Review of Black History Walks in London Volume 1 by Tony Warner

If you think you know Black history, you may need to have a re-think. There is always more for us to learn.  Brother Tony Warner’s talks are always jam-packed full of information, and he updates them so that each time he gives any given  presentation, it’s never the same.  Like his talks, this book is loaded with information and fascinating facts.  

I have attended these talks for many years and I was very excited to learn that Black History Walks in London Volume I had been published. Holding it is like holding history in my hand. This is a very strong experience. 

If you are a parent, a teacher or educator, a Black history buff or just someone who wants to increase your knowledge about Black history, you need this book. And Brother Tony’s work makes it clear that Black history is world history.

Go here to buy it on Amazon.co.uk

Go here to buy it on Amazon.com

 

If you buy it from one of these links, I will gain a small commission.

In addition to the many Black history talks by Brother Tony Warner which I have attended   over the years, I have also attended many of the African Odysseys films he helps to curate at London’s Southbank Centre. I have thoroughly enjoyed loads of them, although some were very challenging because of the subject matter.

Brother Tony's presentations are always packed full of useful and intriguing factual information.  He is making Black history accessible to us through his detailed research and his presentations, which are always very engaging.  His work, although London-based, gives a global perspective on Black history.

Go here for my recent conversation with Brother Tony Warner.

Like his talks, Black History Walks in London Volume I very much reflects Brother Tony’s ongoing commitment to seeking out, researching and sharing detailed Black history information. In other words, he is a griot.

Brother Tony’s work deals with slavery, pre-slavery and post-slavery issues in Africa, the Caribbean, and all of the Americas, as well as London, Britain and Europe.

Of particular interest is his section on the Second World War, which he covers from several angles. Again, it contains loads of useful and fascinating factual information.

For example, did you know that.during the Second World War, German submarines targeted the waters around the Caribbean?   Or that Trinidad was home to the largest oil refinery in the British Empire? 

Or that, during the First World War, Black troops from the Caribbean were put into cold accommodation and made to stack boxes, while German POWs - the enemy - were housed in heated rooms?  

Or that, in 1919, Black troops in Washington, D.C. fought against mobs of racist white sailors who were attacking Black people?  

If you want to know more, buy the book today. It will also make a great present for the holidays or anytime. As we know, every month is Black History Month. Bring your copy along to the next Black history walk or talk and get it signed by the author (he has already signed mine).  

Go here to buy it on Amazon.co.uk

Go here to buy it on Amazon.com

Go here for my blog post about Black soldiers in the First World War. 

Go here for lots more Black history blog posts.  

What interests you the most about Black history? Please comment below and please share this blog post with your networks. Thanks for your help.  

Some Recent Anniversaries

Olaseni Lewis

Recently, we have reached some crucial and tragic anniversaries:  

100 Years Since the Destruction of Black Wall Street.  

66 Years Since the Murder of Emmett Till.  July would have marked his 80th birthday.  

Meanwhile, this horrific roll call continues:  

 

Deaths of Olaseni Lewis and Sean Rigg.  Olaseni died in the UK in 2010, the same way as George Floyd, begging police officers to let him breathe.  Sean Rigg also died in London, in 2008.  

Go here for my show in which we asked:  Do Black Lives Really Matter? 

28 years since the death of Joy Gardner in London, UK.  

And these deaths keeps rolling on, on both sides of the Atlantic. 

Cressida Dick, Commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police, states that "no one is above the law".  Really?  Really, Cressida? 

According to Wikipedia, Cressida Dick held senior roles in the force's diversity directorate, in anti-gang and anti-gun crime operations, and in counterterrorism operations before becoming Commissioner.  She was a Met Police officer at the time of the death of Joy Gardner.  The documentary-maker Ken Fero called for her resignation with regard to the death of Joy Gardner. 

We live in a world in which MP Dawn Butler was racially profiled and stopped by the police because they thought her car was registered outside London (which has yet to be made a criminal offence).   

We live in a world in which a Black mother states that it is "not hunting season" on Black people (again - really?).  

