This video is part of an educational series that focuses on what life was really like for Black/Africans growing up in Britain during the 1960s through to the 2000s. Nana Prophet Meduty shares his experience mainly of #Brixton. He discusses his first-hand experience of #Racism, the riots, the gentrification of Brixton, the reasons for the birth of the #BlackChurch #SaturdaySchools and much more.
This series is particularly insightful for Africans/Black people born outside of the UK as it shares some unwritten truths and informs those who want to know what life was really like living and growing up in Britain for the 1st Generation of Africans, post-Windrush.
If you would like to support the works of Sista Shanice, join her on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/SistaShanice
Welcome welcome we are live yes it’s eama day it’s Wednesday it’s 800 PM so you know what time of day it is it is the sister shenise show as you can see we have our special guest in the house none other than Nana Prophet MTI I’m
Gonna come to him in just a while uh family as she com through the door please do let us know that you’re in the house let us know what part of the world you’re viewing us from welcome welcome if you’re already a subscriber a special welcome to you and if you’re visiting us
For the first time another special welcome to you and uh you know if you are um one of my patreon supporters enough love and respect to you as well for the support also um if you’re not a subscriber please do subscribe it would be wonderful to have you join our
Subscribers and also do remember to give us a thumbs up as well yes uh you’ve got a live chat you can put your questions you can put your comments you can put your brief statements in the chat and I do usually try and get through as many
Questions and points in the chat as I can so without further Ado let’s welcome Prophet M Nana MTI Nana how you doing yeah yeah um good evening my sister y an my a sh some of our listeners may not know what you said just I was I was
Uh uh words has been put together from the ancient commit and text you know greet you with um Divine peace long life stability and good health you know and um eura we’re saying you know may allar may the creator of the universe and protect and guide us and may the path
That we take be a prosperous and conducive path beautiful greetings thank you so much for that wonderful greeting Nana and uh we’ve got a special uh show lined up for you again today family as you know we have been uh doing a series where we focus on growing up black in
Britain you know some say black some say African you know whatever terminology you prefer but we’re talking about us as melanated people uh 50 60 years ago you know most people outside of England outside of the UK didn’t even know that there were black people in the
UK you know why because uh if they are featuring uh any anything on any news or documentaries or films about the UK what they tend to do is uh blot us out it was as if we were invisible it was as if we didn’t exist you know and then you know
As time went on into the 80s and our presence became you know um very powerful they had to start recognizing our existence but then our portrayal wasn’t always a good one but anyway we’re going to put all that aside today because you know we’re going to be
Hearing today the story from Nana profit because yeah he know what it’s like he’s had that experience of uh being black Stoke African and growing up in Britain nana I wonder if you could uh introduce yourself first of all to our audience yeah my V my name is Nana Prophet Med Sakara pan
Imot bonsu you’re probably wondering and some people what is that is that the name your parents gave you no it’s not the name that my birth parents gave me it’s a name that was given to me by uh the quu bonsu was given to me by the pre family in Ghana
Um prose who I grew up with as a young boy in Brixton and the other names were and bestowed upon me through my study of ancient Kem Etc I’m an African born in Britain coming through the lines of the Africans who were kidnapped from the motherland right about in the 15th 16th century
Taken excuse me to the island of what we now know as Jamaica coming out of the Parish of santons traveling to Britain via plane my parents never come here on boat they flew in boac terminal one London erro Airport in the 60s growing up in Lambo area in the Parish of brickton
African that’s who I am I’ve uh been involved in a whole things um my age is I’m 61 I’ll be 62 this cycle and it’s been an interesting life and growing up as a young African I use the word African now I don’t really use the word you know interchangeably I may
Use word black Etc but I’m African stroke black and as an African youth who was partly part of the first generation here born out of the Africans who came here on mass between the late 50s and 60s it’s been a seesaw of travel in this country in terms of
Experiences racism was rif when I was growing up we didn’t have all the resources that many of the young Africans today have resources to we didn’t have exposure of many of the things that young Africans have um today even on the continent however it was a sometimes it was a happy
Experience sometimes it was a sad experience sometimes it was a beautiful experience and sometimes it was a bitter experience but in all of those experiences I and I learn something I’m involved in an organization called nuia African Community Foundation school which is a school that we now Define as the African
School of learning in Britain we you know have our children on a Saturday we teach them mathematics General Science communication moral philosophy and medal nature we’ve been running for 32 years and it’s a brainchild of my teacher um Dr FEI B I work alongside other seers in that school um
Cbaa CBA MVA Elder Dez CBA Kimber you know siba coo siba Aisha they are the they were the children that we taught and they now run the school we still participate in giving them and in teaching the lesson CA uh CA lius has joined us and um and many many
More also involved the reparations movement here in Britain was part of the African emanation day reparation March comme for a number of years in giving up the information about reparatory Justice restitution reparative Justice Etc I’m part of Galaxy a.net the only D brainwashing station in AA
Nation where we you can find us on ww. galaxyi we.net or you can download the shoutcast and that’s putting Galaxy a.net where you can get shenise myself and many others who report on the things that affect us as African people globally we are you know 80% talk show
Hosts and presenters and we have a variety of presenters that deal with things that deal with our community Mah M what a beautiful introduction thank you so much and uh n the family is coming uh through the door they’re hitting us up in the chat yeah family
Let us know that you’re in the house do continue to put your messages in the chat as well a couple of you are asking what’s up with Galaxy a with station uh yeah some minor challenges you know how it goes sometimes we get some challenges along the way we just updating the
Services um um sister shenise and um it should be all right um in the next few days um the website is up it’s working so people can visit the website ww. galaxyi we.net and you can log on or download shoutcast and just tap in uh Galaxy and
You get it but you know it’s it’s you know when you’re making changes these things happen we not going way we there we won’t go for long so if you tune in today and you can’t get us just tune in tomorrow uh yes so some min developments happening behind the scenes
And it has affected uh live transmission but as Nana has said you most certainly still can get the big G Galaxy alui so download shoutcast and put in Galaxy alui and we are there okay so net net. net rise up yes okay don’t forget theet Galaxy air.net AB absolutely fantastic H so to
Everyone coming through the door thank you so much hotep black at you brother kwami AB good to have you in the house welcome black and to Door of L good to have you in the house as well lots of messages kwami thank you so much yes you
Was born in a Babylon as well blue zodiac welcome welcome yeah we just answered your question as well inspired din vera good to have you in the house as well saying there were already indigenous arowo black people in Jamaica they didn’t come from Africa they were the original Jamaicans that Columbus
Wiped out we didn’t all come from Africa well originally we did you know but you know hundreds of thousands of years ago many of us migrated from Africa populated the entire Globe okay and uh you know resided in various regions across the worldice I’d like to address that if I may go ahead
Yeah you know um there’s this uh narrative that’s been pushed around uh that we all didn’t come from Africa the simple thing those people are saying is just do a DNA test and it would tell you exactly where you come from the reality is this the people them
That occupy those islands the Spanish the Dutch the British and the French wiped them out and what was left a with Africans who were taken there as enslaved people yeah the incidentally the first Africans to be enslaved and taken to the various Islands did not actually come from Africa straight away
They came from Spain after the fall of the moish Empire and and they were taken to ATI as a a enslaved people and escaped so when the Africans who were kidnapped from Africa taken there um they met these other Africans that were there you understand but you know it’s a misn
People are spren this over the internet and all me said to them just go and do a DNA all said them was indigenous to that to wherever them find themselves go do a DNA report absolutely the DNA will tell you exactly where you come from you
Might have other you might have a bit a European there a bit Asian day but I can guar guantee the majority of your DNA will be African from the continent it’s nonsense and if you can’t afford to do the DNA test just ask a white
Person to tell you and and this you know um um my sister so funny this um what people you see what I’m traveling and and and it’s a privilege to travel yeah and I wish more of our people could travel because see see when you travel it’s a affrication
In itself you a sudden it opens up your mind now like yourself I’ve traveled to Africa many times since the 90s the 90s was the first time I ever went to Africa and I went to Africa I’m East Africa West Africa and when you meet Africans you find we all
Look similar there’s some Africans who’s darker there’s some Africans who are lighter not because they mixed with any body but primarily because the climate where they are determines the amount of melan in their need because if you’re closer to the Equator you find that most Africans are very dark but the further
Away from the equator they are like the Kisa the koisa people who people like Nels and Mandela come from in the southern regions of Africa they quite light they’ve never mixed with nobody they are straight African you understand it’s all a genetic a genetic thing so we’re different variations of Africans
And I just wanted to push that indices absolutely absolutely have to agree with you uh on that profit you know these Europeans they had their plantations didn’t they and they wanted to populate those plantations and they also wanted to clear you know uh certain parts of
The world where we were in large numbers such as Spain and other parts of Europe including Britain uh they cleared uh the highlands they cleared these regions of Africans and put us all onto those uh plantations they had plantations in the America in in um the Caribbean islands
