Ray Lewis

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has today announced the appointment of Ray Lewis as Deputy Mayor for Young People. Ray has considerable experience working with young men in particular as Director of EastSide Young Leaders Academy. A former prison Governor, Ray Lewis and his team take boys with potential who are nevertheless heading down the wrong path and literally help turn their lives around.

During his campaign to become Mayor of London, Boris Johnson found the work of Ray Lewis and his team inspirational. Now as Mayor of London, Boris is delighted that Ray will join him in his new administration. Commenting on the appointment, Boris Johnson said:

"I have a huge amount of respect for Ray Lewis and what he has achieved. I want to build on his success to deliver real change for young people in London both now and in the future. Ray's dynamic but strict approach has given countless opportunities to hundreds of young men in London and helped raise their aspirations as a result. He has helped them achieve more than they ever hoped possible and now I want to spread that magic across London.

"We face a wave of violent crime amongst young people in the Capital. Kids are killing other kids. Ray will be part of my team who will work night and day until we put an end to this tragic trend.

"Working with voluntary groups across the Capital, we will make a real difference to the lives of young people and their families. Londoners need action on this issue, and I won't rest until we deliver it".

Ends

Notes to Editors

Please find a biography of Ray Lewis:

Ray was born in Guyana in 1963 and attended schools in Walthamstow. He began his career working as an administrative officer for the Civil Service before becoming a Clerk in Holy Orders for the Church Commissioners in 1990. During this time he gained a degree in Theology & Pastoral Studies from Middlesex University.

After working at HM Prison Woodhill, Milton Keynes, Ray became Executive Director of Eastside Young Leaders' Academy in 2001. He is also a Trustee and Governor of the Petchey Academy in Hackney and a Justice of the Peace.

His motto is: "We see no shortage of young black males in the courtrooms, so my vision is to seek to prepare as many as possible for the boardrooms."

Ray is married to Pamela and they have three daughters aged between 16 and 21.

http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release.jsp?releaseid=16754

Boris Johnson announced yesterday that a Guyanan-born former prison governor would serve as his deputy for young people with a brief to end the "tragic trend" of "kids killing other kids".

On his first official day in office, Johnson asked the "inspirational" Ray Lewis to deliver his "dynamic but strict approach" across London. Lewis, 44, who was educated in Walthamstow, north-east London, after moving to Britain from Guyana, is a former governor of Woodhill prison in Milton Keynes. He set up the Eastside Young Leaders' Academy, which encourages black boys to be leaders in business and law, after being appalled by the number of black youngsters who end up in prison.

His motto is: "We see no shortage of young black males in the courtrooms, so my vision is to seek to prepare as many as possible for the boardrooms." Lewis is a prominent Johnson supporter who introduced him at his mayoral campaign launch in Edmonton, north London, in March. Johnson said Lewis had given "countless opportunities to hundreds of young men in London".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/may/06/boris.race




Mr Lewis's appointment is the most tangible sign of Mr Johnson's desire to reach out to black Londoners.

Mr Lewis founded the Eastside Young Leaders' Academy, which provides disruptive black youngsters with a combination of military-style discipline and a traditional education including poetry and the classics. It says that all pupils gain at least two A-levels and three quarters go to university.

Mr Johnson said: "We face a wave of violent crime amongst young people in the capital. Kids are killing other kids. Ray will be part of my team who will work night and day until we put an end to this tragic trend."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/boris_johnson/1930035/Boris-Johnson-joined-by-black-school-chief-in-crime-fight.html


Eastside Young Leaders Academy

EYLA exists to nurture and develop the leadership potential of young African and Caribbean males, empowering them to become the next generation of successful leaders.

We provide educational and emotional support for boys aged 8-18, particularly those identified as being at risk of social exclusion. Students are referred to us by local schools, faith groups, Social Services, youth agencies, etc.

EYLA is not a school but an educational and leadership development organisation, which works alongside schools to motivate and encourage students to stay in class and remain on task.

We focus on respect and self worth, inculcating a culture of hard work, academic excellence and civic responsibility. We seek to develop the interpersonal skills of each child, instilling in them self confidence and unlocking their creative flair.

http://www.eyla.org.uk/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jan/30/raylewis.interview

Interesting that Lewis has decided to "Buy into this shit" after all ... or at least to be bought into it. :evilgrin:

I shall watch his progress with great interest.

Looks a bit grim on the picture, though. Where's his "watermelon smile"?

The Skin

Sounds as though Lewis is, or wishes to be, to minorities what Tebbit was to people from working-class backgrounds. "Get on your bike!"

But I hope he turns out better than he sounds.

Excerpt from a recent Independent Article...



