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Maya Angelou’s life and work have been an inspiration to many and I am no exception. As a pupil barrister I voraciously read practically everything she wrote; in between prepping Magistrates’ Court trials. I pinned a copy of Maya’s poem, Phenomenal Woman to Chambers’ notice board above the photocopier as a calling card of sorts. I also never tire of reading anything written by James Baldwin. His writing is so wonderfully descriptive and searingly honest. His book Giovanni’s Room is one of the most poignantly beautiful love stories I have ever read.
One of my all-time favourite albums is Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. At the time I was introduced to this album, I was deep into my hip hop phase. Blue in Green, featuring Cannonball Adderley on alto sax, John Coltrane on tenor sax and Bill Evans on piano, never fails to bring a lump to my throat. At the other end of the musical spectrum, perhaps, is my current immersion into the world of drill and grime music. I have written for Index on Censorship about the right of artistic expression and the current criminalisation of drill music and drill artists. I currently have on repeat Dirt in the Diamond by Jords. It is an astonishing piece of work in its lyricism and musicality. I am also in the short film that accompanies the album, so I am a little biased!
I have recently been exposed to the portraiture work of Lina Iris Viktor, a British-Liberian artist based in New York. I’m particularly struck by her bold use of colour and multidisciplinary approach.
As for film, when I first saw Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, my mind was blown. Here was an artist refusing to play by the rules and telling stories of importance to African Americans in the way he saw fit. I recently watched the film again and was reminded just how prescient it was. The killing of a Black man at the hands of the police – it was all in there – decades before the killing of George Floyd. As an aside, after watching Spike Lee’s Malcolm X in the last year of my law degree, I promptly found a barber shop and cut off all my hair. So I’d say it was a life-changing film for me!
There are so many special places and experiences that stand out in my memory but, if forced to choose just one place, it would have to be St Kitts where I moved to from Leeds, aged 12. I honestly do not think I would have become a barrister but for this experience. Overnight I went from being a minority to being a member of the majority. Living in a country where most people looked like me; the doctors, the lawyers, the political leaders, was transformative. That’s not to say that I didn’t experience discrimination while living there. I was poor and dark-skinned and so expected to languish at the bottom of the social ladder. However, the emphasis placed on academic excellence as a vehicle to lift people out of poverty ultimately stood me in good stead.
The one item of luxury I would need, if stranded anywhere, would be some sort of device that would allow me to listen to music. I simply can’t be without music; or, Jamaican jerk seasoning.
Maya Angelou’s life and work have been an inspiration to many and I am no exception. As a pupil barrister I voraciously read practically everything she wrote; in between prepping Magistrates’ Court trials. I pinned a copy of Maya’s poem, Phenomenal Woman to Chambers’ notice board above the photocopier as a calling card of sorts. I also never tire of reading anything written by James Baldwin. His writing is so wonderfully descriptive and searingly honest. His book Giovanni’s Room is one of the most poignantly beautiful love stories I have ever read.
One of my all-time favourite albums is Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. At the time I was introduced to this album, I was deep into my hip hop phase. Blue in Green, featuring Cannonball Adderley on alto sax, John Coltrane on tenor sax and Bill Evans on piano, never fails to bring a lump to my throat. At the other end of the musical spectrum, perhaps, is my current immersion into the world of drill and grime music. I have written for Index on Censorship about the right of artistic expression and the current criminalisation of drill music and drill artists. I currently have on repeat Dirt in the Diamond by Jords. It is an astonishing piece of work in its lyricism and musicality. I am also in the short film that accompanies the album, so I am a little biased!
I have recently been exposed to the portraiture work of Lina Iris Viktor, a British-Liberian artist based in New York. I’m particularly struck by her bold use of colour and multidisciplinary approach.
As for film, when I first saw Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, my mind was blown. Here was an artist refusing to play by the rules and telling stories of importance to African Americans in the way he saw fit. I recently watched the film again and was reminded just how prescient it was. The killing of a Black man at the hands of the police – it was all in there – decades before the killing of George Floyd. As an aside, after watching Spike Lee’s Malcolm X in the last year of my law degree, I promptly found a barber shop and cut off all my hair. So I’d say it was a life-changing film for me!
There are so many special places and experiences that stand out in my memory but, if forced to choose just one place, it would have to be St Kitts where I moved to from Leeds, aged 12. I honestly do not think I would have become a barrister but for this experience. Overnight I went from being a minority to being a member of the majority. Living in a country where most people looked like me; the doctors, the lawyers, the political leaders, was transformative. That’s not to say that I didn’t experience discrimination while living there. I was poor and dark-skinned and so expected to languish at the bottom of the social ladder. However, the emphasis placed on academic excellence as a vehicle to lift people out of poverty ultimately stood me in good stead.
The one item of luxury I would need, if stranded anywhere, would be some sort of device that would allow me to listen to music. I simply can’t be without music; or, Jamaican jerk seasoning.
Sam Townend KC explains the Bar Council’s efforts towards ensuring a bright future for the profession
Giovanni D’Avola explores the issue of over-citation of unreported cases and the ‘added value’ elements of a law report
Louise Crush explores the key points and opportunities for tax efficiency
Westgate Wealth Management Ltd is a Partner Practice of FTSE 100 company St. James’s Place – one of the top UK Wealth Management firms. We offer a holistic service of distinct quality, integrity, and excellence with the aim to build a professional and valuable relationship with our clients, helping to provide them with security now, prosperity in the future and the highest standard of service in all of our dealings.
Is now the time to review your financial position, having reached a career milestone? asks Louise Crush
If you were to host a dinner party with 10 guests, and you asked them to explain what financial planning is and how it differs to financial advice, you’d receive 10 different answers. The variety of answers highlights the ongoing need to clarify and promote the value of financial planning.
Most of us like to think we would risk our career in order to meet our ethical obligations, so why have so many lawyers failed to hold the line? asks Flora Page
If your current practice environment is bringing you down, seek a new one. However daunting the change, it will be worth it, says Anon Barrister
Creating advocacy opportunities for juniors is now the expectation but not always easy to put into effect. Tom Mitcheson KC distils developing best practice from the Patents Court initiative already bearing fruit
National courts are now running the bulk of the world’s war crimes cases and corporate prosecutions are part of this growing trend, reports Chris Stephen
Let’s hear it for the assessors, says Dame Anne Rafferty of the KC Selection Panel. And to make silk assessors’ lives a little easier when applicants come calling in May, Dame Anne fields some commonly asked questions