You know H and that’s exactly what they did so have to agree with you on that also uh just want to let our family know that uh you know there is a major issue uh amongst our people in terms of identity because and that’s what’s so good about the Saturday schools you know
Because you teach the children identity a lot lot of our children young people they go through the schools in uh places like Britain and they don’t learn about who they are in fact you know the history that they will learn about Africans is so deocr so demeaning uh and
So belittling you know a lot of people then struggle to identify us as Africans until they come out the education system uh or if they haven’t been to a Saturday school they then have to then go on and study about Africa for themselves and as you say visit the continent which is
Just so powerful you know when you see the greatness and uh you learn of the greatness of Africa so the family’s coming through the door now but we want to go back we want to go to start off with life grownup you mentioned that you grew up in Brixton Brixton is known
Around the world uh Nana and so this is a place you said where you grew up what was life like growing up in Brixton UK before I go there you know the Brixton that that people know of don’t exist no more that brickton is gone uh the um brickton now is populated mainly
By Europeans um most of the businesses in brickton Europeans own them or different factions of different groups but the brickson that I grew up in you know I was born in 62 and grew up in brickson throughout the 60s 70s and the 80s and it was quite exciting as a as a
Child I I went to Primary School uh I went to primary school at AIG and um the teachers in were quite racist it was quite racist at the time and they were overt with it they didn’t have hide the racist uh connotations that they would say to you but they weren’t brutal
With it um at some point yeah I got the slipper uh and anybody who’s watching this real with know man called Mr but he was the depy Ed and and he would administer the slipper and with think I was quite rebellious as a a young child I I didn’t I didn’t take rubbish
From anybody and um when I got in trouble at school and they told my mother I’d get her bloody good iding because at those days our parents were coming from the Caribbean and and the teachers at the Caribbean the way that they dealt with children you know uh was different than
How they dealt with a say our parents assumed that the teachers was always right it took them a long time to get around that the teachers were actually actually you know I’m I’m picking on the children there you understand uh I remember an incident when I was about probably six and
Um I said to teacher you don’t like black people I remember that distinctively and they call my mother and tell my mother said um couldn’t come back at the school until um she um took me to a psychiatrist you know that incident happened and funny enough I was talking to I was
Talking to my friend about it today because we were in the same class yeah Steve Lewis is still alive he was a twin and his his brother Ray and we had this math test and we we we we took this uh math test and we went up to give our
Answers and all of us had the same answer and the teacher didn’t believe that Ry and I knew the answer and um they thought we copy Ste although he on opposite tables so the teacher told us to go back and do it again we go back and do it the
Same answer then she told us we’re lying and she told us to stand in the dust spin oh my gosh yeah was about six six years old six seven years old something like and um I refused to stand in the dpin both Ray and I refused to stand in
DP so what she did she said don’t stand inin not going when play not go there so um Ray capitulated and he went and stood in the DP but I refused to stand in the DP I don’t know what it was within me but something said to me no
D yeah and when it was coming up to play time and she was a big woman um her name was M never forget on it and they let everybody out and she stood at the door she was a big woman she w’t let me out so me start
Flinging all the beads all something after her and she was coming after me and I was flinging and I take the chair I broke her foot and that’s they lock then she run out she lock the um the classroom door and mash up the classroom and I sent for
My mom when my mom come and I saw my mom freeze you know yeah give me a beaten and they told her that she could me back to the school unless they took me to see a psychiatrist and my mother refused and my mother took them to court
And to take me back to school we’re talking this is in the you know the 60 ear 70s yeah yeah my mom was a my mom my mom she had that that that trait about she was a bit of a militant herself in in certain aspects you know um I mean
That is Major because as you’re saying and I could identify what you were saying about um our parents’ generation just believing that everything the teacher said was right and so you know for your mom to decide to take their school to court so so that you be
Allowed back into the school that is that is a major departure from you know the mindset of most uh of the Caribbean uh of that generation wow yeah and so they had to take you back yeah took me back um they didn’t put they didn’t put me back in
Her class I went in another class and I was in that class until we moved up and I went back to my original class you know I wouldn’t say that all my time at primary school was was was bad I had some good times at primary school you
Know I in actual fact I enjoyed going to school when I was at primary school you know to see my friends and I enjoyed the classes you know I did have a fairly happy time at primary school there were times where you know you show the little
Racism and certain look of things going on and I remember um a friend of mine funny enough you know he’s in us but his name was tber King and he joined us R about I think it was about must have been about eight and he came and he started to talk
What we call Gypsy yeah GP know language in itself wasn’t it yeah and understand it yeah yeah so we all start he was teaching we all start to learn and we were and we were talking like this in school you know what they did they banned it
No this is what they do they banned it they tell us we can’t because it was all like a whole another language and interesting in love I remember one I went on I teaching my little brother and sister and I was talking to my mom and my mom overstood it but my
Mom things and never ever told us you know but never ever show um um um so but you know primary school was all right and I’m still friends with a lot of the people and in contact with a lot of the people wow who I went primary school with we still
Speak to each other on the phone I got a phone call today that one of our old primary school friends moved on to the ancestors um yesterday today actually and so um you know these are people that I’ve known the best part of um 56 years
Yeah you know so we still friends we still meet up from time to time and we still stay in contact you know so you know I made good family I call it family because outside of the UK uh they may not know the ages of the primary
School children here so that’s what from the age of about five up to about 11 we started at four at four okay from four and then you’re being Primary School up to the age of 11 or so yeah 11 and then you go to what what they call what we used to call
Secondary school but I think they call it year seven9 it yes yes year seven8 n following the Americans you know CH am so imagine you know you experienced racism and you recognize that such a young tender age that your teacher just didn’t seem to like black people like black children
And you recognize that you have been treated differently and what an insult you recognize as well that being asked to stand in the Dustbin was just such an insult I I just knew to myself that stand at D i’ rather get slepp and stand in there was something about
Standing in that D that didn’t resonate with me and know standing at the D and he always threatened me with my mom we’re gonna call your mother yeah mother your parents could beat the children those days our parents of that generation used to beat and they knew that if we got in
Trouble at school we’d probably get a beaten so yeah good a good iding yeah you know but it toughen you up for when you’re a fight man so you know and you know and that was in primary school but at the same age in the area that I grew up um which was
Between Clapper and bricks and a lane you know then you had a whole different your area friend then you understand the people you grew up in they went to like some of them would have gone sub sborn if they live the opposite side of um aane and some would have gone sley you
Understand and so but we were all friends we meet up um at boy’s Brigade or we’ meet up on the you know just playing out in in the in the era so you had that set of friends and and that was beautiful in itself you know and then
Even in that same period I had to go Sunday school so you had your Sunday school friend them who come from different different areas then and so there’s a whole set of other people that I’m still close with I I still see them from time to time we call each of other
From time to time and so that it expanded the family because what would happen is some people from um in in central brickton will come to our Sunday school and that’s how you you knew them people there and then when you went to secondary school now it expanded even
More right you know and then when you went to um uh uh uh play centers and youth clubs you met up with other young Africans yes and we all had a kind of a similar background you over Summit so so growing up in
Brixton I I have to say for me it it was beautiful yeah it was beautiful you know in terms of the people them that you saw the different type of things that was going on and you know there was a whole load of um different things and then you know
From primary school growing up you saw these black shops them starting to open and there was a shop called um I mean the first shop I know was about probably six at the time there was a man called Mr Christie in the corner of a place
Called Strat Le Road and aain and he was probably one of the first men to bring yam and banana in a that dep part of brickton you know so that’s why our parents would go by them yam and banana and all something there and hard
Food you know and then you know we we had uh um other shops like uh um um Cliffs would um open up and then you had the best you know you had Cynthia KF you know over the bridge you had um um name again um his name will come to me but
You know the whole area of Brixton you different section of brickton and and and we were used to us mingle you know um the racist part growing up there was the police and once you reach a certain age the police message me you get into your teens into secondary school they
Had this law they call SS and they would constantly arrest you and um I remember one time they arrested me I was 15 years old and with my friend he was 18 and we were going to meet our other Breen them to play football in the
Park and they arrested US and done us for sus wow you know it was a it was a a law that the police can take you to um to the station tell a lie that they thought you were stealing something they don’t have to produce no evidence take it to
Court and and you know eight times out of 10 the court would find you guilty yeah so you get a record as a thief even though you didn’t th none I went through that was their agenda at that time wasn’t it to criminalize uh young black people but you know why that was
