy to be challenged and think you

know what, I actually don’t want to do this. But when there are obstacles in your way, and you go through them, regardless, you still go over and under to get to where you need to be.

“You realise how much you love something and you’re going to do anything to make it happen.”

46 | THE VOICE MARCH 2025

Sport

SPARKS KEEPING OLYMPIC DREAM ALIVE

OVERCOMING ADVERSITY: Nina Sparks was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2021

Nina Sparks has one big goal: to be Britain’s first female para snowboarder to compete at the Paralympic Olympic Games. By Matthew Chadder

P

ARA SNOWBOARDER Nina Sparks is confident the 2026 Winter Paralympics will be just another stop on her incredible journey, not her end destination.

In 2021, Sparks was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a chronic disease that affects the brain and spinal cord.

“I was working in Austria when I was diagnosed,” Sparks told the Voice of Sport.

“That means I was surrounded by the mountains and people snowboarding. I thought to myself, ‘Well, I’ve got my lift pass. I’m here. This is what I came here to do. I’ll figure it out.’

“Had I been in the UK when I was going through diagnosis, I might have thought that I was never going to snowboard again. Snowboarding helped me a lot during the early stages of my diagnosis. I was poorly, and there was a point where I felt more comfortable on a snowboard than I did just walking around.”

Sparks developed her love for snowboarding from an early age, with a helping hand from her parents.

“I grew up in High Wycombe, which famously back in the 1990s and early 2000s had England’s longest dry slope. I had learned to ski when I was eight, and I had already fallen in love with the mountains.

“After watching somebody snowboard on television, I decided I wanted to give it a go.

For my 13th birthday my parents got me lessons and that is where it all begun.”

Following her diagnosis, Sparks became classified for Paralympic competition due to the extent of nerve damage in her lower right leg, competing in the LL2 categorisation.

“I was put in touch with a lady

competing on the circuit who also had MS, and she was a huge inspiration for me. I thought to myself, ‘if she’s doing it, I can do it too.’

“Having a disability is tough, and I know that a lot of people don’t make the best of their situation.

Therefore, I hope I can inspire those with disabilities to realise that they can push their bodies, and they can still get enjoyment from sport, even if it might be difficult or uncomfortable at times.”

Since becoming competitive, Sparks has enjoyed plenty of success, already making numerous Europa Cup and World Cup appearances. In 2023, Sparks

took two medals at the Para Snowboard World Championships in La Molina, winning bronze in Snowboard Cross and silver in the Banked Slalom races. And she was joined on the podium by two very familiar faces.

“On one of those podiums I was alongside the two ladies who inspired me to get involved in Para Snowboarding. It was a real full circle moment; I had to try my best not to cry.

“When they both came up, they gave me a hug and told me how proud they were of me, so that was incredible.”

Sparks often faces challenges but shows an incredible level of determination to keep going.

“One of my biggest challenges is fatigue, and the need to adapt my training to suit my limited battery, as my coach describes it. I’m unable to train in the same way as other people, but what inspires me to keep going is my love of snowboarding.

“I often think to myself, ‘Wow, I can’t believe this is what I do. I’m being paid to travel the world and snowboard, with a really cool group of people too.

“The team that I work with is amazing.

It makes such a difference being in a supportive environment where people really believe in you.”

Should Sparks qualify for the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, she would become Britain’s first female para snowboarder to compete at the Paralympic Winter Games. However, despite sitting on the cusp of such an incredible achievement, Sparks continues to think about the bigger picture.

“I just want to continue competing for as long as I’m physically able to compete.

I’m hoping to see the women’s field grow and more women get involved with Para Snowboarding. Next year’s Paralympics will hopefully be a stop on the journey, not the end destination.”

TANYA LEE PERKINS APPOINTED JFF AMBASSADOR

By Rodney Hinds

THE Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has proudly announced the appointment of Tanya Lee Perkins as an Ambassador, marking a pivotal step in strengthening the team’s connections with stakeholders and sponsors.

