Val McCalla

Val McCalla (3 October 1943 in Kingston, Jamaica – 22 August 2002 in Seaford, East Sussex) is best known as the founder of The Voice, a British weekly newspaper aimed at the Britain's black community. He founded it in 1982 as a voice for the British African-Caribbean community. He was honored as a pioneering publisher for the community, but also faced critics who deemed him sensationalistic.^[1]

In the 100 Great Black Britons poll conducted in 1997, Val McCalla was voted number 68.

Biography

After studying accountancy at Kingston College in Jamaica, McCalla arrived in England in May 1959, aged 15. He joined the RAF, leaving in the mid-1960s. He was employed in various accounts and book-keeping positions, before working part-time on a community newspaper, East End News, based near his flat in Bethnal Green.^[2] He started The Voice newspaper in 1982, launching it at the Notting Hill carnival that August.

Val McCalla died on 22 August 2002 of liver failure.

References

External links

• Profile at Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to Black History
• Angelique Chrisafis, "McCalla, publisher who gave black people a voice, dies", The Guardian, 24 August 2002.
• "Val McCalla", 100 Great Black Britons.