Is no because um my theory is this that when our parents came to this country they were invited in fact they were invited by the government at the time and they even sent the most racist of them to invite them which was Enoch power and they were invited to this
Country so I want people in the world to know that Africans who resided in Britain were invited yeah and at the time when they were invited they were still part of the college of yeah the imperial system and uh they had a plan for those Africans who were
Coming whether from the continent or from the Caribbean because incidentally what happened is many of their men died in the second European war and those that didn’t die came back Main and could were you understand and then those that was left there a lot of them left for better pastures which was
Like New Zealand Australia and Canada you over me so they they never really had a have a man Force really here to do work and what was left there n of them was criminal they never want work and he had one or two blue color workers so all those manual jobs it was
The Africans and the Irish that occupy them right you know all all jobs to do with hand building work African and the Irish and when our parents came in it had no blacks no Irish and no dogs but they’ve accepted the Irish the dog live in the house and still don’t want
We you understand me and so they had a plan for them they wanted them to work as um within the NHS service within the um uh Transport Service either on the tube the um the overhead train are the bosses you understand and then excuse me and then they wanted them to work
Within oh you’ve just gone on mute I’ve just lost profit okay not sure what happened there um okay you’re back now I lost you for a moment yeah there was somebody calling so yeah so with that structure of Britain you understand what I’m saying to you yes what they didn’t
Have a plan for they didn’t plan for them to have children M that’s one yes and two they didn’t plan that they were going to send for the children they already so you had two generations you had what I Define as the S the one them that’s the all one them
Like my oldest Brothers um and then you have the B which were the people you and I we you for and B they didn’t plan for the s for them and the Shel didn’t plan for the B you understand so um you know employment was um the one them who was
Sent for many of them couldn’t get work and things like that it was quite racist at the time um some of them did get work but those that didn’t they end up moving into um uh um being entrepreneurs I I would use that terminology of a
Different and so we had that kind of structure in Brixton you had the ones in who were the OA them on the road and the one them went work but we were all friends you know and um you know incidentally at that time you know Europeans didn’t walk through
The center of Brixton they would walk on the periphery ER was still a kind of a European area hernel was ER had that kind of a market and and South clap them some some some parts are clap them and things like that but most of those areas
Um Africans occupy them and and most of the properties that were owned were owned by Africans Europeans used to live in their states or they were they rent tenament yard but Africans were forced to buy properties because they couldn’t get rental things so in a place like of
Co arane in brickton a place called Summer Road old rental industry ended up there because a lot of Africans bought a lot of properties down there and what would happen is when Africans came from either the continent or from the Caribbean they could find somewhere to rent and when
They got in their fee them could go somewhere else and buy somewhere uh they didn’t want them to catch root so what happened is the council compulsary purchased a lot of those owns and those Africans had to leave their homes uh sell their properties and then they
Built these big old flats and things like that and incidentally that happened with my parents you know three years after they finished paying for their house um uh the council said they wanted the entire role and so you you had to sell your property they fought them for
A few years but um it came to that that to sell their property and whenever my parents went to buy another property in Brixton they got gazam and the last house they went for was a house in Trent Road and they lost their money and you
Know the put deposit down in it and they were supposed to sign the papers the afternoon the man agreed the price and everything and by the end of the morning the state agent called and said oh um the man a selling the property again but it was a unwritten law not to sell
Africans no properties in brickton again and how you see it is today so you can’t afford unless you know unless you’re a millionaire or you’re earning two of you earning free figures you can’t buy property in brixon you can’t rent a room and this is the irony because um
You know at the opening you were saying that brickton has changed now today it’s a very different complexion uh to what it was you know back in the 60s and the 70s and uh you know what you’ve just touched on there is one of the reasons why this has happened one of many
Reasons why this has happened so but if we go back to the early 60s and 70s you know as you saying um most of our people weren’t able to uh get an accommodation they weren’t able to rent from the Europeans who had properties there because they didn’t want black people in
Their house so black people as you said were forced to buy and as a result of that you know we all bought in uh certain areas like Brixton pekam and then you know outside of London yeah Inon wilon dlon Hackney so you had areas that were as far as the Europeans were
Concerned that were concentrated with us as Africans and as you said you know uh they didn’t expect our parents to stay and our parents didn’t even come to stay anyway they only came for like they they expected you know the place to be paved with gold and that
They could earn some money because this is what they wrote in their Primary School books in Jamaica that in England the streets are paved in Gold my parents said when they come they found the streets paved with dog sh dogs mess that’s all it was paved
With h and the little little money that they was earning you know they most of them were unable to fulfill their dream of um saving enough money to go back home and so ended up staying and having their children and you know having to
Raise a family uh in the UK um and as you said cultural difference yes yes and oh we’ve lost profit again hopefully I’ll come back on maybe a call came through again did a call come through again yeah because I got it I got the phone on on do not disturb but
For some strange reason is it’s allowing the call to come through I don’t know why I got it do not disturb yeah so back in those days 60s and 70s because um our people were unable to rent wherever they wanted to areas like brickton had a lot
Of black people living there and yeah a lot of African people lot of Africans I mean the house that I um our parents had um they rented at the upstairs um um to families at one point they were b a family from Barbados next family it was
A couple from Nigeria you know so I had contact with um different Africans When We Were Young you understand me it held the community together as well didn’t it because it was the norm in order to afford to pay the mortgage and to get by and to bring up the family because back
In those days most of the our parents had large families we had eight children in our family and that was the norm you know seven eight you know nine children uh our parents would have and they would you know always nearly always be married as well from when they’re young and they
Really pulled together and they really worked hard and as a result they ended up buying out most most of their houses in brickton and because our people were proud people what they most of them did was they worked hard to fix up those properties because when they got those
Houses I don’t know about yours but if it was like ours in peka you know back in the days these were the houses that the Europeans didn’t want you know the doors off the windows yeah they were dilapidated in state none of them none of them had bathrooms they didn’t have
No bathrooms in those houses my daddy put never have no bathroom and never indoor toilet the toilet outside no bathroom in the house my daddy putan yes you know when you go into a house there a someone from the Caribbean you would expect to find a bathroom at
Least with a shower if not a bath in it so when they were going to these houses and there was no bath in it they said but we these people not beard these people don’t know for watch and like your dad my dad to put in a bathroom
Inside as well those days there was no hot water and it did cool cool cool snow icicles on the window as well paraffin heaters I don’t know if you had all of that profet the paraffin my my was kind of a genius really because he put in what them know
To get hot water put something called a Gea yes and the Gea GE at water yes you know so it was instant as you turn it on warm up the water and and so we and paraffin lamp we had to boil the there was no Central eating no Central eating in those days
That’s right parinita yeah yeah yeah it was par we all had that in common didn’t we growing up and as you said and our parents coming from the Caribbean most of them were Christians and so whether we liked it or not as you said you went to Sunday
School we had to do the church thing and uh you know we got to know we had a church family as a result of that and so many other we had the street family the school family the you know your blood family and and it’s beautiful now you
Talked about the youth clubs back in the day uh tell us about the youth club and you know the young people how we got together back in the days in the youth club because a lot of the youth clubs today have been closed down you know but
Back in our days what was the benefit of the youth clubs and why do you think you know what’s your theory about why they may have closed them down well the you the the youth club was quite interesting because I went to several youth clubs in different parts of the uh
Um brickton from um Central brickton to North brickton South brickton you know East brickton there were youth centers everywhere you know um but um Amanda I must mention is a man called Astro Parkinson I’m affectionally known by anybody in my in my age group grew up in Brixton as
Parky and that man was one of the greatest Africans in Lamberth in my opinion and maybe to U um um others but nobody really knows about this man and he was like a head youth worker for quite a few different youth clubs and uh he F to keep the youth clubs
Open and uh when the uprising up happened in 81 and uh scarman which they call Lord scarman came around and did a report into to why the uprising took place one of the things he said in his report that the era was underdeveloped um there was no
Investment and things like that as well as saying about institutional racism and stuff like that and so what what happened is monies came in I don’t know if it was from the European Union or or something like that to to try and develop the area and that that period
They were shutting down a lot of the youth clubs yeah because we’re the youth club up up up in um uh uh uh brickton H called um Knights youth club you had um uh um St Paul’s you C they closed that and then you had St Matthews and then
