BBC 1 Small Axe series directed by Oscar winning Steve McQueen has captured pivotal moments from Black British history very well. The fourth episode covering the award-winning writer Alex Wheatle highlights the quote “To know your future you must know your past”.
Alex Wheatle spent his childhood in a mostly white institutional care home with no love or family, he finally found a sense of community for the first time in Brixton, where he developed a passion for music and DJing. When thrown in prison during the Brixton uprising of 1981, he confronts his past and sees a path to healing and guidance from Simeon a Rastafarian.
Growing up Alex’s heroes were Pele, Muhammad Ali, Viv Richards and Bruce Lee and a massive reggae fan. In his mid-teens a founder member of the Crucial Rocker sound system where he wrote lyrics for performances in community halls, youth clubs, house parties and blues dances.
Book Selection
  |
Alex Wheatle Crongton Series 4 Books Collection Set (Liccle Bit, Crongton Knights, Straight Outta Crongton, Home Girl) Paperback |
Awards
2020 – Shorlisted for the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature
2017 – Winner of the Renaissance Quiz Writers’ Choice Award for Crongton Knights.
2016 – Winner of the Guardian’s Children’s Fiction Award for Crongton Knights.
2008 – MBE for services to literature.
1999 – London Arts Board New Writers Award for Brixton Rock.
Alex’s story stands for hope, faith and self-belief a great performance from the cast and a special Big Up to Robbie Gee (Semeon) resonating the words to know your future you must know your past.
