The racial abuse against Bob Clarke got so bad he ‘rubbed his skin to check if there was white underneath’
When Bob Clarke was a young boy growing up in Harlesden in the 1970s, he encountered racial abuse and challenges that have shaped him into the man he is today. One of his earliest memories goes back to growing up and being told, ‘This isn’t your country, go back to where you came from’.
He struggled to find his identity, born in 1958 to a Jamaican dad and a Cuban mum. He was raised by his childminder, a white woman, while his biological parents lived around the corner in Kensal Green. There were times growing up when things got so bad that he would rub his skin to see if there were any signs of white underneath.
In the 1970s, he remembers being a victim of the ‘Sus laws’, legal powers under Section 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824 that allowed police in Britain to stop, search, and arrest individuals on suspicion of intent to commit an arrestable offence. However, these laws were used disproportionately on young Black boys. Bob remembers being ‘beaten’ by a police officer.
Bob told MyLondon: “I remember one time I was being beaten by a policeman. I’m crouched down, and I open one eye, and I see so much anger. His eyes were bulging, and there was so much anger, all because of the colour of my skin. I remember being called racial slurs growing up.”
He was regularly told by teachers that he would ‘amount to nothing’. When he was 17, he decided to join the army with his friend to escape the dangers in his area after being scared of a retaliatory attack from a group of boys. He was in the arms from 1975 up until 1989. Joining the army changed his life.
“I saw some horrible things in the army, and I remember seeing soldiers coming out of the army and getting lost in civilian life, and I didn’t want that for myself. I had no qualifications, but I wanted to find a way to ease myself back into civilian life, so I asked my boss if I could be attached to a part-time soldier unit.”
While doing this, he worked in a warehouse and later in the operations area of a production studio. It was there that he visualised his new life and what led him to build his way up to becoming an award-winning editor, after working for British Forces Television and Sky TV. In 2005, he founded The Mama Youth Project – a charity focused on giving young individuals from underprivileged backgrounds practical training and real-world experience in programme making
“I know what somebody like me could bring to the table if given the chance. I’ve been in the industry for 24 years, and I remember a white colleague saying, ‘Oh, there aren’t enough Black people working in this industry’. I remember when he said that, and I thought, that’s what somebody said to me when I first started. So I asked myself, what have I done to change that?
“That’s why I started Mama Youth Project. I want to help all those who are underrepresented in the industry, including white working-class people. We provide young people with hands-on experience and on-the-job learning. Learning on the job is what I had to do, so I know how it can benefit them”, he added.
Since its inception, Mama Youth Project has helped over 1,000 people through its free intensive training programmes, often held at major industry facilities. Bob self-funded the project for its first 10 years, demonstrating his commitment to providing young people with opportunities he wasn’t given.
Based in Harlesden, they offer boot camps and training for people aged 18 to 30. They have cohorts in London, Birmingham and Manchester. In 2024, they received a BAFTA Television Craft Special Award. In 2026, they were also awarded Education and Training Provider of the Year at the West London Business Awards.
One person who benefited from Mama Youth is Rio Gayle. She was part of a boot camp 12 years ago, during which she gained work experience at the BBC, which eventually led to a permanent job working there. Now, she works at Mama Youth as an Operations Director.
She said: “It’s important to have diverse voices in the mewsroom or in media. We need everyone from different backgrounds to shape those ideas. The training helps instil in students the idea that, if you come from a certain background in the TV industry, you have to work harder and prove yourself even more than others. I knew I wanted to be in TV, but someone from my socio-economic background, I don’t know anyone in TV or that work. When I found out about Mama Youth Project, I applied, and it changed my life, so it’s a full circle moment getting to work here again.
“You hear from parents whose children have been overlooked, and then they’ve done the training with us. They say to us, ‘My child finally has hope again.’ Mama Youth gives them that hope because we are helping with contacts and industry experience. (To me) hope is the best thing you can give to someone and give them a future.”
Do you have a story to tell? Email ayokunle.oluwalana@reachplc.com
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