Black Female Icons of Lewisham
Brockley Max wants to celebrate some incredible women who have lived or worked in Lewisham. We want to commission three murals of significant Black women, not just those who are famous, but the sometimes less well-known women activists, campaigners or champions of a cause who have had an impact nationally or internationally; and do we have some amazing women from Lewisham!
We want to paint the murals during Brockley Max and film the painting work as a visual record for our website. Each mural will have a QR code so people can find out more about the women and their work.
Our plans are at an early stage and dependant on funding, but we have some incredible women in mind (listed below), who you can find out more about them by clicking on their name. Do let us know what you think about the project, and if you know of other Black women campaigners who have a connection to Lewisham, let us know in the comments box below and tell us why. If you can add a link, even better!
You may want to consider Angie Le Mar. She is a native of Lewisham and is the first black woman to experience success as a Stand Up comedienne. She is a pioneer of the Black comedy scene and was featured in a program by Black British and Funny which turned a spotting on the history of the UK Black Comedy Scene. Angie hosted a popular show on Choice FM – which was the leading black radio station in the 80s, 90s and noughties until it was bought by Capital Radio. Angie’s Saturday show was the third most listened to show on the station. She is also a playwright – and has written sell out shows like Funny Black Women, Do You Know Where Your Daughter Is and gospel musical Take Me Back described by Vanessa Feltz as one of Angie’s best dramatic works.
Fantastic idea! There are so many inspiring women from our area, as the list above shows. It would be brilliant to see some of them honoured in this way, especially as women of colour are underrepresented in plaques and murals
Incredibly excited by this proposal. Surfacing local history and contributing to the areas rich visual legacy of visual art is a cause worth championing! Looking forward to seeing this come to fruition.
What a brilliant way to commemorate the massive contribution these local women have made and to inspire others to follow in their footsteps.
Great project to have murals of important black women in our community.
A great idea. I look forward to its outcome.
I would like to add Mrs Mavis Stuart MBE to this list who sadly died Feb 2020. The following are a few links that helps to explain her contribution to her community.
https://jis.gov.jm/uk-television-shows-interest-in-life-of-jamaican-born-nurse/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hometruths/20050131_jamaica_child.shtml
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2176688.stm
https://inspirationalyou.org/2013/10/21/mavis-stewart-mbe/
https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/High-Commission-in-UK-honours-outstanding-women_18513914
I think this is a fantastic idea and a powerful way to increase representation – I really hope it gets the go ahead.
I’d like to nominate Prof Joan Anim-Addo, a pioneering black female academic who literally wrote the book on Lewisham’s Black history. She also lives and works in the borough: https://www.gold.ac.uk/ecw/staff/j-anim-addo/
Thanks Will. A great suggestion.
A great list: everyone I thought of, you already have! These are really great role models for young Black women in Lewisham as their careers are still ongoing.
We’re hoping to connect up with Lewisham’s secondary schools about the project.