TENDAI MWARI
Reverend Hewlette Andrew, ‘Baba Hewie’, died in his native Dominica on 11 March 2022, having retired there in 2017 after over 40 years of service to communities in the UK and across the Afrikan world.
He was born into a Methodist family in Dominica in 1938 to parents that were active and widely respected in their community and took pride in the fact that theirs was a life of service.
Baba Hewie came to the UK in 1968 and entered Cliff College where he did a foundation course in Bible & Theology. He then attended Southlands College in Wimbledon to train as a teacher. Upon receiving his Bachelor of Education degree, he took up his first teaching post at Wandsworth Boys Comprehensive School and after one year moved to Alperton High School.
He trained as a Methodist Minister at Queen’s College, Birmingham and was ordained in 1975, following which he was a circuit minister based at South Yardley and Small Heath Methodist Church in Birmingham, where he set up a supplementary school. He was subsequently stationed at Harlesden Methodist Church in the London Borough of Brent and set up a supplementary school there also. Both supplementary schools were much needed and warmly welcomed by the church, the congregation and the local community. Both continued to operate as an integral part of the ministry of the church long after he had moved on.
Revd Hewie was one of the first Black ministers in the Methodist Church to recognise that the denomination had a large Black cohort that was underrepresented in lay leadership and ministry.
He joined the Clapham Circuit in 1981, not long after the New Cross Massacre in which 14 young people lost their lives. He was able to work with Bishop Wilfred Wood, Dr Aggrey Burke, Mrs Sybil Phoenix and other ministers and lay preachers in providing bereavement counselling and pastoral support to the bereaved and traumatised friends and community members. He marched alongside Bishop Wood, Dr Aggrey Burke and over 25,000 others on the New Cross Massacre Black People’s Day of Action on 2nd March 1981.
When Brixton erupted in mass civil unrest in April 1981, Hewie was able to provide pastoral support to injured young people and adults, as well as assisting in calming tensions between the police and the community, a process that continued for some months thereafter.
He set up the Queen Mother Moore Supplementary School (QMMS) named after USA based Freedom Fighter, at Clapham Methodist Church in 1981, building on the experience he had had both in Birmingham and Harlesden. His training as a teacher meant that he was able to assist parents in understanding how the school system worked and how they could become more effective partners with schools in supporting their children’s learning. He used his limited personal funds to paint, decorate, carpet and furnish the rooms, with the support of church members and people in the community who were equally passionate about providing for our children what the mainstream schools were failing to provide.
Obviously Baba Hewie was inspired by the work of Rev Dr Martin Luther King’s work thus, soon after he became a founding member, alongside Bishop Wilfred Wood and others, of the First Martin Luther King Twelve, a social justice organisation that used Dr King’s ideas and work as a springboard for work with Britain’s Black communities, especially young people, in the areas of training and education. ‘The Twelve’s’ annual memorial lectures grew to become must-attend events in the community for over twenty years.
In the late 80’s Baba Hewie entered politics directly as ‘The People’s Candidate’ in the 1989 Vauxhall by-election, partly in protest to the Labour Party imposing Kate Hoey on the constituents, even though the Afrikan prospective candidate, Mama Martha Osamor had the most nominations. Although he didn’t win the seat, he bested all other candidates (nine in total) apart from those of the mainstream parties (i.e. Labour, Conservative, Liberal and Green).
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Baba Hewie’s Liberation Theology, in the tradition of the likes of Albert Cleague and James Cone continued alongside his grassroots activism. He mobilised the church community to attend the historic World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) in Durban in 2001. Continuing this mission was the co-ordinator of the UK delegation the following year to the historic Afrikans and Afrikan Descendants World Conference Against Racism (AAD WCAR) held in Bridgetown, Barbados, out of which was formed the Global Afrikan Congress.
In 2011, around the 30th anniversary of the New Cross Massacre/National Black People’s Day of Action, meetings to establish a National Afrikan People’s Parliament (NAPP) were held at QMMS. Baba Hewie became a strong advocate of NAPP in its interim stage, joining its council of Elders, once declaring that iNAPP “was our last best hope.” QMMS would go on to host most iNAPP meetings during its active period. Indeed, due to Baba Hewie’s standing, the venue became a much-used destination for a range of community events.