Last year (2020), a Metropolitan Police Officer was the subject of a criminal investigation after kneeling on Marcus Coutain's neck during a stop-and-search operation.  The officer will not face charges, nor will he face disciplinary action.  

Yet, as reported in the Guardian,  Cressida Dick has said that the Met has transformed and is no longer institutionally racist.  (Say it with me:  really, Cressida?  Really????)

We need to realise and understand that this is not just a problem in the U.S.  This is not just an American problem.  Black deaths in police custody are happening all over the world.  Black men, women and children are dying in police custody and those responsible are not facing justice.  

We MUST find solutions.  Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is one such solution.  

I have blogged about this issue many times, and I shall continue to do so.  Our communities need to be armed with the skills of NVC, which can help to PREVENT these types of crimes.  

Go her for more Black history blogs.  

Go here for Zhana's conversation with Ken Fero, the director of Injustice. 

Go here for Nonviolence and NVC Resources.  

What do you think is a possible solution?  Please comment below and please share.  Thanks.  

Go here for my show in which we asked:  Do Black Lives Really Matter?  

 

Black Lives Matter: Death of Kevin Clarke

Did you know – it was reported Monday that Kevin Clarke, a young Black man, died in police custody in Catford, Southeast London after being detained by NINE police officers. 

Clarke had mental health problems.

One more reason Why I Am Committed to Nonviolence.

See also: Rashan Charles's Death.

Please leave your comments below, and please share this with your networks.  Thanks. 

Increase in Gun and Knife Crime

London Metropolitan Police 2018

If you have been reading and listening to my blog posts, you know that my work is about solutions. 

As I am sure you know, there has been an increase in violent crime, including knife crime and gun crime, in London. Black communities have been dealing with this crisis for many years.  

What is the response to this from the police?   

Sara Thornton, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, has said that there needs to be an increase in stop-and-search, and The Metropolitan Police are planning to do just that.  

 

As we know, the stop-and-search is deployed overwhelmingly against Black African-Caribbean people, particularly young Black African-Caribbean men.

Given that British prisons are already disproportionately incarcerating Black people, something is definitely wrong here. Several things, actually.

The police conducting their stop-and-search incidents are finding larger numbers of weapons.

http://www.itv.com/news/2018-04-07/london-knife-crime-met-police/

This would suggest that stop-and-search is not working. Stop-and-search is not preventing young people from carrying knives. The ethos has been described as making young people more afraid of being arrested than they are of carrying knives. Given most young Black men are aware that the police may kill them with impunity, and this has happened numerous times, making them more afraid of police is a tall order.

What needs to happen is for young people become confident in their ability to reduce or prevent violet crime without needing to carry weapons. Our young people need to become skilled in methods such as NVC (Nonviolent Communication) that can PREVENT violent incidents and PREVENT situations escalating into violence.

By the time a young person starts carrying a knife, ostensibly for protection, the situation is out of control. We need to PREVENT young peoplle believing they need to carry guns in order to protect themselves,as they know other people who are carrying weapons.

For more about this, see  Children and Knife Crime.

See also: Which Children Are More Likely to Bring Weapons to School? 

Please share this with your networks, and please leave your comments below.  Thanks.  

50th Anniversary of Kwanzaa

As you may know, 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of Kwanzaa.  And once again, I am listing Kwanzaa events on my website.  

Click here for my Kwanzaa event listings.  I am listing Kwanzaa celebrations being held in Johannesburg, South Africa; Canada, Britain and all over the U.S.A.  Enjoy!  

Please share these with your networks and please leave your comments below.  Happy Kwanzaa!  

 

The Calais Jungle

The Calais Jungle, London Southbank

I am sure you have heard of the “Jungle”, the name given to the camp in Calais where many refugees have gathered hoping to cross the Channel and enter Britain. A lot of them are African people.

I saw The Calais Jungle, an exhibition at the Royal Festival Hall, London Southbank, on Sunday. It was included in the Africa Utopia festival, which has now ended, and the Love Festival, and continues until 2^nd October. If you have not seen it, I recommend you see it.

The exhibition includes loads of photographs of people who live in the Jungle, as well as homes, shops, churches and mosques. The Jungle is a vast complex.

