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Monday, 16 June 2008
Another Jamaican has been nominated to receive an award from Queen Elizabeth as part of her birthday honours.
Author <span style="font-weight: bold">Alex Wheatle </span>is to become a Member of the British Empire (MBE).
He received his confirmation letter from the office of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown last weekend.
Mr. Wheatle told our London Correspondent that the recognition is significant not just for him but for hard working Jamaicans in Britain.
Born in 1963 to Jamaican parents living in London, Mr. Wheatle spent most of his early years in a children's home.
<span style="font-weight: bold">At 18-years-old, he was involved in the Brixton uprising where racial tension sparked massive protests by black youths against the police abuse.</span>
Mr. Wheatle was among those youths incarcerated following the protests.
After spending three months in prison, he worked as a Disc Jock before turning to poetry and writing.
Mr. Wheatle is the author of several novels, some of them set in Brixton outlining the struggles of Jamaican families in Britain.
He has also won several awards in Britain for his work including the 2002 London Arts Board New Writers Award.
Last week, Jamaican William Atkinson, a head teacher who turned around a struggling west London school in Hammersmith, was knighted by the Queen in her birthday honours.