Ray Lewis, 45, is founder and head of the education and leadership association Eastside Young Leaders' Academy (EYLA) in east London, which works with black boys aged eight to 18 at risk of social exclusion

EYLA is about prevention. It is based on my work as a prison governor, where I noted the story of the young men was pretty well always the same – problems in schools, usually single-parent household or parenting that lacked discipline, and children who led unstructured lives.

We like to take boys young so we can steer them before adolescence kicks in. Boys are referred for anything from disruption at school or sexualised behaviour to extreme violence. They are with us three or four evenings a week, Saturday morning and through the holidays, and we provide educational support and mentoring. We insist on clear structures and strict discipline. We teach them about their culture, good manners, things that add to their commitment.

I believe that after 13 or 14, it is too late. The government can't do much, apart from build big prisons and put more police on the street. What we can do is look at ways in which we can prevent the next generation from falling off the clifftop. The government has tried with things such as targeting families as young as possible, but it is very difficult to replace or replenish family life. The longer term is about the restoration of communities and family life, and the founding of organisations that shape the values of young people. We blame the Government for too much. What we need is incubating communities that solve their own problems.

Parents have to rediscover what it means to carry the responsibility of children. We have fostered a culture of individualism, then we wonder why it doesn't work. We encourage people to be greedy and wonder why we have the most feared teenagers in the world. It is because we have let them run rampant for so long. We got rid of the church and our uniformed organisations, the family is decimated – all the mediating forces have disappeared. We blame the parents but we are all responsible.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-solutions-whats-to-be-done-807437.html

That sounds pretty damn good to me!

"I believe that after 13 or 14, it is too late. The government can't do much, apart from build big prisons and put more police on the street."

That's just sad.

Is trying to stop young people killing each other "shit"?

Is attempting to give disadvantaged and disenfranchised young black kids a leg up in life "shit"?


I wonder sometimes.

:-(

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jan/30/raylewis.interview

Try reading articles that other people post as well as the ones you do!

The Skin

...it's an interesting appointment from Johnson.

I think it's a good one.

As it happens I know the area (Forest Gate) where EYLA has it's base very well and have been told that they have built an excellent reputation in turning around difficult young black youths. I knew someone personally who was trying to get her son enrolled there a couple of years ago.

I've not heard of Ray Lewis before but it'll be interesting to see if he can extend the success that he's had in the that part of the East End across London.

... all his decisions will rank with the wisest statesmanship of all time and every statement he makes will be either Churchillian in the quality of its oratory or a hilarious masterpiece of wit.

It's called being a party hack! :evilgrin:

I have no idea how Lewis will work out.

The Skin

http://freebritannia.6.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=8942

http://freebritannia.6.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=8926

The Skin

:evilgrin:

The Skin

There are some pretty rabid right-wing freeper types on that board.

They all seem to adore David Davis.

There was an entire thread devoted to the virtues and foresight of 'Dear Enoch' (all right, a few people dissented).

And someone posted the following gem:

'Can Ron Paul move to the UK, become a citizen, and then become PM?

And then, perhaps, president of the EU, and then--Rule of the World!'

Urgh, do they mind, I could have been eating and the results wouldn't have been pretty!

And who is Gator? Is he real, or is he some kind of parody of an American freeper? I HOPE the latter!

Have you read the bit about how he screwed an alligator? :crazy:

I suspect that he's just a little too articulate to be the reb redneck he purports to be.

In fact, I sometimes wonder if anyone on that board is quite who they purport to be.

I'm quite fond of old Bulldog, actually, although he did disappoint me when he turned into an arse-wiping party hack, once the Tories started to do well. I thought he was a bit more of a genuine cynic than that.

The Skin

Ron Paul, for example, is so horribly against Congressional spending that he votes against many spending bills. But then he sticks earmarks on them, and justifies this as "well, I'm working for my constituents."

This sort of crap is the height of hypocrisy. He places a "no" vote that he knows will not have any effect on the outcome, but then he uses a non-voting, non-transparent mechanism to grab as much federal money as he can for his district.

I despise hypocrites and the reason Mr. Paul has garnered my ire is that he's one of the worst on The Hill in that regard.

Make up your mind.

If the current tax system is improper then its blood money. You either stand for it or against it. If you exploit the system you are the system, despite your claims to the contrary.

At least the Democrats, such as Dodd, Obama and Clinton tell you up front that we're the system and we think its good.

Ron Paul is the worst sort of mendacious jackass; he claims the system is corrupt and improper but he then exploits that same system to steal as much money from all of us as he can in order to "return it to his constituents."

We get the government we deserve, and we deserve this sort of idiocy because we continually send these fools back to DC.

http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/2008/06/05.html

Quite an interesting account particularly as Denninger is a free market conservative who would seem to be a natural Paul supporter.