What I really like about this exhibition is that the photographs show people's faces. They are not just a faceless mass of refugees, which is how the current crisis is often reported in the mainstream press.

Part of the Jungle was recently demolished, making many people, including children, homeless. Well over 100 children simply disappeared and the French police, according to what is said in this exhibition, did nothing to try to help them, protect them or investigate their disappearance. The children of the Jungle, who have escaped a war zone and the unimaginable terrors they have witnessed, are afraid of the French police.

There have been loads of stories coming out of the Jungle, and French lorry drivers have taken  action this week because they want their government to close it down. The Jungle's residents have become pawns in a very dangerous game being played between and within France, Britain and other European countries. Many lorry drivers feel under pressure from refugees demanding that drivers allow them to stow away in their vehicles. 

The UK government is reported to be building a wall near Calais to further deter The UK government is reported to be building a wall to further deter migrants from entering Britain.   

These refugees are clearly desperate and my heart goes out to them (not making excuses for any intimidatory behaviour).

It is important that we bear the refugees in mind. I am fortunate to live in London, a place that is relatively stable and peaceful, and I feel helpless to do much for them. The one thing I can do, besides blogging, is publish the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence. Please support the blogging carnival.

590 Black Deaths in Police Custody

Marcia Rigg Protest about the Death of Sean Rigg, London

Check out my previous blog posts:  Protecting Our Communities

We Need Solutions That Work. 

According to this article, 590 Black people in the UK have died in police custody.

This article fails to mention that some of the 500 people killed by the police, with impunity, were women. Some were disabled. Some were probably both. 

Call their names:  Cynthia Jarrett, Joy Gardner.   

Also, Cherry Groce was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life after being shot by the police in London.

This post appears to be pitting disadvantaged groups against each other. We need to stand together. I am Black, a woman and disabled. I have a problem with the way this site has posed the question, “If it was 590 women or 590 wheelchair users, would there be a national outcry?”.

All deaths in police custody need to be highlighted, awareness needs to be raised, but racism is something that affects Black people in every area of our lives, whether or not we are women or disabled. We need to keep highlighting this. 

These are just some of the many reasons why I am hosting the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2015.   

Plus check out this blog from Naturally Moi:  The Woman Who Filmed the Eric Garner Killing Is Suing the NYPD.   

Please leave your comments below.  And please share this with your networks.  Thanks. 

Arrests in Eric Garner Protest, London

76 people were arrested yesterday in a "die-in" protest outside Westfield Shopping Centre in London.  They were protesting about the outcome of the Eric Garner enquiry.  Yes, a police officer has killed a Black person and got away with it - yet again. Click here to read more. 

Check out my blog post:  We Need Solutions that Work. 

People in London are aware that this impacts on us - this issue affects Black communities on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Gentrification of Peckham and Other Black Areas

I enjoyed this event on Saturday.  As I live just down the road from Peckham, South London, and have for many years, I was particularly interested in this topic. 

Like pretty much all of the events held by London Black History Walks, "The Gentrification of Peckham and Other Black Areas" as very well presented.  It started with Tony Warner going through a short history of migration and gentrification which took in the Black history o f London from Roman times to the present day, including the Elizabethan era and the two World Wars, as well as the experience of Black people in Brooklyn, including Spike Lee, and in South Africa and Zimbabwe.  

Back in the 1950s and '60s, many Black people in London and the UK were forced to become homeowners, as this was the only way to provide accommodation for themselves and their families.  

The authorities will sometimes allow local areas to become run down in order to make them more attractive to investors.   This has also involved encouraging the use of drugs and guns in Black areas.  There is evidence of this in the U.S., and he referred to "Operation Jackpot" in Stoke Newington in Hackney, East London.  

Tony's presentations are always packed with factual details and always highly engaging.  

The presentation by Charmaine Brown focused specifically on Peckham and covered the area's history as well as reviewing how much Peckham has changed.  

Brown clarified the distinction between improvements and gentrification.  The Council first started making improvements to the area several years ago.  However, with gentrification, a new type of resident moved in - people who do not have any investment in the "social capital" of the area.  

