I am actually so excited about reading the legacy book "40 years of Black British Lives" published by The Voice Newspaper, celebrating 40 years of journalism for us by us. I bought it yesterday at the Pan-Afrikan Sports and Culture Day showcasing #blackcommunityschools. I am a big fan of the community work carried out by Afruika Bantu Saturday School with our young people, teaching core skills and Black history underpinned by spiritual values. A big congrats to them as they won this year's cup.
Back to my book! I am so happy that I also got my copy signed by Paulette Simpson, the Voice newspaper Executive Director and Garfield Robinson in charge of Sales and Advertising. To give you a bit of background, The Voice was launched in 1982, in the wake of the Brixton uprising, in a Thatcherian era, by a gentleman called Val McCalla, who was a child of the Windrush Generation. He arrived from Jamaica to the UK in May 1959. Joining the Royal Air Force as a young man and subsequently training as an accountant, his life took a different turn after the break-up of his marriage at the age of 34. He started a regular feature called "Black Voices" in a community newspaper called "East End News", which would become his training ground for the birth of The Voice.
I am not going to say anymore. You need to buy the book and read it yourself!
Real journalism is revolutionary. It carries the voice of the people. It sketches what will become their history and their legacy. Really in awe of what the Voice Newspaper has achieved for Black Britons and beyond.
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