Levi Roots celebrates Black History Month with Age UK Barnet

We were delighted that celebrity chef Levi Roots could join our Black History Month event to celebrate Black history and culture.

As part of the celebrations, Levi gave an entertaining and inspiring talk to the older people about his fond memories of growing up in Jamaica and his experiences of moving to London, including how tough it was at times. He also talked about how is life changed since appearing on Dragons Den with his Regae Regae sauce.

Levi is a familiar face at Age UK Barnet, having visited their men’s cookery class in 2018, showing them how to make his famous jerk chicken.

Other festivities at our Black History Month event included a lively steel pan orchestra, a cookery demonstration and taster and spoken word poetry. Councillor  Linda Lusingu also shared her touching story of how she overcame prejudice after coming to London from Tanzania as a child.

Our event highlighted just how crucial it is to bring older people in local communities from all different backgrounds together, helping to make a huge difference to older people who may feel isolated and alone.

Levi says:  'It was fantastic to be back at Age UK Barnet, celebrating Black history, culture and music, and it was an inspiring day. It’s really important that we draw on our heritage and celebrate being ourselves. Coming together for events like these is vital in helping to tackle loneliness and in helping older people to feel part of something.'

Joyce (left with Levi) who brought her dad to the event, says: 'My dad has loved today, especially Levi’s talk. He started crying when Levi spoke about growing up in Jamaica, as it brought back memories of his own life in Jamaica before he came to England.'

Age UK Barnet services manager Jenny Jean-Charles (left, with Levi) says: 'We were so blessed to have Levi spend so much time with us, mingling with everyone, signing autographs and having his photo taken with so many people. And his personal story totally captivated the audience!'

Loneliness and minority groups

Loneliness is a huge issue affecting older people, and research carried out by Age UK last year found that 10 per cent of the older Black Caribbean people the charity spoke to, and 13% of the older Black African people, said they were often lonely. When the same question is asked of the general population, 5% of older people say they are often lonely.

'Many mainstream services may not feel very welcoming and inclusive to older people from diverse backgrounds, including people from ethnic minorities, which may result in some older people feeling isolated,' says Jenny. 'Group activities and events, like our Black History Month celebration, are a great way to help older people feel supported as well as helping to reduce loneliness.'