She characterised "social capital" as a personal interest and investment in, and involvement with, the local area, its people and its culture.  Thus, there is often a divide between the current residents and those moving into the area.  Added to this is the fact that, with property prices skyrocketing, locals often feel unable to own their own homes, and can find themselves moved out of the area completely. 

Like many of the Queen Nzingha lectures, this one left me feeling sadness and frustration.  Althought the problem was well explained and illustrated, there was little focus on solutions.  

I was particularly saddened by a short film featuring author Alex Wheatle, in which he talked about the ways in which the Brixton and Tulse Hill areas have changed.  He walked around Brixton Market but did not mention that none of the shops and businesses inside the market are Black-owned.  They are all owned by white and Asian business owners.  It was like that more than 30 years ago, when I first came to London, and it's still like that now. 

He also stated that Dick Sheppard School in Tulse Hill has been closed and replaced with a gated community.  Again, this was particularly sad for me as, many years ago,  I used to teach at a Saturday school based there.  

We need to focus more on solutions, and on actions steps we can take today, here and now, such as, for example, those described in Maggie Anderson's Empowerment Experiment and Our Black Year.  We need to take ownership of our communities. 

To read about The Empowerment Experiment and Our Black Year, and to watch a video about them, see Strong Black Business Community.  

Is Diversity Good for Business?

The Gherkin, London

The Voice Online reports that the Lord Mayor of London warned that the city risks falling behind its competitors if it fails to embrace diversity in its business culture.  

Click here to read her comments.  Apparently, Fiona  Woolf is only the second female Lord Mayor since 1189.  She was speaking at the launch of the Power of Diversity programme.

So remember that the next time you sit through a presentation by a team made up entirely of white men - as I did last night.  There is a business case for diversity.  Or, to put it another way, diversity is good for business.  

What do you think?  Is there enough diversity in London and UK businesses?  If not, why not?  And is there a business case for increasing diversity?  Please leave your comments below.  

And click here for my Black Success audios.  Click here for more advice from Black business experts.  Because positive representation is important to me.


Here's to your success! 

The Black Market - Economic Empowerment

This was the second Black Market event in London hosted by Black History Studies.  I attended the first one a few months ago, and it was very positive.  The second one include a film festival.  

It's all about economic empowerment.  

We can all learn from this.  This is just an example of what is possible for our Black-owned businesses. 

Plus click here for the Strong Black Business Community. 

Mary Seacole Strikes Back - The Truth about Mary Seacole

It is so important that we tell our own stories.

The UK government recently proposed plans to remove Mary Seacole and Olaudah Equiano from the national curriculum.

An event I attended on Saturday, held by London Black History Walks, examined the controversy.

The national curriculum only briefly mentioned Mary Seacole, as a Victorian woman who could be studied. The Daily Mail recently claimed that Mary Seacole's story was a myth.  See below for more details. 

The following information was supplied by Professor Elizabeth Anionwu at this event.

 

Life of Mary Seacole

Mary Seacole was a 19^th century Jamaican businesswoman who worked as a doctoress. She saved many lives during outbreaks of cholera and yellow fever in Jamaica and Panama.

Seacole treated Lord Nelson and the future King William IV, both of whom highly praised and recommended her.

When she learned that Florence Nightingale was recruiting nurses to serve the wounded soldiers in the Crimean War, Seacole travelled to London, paying her own way. She approached Nightingale for help with finding accommodation in London.

Nightingale later wrote of Seacole as a “bad woman” who ran a “bad house”. The truth was that Mary Seacole raised the funds, went to the Crimea and treated the soldiers there. Her experience of tropical medicine greatly benefited them.

Nightingale has been remembered as the “Lady with the Lamp”, but the truth is that it was Mary Seacole who went to the battlefield to treat and comfort the soldiers. Nightingalle's hospital was across the sea, in Scutari.

Mary Seacole was well loved in her lifetime, frequently appearing in the newspapers. She was later forgotten, but the current generation have revived her memory and voted her the Greatest Black Briton on Patrick Vernon's 100 Great Black Britons site.

