Empowering Pioneering Voices

I Am That I Am

Sir Geoff Palmer at Edinburgh Napier University ‘Empowering Pioneering Voices Talk’

Sir Geoff Palmer is Scotland’s first Black professor and an inspiring trailblazer! I’ve had the privilege of meeting him a few times, yet his energy and warmth always strike me. At the Empowering Pioneering Voices event last year, he shared some tremendous stories about the consequences of history.

Black inventor Garrett Morgan invented the amber traffic light. Before Morgan, traffic signals only had two positions: stop and go. His great improvement was introducing the ‘all hold’—what is now the amber light. Morgan patented the three-position traffic signal in 1923 and soon sold the idea to General Electric. Due to the colour of his skin and lack of rights in America at the time, he was also forced to present a white actor as the inventor of his breathing device (whilst he posed as a Native American sidekick). Despite the advancements in technology, the 3-way traffic light has still kept our driving a lot safer. If this traffic light was never invented, the consequences of road travel would be very different and many more lives lost.

Professor Palmer travelled from Jamaica to the UK as a child of the Windrush generation. He faced hardship and racism and was labelled ‘Educationally subnormal’. His athletic (specifically cricket) ability led to a better education opportunity at an established school. Through his resilience and determination, Sir Geoff progressed through the academic ranks, pioneering research in cereal science and developing the abrasion process, whereby a hormone is used to stimulate the bran, causing it to produce enzymes and digest the food reserves faster, speeding up the malting process. This technique was used by the biggest breweries (such as Guinness) in the UK and is estimated to have saved the brewing industry millions of pounds.

His students can be found all over the world and even include one of the founders of Scotland’s global craft beer company, BrewDog. Every time I have met or heard Sir Geoff speak, he has emphasised the importance of education. It is key to Know your history.

Sir Geoff is also leading human rights activist who was recently inducted into the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Scotland’s highest honour.

As ever, he remained humble stating. “All the credit goes to the people who’ve helped me, especially my mother.” he credits her for instilling the values that have guided his impactful career. Notably, he has played a key role in re-evaluating the legacy of Henry Dundas, whose actions delayed the abolition of slavery.

Although many people have stated that statues such as that of Henry Dundas should be removed, my view is that if you remove the evidence, you remove the deed. Therefore, slavery-related objects such as statues and buildings should carry plaques which tell the truth of links with slavery. 

In this regard, the next statue that is removed should be racism. Teaching this history properly in schools and giving it proper attention in our higher institutions of education should help to reduce slavery-related racism. 

Unlike those who have said that people are different species and races…my view is that we are one humanity, nothing less.

- Sir Geoff Palmer

The cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee all made large fortunes from slavery. Buying and selling of slave-produced products such as sugar, coffee, cotton and tobacco transformed the wealth individuals and the people living in these areas. Slavery money built schools, homes, railways, supported institutions and funded different kinds of commercial activities in Scotland.

Black Scottish Diaspora - the spread of people from their original homeland (in the Caribbean) was a result of the slave trade. About 60% of the surnames in the telephone directory of Jamaica are Scottish surnames. There are more Campbells in Jamaica per acre than there are in Scotland.

Race is based on purpose not cause.

Tosh is short for McIntosh

I Am That I Am, is from Peter Tosh's second studio album Equal Rights, originally released in 1977. Equal Rights brought together Peter Tosh's dedication to the revolutionary movements growing in Africa, and the mysticism and wonders of his personal growth as a prophet, poet, preacher and world-class musical trailblazer. The album included several songs that became human rights anthems over the next two decades: Get Up, Stand Up, Downpressor Man, African, Apartheid, and the title tune.

Within my VII Breaths project, I endeavour to offer thought-provoking workshops and engaging keynotes for a wide variety of conference audiences. My most popular workshop is ‘Talking About Race & Equality: Exploring Difference and Diversity’. I also have a keen interest in Men’s mental health; Creating a platform for open conversations, sharing experiences, and discussing coping strategies.

(Get in touch to find out more)

Rabbie Burns spoke of the goodness that mitigates all woe,

“Whatever mitigates the woes or increases the happiness of others, this is my criterion for goodness; and whatever injures society at large, or any individual in it, this is my measure of iniquity.” - Robert Burns

I believe we all possess empowering voices.

Find Your Voice