Tara L. Gear, author of Just Like Grandpa Jazz talks to us about her inspiration for this book, illustrated by Mirno Imamovic and published by Owlet Press.
It’s no co-incidence that we published Just Like Grandpa Jazz in June this year - Windrush month. It’s not a Windrush story, but it hopefully chimes the same. Like the Windrush generation, many other migrants came from all corners of the British Empire over the 50s, 60s and 70s, often by boat, to fulfil jobs in the UK.
Both the character of Jazz and my Dad’s stories are about coming to the UK to work in the NHS. Soon after it was formed in 1948 the UK Government brought thousands of nurses and doctors from the Caribbean, Malaysia, Mauritius and other parts of The British Empire. By 1960, the NHS relied on doctors who had come from overseas, but many migrant staff also took low paid care roles.
In 2018, a BBC timeline celebrating the NHS’s 70th Birthday sadly did not represent the migrant workforce in any of its historical photos. However, overseas migrants have always underpinned the NHS. Many of those people will have experienced racism, either from patients in their care or from colleagues. My dad, who Jazz is based on, has some stories to tell. Some of these stories are heart-breaking for me to hear.
Like Jazz, many NHS workers who came to the UK from other countries became British citizens and settled down with their own families in the UK.
It’s an interesting contrast to our post-Brexit reality today. I don’t think there’s ever been a more poignant time to tell stories about migration, race and heritage. I want children to understand why our country is the way it is, through a lens of history and true stories, not current politics. I would encourage every writer of colour to bring the story of their family, their heritage and their experiences to the fore.
For anyone dissatisfied with modern rhetoric, being vulnerable about our real experiences is one way we can fight back to create a more balanced picture. It’s encouraging that we now have more language to call out racism on every level, but it’s so complex. My brother and I who have the same parents, have completely different experiences of racism. So herein lies the power of telling our personal stories.
In the book, Jazz’s story about coming to the UK is described to his inquisitive grandson, Frank. Perhaps for the first time, Frank is realising that his grandad – who he thinks is just like him – has been treated differently because of how he looks and where he’s from. Today as parents we are rightly encouraged to teach anti-racism, but in order to do that, you have to also explain what racism is. I’m sure all kids are different, but my own experience of this is that it is often shocking and upsetting.
Deciding to write Jazz was the start of an interesting journey. I’ve released that I have many privileges and that my duty is to listen, not preach. As a young mixed-race person, I could choose to ‘gravitate towards whiteness’ because that was a safer space. But now, today, I do the opposite, if only to remind my children of their privileges, their heritage, to teach them to have an open mind and to listen also.
The original title for Just Like Grandpa Jazz was ‘Jazz, The Master Storyteller’. I hope that the book also highlights the power and magnitude of stories, those we can pass on, and how they give us a window into unique lived experiences.
Find more books that feature stories about the Windrush generation here.
You can also find out more about the Windrush generation from the following resources.
https://www.jcwi.org.uk/windrush-scandal-explained |
https://www.bl.uk/windrush |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43782241 |
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/the-story-of-windrush/ |