Rae of Light

My maternal grandfather, George Carr, was a member of the ANC and did hard labour for actions he and his fellow members undertook in the 40s and 50s. This piece of writing is my tribute to him. It is part of a fictionalised biography I plan to publish when I’ve completed much research. Me, Oupa Carr, my cousin Sean “James, why does mother refuse to have Ramona as the cook?” The brothers, in their new bedroom, were unpacking the box containing the few precious items their mother had allowed them to take from the Cape. James, by the large picture window, eyes focused on the movement of the other boxes making their way into the house turned to 4 year old George. “Mother is of the Zulu people while Ramona is Basotho.” “But what does that mean?” Moving over to a recently unpacked stack of books, James began leafing through a hefty atlas.   He sat, cross legged on the bare boards and placed the book before him.   Without invitation George joined him. James’ po...

In my view it’s always a good day to watch a film and especially one which enlightens. So as we’re doing all things Black History this month, here are my top 5 films to watch during this period: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner An oldie but a goody. I loved this film when I first saw it primarily because it featured Sidney Poitier . I was too young to understand how important it was at the time. I’m even amazed I got to see it at all considering where I lived.  If you like what you see here I can also recommend you take a look at Blackboard Jungle and To Sir With Love . They are also terrific. Mississipi Burning A gruelling watch but well worth it to get a true flavour of the horrors so prevalent in the US at the time it depicts. Not that much seems to have changed mind. Be warned, though, there are some truly horrific scenes in it. The Help I read the book way before I saw the film but was gratified it stuck true to the events de...

I’m taking a slightly different tack in celebrating Black History this month by looking at what the present has to offer, which in turn leads to what the future could hold.   In order to understand how we’ve come to our here and now we need innovative people to enlighten and educate us. This might be through literature, art or film. As I’m a writer I bet you’re expecting me to go down the literature route. I’m bucking the trend though as my chosen medium for this post is film. Naturally that means we need to take a look at Amma Asante . If you don’t know who she is, then keep reading. This post is about her films rather than the director herself.  For that, all you need do is take a look at her website.  The first time Amma came onto my radar was in 2015 when I heard about the film Belle . There were two main draws for me, the subject matter and the fact it was a period drama. I’m a sucker for these.  Centring round the mixed race great-niece of Lord Chi...

October in the UK is nominated Black History Month [BHM].  I remember when I was a teacher this fact always grieved me.  The achievement of black people in history should be an on-going thing and not only allocated a single month in the year.  Children should be more aware of the achievements of people of colour than being able to rattle off names like Mary Seacole or Nelson Mandela come end October.  And we adults shouldn’t have to refer to lists such as 10 Black Authors Everyone Should Read . In my own field, I confess my knowledge of black authors is restricted to Americans such as Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison.  I’ve only read a smattering of other poets and authors:  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, John Agard, Imtiaz Dharker, Malorie Blackman.  As an author of colour this shames me. In an attempt to wash away some of my shame I’m going to do a little bit for BHM with this feature on a well-known writer born in 1802.  ...