By John Mair in London
Conservative Boris Johnson won the London Mayoral Election just last Friday. Yet, already, he has made his first major appointment: Ray Lewis as his Deputy Mayor for Young People. Johnson calls him ‘inspirational’. Lewis, 44, was born in Guyana and made his name by setting up London’s EastSide Young Leaders Academy (EYLA) for troubled young black boys in 2001.That aims to turn their lives around away from crime As the new Deputy Mayor puts it “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.”. Now he has the chance to take that vision to the whole of one of the great cities of the World as its Deputy Mayor for Young People.
Ray was born in 1963 and attended schools in Walthamstow North East London. 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 studied for and gained a degree in Theology and Pastoral Studies from Middlesex University.
Later, while working at HM Prison Woodhill, Milton Keynes, a young offenders’ institution, Lewis went to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to visit an after-school tutorial programme called a ‘young leaders’ academy. He had seen it on the “Oprah’ show. It was run by a former marine who understood that young black boys had a problem with discipline. It was tough, but the pupils developed skills and confidence and it worked.
Having first-hand experience in prison of what often happens to those who have no education, Lewis realised there had to be something better than locking young people up and he believed he had found it.
Lewis returned to London and, with minimal funding, opened the Eastside Young Leaders’ Academy (EYLA) where, with parental agreement, local schools send pupils who may be disruptive or violent after school. It has a military feel about it. The children march in line; Lewis barks high-decibel orders at them; there is mentoring. They read classics and poetry, but most importantly, they achieve self-worth and they pass exams. Many pupils were the most badly behaved at school, but Lewis’ aim is that 100 per cent of the students achieve at least two A-levels and that 75 per cent of them are offered a university place.
More importantly, that 0% of them have any further involvement with the criminal justice system. These are tough targets.
So what exactly is EYLA.? Modelled on a similar institution in Baton Rouge Louisiana it says that it ‘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”
Lewis is very unusual; he is a Black Conservative and on their “gold list’ of candidates for Parliament at the next General Election due in 2010.
The Tories seem very likely to win that especially after last week’s drubbing of Labour in London and the rest of England. Lewis and EYLA have had a long love affair with the Tory Party. David Cameron chose to make his first official visit as Conservative leader after his election in 2005 to EYLA. Two senior Tories are on the EYLA board and now Lewis is part of the Tory administration at City Hall.
How did this all come about? Shortly after the academy opened it was approached by the then Tory leader, Iain Duncan Smith, who was curious to witness how it worked. It was the start of an almost reluctant relationship with the right. “At the time,” says Lewis, “I couldn’t stand the Conservatives, I thought they were all a bunch of greedy bastards. But truth be told, Iain understood what I was doing. He knows the difference between creativity and innovation.”
It was then no coincidence that Cameron’s first day as party leader was spent at the EYLA in East London. Since then, “Breakdown Britain”, another Cameron social policy, has been launched from the grounds of the academy. On his visit to EYLA, Ray praised Dave for “speaking just like a brother” for his ability to address audiences without notes.
What does Lewis think of Cameron? “Two things about David: he gets it as a father, and I’m convinced he understands the issues. I would know if he was in for the publicity shots..”
A huge bear of a man, this tough former prison governor has spent the past decade changing the lives of young black boys in London’s poorest areas. The boys certainly fear him, but they are also acutely aware of his kindness. “A lot of people say we are all about discipline. That is not the whole story, but it is an important part,” says Lewis. “This country has an army of ‘ologists’ who diagnose our children, but they never fix anything.
We attempt to hold young people accountable to one another, preparing them for the boardroom, not the courtroom.” Lewis teaches his charges the benefits of delayed gratification. “Everyone wants a short cut to the Promised Land. They want the car now, the trainers now – the boys have previously not been taught to wait and appreciate.”
The Labour Government, and the Cabinet Minister for Schools and Young People Ed Balls, seem to have run out of new ideas after eleven years in government. Lewis is still hesitant to talk party politics, but he does say: “Although my door is open to any political party, the trouble with people like Ed Balls is that he has never had to work in one of these schools.
He will never witness a child terrorising others like I have.”
Lewis has a hard task on his hands. London is facing an epidemic of gun and knife crime-much of it amongst and between young black males. A recent poll found that one in three Londoners a aged 13-18 knew somebody who had been stabbed and already in just four months of 2008 eleven young people, mainly black, have been murdered with guns. The Metropolitan Police have set up a specialist unit – Operation Trident – to deal with this. Now Mayor Johnson has joined them with his new ‘Young People’s Tsar’- Ray Lewis Watch this space.