In early 2015 he was given a ‘Man Of Substance’ award for services to the community by the PowerSis organisation at their Women Of Substance event. However, later that year the Methodist Church, through a belligerent new pastor, waged war on him and tried to oust QMMS from the church building. The community rallied round Baba Hewie and mounted a campaign in support, alas the church community was rather less motivated. Although the minster was quickly removed, the affair took its toll on Baba Hewie’s health and probably his spirit, given that the attack had come from the church and most of the mainly Afrikan congregation failed to support him. QMMS itself struggled to survive the ordeal and has since closed.
On 19th May 2019, the community held an 80th Earthstrong celebration for Baba Hewie. He addressed the gathering with his customary candour and humility:
“I know that all of you that are here, I know you love me to the bottom of your hearts. But I have to be honest with you all, I do lots of things and sometimes I don’t even know if I’ve done sone such good things, seriously, because I just go about my business doing what I can do, not wanting to be treated in any special way. As I said to somebody the other day, there are thousands of people who deserve this special send off, I mean this. But you all have decided to do this for me. I thank you very much.”
Bishop Wilfred Wood said of Baba Hewie:
“He brought with him two great strengths. First, he was known to, and welcome in every African, Caribbean or mixed group, secular or religious, activist or benign in London or around, so had a shrewd and informed view of goings-on in the diaspora; Secondly, and most important, he had a burning desire for the teaching of our children [and their elders] to be educated in their God-given rights of self-worth, dignity and the respect of others.”
While his old friend David Udo remarked in a very personal tribute to his “Dear Brother Hewie”:
“The greatest tribute we can give to Brother Hewie would be to continue with his legacy. That legacy is one of bold, fearless and total commitment to the education, liberation and empowerment…”
The Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement, speaking on Galaxy Radio Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka suggested:
“We continue to sing our praise songs and dance our praise dances to a great son of Afrika who served us so well, whom we had grown to love and respect so profoundly because he exuded love and respect to us in the way he served us, in the many years that he was on the road of liberation fighting, for the liberation of Afrika and its people. Our beloved Elder was a national treasure. He was a gift of the divine that was given to us to strengthen us as we pursue our cause and we give thanks and we give praises and we give honour.”
Our condolences, prayers and healing vibrations go out to Baba Hewie’s family. He is survived by his daughter Laura; sisters Reverend Elizabeth Felix, Ginta Andrew, Celia Andrew, Josephine Andrew, Myrtle Prevost and his brother Dallas Andrew, nieces, nephews, numerous cousins and godchildren.
In his own words, Baba Hewie declared at an event hosted by the Nation Of Islam in 2011:
“I seek for no high office. I crave for no awards, acknowledgment or confirmation. All I want to hear somebody say: yes, we knew Hewie Andrew, who loved his Black people!”
Thus, may the spirit of Baba Hewie Andrew rise on the wings of Ma’at after a favourable judgement in the council of Asar. AṢẸ! AṢẸ! AṢẸ-O!!!
TENDAI MWARI
Sources:
Gus John (2022) Reverend Hewlette Andrew, 1938 – 2022: A Tribute
The Right Reverend Wilfred Wood KA D.UNIV LLD DD (2022) Tribute to the Reverend Hewlette Andrew
David Udo (2022) MY DEAR BROTHER HEWIE A Very Personal Tribute
Churches Together (2021) Racial Justice Champions – Volume One. https://ctbi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Racial-Justice-Champions-CTBI-Volume-One.pdf
A.D.A. France-Williams (23/06/20) We need Bishop Wilfred Wood’s Voice More Than Ever. https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/blog/we-need-bishop-wilfred-woods-voice-more-than-ever
Patrick Wintour and Owen Bowcott (18/05/890 Labour imposes Vauxhall choice. The Guardian. p. 24.
Esther Stanford-Xosei (2019) The Long road of Pan-African liberation to reparatory justice in Hakim Adi (Ed), Black British History: New Perspectives. Zed Books. p. 188
we ask the question:
Tribute to Rev. BABA HEWIE ANDREW: How should we honour his legacy?
Call in and share your memories of this community legend and the impact he had on you.
Tel: 020 3289 6504 (Int’l +44 203 289 6504)
Skype: Official Galaxyafiwe Radio / info@galaxyafiwe.net
Text: 07377 920 703
Our Special Guest:
Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and an Afrikan-Centred Education Consultant. Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of almost 40 years standing, a featured columnist in The Whirlwind newspaper and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An African-Centred Approach To Excellence.