This is far too much about me when the magazine is about the writers, please accept my apologies.

I can’t remember the actual details of how the magazine started. I think it went something like this. I was a teacher at Dick Sheppard and began working on word-processing training for the Youth Centre – not sure for what I just remember wordstar (1985)!!! I was very disillusioned with teaching as I saw the kids at Dick Sheppard failing because of the system. The next I remember I had resigned and was working as a Youth Centre worker on the magazine.

The first magazine was weird - unfortunately I don’t have one. I got all the copy together, and at a pre-arranged deadline on a Friday afternoon went to a friend who had agreed to do the typesetting – the magazine was due at the printers by Monday lunch-time somewhere near Harlesden. I had everything ready (I thought), went to see him, and he rejected it all. Then started a powerful weekend where with my printer and spraymount I laid out a 16-page magazine (not typeset). In my living room I worked sleeplessly until eventually something came together, and I had 16 pages to be taken to be printed. This was a powerful experience for me, and it made the magazine for the short time it existed.

Once the first edition had been printed and distributed, it got a reputation. Originally the writers were connected with the school or the Youth Centre – not from a wider Brixton. Once it was published, new writers came in, and we had a magazine to show the community. The Area Youth Office threw in some money that paid for typesetting, printing and photos. Also with the first print I was able to show some advertisers.

The aim of the magazine was to show black youth in a positive light, to highlight aspects of their experience that the media avoided because it did not suit their sensationalist agenda. There was plenty of stuff around about make-up, hair, sports etc., I didn’t want this – I reluctantly included articles on MASDA, a sports organisation who did good work, as a compromise – they were funding the Youth Centre (who were paying me!).

What I then began to experience so strongly was how much the community supported the magazine, their youth. I had to front up (as a white man uncomfortably) in many situations only to find the community welcoming and putting me at ease because the magazine was about black youth – my assessment the people saw the positive side of black youth in the magazine (I don’t know for sure). But community cooperation was so important to the magazine. Typical an interview with Angela Wynter had been arranged, and the writer, Carol Billy, was unfortunately ill so I had to do the interview myself. I turned up at her flat (somewhere in Clapham I think). She looked at me ??, accepted my reasons, and then gave me an excellent interview – including an education on duppies! Carol was then able to write the interview.

Just as a personal aside I searched for "Young Journal Dick Sheppard Youth Centre", and discovered that Ndeh Ntumazah had included the YJ interview in his autobiography - LINK, I take that as a great honour as he was a great man.

I had visions for the magazine – I touted for subscriptions, wanted to promote ad revenue so that I could put the magazine on a commercial footing and pay the writers. But in the middle of the fourth issue my personal life changed drastically, and I moved to Brighton. It was a big upheaval, I was in Brighton sorting out the publication in London with my mind completely elsewhere. Believe it or not I have only just noticed that I blew the editing for “Sportsprobe” in Magazine 4 (July 86). I understand there was a fifth issue but by then I had lost contact.

I have finally done something with the magazines. They have travelled the world. I went back into teaching, and early 90s I left Brighton to start teaching in Botswana, moving then to Oman after 6 years, then Bahrain, China, and finally Nigeria. I retired to Thailand in 2006, and 30 years on have made the effort to put what I have online; sadly the first magazine didn’t make it through the travels.

One testimony to the writers, I reread the magazine and it is timeless and I can learn. I want to thank all those involved in the magazine for giving me something that still has great meaning to me especially thanks to the young writers (who are now 50!! (or less ??)). Thank you all. I would love to hear from anyone – BillZ.