You had a um a bang and they were a few others you had Shepherds you know and and and there were a few of sleigh Gardens you know these are all the different places that we would travel as young people you know and what happened is them some
Monies they come around and people have to bid for this money uh to create something for young people in brickson uh in the lambor F and he applied for it alongside um some of his uh he was a very experienced man and put forward a bid so that he could open
Youth clubs but what he wanted to do with his youth club was quite different they weren’t going to be a place that you just go on that play t or hit pool and thing you’d go there and you’d learn something so you learn maths English science that type of stuff you know and
He lost that bid and they gave the money to known criminals people who they knew were engaging in criminal activities and and that really tore that was like the last Str for parking and and not too long after that he migrated back to to um the Caribbean to
Jamaica and what happened with that money it got it got abused they had a place on Atlantic Road what they called a hop right on road you know and um they had a a blueprint in there and it was supposed to be a a kind of community center but the man them
Just mess up the money do kind of something with the money books weren’t right and they shut it and incidentally they um the police raided the place you know who kind of drugs and them thing and they just shut it down it’s not Flats they turn it into Apartments you
Understand me and these were the kind of things that they did so the Africans couldn’t keep a Ru in brickton because see Brixton you can get to anywhere in the world from Brixton very s you know you know all you have to do you jump on that that
Victoria line yeah and it can take you you can go um end up a e or you can end up a gwick you can end up a Kingston or ACA you understand me say so it’s very Central yeah it’s a very central place and I discovered this many years ago
When I used to do my radio show on um on Power and I warned people I said we’re going to lose brickton because you could see happening you understand what I’m saying um but before we get there growing up in the 60s and the 70s was very exciting
Brickton was a it was a har I mean we had so many record shops every Ro you got me you had dozens of record shops um and you can go and buy your reg music your Calypso your soul and them thing there then you had the sound system and
Incidentally one of the uh sounds from Brixton one um one of the owners he died and he was buried last strong a guy that called uh a song called small ax you know and um it was run by a brother by called Kei predy and but they call him
Axe and he was a sound system you know and they had his I didn’t even get the information for his but his funeral his funeral was last strong it was a big funeral and we had all these different little sounds superone Unice coxen tobies you know ice spy you know all
These different um sound systems in brickson and then we had the little independent man them even I have a little sound one time called Magic and he had all these different sounds you had MJR Ro show you had Studio One JB crew you know I mean there
Was so many and we all knew each other you know and and there was an industry with that music you understand people player you have dance and them we come people know from late to early a sitting there yeah you know and you had the blues dance and you had the sh and
Then you had the club dance them like Bal ey clouds I another song called IO rockers I’m downbeat I’m jamed down rockers you know I mean there was a whole de of different different sounds you know and the sound system Afric us about who we were the
Music that they pumped out in that time you know I learned about Marcus gar from heing burning spe and I was like you know probably 12 of them time there yeah and when we that G’s go who’s this G they talking about so he was interested
And you know a bang which is called caribo now on a Wednesday night they will show videos of like M and Martin Luther King and that man there you understand we’re talking about when we was 13 14 other man do you um yeah sopran B
Yeah sopran B and Cox you know yes yet all them kind of sounds sound system you know mows Road Show and something you know all person yeah all and you had a school called to S boys and Dick sheeper girls Dan in a dick shepher and all them
Place all them places sport we’d have uh some of the man them the man them every year they would IR out um ernal Stadium it’s cycling stadium and we’ll have sports days in there and music a PP and all them kind of things so you know it was quite
Exciting and then a lot of African business open and things like that so you could go and get you your different type of things and you know we have to meet m a certain time for drag the basket bricks and she stand there with her
Friend and you know it’s a old day thing they just chatting and all them thing and then they will buy something yes then everything I go and all them something there you know so it was a bustling it was a bustling um Metropolis I should say you
Know uh a lot of different businesses there’s a lot of illegal businesses going on and um you know there was a there was a pretty side of bricks um Lamberth and brixon but there was also a not so pretty side of it you know um and and and we’ve heard all the the
Stories that you know they were gang um fights and things like that and you know I hear a lot of people say oh we weren’t like that when we was you know maybe the fatalities weren’t like that or we didn’t even it wasn’t news when an African person was killed back then but
Those those things happen maybe not as much as now I think we were more kind of unified then because we could go to any area yes yes anywhere anywh African people was we could go there exactly the majority of times we were welcome yeah yeah Club had a lot to do with that
Didn’t it uh the youth clubs really helped to build the bridges didn’t it uh between communities because as you said you’d go from from one youth club to the other from another youth club to another and I don’t know about your area but it was in the youth club that the music
Started the dances started yeah man really started to appreciate love the sound systems that you’re talking about and the lover rock music industry that our generation created you know from the the youth club days through to the partying days uh and so yeah there was that real bonding wasn’t there that real
Commonality of experience and uh and maybe the youth club you know was kind of central to all of that and they saw also that was happening in those youth class the organization they coming together at a on a a political level because you know people started to organize and we were
Linking with our brothers in Jamaica in America Black Power movement in America was on fire them times I mean tell me a little bit about maybe the impact that that may have had in the brickton area the days of civil rights well I was I would have been very young I was very
Young at that time when um That Old Black Power movement but my my oldest brother who is now an ancestor mclary you know Scott um he became a member of the Black Power movement in in Brixton and that was run by dark CAU and their man there at the
Time but my brother’s on about he’s about 60 that time but I always remember a March that they did when they marched a around brickson around the side RS and my brother was part of the March and I was quite proud when I saw him in but I
I would have been about um six years old because he’s 10 years my senior and I would have been about six years old at time but that that that impact there but I I never got involved in any of that until later on in life I got more involved in the sound system
Thing the Raven thing dressing up a r sitting there you know I kind of up in all that melee I’m saying to you yeah so going out for me I mean we were raving we were sneaking out and raving from was about 13 going out of
Clouds when Cloud’s done we went down to the hole a place that called on Lando Road run by a song called rockers big got rockers man if they I listen you know what I mean and jam down rockers in yeah so we ago that you know we’re raving from we’re about 13 years
Old we’re raving for a number of years yeah yeah and and I think news went around didn’t it in the youth club the raave was where the yeah the ra started you know with B sound in the youth club I remember shman and and anybody who knows
About sound system in in the bricks knows a man called shman you 20 like he could build sound he could build boxes like nothing I think he’s still doing it now oh I remember when he first built a I’m talking about when we was about
14 you know what I mean so the old sound system the music was what really um Afric us yeah you know the um um the people them that we were listening to like Dennis Brown Gregory Isaac Alan NIS John ort Ken boot Bob Marley Burning Spear you know what I
Mean mighty diamonds yeah you know all of these kind of groups who were singing quite cultural music at the time and even though we had a genre that was created called lover rock it still came out of music that them Mand was making in Jamaica yeah you understand me yeah so
Um you know it really but the thing I want to I want to pinpoint is that there was no area in brickton Lamberth that no African could go to that you fear going so now our young people like even my son was telling me the other day if he went into
A particular set of flats he feared being killed wow and he only lives at the road from those Flats wow with those very same Flats I walk up in them all the time when we are youth I go there to play table tennis the first is there a youth there now
I don’t know if they got a youth club there now but they used to have a youth club at jubile um back in the day and sounds us to playing it but there was no area in the lambo area as a African you that I could not go and and didn’t feel safe
Yeah because once black people was there we felt safe because remember you know there was areas that was like Road yes you couldn’t get places was European strongholds and ifat TR that’s right they didn’t want to see black people in their areas we move in they would move out they try and give
Us find a lot of those people you find a lot of those people they would they would come to brickson so my my my my friend Cento is wi because I had lot of cloth from like in balam two in onw you understand Stockwell kenon amberwell Dage anywhere African people were we had
Friends yes and I remember I I could remember you know in in in the late the early 8s like we were going raving in leads in Chapel Town yeah mide Manchester yeah yeah tax Liverpool you understand I’m saying to that bonding was there wasn’t it Birmingham was regular in Birmingham St
Paul’s brist yeah you know there was no way the African people was in them days when we were growing up that it wer the go yeah yeah and not like now travel there for the parties you know the get togethers yeah phenomenal got sometimes you got a party where you know the
People them you known them you know is it where is it you listen up for the music he’s over there you’re gone you’re nothing to do on your G and you know nobody selling drinks drinks free just guy then just rap Oh Nana this is your story but you know
I can identify with it so much you know I’m just trying not to jump in your story too much because it’s a similar story it’s a similar story yeah you know you know it’s a similar story and you met different characters yeah you know um
Like even some of the USA man then but them time as a youth man they you can go places like the line they’re running going of school yeah now the the Mand engaging in criminality encourages young children to come and do criminality but when we were growing up the big man them
