Angel Shoutout: Jeremiah Emmanuel

Jeremiah Emmanuel: One Big Community Campaign

Jeremiah says it was his mom, a youth worker who got him and his family into campaigning. At 4 he and the family started getting involved with the Nelson Mandela School Foundation, a quest for more secondary schools to be built in his area as he felt people in his area had to travel far to get a decent education.

When Jeremiah was in 7th grade he decided to run for Young Mayor representing all the young people in Lambeth, and as part of his role as Deputy Youth Mayor, he has distributed £75,000 around his community.

In February this year one of his friends was stabbed to death. ‘He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.’ After being affected by 8 deaths from youth violence, Jeremiah was determined to speak out and campaign against youth violence. He has founded the One Big Community Campaign (1BC).

One Big Community (1BC) is a London-wide youth-led coalition powered by Cambridge House. It is made up of young people and partner organizations committed to ending youth violence. It aims to tackle youth violence by creating a forum and umbrella body via which young people can directly engage in decision-making processes and empower themselves in affecting the decisions which impact them directly.

One Big Community challenges negative stereotyping of young people and develops their potential as future leaders by enhancing their ‘voice’ in order to directly impact upon and shape the environment in which they live, as well as creating opportunities for real engagement, debate, scrutiny and change. This community seeks to overcome the various political, social, cultural and geographical boundaries which prevent people from coming together to seek solutions to problems which affect all of us, as a community, and not just as individuals.

Jeremiah was nominated for a Spirit of London Award in 2010, for his services to his community. He has gone to many schools, and inspired young people to chase their dreams, stand up for themselves, and become leaders. When he isn’t leading  his own organization, Jeremiah is a 14 year old boy going to school like every other 14 year old boy.

To learn more about 1bc, please visit: http://onebigcommunity.org.uk/

Do you know someone who is also making a difference?

To recommend someone in your community with an Angel on his/her shoulder, email Rebecca at [email protected].