AUGUST 2021 • ISSUE NO. 1921
Lifestyle Rep Dat doing it big p36
Last words from Menelik Shabazz p41
FROM TROUBLED TEEN TO TV SCREEN
WWW.VOICE-ONLINE.CO.UK
Aaron Roach Bridgeman
MEDIA STAR
Aaron Roach Bridgeman reflects on a tough upbringing which moulded him Page 37
This is BrukOut: It’s Spice time now p42
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Tribute to the late Rev Dr. Joel Edwards
An exemplary Christian leader Pages 23-26
STEPPING FOR PROSTATE CANCER The Voice, JN Bank UK and The Errol McKellar Foundation are collaborating to raise awareness of the perils of prostate cancer, by encouraging the community to participate in a ‘walk and talk’
IN A CLASS OF HIS OWN 10 year old Ore Oni is ranked in the top four in the world of maths
Page 16
Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men in the UK. Black men are two to three times more likely to develop this disease, and at an earlier age than their white counterparts, with the death rate being twice as high. Page 44
Photo credit: Andrew Boateng
initiative.
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BRIGHT SPARK
Linda Mabhen-Olagunju says ‘Africa has solutions to its power issues’ Page 22
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Inside
ROUNDUP
THIS MONTH
NEWSPAPER
Spotlight Shelomi Farrell
News, views, stories & videos
Floyd Millen says we must question why so many of our prisoners are black p6 UK's first Caribbean-owned bank rated 'excellent' by customers p8
THE 10 MOST POPULAR STORIES ON VOICE-ONLINE.CO.UK 1. UK reggae label Greensleeves sues Chris Brown for copyright infringement The label accuses Chris Brown and Sony Music Entertainment of ripping off dancehall veteran Red Rat’s monster hit Tight Up Skirt
2. Marcus Rashford most trolled footballer online over the last 12 months
The Manchester United and England star received 32,328 abusive tweets
3. Black children more likely to end up in care and less likely to be adopted
The pandemic has widened the financial inequalities many of us are facing p10
Recently released Government figures confirm tragic statistics
4. Kalvin Philips most popular player online during the Euros
Leeds United midfielder has proved to be a huge hit on social media
5. Black British actor Ricardo Lloyd says UK still has a problem with race
When it comes to our children's mental health, we all need to be part of the conversation p14
The 27-year-old has secured an American agent and plans to head Stateside as soon as possible
6. Jamaica to petition Queen to pay reparations – but strategy is flawed
Activists in the UK say this latest attempt "needs to be amended if it is to have any real impact”
Making black love last: Two special couples celebrate 50 years of wedded bliss p30 Menelik Shabazz says it's more important than ever that we share our stories p41
7. From mental health to county lines, why are black kids going missing? The Voice spoke to experts to understand the reasons behind this worrying trend
8. Virgin Atlantic increases flights to Caribbean as demand skyrockets
A number of Caribbean destinations were added to the travel 'green list' last month
9. Danyal Hussein found guilty of murder of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman
Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman suffered multiple stab injuries at Fryent Country Park, in north-west London on June 6, 2020
West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor has high hopes for The Hundred p47
10. Landmark report highlights scale of racial equality in Wales
The ‘Joint NGO Shadow Report on Racial Inequality in Wales’, published by Race Equality First, highlights significant failures to address ethnic disparities in all areas of life
This issue is 48 pages
ShelomI, left, with her mother Jhardine
SHELOMI FARRELL always had something special about her. At just 14, Shelomi’s IQ results landed her in the top one per cent of people with the highest levels of intelligence. Before she was 10, she began revising the periodic table and in her spare time, made her own Passionate about her daughter’s budding interest in academia, Jhardine turned to Mensa – a society that welcomes people whose IQ is in the top two per cent of the population – when she was just eight years old. “My mum put me to do a Mensa test online because I wasn’t actually old enough to do the proper test,” recalls Shelomi. “I found out that I actually had exceptionally good results. However, she had to put my age as four years older than I actually was to do the online test. "So, we waited and then only a few months ago, I went to Manchester to do the proper test and about a week ago, I found out that I was invited into Mensa.” The schoolgirl says she was relaxed, yet confident about being accepted into the prestigious society, while only months away from beginning her GCSEs alongside her peers. With four degrees under Jhardine’s belt already, Shelomi’s achievements almost come as no surprise, hailing from a family where she says education and learning is of the utmost importance. “I have to remind myself that I am only 14 and that even though I do have a bigger responsibility now by opening up more opportunities for myself, that I also have to take it easy on myself." She plans to focus on her GCSEs, and getting the highest grades possible. She loves debating and is preparing on launching her own fashion brand alongside her modelling – but she says she’s also a “sporty person”, spending her time playing cricket, netball and football. She also loves rollerblading. “So, that’s like a childish way towards my hobbies I guess,” she admits.