They weren’t have any no yeah they would run us to school one a school yes yeah you see what I’m saying so you see how the whole Dynamics has changed you know I remember um incident that happened I probably was about 9 years years old at the
Time and me my friend Albert knows we were playing Cricket on Solen R and was was using the lampost as the wicked and I was batting at the time and we saw these two policemen them run down this black man and they caught him on the corner of
Solen Road and Kepler Road and they were punching him punching the really G being and I don’t even know who this guy was say you give me a b and he took the cricket back you know yeah and just like India just beat England you know the test lick him for
Six right and he said boy you know boy to don’t the police man tried he brought them up and run them down I was n years old and then they must have gotten their radio for backup and then you could hear ding ding ding ding ding
Police come and what the guy did there was a truck and he ran underneath the truck and he all onto the um the drive shaft and he all upon this drive shaft and the police came around said did you see where he go did you say go nobody
Said nothing that that was another thing as well we didn’t talk to police we never T to police police wasn’t friend yes so we weren’t telling them nothing and they never C the guy you understand I remember that was about n years old Ro yeah so there was that kind of yes
You know if you see a black and another thing was if you saw white man them rushing a black man you were in there like you were just in stand and watch no yeah no but now the Dynamics have changed you know you got young African youths beating up other black man them
And killing them with um Europeans you know um the old Dynamic has changed and to be quite honest we were quite a welcoming Community we welcomed anybody yeah well you know it was the music wasn’t it because as you said we bought the life we bought the energy we
Brought the music to the UK prior to the sound system days prior to the music that came with that that generation and uh the the first and the second generation in the UK the white men they just had their pubs and they’d go to the
Pub and have a pie a beer and uh you know there wasn’t much in the way of Music it was really quiet and by 11 o’clock they’ll be going home at night they had they had their music things they the mods Anders yeah and they would have their
Things out at the seaside and those things um they did have kind of a Night Live our area I’ll speak of our area then in our no no what I’m saying no because it you got to get the history correct you see because the night life
That they had was a was more for the criminals of their group The Gangster them the gangster them had nightclubs that they went to but the average person didn’t really engage in all of that type of stuff but they did have a little kind of nightl we know
Ourly AG group now we re R was our thing I mean they were gu early when they were going on we were going out so when the pubs closed that’s when we were going out and and and many of our our dances would would go to all hours in the
Morning yeah 9 o’ 10 you know it’s they didn’t understand that most of them because back then with their pops as you said it would close at 11 o’clock at night you know and you know that would be like maybe the second leg of our night out the first earlier
Part might be the youth club and then it’ll be on to the party then it’ll be on to the after party you know so and when we were partying we were the ones who standing outside the parties maybe as well with a drink having a chat and
Talking you know and you’d often get the police then coming by you know looking menacingly at the groups of young people as they’re outside the club having a good time and sometimes they get the own of the club to insist that the young people you know black people in the
Streets go inside and now today in the UK what do you see up and down the high streets yeah they’re young people outside their wine bars outside their cafes outside their clubs with their drink you know and not being interfered with whatsoever by the police wow but if
I go back to your story when you were talking about you know the racism and in some parts of the um of London you mentioned B the Old Kent Road Etc where a lot of racism existed and the racists would like attack black people if they
Saw them this also happens in Elum and we had the situation didn’t we with the step Lawrence case I wonder if you want to say a little bit to our listeners about before Steven Lawrence there was a a brother called Roland Adams yes that was sometime sometime before Steven
Lawrence and it was round about the same area up in the Welling um area and you know when they murdered Steven Lawrence that was in the ’90s it it generated some some real because I think at that time I think African people thought yeah we’re part of the
Society now and you know we’ve arrived and things but that but the death of Steven Lawrence was kind of a wake up Co but before that we had the 1981 Uprising uh where that was one of the greatest days of my life because it was an opportunity to
Get back at the police you know and um our listeners know let our viewers know what happened in 1981 because many may not it was April of 1981 round about the 11th 10th of April 1981 when uh unfortunately two Africans were having a fight one got stabbed and
The man them called ambulance and and it was um a police meet wagon that came and and they took him in the car and they wouldn’t take him to the hospital and the man then decid said no man they said theyy bust up the police them drag him
Out of the car put him in the car and took him to the the the um hospital hospital the police didn’t like that and so they thought well you know we’re going to get some revenge on that and that started what they called what we call the brickton uprising we don’t call
It a r and that really Unleashed a lot of the pent up frustration that the elders above us was having with them and US ourselves because I was 18 at the time was a you and I remember it clearly and it lasted from they say it lasted two days
But they’re telling you lies it lasted from Friday night to Tuesday morning and we were having running battles with them up and down Brickstone and yeah we get a chance to put it P them yeah because all of that frustration because one of the things that I didn’t explain you know the
Police them they go around in Vans they have these van they call SBG van and they see a group of you young African you and they grab you in the van show you in the van and they will beat you up and they fling you
Out and I that is true I’m not telling you no lie so so sometimes when you used to see that van you stay you don’t you know but you know if any man Bea again so make a move you know and if you make a move they say you’re guilty of something I
Remember the S brother was telling you about us the um the Gypsy they beat him up when he was about 14 15 bust up his face in brickton police station brickson police station kill enough black man yeah yeah one brother nam I think was the first person kill station
Wow yeah and and that was one of the stations that had a such a bad reputation for beating up and murdering black people police station police station then have a police station upon Union Road yes so that was another one and the m one and W Kata Street don’t
Want get C another station you’re definitely going to get a hiding yeah yeah you know I mean so it was very kind of volatile um um at that time you know you know growing up but but that was the kind of bad part of it y you
Understand but the good part of it is that I know what a community felt like yeah we don’t have that now you understand walking down the road and nearly everybody you see you know them all the elders you know them yeah they know you they know your parents and even
If you went like out of your little vicinity and you went into a different part of brickton by the time you you done talking to the people with them yeah they know your parents know somebody yeah yeah you understand so it was it was wonderful growing up in an
Area where the majority of people that you saw look like you and the majority of people that you interact with looked like you you understand and so there was a sense of safety in a sense yeah you know what I mean was Community Pride then as well
There wasn’t you know no one was ashamed really of being back or anything like that there was that sense of Pride that we had you know and I think that came through the music and the education through the music and and the community spirit and togetherness that we had but
Then you talked about a political level moves were a foot to destroy our communities so we talked about you know the the tactics of the police and their role in destroying our community you know criminalizing our our young men and women and also um giving our young men
Such a hiding us some people never recovered from those hidings some people ended up from the police station into the mental institutions where they would get injected unfortunately would never recover uh from that incident and then you had you know the local authorities who were compulsorily uh taking away from the
Africans the houses that they had bought and spent all of their life fixing up and building you know as we said you know they’re in such a dilapidated condition when our parents bought them and so you know they had to spend a l lifetime fixing them up and then the
Council would come along and say sorry chaps we you have to um find somewhere else to live we want to take back this house and we in fact we want all the houses on this street which happen to be occupied by it’s not no no it’s not the
Houses it’s not the houses they said they want because they can’t have the houses the house belongs to you what don’t belong to you is the land the house is on and so if the council says they want the land land then yeah purchase so they have to pay you whatever the
Price um the property is worth at the time you can’t tell them you’re not selling because they own the land and that happen up and down didn’t it our community and it broke up you know our communities because I remember the road that I grew up on I I think there might
Have been like two or three families on that street of about 30 40 houses and you know we all knew each other on the street the families from Barbados Trinidad Jamaica you know wherever we knew each other and all of that was destroyed and then behind the compulsory purchase came the
Regeneration and the regentrification uh but I can talk a bit about that you know sis in terms of in terms of Brixton you know after 1981 then they they had um then we had in 1985 when they September the 30th 1985 September the 28th 1985 when they um shot Cherry gr my
Cousin because they were after her son who didn’t live at the address and that that was that um ignited another Uprising you know and after that they started to thre money into the K 1981 I told you the situation with that round about the 85 area period now um after that they start
To some some more money came into brickson and one of the things that happened was that uh I can’t remember if it was called brick I know brickson challenge was one of them I don’t know if that was the one at the time but what
It was there’s a pool of money I think it must have coming from Europe um to develop the place and if you was a young African and you had a business plan to open up a business you could get money to start that business now they have a building in
