Syd Burke

Syd Burke (1938 – 30 July 2010), 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.

Syd Burke
Born1938
Jamaica
Died30 July 2010 (aged 72)
London, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationBroadcaster, photographer and journalist
Known forRadio programme Rice 'n' Peas
RelativesAggrey Burke (brother)

He was the brother of psychiatrist and academic Aggrey Burke.

Early life and education

Edmund "Syd" Burke was born in Jamaica, the eldest of six children.[1][2] Syd attended at first 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 early February 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. 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. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  13. "Ebony". Radio Times. BBC. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  14. "Syd Burke". Diaspora Artists. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  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. "JISCMail - BASA Archives". www.jiscmail.ac.uk. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
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