Liverpool charity Mandela8 have announced two esteemed community leaders and activists as their newest patrons.
Maria O’Reilly and Wally Brown will both join the organisation ahead of the Mandela family’s visit to Liverpool later this year. Nelson Mandela’s daughter Dr Maki Mandela and his granddaughter, Tukwini Mandela will be back in Liverpool to officially open the bridge and memorial dedicated to the iconic South African leader this July as part of a week-long visit.
Born into a catholic Black family in Liverpool, Maria O’Reilly has always been committed to racial justice and equality, and still maintains an active interest and involvement in social justice, human rights and politics. Being an activist from a young age, Maria has stood on many a picket line and led many demonstrations tackling racism, police brutality and fighting for social justice.
From 1979 to 1989 Maria worked for the Commission for Racial Equality, and became a Senior Community Relations Officer, and from 1989 to 2002 she was a Coordinator in the L8 Law Centre, engaged in the provision of legal and quasi-legal services. This role came on the back of her tireless fight as a member of the Liverpool 8 Defence Committee for the rights of people of all ages arrested as part of the 1981 Uprisings. The Liverpool 8 Law Centre was a pinnacle resource in the community providing much needed legal and social justice services to the marginalised community of Liverpool 8.
Maria O’Reilly said: “I can think of no higher honour than to be a patron of a legacy left by Nelson Mandela and built on by Mandela8, supported by his daughters to educate young people with the skills to uphold racial justice and equality”.
Wally Brown is well known for his revered work locally and nationally. His life as a youth leader worker at the Methodist Centre established Wally as one of the most respected men in Liverpool 8 by young people. Wally was born in Liverpool 8 and went on to become the liaison between the Liverpool 8 community and the authorities during the 1981 Uprisings as part of the Lord Gifford Enquiry.
Wally also became the first Black person to chair the Merseyside Community Relations Council and was appointed principal at the city’s Community College, transforming its portfolio and access for people from diverse backgrounds. Later, in 2002, he was awarded the honour of Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to education. In 2012, Wally was given the ultimate honour in Liverpool by receiving the Freedom of the City, an honour he accepted as a figurehead for all the people he has worked with and the community of Liverpool 8.
Wally Brown, CBE said: “It is a great honour to be invited to become a Patron of Mandela8. I have long admired how Sonia and her Board have nurtured the seed of Mandela8 to become what it is today. I look forward to working with Sonia her board, patrons and all those involved, to help Mandela8 continue to grow, influence and educate”.
Chair of Mandela8, Sonia Bassey MBE said: “It is an honour beyond words to have both Maria and Wally join us as patrons. They are people Mandela8 holds in high regard and are an example of what good Black role models look like. We are truly grateful for leaders like Maria and Wally. Growing up they were my role models, and they paved the way to show me and others, that as young people, we could aspire, and in a community that is oppressed that is so important. Whilst they have not always been visible in the work of Mandela8, they have both guided and supported the organisation behind the scenes from the beginning, so we are extremely excited to now to see them at the fore”.
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First elected African-Caribbean female Government Minister becomes Mandela8 PatronLiverpool charity, Mandela8 have announced LFC and England international, Trent Alexander-Arnold as their newest patron.
The West Derby-born, twenty-one-year-old has played for both his boyhood club and his country at various levels, making his senior debut for LFC in 2016 and for the England first-team in 2018.
He has won both the PFA Young Player of the Year and the inaugural Premier League Young Player of the Season awards, has twice been named in the PFA Team of the Year, and most recently helped end Liverpool’s 30-year league title drought by winning the 2019–20 Premier League earlier this year.
The announcement comes as Mandela8 – the organisation behind the new Nelson Mandela memorial in Princes Park – are preparing their next ‘Roots and Wings’ community programme, designed for young people who lack positive role models and are at risk of criminal exploitation or violent crime.
Over 12 weeks, participants in the programme will be guided through possible solutions to prevent them re-engaging with crime and violence, building their resilience and strength to ‘say no’ and not get involved in situations that could put them at risk.
Alexander-Arnold was recently the subject of a documentary by local model and filmmaker Rubi Deschamps, in which the “Liverpool lad whose dream came true” spoke of his childhood, his school life, and growing up under the spotlight.
Speaking on the responsibility he feels as a role model for young people, Alexander-Arnold said:
“I’ve got a big platform; I know a lot of kids look up to me. It’s not just about being a role model on the pitch. I want to be someone who feels as though I’ve made a change in the way that people think. If I get through my career and I haven’t done that, then I’d see that as a failure on my part.”
“The Roots and Wings programme and the work that Mandela8 does for young people in Liverpool will give kids a chance at avoiding the kind of pitfalls that are so easy to fall into if you don’t have the right guidance at that age. It’s why I’m delighted to become not only a supporter of the programme, but also patron for Mandela8”.
The young people taking part in the Roots and Wings programme live in areas of high deprivation, where fear of crime is not unusual, and are frequently disengaged from school and at risk of permanent exclusion. This can lead to them becoming socially and economically excluded in their communities.
The programme includes restorative justice practices and aims to find enduring solutions to prevent the young people from becoming involved in crime and violence and will support them to recognise consequences, understand cause and effect, reduce naivety and increase their resilience and strength.
It will also support cultural change around the acceptability of carrying weapons and help them not succumb to peer pressure in order to develop into young leaders of the future.
Chair of Mandela8, Sonia Bassey said: “We feel blessed that Trent wants to join Mandela8 as a patron; so many young people need role models like Trent to give them hope and aspiration. Life is really tough for young people currently, and has been for some time, so to have a positive, successful young role model to work with us is truly significant for our young people.”
More on Mandela8 and the Roots and Wings programme can be found at mandela8.org.uk.
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First elected African-Caribbean female Government Minister becomes Mandela8 PatronMandela8 are delighted to announce Kim Johnson, MP for Riverside, as our newest patron.
Kim, Liverpool’s first Black MP, was born and grew up in Liverpool 8 and still lives in her constituency. Becoming politically active as a teenager, attending rallies and demonstrations, fighting racism and fascism, Kim is a lifelong trade unionist committed to fighting for social justice for all her constituents.
Kim said: “I am honoured to have been asked to become a Patron of Mandela 8, and delighted to accept. Nelson Mandela and his battle for freedom and justice was hugely significant to the Toxteth community especially.
Commemorating his legacy by providing educational and leadership opportunities to future generations embodies the spirit of the anti-apartheid movement and I am proud to join with them in making dreams a reality.”
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