Nadine White: A Journalistic Force For Positive Change
In the vast arena of journalism, where words have the power to shape narratives and illuminate truths, there emerges a formidable advocate wielding her pen with a purpose: Nadine White, a name synonymous with a commitment to justice, equity, and the profound belief that ‘the pen is mightier than the sword.’
Currently employed at The Independent as the United Kingdom’s first Race Correspondent, Nadine is known for championing the cause of people of colour. Her journey as a journalist is marked by her impeccable literary craftsmanship and her resolute dedication to championing the cause of people of colour, documenting and sharing stories that would otherwise remain untold.
Nadine was born and raised in the UK but is extremely proud of her Jamaican heritage.
“My both sets of grandparents came over [to the UK] between the late 1950s and 1960s from Jamaica. My father was born in Jamaica in a parish called Trelawny and my mum was born in England to Jamaican parents. I’m very close to my family in Jamaica and I try to visit on average every couple of years. I’m very proud of my cultural heritage and identity, it infuses everything I do,” White said.
I was fortunate to have met Nadine during a recent trip to Grenada and was immediately intrigued.
In this article we’ll be sharing snippets of this literary and advocacy giant whose pen is not merely a tool but a catalyst for change, weaving a tapestry that amplifies the voices of the unheard and gives power to those whose stories deserve to be etched in the annals of history.
How It All Began
“Writing was always a passion of mine, always something I enjoyed doing, always something I excelled at. If we’re talking about the student in school, I was always the student that was into English, Language and English Literature… the more essay-based subjects like History as opposed to Mathematics for example, which I absolutely despised.”
Nadine told YCG that she started journaling at a young age and grew accustomed to and fond of writing her thoughts, feelings and perspectives.
“There’s a saying that paper is more patient than man and I always found solace and yeah, happiness, a sense of happiness from writing things down from keeping journals just in a personal capacity. I would write poems, short stories and, you know, my interest in journalism pretty much grew from there. It grew from a love of writing and from an interest in the world around me and people’s stories, and journeys.”
Nadine said it wasn’t lost on her, a young black girl growing up in Brixton, that the stories about black people in the national news were steeped in negativity.
“At the time, Brixton was one of London’s most impoverished areas. As a little black girl growing up in Brixton, I’d turn on the TV, watch the news, a company newspaper, magazine, as I grew older, and I wouldn’t see black stories and black perspectives highlighted as I say, in a positive way, in a consistently, you know, productive way, helpful way and so, growing up and considering what I wanted to do as a career, I landed on the decision of wanting to become a journalist specifically to help amplify black perspectives and place them where they should be at the forefront of the national news agenda.”
Nadine said she wanted very much to be a part of the solution, and this is what prompted her to pursue a career in journalism.
“My role as race correspondent at the Independent is very much about highlighting Black, Asian and minoritized perspectives, broadly speaking, and because again, you know, these kinds of stories don’t feature as prominently or as regularly. There’s also something to be said for the lack of diversity in UK media as well. According to recent statistics, Black Journalists only account for 0.2% of working journalists in the UK and this is the industry that is around 94% White. So yeah, there are lots of issues around representation and stories, you know, important stories being told. And so yeah, I’ve always wanted to do exactly what I’m doing which is to highlight these important perspectives.”
Despite living the professional dream, Nadine said it’s a constant balancing act between documenting traumatic stories around black experiences in majority white spaces and practising self-care.
“To keep from getting jaded, I would say that I always revisit my reason why: My reason for getting into this industry, my reason for pursuing journalism as a career and it’s very much about doing good. I’m very much about, you know, yeah, seeking out truth and telling the stories that are very often overlooked within the national media, you know, so holding on to that sense of purpose and harnessing that sense of purpose really helps to propel me forward, particularly during the times — and they are quite frequent — the times where things can seem very bleak and challenges arise.”
Nadine said she is also mindful of her own limitations.
“I mean, I am the UK’s first dedicated race correspondent, there isn’t another journalist or correspondent who functions in the way that I do in the industry so it’s a huge responsibility. I’m only one person and I remind myself of that regularly as well because you know, being only one person, there’s only so much that I can do. There’s only so many stories that I can write on a day to day basis, and unfortunately, I can’t cover it all, which is why we need more race correspondents, we need more journalists just by and large focusing on these stories and highlighting these matters around Black, Asian and minoritized communities. So yeah, I revisit my ‘why’ frequently. It propels me forward and gives me a renewed sense of vigor, I suppose, to go out into the world every day and do the work that I do while being mindful of my own limitations.”
Barrel Children
In 2018, Nadine began work on a film project. Barrel Children was released earlier this year to rave reviews.
According to the passionate storyteller, it was a five-year, extremely intense labour of love.
Barrel Children, she explained, was inspired by her father who passed away when she was eleven years old.
“We were very close prior to his passing and I remember he would often regale my brother and I with tales of his childhood experiences growing up under the care of his maternal grandmother, Miss Georgie. So he would often talk about, you know, how much of a disciplinarian she was, how much she doted on him, though, how well she prepared him for the world, you know, and taught him fundamental life lessons that he took forward with him on his journey.”
He also mentioned just in passing, obviously, that it was difficult for him to leave her when the time came for him to, you know, migrate to England to join his parents who had moved to England in the years prior. I would say that as a child, you listen to your parents say things and you chalk it up to just their experience. It’s only as I got older and understood the world around me, and understood the history of, you know, black Caribbean people and their experiences in the UK, that I realized the barrel child phenomenon… the experience of children being left behind by biological parents in the Caribbean, and then being sent for and oftentimes not being sent for actually (which is another story in and of itself) was very common.”
Nadine told YCG it resulted in the fragmentation of black families and the impact of this is still felt today.