Brixton is it’s called bon Marsh but Foot Locker and TK Max occupy it now but before that what happened is it was uh leased out so that people could open businesses in there and people took advantage of that and opened up a lot of business in there I mean it was really
Firing you know um at a Brion at he was a Taylor he was in there you had food shops curtain dick you name it it was in the and it was thriving your husband can’t tell you about it you know can’t tell you I know personally many black businesses in
There as well it was all black businesses in there and it was thriving I’m sure Errol can tell you about it building as well wasn’t there um not too far from there you’re talking bus the Euro Link Center yeah there was a Euro Link Center as well yeah no the
Euro Link Center came after that one that came after this one was in the late 80s I think early 90s yeah and it was thriving it was booming you know what the council did they sold the building and they sold the building and all those businesses had to shut down
Because I had know where else to go and they didn’t relocate them either which they could have done yeah you know so there was a lot of that um there was a lot of that going on yeah you know um they they prop you up to tear you down yeah
Interfering to undermine Us in terms of our housing policies to undermine our efforts in terms of our economic uh development and our employment opportunities and say a little bit about what was employment opportunities like for black men around those those times as well was it EAS remember to get jobs or was it
Difficult it depending what kind of job you was going for I remember I did what they call a yop course yeah and it was in pluming I wanted to be a plum actually and I did this course and then I start to I was about
17 at the time and I start to look for um no 16 at the time I started to look for jobs in plumbing but I could only be a plumber’s mate and I remember I never forget this I applied for a job and when I was going for the
Interview morning my dad said to me don’t care what them said to youever the job say you get before myob do that and I went to the job I got I was supposed to and I’m not a man for time you know that Chenise but I was supposed to be there something
Like um at 8:30 I got there quar p8 and then um I waited 15 minutes and then I saw this this white guy come in he goes oh you you been in there I goes no he goes I’m late go what time you supposed to he was supposed to be
There at 8:00 but he didn’t turn up you know I went in and the man asked me a whole load of questions about Plumbing which I answered and then he said to me um oh well we work fire you I said doesn’t matter where you work what time what go yeah
You got to be on Sat I said no problem I can get there yeah and then he said okay then I’m going to is there any questions that you want to ask me I say yeah have I got the job he said oh I can’t answer that right now so I went
Outside yeah and then you see the white boy and the white boy going and the white walked in and by and I went to the toilet and by the time I could go to the toilet and come out the white finish him interview wasn’t it for about 15 20
Minutes so as I’m looking at that thing I goes oh you came out quick I goes what did I say to you goes oh yeah I got a job I start Monday wow yeah and it was like that yeah I’m not saying it was like that with everybody some people had a different
Experience can only go by the experience I a lot of people had that experience hence why legislation race Rel yeah but I got jobs I still got jobs I I worked you know eventually I got and then I you know I I did a little buying
And selling myself I used to have a stool with my oldest brother you know he now with the ancestors we used to S Crockery and in actual fact what we wanted to do was soell Jamaican art food but when we apply to um Lamberth for the license they
Wouldn’t give us the license to sell it wow and this was in the early 80s yeah we’re talking about uh probably 82 83 they wouldn’t give us a license to sell food wow and then so what we did we and then and we went to um B they
Wouldn’t give us a license to sell food so we end up selling Crockery I did that for a couple of years then I moved on for there and I I start to sell woman’s lingerie and B underwear and i’ got up to O East and E
Re and live Lane and buy stuff them wholesale on them time and you buy stuff jump on you come back and you sell them to people and things like that that’s quite like that my mom orientated me that way yeah you know because my mom
Used to do that and then I got a job um I got a job with British elom I worked with him for about probably seven years okay before I and and they were racist as well very very racist someone they are now yeah yeah uh British Tel they’re not as big as they
Used to be that’s for sure and they were awful yeah I mean they lost so many com companies when um that sector went um sort of commercial no they’re still big you know they’re the biggest thing in in Britain still big yeah time they’ve now linked up with the e
But I work for T West cable and wireless Mercury yeah you know some good jobs ntl I did a whole load of jobs um but the job I did um that I enjoyed the most was um painting and Decora I still do it now and um I
Actually enjoy I don’t I like the job I like I like doing it yes you know yes okay but I do photography yeah and that type of stuff I did a bit of standup comedy I us to put on shows I us to put my own dances
And things like that you know did the whole genre of that stuff and that all all that stuff learned growing up in Brixton it was like it was it was an affrication yeah I use application instead of Education you know what’s so um interesting as well about all of what
You said there you know is that you didn’t just focus on one thing you know and that was that’s what was special as well about uh Our Generation you know we would have a multitude of things going on you know so if he wasn’t successful
At one you know and you know our parents used to say put your hand to something try and to something uh I think this generation is kind of encouraged to to maybe try and stick at one job or something like that but nana let me bring in the audience uh we’ve been
Having we’ve been hearing from you and I interon it’s been so interesting so many comments in the chat so um just gonna try and bring in some of those uh G is saying 1981 the days of Maggie Thatcher yes indeed scroll up do you want to comment on Maggie thater
When lady those days go ahead you know I went to school and in my and then even in my early teenage years late teenage years you know Maggi was the person that was leading the conservative party and what was interesting about the music scene when we were growing up is
When we had our when the MC scene started so when it moved from tosen to Mike chant you know so you had you Roy Prince jbo John wi you know um big youth iy urai all those music that was the Sena generation yeah which would be they
Would be around about 70 now in their 70s yeah but the B generation now that created what they call out of La Dr came the MC’s them like tipa IR Asha Senator Smiley Culture Ricky Rankin yeah Daddy Rusty kernel yeah Johnny dala you know all these different D Lana
G all these different MC’s you know even um Leslie lyrics you know these um I’m yet a guy called IP he ended up committing suicide but he he had lyrics but the interesting thing about the lyrics them man were chatting was actually about people like toua and then
Your general leaving he did a um tune mgy B buy stink that’s what kind of hold on his career going further than because he was the number one at the time have LS like him yeah yeah remember um Smiley Culture as well yeah yeah I mentioned itce yeah
Yeah police officer no give me you know but but but what happened is what was interesting about those people is that their lyrics was more about politics or they would have joking lyrics yeah you it wasn’t about killing another black man uhuh yeah all that type of stuff yeah
Other they would have their disagreement and in sound crash and things like that but if you listen to the I always lyric that um Tipper did yeah and he spoke about experience that happened him he see I was Walken in a brickton by one you I was detain and said the youth
Start for C boss a knife and take me chain all I could do was complain I mean it was that type of um lyrics they were chatting but in terms lot of them had lyrics about magach he said B out um the conservative you know say you don’t hear any of these
Rappers or these Jewel artists then with that kind and if you do they’re quite underground but back then our um DJs and our MC’s was on it hard and that was another way of africatingoma and you remember that tune by um Fabian prophecy prophecy propy G prophesy so so we learn about
G we learned our history as we were dancing to the music yeah for real so let me go back to the chat as well where is it I think it Sheriff sea saying that she was she was remembering the Seaside trips and I she used to love going us to go with Sunday
School they organiz the trips isn’t it and um everybody bring their own food they never used to buy any food at the um Seaside everybody no no incidentally you know you know um my my pastor who’s who’s now with the ancestors Pastor Fagan a beautiful
Pastor who had a job yeah used to work for the Post Office and Pastor fed um he he wasn’t one of those pastors who his sermons were never long there were about 10 minutes but they were so like that and he always catches you you know but the church that
They used to have and incidentally they bought that church they and they bought the land that’s the next story again the black churches yes because why they had to do that was because when they came here from Jamaica or the different Caribbean islands they went church so
There was no church so they would go church and after the church end the pastor would come to them and say thank you for coming but please don’t come again because you’re upsetting my parishes Im so they to create their own churches to be the house me to be
Welcoming in the people they’re tell people nice to see you but don’t come back again come back yeah but that aside that aside and and I’m glad they did that because it forced them to do do their own thing you know and so they B their own building they B their own
Church yeah and there’s no Seaside that my church never went every year we G on Seaside great Mar Rams gate gate see black pool you name it every year the church organized and people cook up and and another thing Sunday school like convention food and like that and you
Know I’ll be honest there was some of the music I used to like when they had that kind of um old African spiritual dancing to more than I like that one day you know so so even though I didn’t want to go Sunday school but when I went
It was enjoyable yes yes and as she said we’d meet another family there again you know the Sunday School family all the other I just to say I just say brown mother sister Ash you know these are the elders M um um and sister FY these were the elders m
M that is my grand you know and and and the and there’s so many more that I could mention but I have to mention them because these were key figures you know the were these were key figures in our Sunday school growing up you know and um they would discipline us
But it was always of love you know so we give thanks for them a going over to we not do the church thing again you know do the church thing again you know you know remember in my my mom you know I could have go out Saturday night
