Speaker 1: Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
Speaker 1: is Wamanica. This month we're talking about women of Sound.
Speaker 1: These women dominated the airwaves, innovating, documenting and creating the
Speaker 1: audio landscape we live in today.
Speaker 2: See it.
Speaker 3: Today, we're talking about a pioneering Jamaican poet, broadcaster and activist.
Speaker 3: Through her work at the BBC, she connected London to
Speaker 3: the Caribbean, bringing the voice of West Indian migrants back
Speaker 3: home over the radio. Let's talk about Una Marson Rolady
Speaker 3: for you.
Speaker 2: Mus Mawson, Thank you, Tommy. Hello, listen. This this is
Speaker 2: eu Anda Mawson calling you from London. Tonight We're having
Speaker 2: a special party.
Speaker 1: Una was born in nineteen oh five near Santa Cruz, Jamaica.
Speaker 1: Enjoyed a middle class upbringing and education, and by the
Speaker 1: time she was in her early twenties, she found work
Speaker 1: as the assistant editor of a political magazine in Kingston.
Speaker 1: Two years later, Una started her own magazine, which she
Speaker 1: called The Cosmopolitan Yuna's magazine was the first Jamaican magazine
Speaker 1: owned and edited by a woman, and it covered everything
Speaker 1: a young woman would need to read about housekeeping, fashion, poetry,
Speaker 1: feminism and radical politics. Una herself ran the gamut. As
Speaker 1: a writer, she penned poetry on womanhood and Jamaica and
Speaker 1: wrote a play about a mixed race relationship. Her work
Speaker 1: simply asked the questions she wanted to ask, no pretense
Speaker 1: in sight. In nineteen thirty two, Yuna moved to London.
Speaker 1: At the time, Jamaica was still a colony of England.
Speaker 1: When Yuna arrived in the city, she was a published writer,
Speaker 1: founder and editor of a successful magazine. But she found
Speaker 1: her opportunities limited by a band that restricted the jobs
Speaker 1: she could apply for and the places she could go
Speaker 1: as a black woman. People seemed surprised when Yuna spoke.
Speaker 1: She wrote about the experience in a poem, You speak
Speaker 1: good English, Little brown girl, How is it you speak
Speaker 1: English as though it belonged to you? Unah, along with
Speaker 1: students and West Indian and African migrants, found a place
Speaker 1: to stay at doctor Harold Moody's house. Moody was the
Speaker 1: founder of the League of Colored Peoples, an organization fighting
Speaker 1: to better the lives of black Britons. Una soon became
Speaker 1: the League's secretary and later the editor of the League's
Speaker 1: quarterly journal. During this time, Una became a more fervent
Speaker 1: activist for Caribbeans. She traveled between Jamaica and England, more
Speaker 1: often attending congresses for women's suffrage and economic support for Jamaica.
Speaker 1: By nineteen forty one, You found a new home for
Speaker 1: her work at the BBC. The broadcaster had been steadily
Speaker 1: expanding its reach during wartime. People living in the West
Speaker 1: Indies joined the war effort in the UK, and the
Speaker 1: BBC launched programs to keep them connected to their loved
Speaker 1: ones and homelands. One of those shows was Calling the
Speaker 1: West Indies. It showcased short form stories and music from
Speaker 1: primarily Caribbean voices in London. Then it played messages from
Speaker 1: family members from servicemen reaching out across oceans and battlefields
Speaker 1: to carry the words of loved ones from one to
Speaker 1: another over the airwaves. You know was the show's guiding voice,
Speaker 1: a presenter, an interviewer, an interpreter.
Speaker 2: It is Euni Boston introducing West Indians in Britain. First
Speaker 2: of all, here is Larry Constant time the world famous cricketer.
Speaker 2: Larry used to be just a summer visitor, but when
Speaker 2: the war began he became a welfare officer to the
Speaker 2: Ministry of labor. Hello, everybody, this is Larry Constant Time.
Speaker 1: With this new job, Una became the BBC's first black
Speaker 1: radio presenter and producer. Later, she developed a new weekly
Speaker 1: feature called Caribbean Voices. It was more poetic, more along
Speaker 1: the lines of UNA's writing back in Jamaica, featuring stories
Speaker 1: and poetry by West Indian writers. It was hugely influential
Speaker 1: to the development of West Indian literature in the UK. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: UNA's participation in Caribbean Voices was short lived, thanks in
Speaker 1: part to the ongoing injustice she'd been working so hard
Speaker 1: to stop in the UK. Co workers at the BBC
Speaker 1: knew Uno was an incredible producer, but they also called
Speaker 1: her impatient. Una was direct and ambitious, and probably overworked.
Speaker 1: She developed what an internal memo called crises at work,
Speaker 1: as that same memo stated her main difficulties probably arise
Speaker 1: from social rather than technical circumstances. By nineteen forty six,
Speaker 1: she'd been diagnosed with schizophrenia. The BBC secured her passage
Speaker 1: back to Jamaica. She didn't return to the UK. Una
Speaker 1: continued her work in reform and relief. She attended seminars,
Speaker 1: established her own publishing company, and tended to people in need.
Speaker 1: She was given a scholarship to study social development in
Speaker 1: Jamaica in nineteen sixty five. At the age of sixty,
Speaker 1: Yuna died. All month we're talking about women of sound.
Speaker 1: For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Wamanica Podcast Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister
Speaker 1: and co creator. Talk to you tomorrow.