Did you know that Kwame Kwei-Armah, playwright and actor, was brought up in Southall (west London, UK)? Perhaps the rest of the world did, but that little nugget has passed me by. I've never seen his name on any list of the 'great and good' of Southall. I spent an interesting half-hour in the car (yes, a borrowed car, many thanks dad-in-law) listening to him speaking about growing up in Dane Road following his family's arrival in 1962 from Grenada. He talks about the changing faces of Southall (from West Indian to Asian), 'white flight', and the 1979-80 troubles, some of which he witnessed from the front room of his house. He also tells some warm and affectionate stories about British West Indian (as it was then) life (with his mother's 'fire and brimstone' going on in the front room, and his dad's 'rum and coke' posse going on in the back) He's an articulate and frank speaker with much to say to anyone interested in society, identity and migration.The broadcast is repeated again tonight at 21:30 on BBC Radio 4 or you can 'listen again' here.
7 comments:
I know him firstly from Casualty but had heard he was a poet. He has done appearances on the Beeb and such like in his Author guise. Has an excellent speaking voice so seeing him speak live would be a treat. I seem to recall that he wrote a play about a man and his son who was getting into drugs/or guns and he was trying to get the boy out of it.
Yes, that sounds like Elmina's Kitchen which we watched when it was televised in 2005. He would be a good speaker - I see he's often featuring on various 'dream panels' which are being imagined for the Question Time on which the odious Nick Griffen is to appear.
Sad to say, I believe that dream panel should be all white. Kwame is an excellent speaker but putting him or any other person of colour on a panel with the BNP would just incite old arguments about immigration. This would achieve nothing but galvanise the Far Right's supporters misguided beliefs. The BNP needed to be given airtime so that they can be seen for what they are - give them enough rope to hang themselves with I say. In the last European election, the number of BNP voters had fallen. But the numbers voting for other parties had fallen also so proportionally the BNP won. If the people who would normally vote Labour, Tory, Green or whatever else had bothered to vote, the BNP would not have gotten seats. This IMHO is the issue that needs to be addressed and perhaps by his appearance he will spur those voters to be more pro-active. Do you remember when they won in Tower Hamlets, then at the next election, they were voted out.
Hi Raven, equally enjoying ur blog from ur world! Lovely to have graced ur space and to have been able to communicate!
Just like the famous slogan of BT + Bob Hoskins: "It's gud to talk!"
From another BIG fan of Keith Sweat!!! (showing our age eh!!!)
Plummy, that's an interesting theory about an 'all white' panel and you may well be right about that being the best tactic. Though I feel uncomfortable about doing anything other than chosing the best people for the panel, black or white (it can get hideously complicated - eg. would 'white' exclude all non-Christians?) I get the point about what may sway waiverers.
Mystery Man, Hi and welcome. Keith Sweat, yeah he's been going for some time. I like his Silk/Kut Klose era but hubby prefers the new jack swing.
Kids, they don't know what they're missing (now, that does sound old!) though I'm sure you don't fall in that category with all your whizzy DJ-ing.
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