Our Roots

Edited By Yazmin McKenzie

Covid-19 bought with it fear and disruption. Bankruptcy, for business unemployment for the masses and the education system was pulled apart with examinations in chaos. Isolation hit many homes and many lives were left devastated by unexpected and untimely death. Determined not to allow the negatives associated with the pandemic to define 2020, BlackJac Media reached out to young people via social media to participate in a project that would bridge the generation gap. With time on their hands, we recruited 25 young black children aged 6 to 13 years to interview and create a profile on their grandparent or great grandparent. We trained them online via a series of literacy workshops with the young writers and Our Roots is the product of their excellent and hard work. This book contains the rich stories of the journeys of their grandparents from the vibrant and bountiful backgrounds of the Caribbean and Africa and their moving tales and experiences of leaving their motherland in the 1950s, 60s and 70s to start a new life in the UK. Our Roots captures the life experiences legacy or our elders through the beautiful stories written by 25 young Black writers.