Black History Lewisham 365: Lewisham Legends - Part 1
Lewisham has been home to many extraordinary people who have left lasting cultural legacies and influences that can be felt across the country and in some cases the world. As part of our Black History Lewisham 365 programme, we are profiling some of Lewisham’s most influential Black residents, looking at how they became the legends we all know today.
This month we are featuring Dr David Michael MBE, Lewisham’s first Black police officer; author Candice Carty-Williams; and reggae superstar Maxi Priest.
Dr David Michael MBE
He joined the Metropolitan Police in December 1972, as one of only 11 Black officers in what was a 22,000-strong force at the time. He went on to have a long and illustrious career, blazing a trail for other Black police officers and retired from Scotland Yard as a Detective Chief Inspector after 30 years of duty.
Retirement didn’t slow him down. He went on to champion a range of community, voluntary and charitable organisations, preventative health care and cancer awareness. As Chairman of the Lewisham Community Police Consultative Group, he played a crucial role in its reform. It would eventually become the Lewisham Safer Neighbourhoods team.
David continued to advocate for Lewisham, representing the borough in the London-Wide Chairs forum of Community Police Engagement Groups. He became the first appointed Special Adviser to then-Mayor of Lewisham Sir Steve Bullock, advising on community cohesion and relations. He also served as a Lewisham Councillor for a four-year term representing Evelyn ward in Deptford.
Dr David Michael MBE is now a motivational speaker who inspires organisations, businesses and future generations up and down the country.
Candice Carty-Williams
Carty-Williams began her career working at 4th Estate, an imprint of Harper Collins, where she was upset by the lack of representation for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) writers. In response she founded the Guardian's 4th Estate BAME Short Story prize in 2015.
Her activism continues. She’s one of more than 100 writers who signed a letter calling on all major publishing houses in the UK to make the industry more inclusive and formed the Black Writers’ Guild. She said: “We’ve given them a checklist of what to do now to make things better in a meaningful way. I’ve been to a million workshops where nothing ever happens after.”
She has written for publications including The Guardian, i-D, Vogue, The Sunday Times, BEAT Magazine and Black Ballad.
In August 2021, it was announced that an eight-episode television drama series based on Queenie had been commissioned by Channel 4.
Maxi Priest
Maxi Priest was born in Lewisham in 1961 and was the second youngest of nine brothers and sisters. His parents moved to England from Jamaica to provide better opportunities in life for their family. His father was a factory steelworker while his mother was a missionary at a local Pentecostal Church and the lead singer in the church choir.
Maxi first worked locally as a carpenter, building speaker boxes for the hugely successful Saxon International sound system, based in Lewisham. However it wasn't long before his singing talents were discovered and he began to participate in live dancehall shows.
In 1984, he made history when we collaborated with Paul "Barry Boom" Robinson, a fellow reggae singer, to co-produce Phillip Levi's smash hit "Mi God Mi King," the first UK reggae single to reach number one in Jamaica.
Maxi’s first major album was the self-titled Maxi (1988), which established him as one of the top British reggae singers. He is one of only two British reggae acts (along with UB40) to have an American Billboard Number One, "Close to You" in 1990. He is also twice-Grammy nominated.
In the latter half of his recording career, Priest has collaborated with many established artists and been a champion for up-and-coming artists including Shaggy, Beenie Man and Shabba Ranks.