Sunday morning me I forget see we for go Church even if I sleep sleeping there and they were strict like that because they believed know they were doing the right thing for us they didn’t understand really what we were going through uh on the street with the police
At the time sister Shen need to to be fair to our parents I think what they did was the correct thing at the time is what they is what they knew they weren’t exposed yeah to the information as readily as we were incident happened with me and my
Mother yeah and I’ll tell you that a little later but they did what they thought was right for us and and and I’ve got to be honest that the little morality that I learned going to Sunday school prevented me from engaging in things that I should not I should not
Engage in it was what gave me the the opportunity in my mind to make the correct yeah decision no right from wrong our parents not to get involving certain things you know what I mean so I suppose for them there’s no excuse for us now because the information is
Readily available and you know we can give that information and we can learn if we choose to absolutely rise up mwami he says uh so true when our people are attacked we all came to defend each other but unfortunately we have lost all of that
Yeah H sadly that seems to be the case uh word Sound and Power these racist police boy and girl think they are so hard but they have met their match and that was definitely the case uh more so in the 80s and 90s you know we didn’t
Stand the nonsense and uh you know we we felt that we should be treated with respect H and you know demanded it or they would get disrespect back that’s what they got Ki said in my youth was listening to calling a gang Earth Wind and Fire and and a Gap Band okay shepher
Said we ended up in Wales once for a rave and I couldn’t believe the house was so full of my people I was shocked wonderful time time we had was had sa welcome says I wish I could fly to the UK and party down with Shen my
Duty those were the days I tell you and U talking about flying in I don’t if you ever used to fly to Jamaica to go Sunsplash sting or no I I never I never I never flew to Jamaica to go Sunsplash but we had Sunsplash in England I remember Crystal Palace
Football ground no we something else we initiated here in the UK tell us a bit about those Park events um I don’t know to what extent you might have been invol well I remember when sugar Min I remember when sugar Miner was uh was in the charts with good thing
Going and they had something down r road with him and he was on a um open air kind of a cart thing you know and we went down there sugar Manet was singing live you know yes there was um the stuff that happened would happen in Brockwell
Park it was a creation of the s for them you know they would put on these things and and like all the the artists and would come over and we go there for free now they’re having what they call the lamb lamb of country show and in this in
That’s where I got rested when I was 15 and and and you have to pay to go in they got these big things up now and you have to pay to go in and all that type of stuff so you know they te out creativity and then they sell it back to
Monetize it exactly Kevin AKA Minister K is responded to something B says yeah back then there was a strong Vibrant Community Spirit hence those marches you mention I would say from 1993 was when the community Spirit started to get broken wow well we know we know what caused the
Destruction in our community because what happened is that the police allowed criminality to get out of control and in in fact the police um normally brought criminals in um there’s there’s a book called bent coppers and and you can go back written by a white Police ex policeman and he
Tells you what they what they were constituted to do so they would go to Jamaica yes and one of the wickedest killer who probably I forgot Jil they will ship them in and bring them in and they’ll drop them into areas like on the line in brickton on sandram road over
There in East London over in hous and place like that and these guys will be committing crime a what r with gun and them suay and you just knew they were working with the police if they got arrested um they were out the next day and that type
Of stuff so they normally BR criminals in to destabilize the community and knowing that decent Africans don’t want to stay around that and brickson started to get this bad name you know of a noo area that type of stuff which gave them the excuse to flood the place with SPG
Vans and things like that to um accost the the inhabitants and so we know where that comes from absolutely they that criminal you know and when you look on that inter very briefly to say because you know that generation the first generation was coming from a Christian
Upbringing and as you were saying that Christian upbringing instilled morals principles and and a righteous way of living and so they needed to justify didn’t they criminalizing uh our young people and tarnishing the image of our community because we were also getting very popular all of the music and the artists
That you’ve mentioned there even their young people started gravitating towards our culture our music you know they would come to our Raves Etc and parties you know they they started stopped being as racist and stop beating us up so much and wanted to come and join our parties
And so you know they were really worried about that growing Unity not just among ourselves but even maybe with some of their people uh coming into our communities to party with us and and join us even in the riots I me some of the riots had young white yous throwing
Petrol bombs at police as well so you know they decided they had to destroy it and yeah as you were saying they even brought in hardened criminals from Jamaica to come into Brixton and other areas where there were large concentrations and yeah gave them a license to commit crime at robbery rapes
And all sorts as you say to justify um coming in heavy-handedly into our communities and start bus up our young people them so yes that’s when things start get mash up back to you Prophet yeah you you know um a story that’s not been told you know in the
Papers like the sun and and you know the miring that they they’ paint young African youth as muggers you know and um most of us weren’t engaging that I’m not saying that some of us weren’t doing that but the majority of us wanted to work and I always remember
Exactly in my teens my early teens they used to have these two companies agencies that resided in watero one was called Extra Man and one was called Unit Personnel sure ER can tell you about them and in the holidays they would employ young people yes to go work in
The different Industries so I worked in the the um the biscuit Factory the tea Factory the um the um shrips Factory up in E and cocacola I worked in um the fur Factory yeah the K Factory oh yeah the drinks Factory so you add all these different factories and they would take
Young could from you was about 13 you could get a job with them in your holidays and so we all used to go there was loads of us yeah that would go in these jobs and everybody wanted to go Mana house Mana house was Where the Fur
Factory was and when you worked in the F Factory you got tips wages for the week up you might earn 20 pound maybe 23 pound something or something for the week but you could earn earn over over your wages just in tips if you got the right people them I
Mean the Jews or the meanest yeah Jews and the Ariz are the mean but the youngs they would give you like five1 pound tick like that’s big money them time yeah decent today yeah that would be like back then that would be like giving you 50
Pound back then be like giving you a 50 pound tip now you know so so you be earning so when we done now get you know you like 40 P yeah and you can buy I remember I B remember the first trainers I bought first was a trainers called Puma
Top fit never forget it it took me four weeks for buy a sport a sports um they have this trainer shop called um oh God um why did I forget their name come back was on phone their role it will come back somebody somebody was living
Would remind me my memory is going now um but was on F Road when the bottom of fale Road and they were the only sports center around there no used have Londale which was around on aain but they were better than Londale and I remember buying that train as day and you could
Go in there and pay and it pay down in it until you get it you know what I mean that kind of thing Frank Johnson’s that’s what it was called Frank Johnson’s okay yeah and they they used have a br in Fulham and they were there for years and
It’s when JD Sports and Foot Locker come shut them down yeah this is what these yeah and they knew all of us you know and you going there because they knew you they just give you a discount because they just know you yeah you know what I mean you could get discount
Because they know you a regular customer and things like that you know what I mean so you know but what I’m saying is we worked a lot of us worked you understand but they don’t tell that story I wanted to work yeah yeah I wanted to work and if I wasn’t working
There I was on the building side working with me man you understand laboring for my dad my dad took my dad took us on the build side from I was about eight nine years old remember yeah nice mix plaster Fe he was a plaster you know so most of us worked
The majority of us worked yes there was some of us who was teeing yeah and those who were teeing you know you could either go with them or you don’t go with yes you me the majority of us and even the one them when they discovered that you could go
And earn a little money they were come they were coming to Holiday work too you know young people don’t have that no more those agencies don’t exist you know that that doesn’t exist no more you moved out didn’t they they moved out of London during that era they had to
Relocate because they made the price of lond doing business in London so expensive and that’s another reason there companies there’s other companies there’s other companies that’s making a lot of money and they could they could create that that that kind of industry again so young people in the in their
Holidays they can go and earn a bit of money you know the foot loggers the JD Sports the TK all these big stores they could open a little thing like that and give young people an opportunity to you know learn about employment and things like that and even in that way they
Might get a bit Innovative about creating their own business you know but they don’t do that because because they don’t want to they don’t to justify them being around yeah yeah that that’s that’s the industry that they’ve set up for our young people the criminal Injustice system uh the police will pick
Up our young people don’t need to be committing a crime uh you know aggravate them and then when they the young person reacts then they arrest them take them to court the judges benefit the solicitors benefit the social services benefit the Probation Services benefit put them in prison the private sector
Industry that runs the prisons they all benefit all feeding off of our young going the system and so they don’t for that reason they don’t want to give them jobs so it’s up to you know our generation I suppose to try and provide the jobs for those young people or for
Us to encourage our young people to go uh independent and the private sector route because wow you know because some of them are applying for like thousands of jobs and just not getting those interviews let’s say go we are almost at the top of the hour and the story is
