UK News
Descendants Dr. John Roberts CBE QC Annual Achievement Awards
BY DAVID MYLES
Greetings Toronto Caribbean Newspaper readers,
It is a great pleasure to be welcomed on board as a community reporter for the United Kingdom. Having travelled to the Caribbean, West Africa, the United States and Canada, I recognise a prevailing narrative in mainstream discourses in the manner in which black people are depicted. This misrepresentation is particularly prevalent in the global north. My question is whose narratives do these belong to? I look forward to sharing inspiring grassroots news, events, and business enterprises; particularly news pertaining to education within the UK, though mainly London where I was born and raised and the West Midlands where I regularly visit.
Last year on 27th October 2018, an education and arts charity Descendants which has been operating for over 25 years, primarily catering to African children from the ages of 4 – 16 years old held their 14th annual Dr John Roberts CBE QC Achievement Awards in Ealing Common, sponsored annually by Ealing Council Children and Families Service. The event honours and recognises the great achievements of children of African Caribbean descent within the schools of the London Borough of Ealing. Every year, teachers and educationalists are encouraged to nominate children that they believe are worthy of consideration for winning an award in a myriad of categories such as the ‘Future Leader Award’ ‘Students who work hard and achieve against all odds Award’ and the ‘Kwame Kwei Armah Award’.
The main speaker Mrs Brianna Cyrus who is a programme manager of Routes to Success at Black Training and Enterprise Group (BTEG) was keen to speak about the work that the organisation does in helping to counteract the hallowing reality of inequality that black pupils face. As a former attendee of the Descendants as a child, Brianna captivated the audience by detailing her academic achievements and professional achievements demonstrating to the children what is possible. Brianna’s presence acted as an extraordinary example of the important role that Black Supplementary Schools such as Descendants play in fostering future dynamic confident leaders who are committed to the success of forthcoming generations
Maths teacher, Mispah Mvubu of Ark Acton High Academy had the following to say about the Annual Dr John Roberts Achievement Awards: ‘’It is important because a lot of what black children achieve is not highlighted and often gets overlooked. With an event like this we are able to highlight the good things that our kids are doing. Having an event like this also helps to engage parents who may be unaware that their children are doing very well. Rather than wait until parents evening, this event serves as an addition to illustrate the good that our children are doing’’. Two of the children Mispah nominated won awards. A special congratulations goes to Monica De Castro who won The Eric Huntley Award and Kayniyan Trotman who won the Connie Mark BEM MBE Award.
The significance of what Maths teacher Mispah Mvubu had to say about the Award Ceremony should not be understated. The pathologising of black children and the black family is very much evident. A couple of months after the annual awards (10/12/2018), education think tank LKMco published a report highlighting the devastating effects of teacher’s biasness towards black pupils. The paper releveled the differential treatment of those considered to be from what is often called the ‘model minority’ and those of Caribbean backgrounds who are often seen as a deviation from the ‘model imagination’. Professor David Gillborn of the University of Birmingham who was an interviewee for the study pointed out that research shows that if a Chinese student at 14 years old is expected to get a grade C (equivalent of grade 4 standard pass/grade 5 strong pass under the new grading system), they are viewed as underachieving, whereas in contrast a black Caribbean student with the same predications is described as doing fine. Such disparities show the lower expectations that are directed towards black children. What is acceptable for one group of people is seen as unacceptable, or is depicted as not fulfilling their true potential. The energy of expectations and encouragement that I witnessed illuminating in the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel from that of African and Caribbean heritage parents offers a platform to demystify fallacies concerning the usual mainstream rhetoric of lack of parental involvement and aspiration.
This year, The Dr. John Roberts Annual Achievement Awards will take place on Saturday 13th July 2019 from 18:00 – 23:00 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 2-8 Hanger Lane, Ealing Common, London W5 3HN.
http://www.descendants.org.uk/
For further information regarding The Black Training & Enterprise Group, visit: https://www.bteg.co.uk/