Britain’s biggest supermarkets have backed a fundraising campaign by Devon’s famous Black Farmer aimed at highlighting Black History Month.
Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, who is behind The Black Farmer range of foods, is fundraising for the charitable Mary Seacole Trust and the Black Cultural Archives, in Brixton,. He wants to raise at least £100,000.
Supermarkets including Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Co-op, Aldi, Lidl, Waitrose, Budgen’s, Ocado and Morrisons have all committed to donating profits from Black Farmer products to the charities in addition to in-store promotional space.
READ MORE: {}
Mr Emmanuel-Jones, who owns and farms at Higher West Kitcham Farm on the border of Devon and Cornwall in St Giles on the Heath, Launceston, has also set up a GoFundMe campaign for donations which can be accessed .
Mr Emmanuel-Jones was awarded an MBE for services to farming in the 2020 Queen’s Honours. The 63-year-old was a “child of the Windrush generation” arriving in Britain from Jamaica at the age of four.
He said: “This is my Bob Geldof moment, galvanising the giants of the food industry to get behind this very important occasion to showcase the great achievements of Black British thought our British history”.
Black History Month was first celebrated in Britain in 1987. In the USA, it was officially recognised by President Gerald Ford in 1976, and is celebrated every year in February. Corporations such as Coca Cola, Google, H&M, Barnes & Noble, OneUnited Bank and Nike back Black History Month.
“The George Floyd travesty has brought the importance of Black History Month well and truly front and centre in across the world and particularly Britain,” said Mr Emmanuel-Jones, a former Tory party parliamentary candidate.
Most Read
“It’s great the Chancellor is now flirting with putting famous black faces on British currency via the Royal Mint,” he said. “But what is the rest of corporate Britain doing to show they take the #BlackLivesMatter debate seriously? Not a hell of a lot apart from some internal HR fluff.
"I have approached many companies to take part in Black History Month and more often than not I have been referred to their HR department who come out with the usual well-prepared statement saying nothing. I’m proud that Britain’s supermarkets have all backed The Black Farmer’s initiative”.
The Black Farmer is offering sausages with a flavour of the Caribbean – a jerk pork sausage and jerk chicken sausage, with a pack design that celebrates black contribution to British society.
How to contact William Telford and Business Live
Business Live's South West Business Reporter is William Telford. William has more than a decade's experience reporting on the business scene in Plymouth and the South West. He is based in Plymouth but covers the entire region.
To contact William: Email: william.telford@reachplc.com - Phone: 01752 293116 - Mob: 07584 594052 - Twitter: - LinkedIn: - Facebook:
Stay in touch: BusinessLive newsletters have been re-designed to make them even better. We send morning bulletins straight to your inbox on the latest news, views and opinion in the South West. Get our breaking news alerts and weekly sector reviews too. Sign up now - it's free and it only takes a minute. To sign up for Business Live's daily newsletters click .
And visit the Business Live South West LinkedIn page
The Black Farmer also aims to redefine Black Friday on November 27, 2020, with a major fundraising drive and celebration of “diversity in business”.
“Every company should use Black History to celebrate black success, creativity and innovation,” said Mr Emmanuel-Jones.
Mr Emmanuel-Jones is also using his next TV advert to highlight Black History Month. It will feature Black individuals Mary Seacole and Sgt Lincoln Orville Lynch to highlight their achievements throughout history.
Don’t miss
He has set up the Black Farmer Scholarship, which aims to help and encourage ethnic minorities to work in the rural community, an area where they have been under-represented.
This aim has been made into a Channel 4 TV series, Young Black Farmers, a series of three, which sees him take a group of nine inner-city school leavers from ethnic minorities on a scholarship on his Devon farm.