Val Irvine McCalla (3 October 1943 – 22 August 2002) was a Jamaican accountant and media entrepreneur who settled in Britain in 1959. He is best known as the founder of ''The Voice'', a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

weekly newspaper aimed at the Britain's black community, which he established in 1982 as a voice for the

British African-Caribbean community British African-Caribbean people are an ethnic group in the United Kingdom. They are British citizens whose ancestry originates from the Caribbean or they are nationals of the Caribbean who reside in the UK. There are some self-identified Afro ...

. He was honoured as a pioneering publisher for the community, but also faced critics who deemed him sensationalistic. In the ''

100 Great Black Britons ''100 Great Black Britons'' is a poll that was first undertaken in 2003 to vote for and celebrate the greatest Black Britons of all time. It was created in a campaign initiated by Patrick Vernon in response to a BBC search for '' 100 Greatest Brit ...

'' poll conducted in 1997, Val McCalla was voted number 68.

Early life

Val McCalla was born in a poor part of

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

. After studying accountancy at Kingston College, a Jamaican high school, McCalla travelled to England in May 1959, aged 15.

Career

He joined the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, but a perforated eardrum put paid to his dreams of becoming a pilot and instead he honed his skills as a bookkeeper,"Val McCalla"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. leaving in the mid-1960s. He then found employment 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 Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

. He started ''The Voice'' newspaper in 1982, Britain's first Black owned paper, with a team that included broadcaster

Alex Pascall Alex Pascall, OBE (born November 1936), is a British broadcaster, journalist, musician, composer, oral historian and educator. Based in Britain for more than 50 years, he was one of the developers of the Notting Hill Carnival, is a political ca ...

, launching it at the

Notting Hill carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean festival event that has taken place in London since 1966

that August, and bringing in Viv Broughton as marketing manager. ''The Voice'' became a training ground for leading journalists. He owned ''

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English diction ...

'' and ''Pride'' magazines, and in 1991 founded ''The Weekly Journal''. McCalla died of liver failure on 22 August 2002, aged 58, in

Seaford, East Sussex Seaford is a town in East Sussex, England, east of Newhaven and west of Eastbourne.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. In the Middle Ages, Sea ...

, where he was buried.

Legacy

In June 2021, on

Windrush Day Windrush Day was introduced in June 2018 on the 70th anniversary of the ''Windrush'' migration. Though Windrush Day is not a bank holiday in the United Kingdom, it is an observed day. It is on 22 June. It was instituted following a successful cam ...

, Val McCalla was honoured as the founder of ''The Voice'' with the installation of a plaque by the

Nubian Jak Community Trust Nubian Jak Community Trust (NJCT) is a commemorative plaque and sculpture scheme founded by Jak Beula that highlights the historic contributions of Black and minority ethnic people in Britain. The first NJCT heritage plaque, honouring Bob Marley, ...

outside the newspaper's Brixton offices, Blue Star House.

References

External links

"Val McCalla"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' * Steve Pope
"Val McCalla"
(obituary), ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 24 August 2002.
"We Remember Val McCalla, Founder of 'The Voice'"
''The Voice'', 22 August 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:McCalla, Val 1943 births 2002 deaths British newspaper publishers (people) 20th-century Jamaican businesspeople Migrants from British Jamaica to the United Kingdom Black British writers Royal Air Force airmen