Khadijah Ward, Author - Black Sterling

Khadijah Ward, is the Author of Black Sterling, and CEO of ‘2nd2None Solutions’ which she founded on her ‘Prison to Roadworks’ apprenticeship programme for youngoffenders. She has also written successful diversity bids for £multi-million Transport for London civil engineering contracts. With an MSc in Social Policy, and an authority on the discrimination Legislative framework, she led on the Government’s development of the Race Equality Duty, and the England & Wales public sector guide to equality as a result of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry.

Hello Beautiful people, My name is Khadijah Ward, today I will be speaking about:

• Extraordinary ancestral slaves that were responsible for historicresistance and revolts, and the economics of slavery;
  

For example, Queen Nzingha (1583—1663) ‘Bad Ass Warrior - known as the Amazon Queen of Matamba, was born in West Africa. She was the one and only fearless Warrior Queen and military genius. When the slave-hunting Portuguese attacked the army of her brother’s kingdom, this Angolian Queen formed her own army against the Portuguese, fighting on the front-line, waging war for nearly thirty years, uniting Africans against the Portuguese.

•  Accessing the collective wisdom of our ancestors;

For example, Marcus Garvey was a visionary and economic genius, and was a remarkable man of his time, and no man to-date has matched the
accomplishments of this remarkable visionary. He truly is a superhero, second to none, and an inspiration to us all.

• Superhero educators such as Malcolm X and their blue-prints for
  freedom.

Malcolm X was an orator and charismatic genius. He mastered the English
dictionary by heart, commanding authority and respect with his articulate
deployment of words and charismatic leadership style. He was skilled in
public debate and held his own against political and intellectual adversaries on campuses and in broadcast studios.

• Systemic racism and subjugation

I believe the best way to honour our ancestors is through liberation.

My book ‘Black Sterling’ covers all these issues and more and I hope you will invest in a copy that will give you ideas on how to recognise and love your unique qualities and beauty, and be confident, leading to the ultimate
inspiration to love our brothers an sisters.

- Khadijah Ward
Author, Black Sterling

In 2018 we focused our attention on some of our past and present educators.  We wanted to recognise those who have striven and continue to work to bring truth and enlightenment about our origins and our struggles to our people through their literature.

We acknowledged the following educators:

• Marva Colins (1936-2015)
• Amos N. Wilson (1941 - 1995)
• Suzanne Césaire (1915 - 1966)
• Maulana Karenga (1941 - to date)
• Amy Ashwood Garvey (1897 - 1969)
• Yosef Ben-Jochannan (1918 - 2015)
• Frances Cress Welsing (1935 - 2016)
• Ivan Van Sertima (1935 - 2009)
• Mary Jane Bethune McLeod (1875 - 1955)
• Anthony T. Browder (1951 - to date)

Children of the diaspora from within the community  read a passage from each of the above authors and lit a candle to commemorate and represent our fallen ancestors of the Transatlantic African Enslavement.

Our Keynote speaker for the event was one of our modern day heroines, Khadijah Ward, Author of Black Sterling.

Khadijah Ward spoke with passion and gave a powerful personal testimony of her very own struggles and how she came to author her outstanding book about black enconomic independence.

Video: courtesy of Saundra Glenn

Among the highlights of the event were the SDA Cantaré Choir who sang soul stirring negro spirituals and a solo of Bob Marley's "Redemption Songs". 

We also had drumming from the Osagyefo Theatre Drummers and a dance performance to Sounds of Blackness "Optimistc" by children in the community - Nylah and Myles.

This dance features some traditional style dancing with some new to old school moves mixed in. Nylah (18) and Myles (18) have been dancing in carnival for a combined 10 years now in which the band includes a variety of African-Caribbean style dancing and costume themes. They are both heavily interested in a variety of themes and have a passion for doing what they love.

The commemoration Wreath was respectfully laid this year by Luton Councillor David Agbley.

One of our main aims this year was to encourage our attendees to read more and educate themselves in black history written by black authors.  We therefore included a reading suggestion list in our programme and some of the books are shown below.