On Sunday 20th September, Manoel Akure (Mano to his friends) and I chatted for just over half an hour on the moment that altered his life and gave us one of the images that will be synonymous with the BLM movement of 2020. My first interaction with Mano was through private messages on June 9th, two days after the Bristol BLM protests, commending him on both the gesture and the impact. Even though I was undoubtedly one of many that had contacted him out of the blue, I received responses that were extremely courteous and thankful.
Firstly, Manoel Akure is extremely likeable. He is very articulate with admirable beliefs, has a willingness to open up, and is an all-round nice guy. He is easy to talk to, driven in his work as a freelance graphic designer, musician, website creator, and now one of 2020’s biggest, even if not fully aware, influencers of modern culture, and historical reference and symbolism.
After three extremely hectic months, starting on his journey to join the BLM protest with friend and photographer Felix Russell-Shaw, Manoel has given me honest reflection and hopeful optimism about himself, his business, and of course, society. In a whirlwind few days after he sat atop the Colston plinth, he tells me that his phone was non-stop, either with calls, messages, and text alerts from all social platforms, the majority of which were high praise and admiration, but which he found exhausting replying to all of them. Such was the impact that this moment which went massively viral had, that it led to him not using Facebook for a month.
Living in Bath and regularly working in Bristol at the time, (now attending a University in Bristol- UWE), Manoel was obviously aware of the Colston statue but paid him no attention. For those who do not know the detail Colston was directly involved in the enslavement of over 84,000 Africans. Of those, about 19,000 died on slave ships. 12,000 were children under ten years old.
Joining as a supporter of the BLM movement in protesting the unjust killings of black people in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, I must stress that Mano does not align himself with any organization. Walking alongside his friend Felix, it was a spur of the moment thought that led to the kneel and raised salute, and with a tinge of regret that he didn’t have time to pray during it. He redressed it by openly praying with the crowd’s consent, while sitting on the plinth after sharing his experiences with racism. After the gesture, the potential impact didn’t really dawn upon him, and he walked back with Felix to be picked up by Felix’s girlfriend. In Mano’s exact words, the closest he had anything pre-planned was walking to the protest.
Like our discussion, Mano prefers not to prepare and plan, preferring spontaneity and natural free-flowing conversation, which makes you like him even more. Clearly a man who will not hold back with his opinions and one that finds it interesting to have people hit him up on these, Mano finds one-to-one and face-to-face more personable and easier to get points across. Whilst comfortable with any discussion, when asked at the scene of the Colston statue for an impromptu interview for Sky News, Mano felt that the interviewer had come across as pre-prepared, leaving him with added pressure to deliver, as there was the biggest opportunity for it to go wrong. It didn’t. Bearing in mind that Mano has already somewhat been in the public eye with various projects involving music and media, the last 3 months have not really impacted his ability to present himself at the fore-front of anything.
Drawing on moments where he has played pivotal parts in school productions, to pieces of his work being displayed publicly, to over 100,000 people wearing or owning clothing of artwork made by him(NCS T-Shirts) and so many others globally now wearing clothing with his likeness on, Mano finds it ‘a bit weird, but very cool’. About being recognized, Mano has had only one person ask for a selfie, of which he was flattered by, but is also grateful that so far, it has only been once. Instead he is proud that it is his work rather than himself that is in the public domain. An example of which was his work and images being promoted on posters and boards round Bristol by Bristol’s Rising Art Agency, an NFPO that exists to support 16-25-year-olds with creative ambitions.
We talked about what is next for Manoel, both from a work and a political perspective. Since June 7th, he hasn’t attended any more protests, choosing to support from the side-lines due to his busy schedule. As well as interacting with people on an individual basis rather than in en masse form, his clothing design titled Moral Defiance has sparked many a conversation which has given room for many to learn the ‘whys’ of the protests. He has also created video pieces used by the BBC about the unfair treatment of Rastafarian community in Bristol.
Looking ahead, Mano clearly feels good about the protest and his gesture, but also was extremely humble when we discussed that his moment will be shown to future generations as a key moment of history and pivotal to in a change in society. The subject of children and school was my favourite part of our discussion. I could see how his desire to encourage a passion for making learning both educational and fun would be a key narrative in whatever path he chooses. How a loss of being able to learn through history being hidden, or an unwillingness by an individual to either learn or teach is a waste of potential or opportunity which needs to be rectified by the state and relevant institutions.
I asked Mano if he had any desire to go into schools or colleges to talk to students about his ideology and his personal stance, which led to him telling me that ‘last Monday and Wednesday’ he actually did talk to students at Bath college about his experiences, and that he was hoping to go back again. This showed me that as well as his many business interests, Manoel Akure genuinely wants to make a difference, and after talking to him, I can see that he will continue to do that to anyone who is as fortunate as I was today,to spend some quality time with him.
Manoel’s year has certainly made impacts on all our lives, no matter what political sway you have or whatever ideology you follow. With one impromptu gesture, he has left his own imprint on a year that is fraught with the unknown for all of us. Whatever road Mano follows, he will always have the moment where he saluted on his knee, prayed over our land, and made a political standpoint even more poignant.
Mano, for this moment, I kneel with you and salute you.
It has been a pleasure.