“I think it’s fair to say, we’re talking about intergenerational trauma. So you know, Windrush as a term of reference to the trailblazers and pioneers who came over from the Caribbean to the UK between 1948 and early 1970s to rebuild this country after the Second World War, that time has come into, you know, popular use, it’s been thrust into the public consciousness in a way that I’ve never seen before.
“As of April 2018, when the Windrush scandal erupted, and we know the Windrush scandal saw, you know, wrongly strip thousands and thousands of Caribbean people of their rights to work and to live in the UK, etc. We talk about the sacrifices of the Windrush generation in glowing terms, and that is right, it’s right that they’re lauded for their contributions to British life, but we do not talk (and then when I say we, I just want to be clear, I’m talking about people in the UK, specifically just the national conversation) we talk about their contribution, we don’t talk about their sacrifices. We don’t talk about the personal cost, as far as the fact that they left children behind. And the trauma, that intergenerational trauma that, as I say, can still be felt to this day. So all of the above, you know, inspired me to create this documentary.”
Nadine said it’s her hope that Barrel Children will bring about a greater sense of cohesion in black Caribbean communities not just in the UK, but across the diaspora.
“I wanted them to learn something. Learn different perspectives from the documentary. And yeah, I suppose walk away from the experience of having watched the documentary having an enhanced sense of understanding about perhaps themselves if they were the barrel child or loved ones or people that they know if they were the barrel child, and, you know, really, through having conversations and having this enhanced sense of understanding. Hopefully, some healing can come about that. That’s what I’ve always wanted to see happen as a result of this documentary.”
Barrel Children — A Self Funded Project
Nadine noted that to her it was important to honour the legacy of her Jamaican father and tell his story.
Though a labour of love, she said this five-year project was not without it’s challenges.
“So you know, five-year labor of love is a self funded endeavor. Believe you me I tried to secure the funding… I remember having quite an upsetting meeting with one production company head who said, you know, I promise you no one cares about about this, like, you’re not gonna have executives in offices saying, I wish somebody would make a film about viral children. I thought it’s one thing to not agree with the vision, it’s another thing entirely to put down what somebody’s trying to do. So there have been various setbacks…I think definitely when I started out in 2018, I was green, inexperienced, very optimistic about the prospects of getting this on TV and getting this made and getting the institutional backing. It’s been sobering to say the least, but the knowledge that these stories are indeed important, the understanding that, you know, when they came, or when did they, when the day comes rather, that the film is out there did resonate with so many people really kept me going.”
Nadine’s documentary was first screened in Brixton on June 24. It debuted at number 23 on the UK Box Office chart out of 100 films released in the country.
“It continues to be in demand as far as sold-out screenings taking place around the UK and God willing, I’ll be, you know, touring the film across the Caribbean diaspora in 2024.”
Thoughts Of Quitting The Project
The 31-year-old also disclosed that the thought of shelving the project had crossed her mind due to the setbacks and rejections she experienced.
“The idea of giving up on the project altogether, did cross my mind. However, these were always fleeting thoughts and ultimately, the thoughts were overridden by the understanding that the stories have to be told in this way.
“This is the first documentary about barrel children that has been created to the best of my knowledge through a black British perspective and the Windrush context in particular. And so, you know, there’s a lot in there as far as these important perspectives that have long been overlooked.
“As I say when we’re talking about wind rush across the national conversation, we don’t talk about barrel children we do not talk about familial dysfunction, estrangement. We don’t talk about intergenerational trauma, we don’t talk about the fragmentation of black families, and actually, the role of colonialism, you know, and and how that features in the Windrush experience for stuff we don’t talk about these things and so, there have been lots of missed opportunities, as I say, for learning for conversations that take place around all of the above and for healing to come about, particularly within black British communities and families.
Community Support Essential to Completing The Project
“You know, who have been affected by serial migration. And so understanding all of this, again, it just helped to propel me forward on this journey. It wasn’t always clear to me where I’d end up or where the film would end up as far as, you know, when it would be made when I’d get there when we’d crossed the finish line. But I just knew that I had to keep on keeping on, as they say, and do my best to get the film made and continue to pour into it. And you know, it was very much… as I spearheaded the production of this documentary and funded it myself.”
As challenging as the project was, White said the support of family friends, and some allies were instrumental in getting the project over the line.
“…that really helped to put wind in the sails of the documentaries production. And, you know, I credit their support with, you know what how the documentary came to fruition.”
Regarding the feedback to the films, White said: “…the overwhelmingly positive response to the documentary, the sea of Yeah. The Sea of glowing reviews, and comments and feedback from people who aren’t just of Caribbean heritage like myself, but people who are from outside of the community, to use that term, has been mind blowing. Deeply humbling. It has been surreal and I’m very grateful.”
Itching For Another Project
Can the public look forward to any other similar projects?
“Absolutely,” White said.
“I’ve been laughing and saying to anyone who will listen that I have a bug right about now, you know since making this documentary, which is my debut. I have the bug I’ve been bitten by the bug to create more, the film bug, you know, the film producers bug.
“I just enjoyed the process of creating this documentary despite the setbacks, despite the rejection and, you know, the trials and tribulations that came with it. It was an incredibly rewarding experience. And it just it just really opened me up to the possibility of further exploring stories and highlighting perspectives that I, you know, that I feel passionate about highlighting, ie, marginalized perspectives through film.
“You know, for me, it’s always been, as I say, the ink and pad paper and pen journalizing truths and going about reporting in that way. Creating the documentary has impressed upon me the importance of, you know, documenting narratives through other mediums as well such as film so absolutely plan to make more documentaries on.
“I’m currently working on a few ideas which I look forward to announce again due course, but yes, absolutely.”