The Daily Mail Controversy

The Daily Mail claimed that

• Mary Seacole did not consider herself to be Black;
• she did not earn the medals she wore, but stole them; and
• she did not receive formal nursing training [in fact, the first formal nursing training was established in 1860, after the Crimean War].   

Read her autobiography to find out the truth.  Click here for an article about Mary Seacole by ProfessorAnionwu on the Operation Black Vote website.  

Professor Anionwu is helping to raise funds for the erection of a statue of Mary Seacole. 

Although we have a great deal of information and documentation about Mary Seacole, a national newspaper was able to publish these distortions. It is so important that we tell our own stories.  

The National Curriculum

Information about Mary Seacole and Olaudah Equiano is now a mandatory part of the national curriculum. However, other things have been removed from the national curriculum.

Please come to my next Griot Workshop to learn more about telling our own stories.

 

Why Focus on History?

It was lovely to see several young people at the Black History Studies event the other night, "Slavery Is Not Our History".   More about this event soon. 

One young man asked the important question (and I am paraphrasing):  given the pressures on young people today, what is the point of focusing on history? 

As you can imagine, there was a lot to say about this. 

Mark Simpson of BHS referred to Sankofa:  in order to move forwards, you have to look backwards.  In order to know where we are going, we need to know where we have been. 

Charmaine Simpson, also of BHS, pointed out that many of the issues we face today originated in the enslavement of our ancestors.

I talked about the importance of identity.  Without knowledge of our history and of who we are, it is easy for us to become confused.  

Click here for more Black history events.  

Click here for even more Black history events, with Black History Studies and London Black History Walks. These events are held year-round. 

It is vital that you share this information with young people and parents. 

And always, always Remember Your Greatness.  

The Mistake Most Jobseekers Make

Debo Ajose-Adeogun photo from the London Evening Standard

Yesterday, the London Evening Standard reported on graduates having to take menial jobs as they cannot find even entry-level employment in their fields.  

In the Black community, this is certainly not news. It has been going on for many years - even generations. 

The article focused on London-based Debo Ajose-Adeogun, a Nigerian architecture graduate.  He worked hard for three years to complete his degree, then spent all day every day online looking for work.  

The mistake he is making is that he is responding to job ads and writing off to companies asking for employment opportunities.  Most job seekers make the same mistake.

It's fine to write off to companies, just don't expect to land a job that way - unless you know what to say in your letter. 

The majority of jobs are never advertised.  This means we need to have better strategies for finding work.  For more about this, click here for my free report, Four Steps to Finding the Job You Want.  The report explains how you can stop chasing after jobs and start having employers chase you. 

See also:  Black Success:  Finding the Job You Want. 

London's Top Black Men and Women of Power

Courttia Newland

Black Enterprise has identified London's top Black men and women of power.  Not sure I agree with their choices.  

London's Top Black Women of Power 

It's great to see writer Courttia Newland included in the list of London's Top Black Men of Power.  

In Black Success Stories, I did not just list people's accomplishments.  I asked them how they achieved their successes.  It's all there in the book.  

Success Workshops in London

Below is a short audio about my Relaxation and Success Workshops in London. For more info, click on the links below.

Listen to internet radio with Zhana21 on Blog Talk Radio

Click here for for more information and to book for the Relaxation and Success Workshops.

Plus click here for Financial Success with EFT.

London Kwanzaa, Tokyo Kwanzaa

Every year, I post a list of Kwanzaa events on my site, including international events.

I have the first details of international events now.


Tokyo Kwanzaa
A Kwanzaa will be held in Tokyo today (Monday 28th November).

London Kwanzaa
Stereo-Hype will be presenting a Kwanzaa event on Friday the 9th of December, 7-9 p.m. in east London.

Click here for details of these and other Kwanzaa events. I shall continue to update the comments section on this page.

Click here to read about the tradition of Kwanzaa.

Click here for lots of lovely Christmas and Kwanzaa gift ideas, including my books.

Happy Kwanzaa!

Further Thoughts on the Riots

There was a lot of destruction caused by the riots across London and the UK a few weeks ago. As ever, my first thought is, why did people feel the need to riot, loot and burn?

