I would like to say a big Thank You to everyone who has struggled, showed courageous strength and resilience in the fight to freedom. We as a race have accomplished so much, freedom of speech, working rights and most importantly the fact that we Can learn to teach each other new lessons on a daily basis.
Amen for getting thus far in all our Achievements and here is a list of a few names who have helped wave that flag of progression. Everyone of us who have had to fight, struggle and prod on in the face of defeat and oppression, 'We Shall Rise' by Maya Angelou.
UK & Abroad;
- Damon Buffini, Managing Partner of equity firm Permira. A law graduate from Cambridge University, he was born in Leicester.
- Dr Mo Ibrahim, Chairman of Celtel International/Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Born in the Sudan, he is a global trader in mobile telecoms.
- Trevor Faure, Vice President & General Counsel, Tyco International. One of the world's top corporate lawyers, he grew up on a Luton council estate with a single mum and ate free school dinners.
- Stanley Musesengwa, COO, Tate & Lyle. The second black executive director of a FTSE 100 company, the Zimbabwean manages over 60 facilities in 24 countries.
- David Lammy, Skills Minister (DIUS). The MP for Tottenham, North London, is touted by many as being the best prospect for Britain's first black Prime Minister.
- Baroness Scotland, Attorney General. The first woman and black person to hold the post. The tenth of twelve children, she was born in Dominica and moved to East London when she was three.
- Naomi Campbell, Supermodel. Of Chinese/Jamaican descent, she changed the face of fashion by breaking down racial barriers in the billion-pound industry. She also does charity work for Africa.
- Claire Ighodaro, Non-executive Director, Banking Code Standards Board. She is the first woman to lead the organisation, which regulates and examines over 150,000 accountants and trainess in the UK and worldwide.
- Baroness Howells, Labour Peer. She is the first black woman to sit on the Greater London Council's training board and the first female member of the Court of Governors of the University of Greenwich.
- Sonita Alleyne, Director, Somethin' Else. Head of the largest radio production firm in the UK. In 2000, she was given an Award for Excellence by the European Federation of Black Women Business Owners.
- Father and son: Lewis and Anthony Hamilton.
- Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Mary Seacole, Oprah Winfrey, Bob Marley, Marcus Garvey, The black inventors, including Garrett Morgan, George Washington Carver and Elijah Mccoy, Louis Farrakhan, Bernie Grant, Steve Biko, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Jimmy Cliff, Haile Selassie, Kwame Nkrumah, Fela Kuti, The Black Panthers, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Sojourner Truth, The Williams sisters (Venus and Serena), Rosa Parks, Louis Armstrong, Maya Angelou, Michael Jordan, Nefertiti, Kunta Kinte, Michael Manley, Josephine Baker, Miles Davis, Angela Davis, Harriet Tubman, Daley Thompson, Jesse Owens, Stephen Lawrence, Chuck Berry, Shaft, Denzel Washington, Marvin Gaye, Sidney Poitier, Aretha Franklin, Walter Sisulu, James Baldwin, Paul Robeson, John Barnes, Prince, Sammy Davis Junior, Richard Pryor, Samuel L Jackson, Michael Jackson, Samuel Coleridge Taylor, Dennis Brown, Madame Walker, Soul II Soul, Jesse Jackson, James Meredith, Jackie Robinson, Don King, Billie Holiday, Diana Ross, Spike Lee, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Sade, Thierry Henry, Stevie Wonder & many many more.
Did we ever think we would live to see such a time, the answer is NO! But through the Hard Work, Determination, Courage, Wisdom and Courageous strength of many. We are able to Work, Play, Express, Live, Love unselfishly and most importantly Learn to Teach each other around the globe.
So people let us celebrate & Congratulate our honourable past and present.
Check out Jason Nwansi : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk8oq3XvZC8&feature=related
Thank You & God Bless.
