The campaign awards to 16 recipients will be in the following four categories:
- Mikey Powell Youth Action Award
- Pauline Campbell Systems Change Award
- Gilly Mundy Family Advocacy Award
- Joy Gardner Arts & Education Award
Get in touch
0843 289 4994
enquiries@memorialfamilyfund.org.uk
40-20-01: Celebration, Commemoration and Awards event announced
The first National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund (NMPMFF) Annual Gala Dinner & Campaigners Awards for 2023 (entitled 40-20-1) will take place on 25 November 2023 at the Legacy Centre, Birmingham, and combines three significant events in-one:
- 40 years celebration of INQUEST's services
- 20 years since Mikey Powell's death in custody
- 1st year of the
Annual Activists Awards
About The NMPMFF:
On 7 September 2015, the twelfth anniversary of the death of Mikey Powell, who was killed in the custody of West Midlands Police, campaigning news group 4WardEverUK, launched the NMPMFF in collaboration with the Friends of Mikey Powell Campaign, United Families & Friends Campaign (UFFC) and Migrant Media. Founders also acknowledged the late campaigner, Pauline Campbell.
It is the first permanent national resource of its kind specifically for those affected by deaths and killings in custody or state neglect.
The NMPMFF make small grants available for families and their campaign groups across the UK to provide practical domestic assistance and campaign support, and also run (or are developing) a range of other support services for those that are affected.
See other NMPMFF historic moments here >
See our first major annual report >
About INQUEST:
INQUEST is the only charity providing expertise on state related deaths and their investigation to bereaved people, lawyers, advice & support agencies, the media as
well as parliamentarians.
Their specialist casework includes deaths in police and prison custody, immigration detention, mental health settings and deaths involving multi-agency failings or where wider issues of state and corporate accountability are in question.
INQUEST’s policy, parliamentary, campaigning and media work is grounded in the day to day experience of working with bereaved people. Employing an integrated model, this brings together casework support, family participation, identification of thematic trends, statistics and analysis that feeds into the organisation’s work on campaigning, information sharing and policy and parliamentary work.
Benjamin Zephaniah (Mikey’s Cousin) said;
“20 years after the brutal passing of my cousin has caused me to think about this number 20. Some might say it’s arbitrary, but I see some significance here.
“I can remember what political and cultural life was like in Britain 20 years before his death, and I have survived 20 years after the atrocity, but I feel no safer, and I still fear for our youth. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not saying we haven’t made any progress at all, after all, speaking personally, I have managed to spend my life working in the creative industries, and I see students that I have taught forging careers in TV, and radio. Some even go on to become teachers themselves. Yet if I am stopped by the police for a traffic check, or even if I feel the need to call the police, I have to remember that however small or urgent the issue, could be a matter of life or death.
“With all the scandals that we have seen recently, it's easy to refer to the ‘bad apples’, or the ‘corrupt few’, and many of us have come across ‘nice’ police officers, so where do we go from here? In my humble opinion we must go to the top. We have to challenge the racism that is upon high. The inbred racism that protects state and cultural institutions from anything that smells like diversity, equality, and the really big one, justice. How do we do this? As an old revolutionary my approach would be revolutionary, but although this is personal, this is not about me, so I’m open to a multi-faceted approach.
“It might sound obvious, but it seems to me that education is probably the most important. Of course, we need to consider that this is taught in history books, and which statues watch over us as we walk through the public square, but most of all we have to learn from history, so that the mistakes, and the atrocities of the past do not visit us again, and again, and again.
“20 years before we lost Mikey, I saw my people dying without justice. 20 years after my family’s loss, and my people die the same. 20 years? Some might say it’s arbitrary, but I see some significance here.”
Team Statements:
Tippa Naphtali, Development & Programmes Manager, said;
"While we will never forget what happened on the night of Mikey's killing, it is his life and how he lived it, that will continue to inspire us to develop mental health and wellbeing initiatives for those affected by state custody deaths and killings, and we will continue to work with others for an end to deaths, killings and abuse at the hands of the state.
"4WardEverUK, the first organisation that was set up in remembrance of Mikey, has adopted a mission that is inspired by Kwame Nkrumah's words - which we wholeheartedly support."
‘We face neither East nor West; We face forward. All men of goodwill, organize, organize, organize. We prefer self-government in danger, to servitude in tranquility. Forward ever, backward never.'
Tiphany Springer, Engagement & Support Coordinator said;
“My role is to support applicants when applying for support grants or accessing our other services, and I also undertake central administrative tasks, assist with organising our events and activities.
“This event is important as it will recognise the work of families and campaigners that have put their all into bringing about systems change and supporting victims of state violence and injustice.
“I hope that the National Campaigners Awards gains more and more exposure as that, in turn, leads to more exposure for individual campaigners and for families that sometimes feel alone and unheard. When these families benefit from our support and attend our events, they realise that they're not alone and that there's a whole community ready to stand behind them.”
Maia Watkins, Awards Marketing & Publicity Assistant, said;
“My role is to organise and distribute marketing and social media publicity for the annual awards events.
“These annual events will help to raise more awareness around the issues of injustices, the effects of racism and police or state brutality, whilst also recognising families, individuals and organisations that have been affected by this and have effectively campaigned for change.
“The NMPMFF National Campaigners Awards will bring more light to the works of so many who have made a positive change in society with regards to seeking justice.”
Nehanda Sankofa, Awards Venues & Activity Co-ordinator, said;
"This event is extremely important because it acknowledges those who work tirelessly for justice of those affected by deaths in custody.
"I think that amidst pain it is important to celebrate and show appreciation for the strength and courage to fight, and I am proud to be a part of this celebration.
"In the future I hope to see the NMPMFF National Campaigners Awards be a leader in celebrating those who stand for justice, and we can hold a bigger Gala each year around the country."
Tippa Naphtali speaks – A Legacy for Mikey Powell
See NMPMFF milestones:
www.memorialfamilyfund.org.uk/historic-moments-for-the-nmpmff-2018-to-2023
See ’40 years of INQUEST:
www.inquest.org.uk/Listing/Category/40-years-of-inquest
A Legacy for Mikey Powell:
www.memorialfamilyfund.org.uk/two-decades-on-a-continued-legacy-in-remembrance-of-mikey-powell
Get in touch with the National Memorial Family Fund
Voicemail: 0843 289 4994
In a response to the latest inspection of Brixton Prison, prison reform charity the Howard League have criticised the prison for locking men up "for hours on end’ in ‘dirty overcrowded cells’.
Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood has set out major plans to slash the number of women going to jail and ultimately close women’s prisons amid an overcrowding crisis.
All the performers at this community event will be young people from Birmingham who want to show their appreciation of Dr Benjamin Zephaniah through music and dance.
Over the last 2+ years the National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund (NMPMFF) has lost 80+ (60%) of regular monthly donors, and our grant and reserves are almost depleted.
We are proud to present our second annual report of activities in 2022 and 2023. The 7 September 2023 marked 8 years since the National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund was founded.
Mikey’s cousin and prominent activist and social justice campaigner, Tippa Naphtali, previously wrote the following moving article to commemorate the 15th anniversary of his death.
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