Just so interesting quickly we done already almost almost it’s 10 almost 10 to 10 already wow cofy in the house he’s saying you’re so right brother but the program was on par param par Paran said that again Panorama Panorama panorama BBC so he’s referring to a program was
On there kamami says fam who remembers the aiba band so and um blue zodiac seems to remember then to be honest I I don’t remember uh that group uh let’s Ro uh it was good grounding I’ll tell you another thing as well when we were younger growing up in
In the early days the the elders yeah the old people they would take us as young youths and they would take us to swimming they would take us to the park to play football yeah and that don’t happen no more no you understand what I’m saying but that was a regular thing
For the older guys then to look after us yeah I think they were more family cented those days don’t you think you have like 20 man going to swimming for them times um um you had broco Park Li though but that was too cold for we so we used to
Go clap him man a swimming pool and it be like about 20 people going or they take us down to the um CL common park or Brock Park to play football and they looked after us we time yet you know our people was able to organize those things
So quickly because we had the family networks didn’t we so that’s like two opery families will just spread the word and uh we will be there but now you know we’ve got WhatsApp we’ve got all these means of communication we have all these things but remember now our children are
Caught up in this Quagmire of they can’t go across the road because it’s a different po SCH they true truth and their enemies and and their enemies only look like them their enemies don’t look not like them their enemies look like them when our enemies didn’t look like
Us we knew our enemies back in the day didn’t we you understand what I’m saying to you shows how times have changed and you know the extent to which you know um things have really really changed from our days now you know we’ve we’ve talked about some of the external influences
That have impacted on our community that brought about those changes and clearly you know institutions continue uh to hammer our community with misinformation to you know turn us against each other and our young people against each other you know with all their propaganda etc etc but you
Know we want to get back those good old days how do you think that could happen how what what do we need to do to bring about those days for our our children the the fun that we had growing up the togetherness the community Spirit you know the the industry that we Industries
We created what you know can those days ever come back or are they forever gone if they can come back what you know we evolve um um um sister Chenise we involved and you know I probably need another program to tell you about the um the other aspect but
You know I got involved in The Liberation movement round about when I was about 28 years old and um that’s when my old life changed from the old dance business and all of that type of stuff to working in P the panafrican IST movement and and one of those things
That I engaged in was working with other Africans like-minded Africans in developing working and continue to run a school for our children which only is on a Saturday however we do have a great impact in our community and from that we amalgamate and we work with other
Saturday schools so for example out of that amalgamation of trying to your Mo to to to unite um we created the annual the annual panafrican is sports and culture day that happens every cycle um between various different African Saturday schools it was um created by Nubia Africa and Alan these are
Different Saturday schools in different areas however other Saturday schools and other um organizations that are doing things for our people as come on board and so we’ve widened that structure and wiing that communial working together we do quanas together you know there’s African Liberation days that happen so
You know there’s this community that people don’t really know about but it’s there you understand and even in our school that um our school the chairs of the school who actually run the school now they are the children that we taught so they are the children we are from
Like 5 eight years old and they’ve gone and got their careers and now they come back and they run the school and now they’re training the next generation of African children you know what I mean so you know it we evolve and but it’s a different flavor now you understand and
So it’s there and and I must say that the majority of our children then are doing very well you know they’re not going to the Wayside yeah they make mistakes but in general they’re doing well it’s just a minority who the state has helped to criminalize and and to
Prevent them from having opportunities to excel in that capability that they have so all is not lost my sister no all is not lost and the Saturday school the complimentary educational uh system that our community and has set up and organizations like yours run you know doing a formidable job an amazing work
Uh and that needs to be replicated that needs to be expanded you know so that more of our young people can go through those programs because as you said the ones that do do very well and I know they all come out with a good sense of
Identity a feeling of Pride they come out with confidence confidence to then become teachers themselves we’re hearing and I mean that’s that is absolutely awes awesome and so so sorry to cut your my hand Chris you know um our children are our extension into the future yes and one thing this generation
Excuse this generation will have is that they didn’t know is not all of them going to follow what we do or what we try to input in them but they will never have the excuse that they never know because we always pushing the information out there the greatest thing
In life is to know who you are or you arrive where you are and where you need to go and your MO is essential amongst us as African people we’re not all going to agree on everything but long as we agree on some things we can work our way through that
Yeah absolutely and as long as we all agree on the the big picture which is you know about us advancing as a people and making great strides together to do better uh then yes uh we will definitely get there um G says uh the white folks
Were with us in the early days but changed in 2016 after brexit all the Old National front have come back wow okay I mean they’re just wearing just wearing different outfits now aren’t they National fronts are wearing police uniforms sitting under judges tables and they’re in the probation service they’re
In the local authorities they’re in the government they’re everywhere and jabes jkbs is saying Crime Pays that’s the system and Anthony low says reminding us about oswood Warrior charge yes inde Aswad Aswad I was play on my show last night I was playing it on my show last
Night if people if people want to get me I I I like sister Chenise I have a show that I have on galaxy.net ww. galaxyi we.net I’m on on a Tuesday evening between um GMT time 6:00 p.m to 900 p.m. and on Sunday morning GMT time 10:00
A.m. to 1M p.m and so um the one the Tuesday show is called the Nubian for people’s talk show and the Sunday show is called the Temple of know thyself like that sister shenise has a show on a Wednesday um from 9:00 a.m. to 1 p.m.
And then we have a whole o of other presenters throughout the strong so tune in Galaxy tell people about it spread the word because we’re always and we’re looking for young Pilots as well you know young African engineers want to get involved in a station just look us up a
I’ll put the um details uh and the links under this video R by tomorrow so they will be there so do tune in it’ll be absolutely fantastic for you to become part of our galaxy Airy audience if you’re not uh already um a member to everybody in the chat that’s been
Following us this evening to each of you who have been participating in the conversation we thank you so so much we are three minutes away from the top of the hour so I’m going to go over to Prophet to give him the opportunity to close out uh with you know his final
Overview and summary of being black and growing up being Britain what would you like to leave us with propy you know being being African and growing up in Britain was an experience you know um between the um the 60s through to the ’90s there was a
Time when there was a a Renaissance in the ’90s where we were finding ourselves again we were creating good music again we had um women like Indie IE and Lauren Hill Andie Stone you know to name her for Erica Badu African women were proud of wearing
Their natural hair again you know um we had artists starting to sing a lot of culture Tunes again and then things change in the 2000s but don’t care how they try to steal our creativity don’t care how they try to give an impression that we are people who have no ambition we know
Different many of us and many of our young people have those dreams but I’m going to tell young people one thing when you come into this life you’re giv a gift often times you don’t adhere to that gift because what you want is your dream but if you own your gift your gift
Will pay for your dream wow do what you’ve been given the skill to do and it will subsidize your dream never give up always remember who you are we’re collectively African people like that we’re strong like that we’re weak and as my friend from ctj K says
Divided we will fall but together we will rise we have the ability to achieve anything that we want at any moment in any time in any seree wow family I think that’s a beautiful closing so we’re going to close out on those words there by Prophet I want to thank each every one
Of you for staying with us throughout the evening if you haven’t already done so please give us a like a thumbs up if you haven’t already subscrib to the Channel please do and remember to subscribe to my other channel as well uh African world affairs it would be great
To see you there they’ve taken down yeah another one of my videos uh on this channel it’s just a matter of time so anytime you can’t find me here family just look for me on my other channel where I will continue with wonderful guest hopefully they won’t take this one
Down well Tri I Tri but you know oh this oh this particular one well let’s hope not that’s why I record them now and and and my sister uh shenise we give thanks unto the ancestors for the works that you’re doing and may you be protected
And may you continue to do the work spreading the news about our people and helping with all the different people that you have in the station in Africa in the African World my heart all T to you my sister thank you so much beloved so family if you want to hear more from
Nana Oh My Gosh his shows on a Sunday explosive his shows on a Tuesday very popular tune in okay and participate you can even come on the show and speak live and direct so want to thank you so so much prop n because I know how busy you
Are so thank you for taking time out to be with us this evening stay strong stay powerful peace and love um my family sister sh out of here for now bye for now
3 Comments
GRAND RISING EMPRESS SISTAR SHANICE ASANTE SANA FOR THIS VERY INFORMATIVE CONTENTS AND GOOD ENERGY AND VIBES KEEP ON KEEPING ON NUFF RESPECT
BERMUDA 🇧🇲 WATCHING AND LISTENING AND LUVIN BIG UP DA GAMBIA CONNECTION 🇬🇲 👌 1LUV KNOW THYSELVE
AND ENJOY UR BEAUTIFUL LIVES
MA'AT HOTEP ( TRUTH AND JUSTICE
ASE' O ASE' 😮😢😢🎉🎉🎉😂😂😂❤
CONGREATULATION ON UR BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY
AMUN RA'
ASE'O ASE'
❤
what's happened to galaxy
When are we gonna get another Doctah X interview???