Perkins, a trailblazer in sports marketing and athlete management, brings a proven track record to this role. As founder and head of LEEP Marketing, she has managed the brands of elite athletes across football, track and field, and

motorsports, with her roster over the years including Reggae Boyz captain Andre Blake.

Formerly Vice President, Marketing at SportsMax, Perkins led campaigns across 31 countries, establishing the network as the region’s mostwatched sports channel. She also directed marketing efforts for global properties such as the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, NBA, FIFA World Cups (2010, 2014, 2018), and the Olympics.

As Ambassador, Perkins will assist in driving sponsorship and funding for the JFF while

strengthening relationships with stakeholders and supporters.

Her commitment to community development is reflected in initiatives like Blake’s goalkeeper clinic and Damion Lowe’s annual Christmas treats.

“It is an honour to serve as a JFF Ambassador” Perkins said. “I am passionate about football and committed to helping the teams as they prepare for the various qualifying campaigns.”

General Secretary of the JFF, Dennis Chung, added: “We are thrilled to welcome Tanya as an Ambassador, as we take another step in strengthening

relationships with our stakeholders. We are confident her expertise in marketing, sponsorship, and public relations will elevate the JFF brand and inspire greater support from fans and sponsors alike.”

President of the JFF, Michael Ricketts, also expressed elation to the announcement.

“We are confident that Tanya will be an asset to the Federation.

She carries a wealth of knowledge and experience in her craft and trust that her skillset will lead to further growth and success in the area of sponsorship and engagement,” he said.

KNOWLEDGE: Tanya Lee Perkins

MARCH 2025 THE VOICE | 47

Sport UNITED: Team GB is a great example of diversity (photo: Getty Images)

THE POWER OF INCLUSION

T

HE VOICE has been announced as the official Media Partner for the inaugural Track and Field Inclusion Awards (TAFi) taking place later this year.

TAFi will be an annual event dedicated to recognising and celebrating the achievements of athletes, coaches, and organisations that champion diversity and inclusion in the track and field community.

Jack Buckner, UK Athletics CEO, has said that the governing body are ‘delighted to support’ the event, which promises to celebrate the sport being ‘the most inclusive in the world’.

Speaking to The Voice at the championships, Michael Facey, co-founder of TAFi, said he was delighted to secure the support of both Britain’s longest running newspaper and the governing body for the sport of athletics.

“When the co-founder, Joel Campbell and I, sat down to speak about bringing TAFi to life over a decade ago, we agreed that the landscape had to be right before we turned the concept into creation.

“That time is now.”

He added: “It was important for us to secure a media partner that understood the value of inclusion, the universal benefits that come from promoting the fostering of positive, social cohesion. The

Awards ceremony will celebrate achievements of athletes, coaches and organisations that champion diversity

Voice has done that for over 40 years.

Garnering the support of UK Athletics was integral to the success of delivering the event we have in mind. We’re beyond thankful.”

At the recent Microplus UK Athletics Indoor Championships, which took place in Birmingham’s Utilita Arena, Buckner wrote in the event programme: “As part of our long-running commitment to our Diversity Action Plan and our staff engagement we are looking forward to the first event and celebrat-

ing the award winners later this year. It will be a night to remember and one that helps elevate the awareness of the inclusivity of athletics.”

Rodney Hinds, Sports Editor for The Voice, said: “The Voice is very happy to be the official TAFi media partner for 2025.

“We hope to amplify the good work being done by the track and field community up and down the UK and are excited to lend our voice to the TAFi team who we’re in no doubt will deliver a top tier event later this year.”

Campbell enthused: “People get into track and field because they love it, they stay in track and field because they find a family of people that feel the same.

“No matter your ability, abled or differently abled, competitors, volunteers, coaches, admin or just fans, you name it, they find an inclusive environment that quickly becomes home. It’s a powerful thing. A powerful sport. The Voice as media partner and the support of UK Athletics will only strengthen TAFi’s ability to celebrate that.”

BACKING: Tom Solesbury, UK Athletics Chief Operating Officer and Voice Sports Editor, Rodney Hinds, throw support behind TAFi

48 | THE VOICE FEBRUARY 2025