Obviously, as I said in previous posts, people are angry. There is a lot of anger being expressed in these situations. I believe a big contributing factor is that the government has refused to listen to what people want. And it is still refusing to listen.

Why is there so much anger and disssatisfaction? We can only find out by asking the people involved.

There has been an enormous amount of speculation. And an enormous amount of stereotyping.

We need an alternative. We need to turn this situation around.

The media have blamed "young people" for the rioting and destruction, although only about 20% of the people involved have been under 18 years of age.

The media have stereotyped the Black community as rioters and looters. The Evening Standard was full of photos of African people being taken to court. But the truth is somewhat different.

Black community leaders have taken it on themselves to try to address what have been long-standing problems between young Black people and the police. These problems certainly may have contributed to the events of a few weeks ago.

The shooting of a young Black man, lies and rumours about this incident, and the assault by police officers on a young woman on a peaceful demonstration may well have contributed. But people of many different racial and cultural backgrounds took part in the rioting and looting.

Orthodox Jewish people were filmed at the riots in North London.

The fact that white people have been rioting in London since last year has been all but forgotten.

In Nonviolent Communication (NVC), we say that people's actions are always an attempt to meet a need.

In order to get someone to do what you want, you first need to give empathy to that person. That is, you have to connect with that person's feelings and needs. For more about this, click here to read my article on Nonviolent Communication.

I have not heard any empathy at all from the government or the media, although I have heard empathy from some of our community leaders.

Mostly what I have been hearing is "bring in the Army", "bring in water cannons", "impose harsh sentences". This is the opposite of empathy. This is a fear reaction and does not address the causes of the rioting.

At a recent meeting in London of the African People's Parliament, which had met to discuss issues arising from the riots, the police sent a helicopter and shined a light on the door of the building.

We need to use different methods, as I said previously. I saw this coming, as I said on a previous post. And I predict more rioting as long as the government continues with this blame game, and continues to avoid dealing with the underlying issues.

It takes an enormous amount of courage to say, "we will not give in to fear. We will not give vent to our violent impulses". But this is what we need to do.

People need to stop posturing, stop pointing the finger and start using more effective methods.

Click here for my workshps in London.

We have been presented with a golden opportunity to turn things around. Let's use it.

Please leave your comments below.

Rodney King Urges Young People to Stop Violent and Criminal Behaviour

Rodney King became a household name in the early 1990s for some of the worst possible reasons - he was badly beaten by racist police officers in Los Angeles.

Rioting broke out in L.A. when the jury returned a verdict of "not guilty" for the police officers involved.

Similarly, violence broke out in Tottenham, North London when the police assaulted a 16-year-old girl during a peaceful protest.

King has now stressed that people should not loot and burn their own neighbourhoods - this is not a solution. He says: "Being a looter is a crime, but who are you hating? Your local store? My message to all rioters is to stop.”

Click here for a positive alternative to the violence.

See also: UK Riots - Ending the Violence.

Click here to read more about King's statement.

Targeting the Black Community

The African Caribbean community is now being scapegoated - we are being blamed for the riots and violent disorder of last week. Like the riots, this was entirely predictable.

Click here for a positive alternative - the African Caribbean Family Leadership Project.

One caller on The Wright Stuff this morning said that people who use Patois are violent. The guest presenter did nothing to challenge him on this.

Patois is spoken by many people including parents, teachers and community leaders.

This call was in response to remarks by historian David Starkey, who claimed that Black culture is violent and that the infamous "rivers of blood" speech by Enoch Powell was right.

What is this if not incitement to violence against the Black community. Apparently, links to the English Defence League (EDF) website have been added to Starkey's video on YouTube.

This is just the thin end of the wedge. Expect more of the same.

Click here for a positive alternative - the African Caribbean Family Leadership Project.

Commentators including Bishop Dr. Derek Webley, Chair of the West Midlands Police Authority, and Sgt. Winston Christie, Interim Chair of the Black and Asian Police Association, have stated clearly that the riots were not just to do with Black people - they reflect the disaffection of many young people in British society today.

See also: Ending the Violence.