Read the full story at voice-online.co.uk
Got a story? email us at yourviews@thevoicemediagroup.co.uk
NEWSPAPER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Paulette Simpson E. paulette.simpson@thevoice mediagroup.co.uk CORPORATE AFFAIRS & COMMUNICATIONS Paula Dyke E. paula@thevoicemedia group.co.uk
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ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Joel Campbell E. joel.campbell@thevoice mediagroup.co.uk
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AUGUST 2021
THE VOICE |
3
News feature
THE LEGACY AND IMPACT
Afua Hirsch, a best-selling author, TV presenter and former barrister, recalls the positive impact The Voice has had on her career and the work of black journalists
“T
HERE IS no way to describe the confidence that comes from feeling a sense of belonging and solidarity in a place of work.” Writing in Representology, a journal dedicated to research and best-practice perspectives on how to make the media more representative of all sections of society, Afua Hirsch, the writer, broadcaster and former barrister, reflected candidly about her time at The Voice newspaper, where she cut her teeth as an aspiring journalist. Touching on the feeling of being in an environment that enabled her to ‘celebrate being black’ and the sense of belonging, Hirsch identified Britain’s only black newspaper as a ‘nurturing space’. “I was a black teenage girl, writing about black teenage girls. Before there was a language ‘for us, by us’, The Voice was a crucial part of the media landscape in Britain that was doing just that. “I went on to write about racism in football, anorexia in the black community, the exclusion of pregnant schoolgirls, and the emerging culture of British hip hop,” Hirsch wrote. “Would mainstream media outlets have covered those stories at the time? If so, would they have centred on the black experience or, instead, moulded it to fit a white gaze? “Would their journalistic instincts, the clear call of public interest, have extended to include not just racism and systemic unfairness, but also — and these are perhaps the early works I’m most proud of — features about cultural innovation that are simply allowed to radiate black joy? The reality is that I may not have got there at all, were it not for my early experience of incubation at The Voice. DEBATE: Marcus Ryder says the legacy of the black press has been ignored
“There is no way to describe the confidence that comes from feeling a sense of belonging and solidarity in a place of work.” In a recent study by Reuters Institute, responses showed that ‘improving ethnic diversity’ in newsrooms is highlighted as the most pressing diversity priority’.
PHENOMENA
Those interested in the outcome of that study may also glean further insight from the experiences of people like Hirsch, who have worked in a multitude of organisations experiencing the same negative phenomena of being the only ‘black person’ over and over. Sharing perspective on her own working life narrative once she had left The Voice, Hirsch wrote: “When I began writing for The Voice, the number of black journalists working on national broadsheets and as TV broadcasters was negligible. “Other than the grandees of black British media — Trevor Phillips and Moira Stewart, and the crucial work of Darcus Howe — the idea of black people reporting, investigating and presenting news and current affairs was a completely fantastical one to me.” She added: “Here was a newsroom that was fully
‘NURTURING SPACE’: Afua Hirsch cut her teeth as an aspiring journalist on The Voice and says working in an environment that enabled her to ‘celebrate being black’ proved crucial in her development staffed, owned and executed by black professionals. “From the editor to the secretary, the reporters and the photographers, it was an assembly of people who shared a sense of community, cultural heritage and discourse — an intellectual curiosity about the black experience and about how to tell those stories. “As is so often the case, the stories of important black journalists who had been operating throughout the 20th Century — including Una Marson and Barbara Blake Hannah — were invisible and inaccessible to me. “And yet here was a newsroom that was fully staffed, owned and executed by black professionals. “It was only later, in newsrooms where I was the visible ‘other’ as one of few, or where there were no other black journalists, that I came to appreciate how nurturing a space that was. Older, more experienced journalists took an interest in nurturing my enthusiasm for writing and reporting.
“A positive reason for celebrating a black press — as well as all the other media outlets that speak specifically and directly to minority communities — is that it creates spaces in which we are not minorities. “This is something I have come to value more since my time at The Voice, more than
brilliant that such stellar figures in black British public life are writing about their experiences for the journal. Our research is making waves, igniting important conversations about race in Britain. Issue two features pioneering black academics writing on their work for BBC television and radio, and the impor-
The Voice has consistently played an invaluable role in producing both great journalism and great journalists two decades ago. As political and media narratives have become more polarised and polarising, my role has often been to serve as the token black person in a discussion or debate, in which I’m required to justify both my legitimacy as a contributor and the idea that racism exists.” Speaking to The Voice about the importance of Representology, editor K Biswas said: “It’s
tance of capturing the struggles of people of colour, and equal rights campaigners who blazed the trail for the rest of us. “All contributors understand the need for a radical overhaul in media diversity in Britain”. The second issue of Representology is out today, featuring contributions from leading figures including Sir Lenny Henry, Amma Asante, Kurt Barling, Chi
Thai, Adrian Lester, Siobhan McGuirk, Selina Nwulu and Ciaran Thapar. Marcus Ryder, who sits on the editorial board on Representology, says: “For too long the debate around media diversity has ignored the legacy of the black press in general and The Voice in particular. “The Voice has consistently played an invaluable role in producing both great journalism and great journalists. “Afua Hirsch’s piece is an important contribution to making sure The Voice’s role in British media is recognised. It is hard to name a great black British journalist that has not benefited from their time at The Voice. “The purpose of the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity is to explore the policies that increase media diversity. “Afua puts forward a convincing argument that supporting The Voice and independent black media is an effective way of doing this.” You can read the full article in issue two of Representology.
34 | THE VOICE JUNE 2021
THE WEEKLY GLEANER
JUNE 2021
THE VOICE| 3
JULY 8-14, 2021 •
25
Lifestyle Rep Dat doing it big p36
Last words from Menelik Shabazz p41
FROM TROUBLED TEEN TO TV SCREEN Aaron Roach Bridgeman
This is BrukOut: It’s Spice time now p42