Congratulations to the tireless Nubian Jak for arranging another Blue Plaque to commemorate the contribution Black men and women have made to British society, well over thirty plaques have now been erected.
The latest was unveiled by the mayor of Haringey, Stephen Mann, fittingly enough, on Remembrance Day, 11th November 2017. The local MP, Catherine West was also present. The plaque was unveiled in Jackson’s Lane at the home of Cy Grant.
Cy died in 2010 after having lived a (very!) full and varied life. Born in what was then British Guiana in 1919 he served in the RAF as a navigator during World War 2. On only his third mission his plane was shot down. He was able to bale out but was taken prisoner by the Germans and spent two years as a prisoner of war.
After the war he studied law and qualified as a barrister but racial prejudice prevented him from finding work. He embarked on an acting career and found success in films (including a role alongside Richard Burton in ‘The Sea Wife’ [1957]) and on stage.
He also embarked on a singing career and it was as a calypso singer on the long running ‘Tonight’ programme, singing about a topical news item, that he came to the notice of both the boy who would grow up to become the Mayor of Haringey and also the author of this blog. He was one of the very few Black faces on TV at that time. Fans of ‘Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons’ will also remember Cy as the voice of Lieutenant Green.
He was also an activist who was instrumental in setting up the Drum Arts Centre in North London and later as Director of the Concord Multicultural Festvals. Oh, and he found time to write too.
A blue plaque seems a very fitting commemoration of such a life, just reading about his many achievements makes me feel tired!