Letters to a Young Generation: Young, gifted and black? Here’s how to make it.

When Amanda Wilson asked me to contribute to Letters to a Young Generation – Part Two  I felt honoured. It was a chance to share some of my lessons with the younger generation as well as a chance to remind myself of what still needs to be done in order to clear the path for others. I hope young women from across the country and across the world read this and truly believe that anything is possible.

The book has been compiled by Amanda Wilson, who is a deputy head teacher at a primary school in South East London and owns 9:10 Publishing. It features a compilation of letters written by successful black women to black girls, offering advice and inspiration on how to make it as an entrepreneur or leader today.When a black girl struggles to get into a nightclub solely because of the colour of her skin, what hope does she have of cracking the world of business or the world of arts? Letters to a Young Generation – Part Two has perhaps never been timelier. Editor Amanda Wilson noticed a lack of gritty, real life messages from black women to black girls in the UK, and thought a book of letters sharing experiences would be powerful. She approached Kanya King, creator of the MOBOS and one of Radio 4 Women’s Hour ‘Most Powerful Women’, to write the foreword, and the offers to help came pouring in. Contributors include MOBO award winner Ms Dynamite, singer and celebrity Sinitta, Annmarie Lewis - the first black female prison officer at Feltham Young Offenders Institute and many more.Amanda says: “For the first time black girls in the UK have their own manual that helps answer ‘How do I own being who I am? How do I make things happen for me?’ I couldn’t be prouder of the project.”As part of the publicity for the book I was featured on The Guardian along with the other contributors:Letters to a Young Generation – Part Two is published by 9:10 Publishing RRP £6.99 ISBN 9780957136762