Syd Burke

Syd Burke
Born
Edmund Burke

1938
Jamaica
Died30 July 2010 (aged 72)
London, England
NationalityBritish
EducationCornwall College; Excelsior High School; North London Polytechnic
Occupation(s)Broadcaster, photographer and journalist
Known forRadio programme Rice 'n' Peas
RelativesAggrey Burke (brother)

Edmund Burke (1938 – 30 July 2010), known as Syd Burke, was a broadcaster, photographer and journalist, who moved to the UK from Jamaica to study photography in 1960, after having studied engineering, and later hosted London Broadcasting Corporation's (LBC) Rice 'n' Peas, a popular magazine programme.

He was the brother of psychiatrist and academic Aggrey Burke.

Early life and education

Burke was born in Jamaica, the eldest of six children.[1][2] He first attended Cornwall College in Montego Bay, and then Excelsior High School, where he was head boy.[2]

Career

He moved to the UK in 1960 to study photography at the North London Polytechnic, after having studied engineering in Jamaica.[2] Burke was soon working as a professional photographer, while also starting a career as a broadcaster.[3][4] During the 1970s and 1980s he became well known in the UK as one of the first black journalists and the host of London Broadcasting Corporation's (LBC) Rice 'n' Peas, a popular magazine programme, which he presented for seven years, and which he described was from "a black point of view".[5][6][7]

Burke's contribution to community programming is sometimes cited alongside that of Mike Phillips and Alex Pascall, who presented BBC Radio London's Black Londoners.[8][9] Burke also wrote as a journalist.[10]

Following a career at LBC, he ran a training programme for young broadcasters.[2]

In late January 1983 Burke joined the newly established independent television network Channel 4 as a continuity announcer.[11] Other television work that Burke was involved with in the 1980s included appearing on BBC Two's programme Ebony, reviewing the British press.[12][13]

A photograph by Burke appeared in the catalogue of the 1997 exhibition Transforming the Crown: African, Asian and Caribbean Artists in Britain 1966 – 1996.[14]

He was a recipient of a Hansib award.[15]

Personal and family

Burke married Veronica and they had three sons.[16] One of his younger brothers is psychiatrist and specialist in transcultural psychiatry Aggrey Burke.[2]

Death

On 30 July 2010, Burke died of cancer of the colon at the Charing Cross Hospital, Hammersmith.[16]

References

  1. ^ Harris, Roxy; Sarah White, eds. (1999). Changing Britannia: Life Experience with Britain. New Beacon Books. pp. 168–210. ISBN 9781873201152.
  2. ^ a b c d e Zamani, Kubara (29 August 2010). "Nubiart Diary – Arts Obituaries". Ligali. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  3. ^ "The Jamaica Folk Singers – photos Syd Burke". Jamaica Journal: 44. December 1973. Retrieved 4 July 2020 – via University of Florida Digital Collections.
  4. ^ "Syd Burke Archive". flickr. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Syd Burke". LBC/IRN Memory Box. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  6. ^ Goodwin, Clayton (1 May 2018). "Claudia Jones' footprints in printer's ink". New African. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  7. ^ Great Britain. Commission for Racial Equality (1990). Radio for Ethnic and Linguistic Minorities: Prospects in the 1990s : Report of a Conference. Commission for Racial Equality. ISBN 978-1-85442-046-6.
  8. ^ "The History of BBC London 94.9". BBC London. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  9. ^ Adebayo, Dotun (11 July 2015). "40 Years On And We Never Had It So Good". The Voice. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  10. ^ van Dijk, Teun A. (2015). Racism and the Press. Routledge. p. 166. ISBN 978-1-317-40385-2.
  11. ^ Bonner, Paul; Lesley Aston (2003). "Programmes, Reactions and Progress 1982–87: 'The Isaacs Years'". Independent Television in Britain. Volume 6. New Developments in Independent Television 1981–92: Channel 4, TV-am, Cable and Satellite. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 111. ISBN 9780230287136.
  12. ^ "Syd Burke – Filmography". BFI. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Ebony". Radio Times. BBC. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Syd Burke". Diaspora Artists. Retrieved 4 July 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  15. ^ Morrison, Lionel (2007). A Century of Black Journalism in Britain: A Kaleidoscopic View of Race and the Media (1893–2003). Truebay. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-9555540-0-1.
  16. ^ a b "JISCMail - BASA Archives". www.jiscmail.ac.uk. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2020.