Singer-songwriter Mabel says her latest project working with young people affected by the Grenfell fire is a way of “reminding the people in power we’re not going away until there is justice”.
It emerged last week that the long-awaited final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry will be published in September, while bereaved families and survivors were told they face waiting until the end of 2026 for a decision on potential criminal charges over the west London blaze which claimed 72 lives on June 14, 2017.
Mabel, 28, who grew up in west London with her singer mother Neneh Cherry, has been working with youth groups in the area for several years and has teamed up with a small group of young bereaved and survivors to design a T-shirt inspired by their feelings around the Grenfell campaign.
She said: “First of all it was coming together and doing something creative. Even if we’re just sitting after school and drawing, I can somehow facilitate some conversations about how people are feeling. If it’s just us hanging out then cool and if that’s a way I can support them fine, but it’s to empower the young people, they really led this project.”
All the proceeds from selling the T-shirts will go to the Grenfell Foundation and the young people will work together to decide how best the money is spent within the community.
Mabel said she hoped its effect would reach beyond fundraising. “It’s just a little reminder. I know maybe it is just a T-shirt but for all of us who were involved in making it, it stands for a lot more than that. We’ll keep fighting, it’s not going to end until there is justice.
“I hope projects like these keep reminding the people in power we’re not going away until there is justice.”
The singer, who rose to fame in 2017 with her first hit Finders Keepers, said she could still remember waking up on the day of the blaze to a series of missed calls from her mother, worried she might have been in the fire. “I called my mum and she said ‘Come back home’ and we went straight away to help however we could. I think unless you were there it is hard to describe and as a community we’re still healing.”
Luana Gomes, among the young people working with Mabel on the project, said for her it had been a “way to contribute to healing and rebuilding, showing solidarity and support for the community”. She added: “Seeking justice for Grenfell is a collective call to action, demanding truth and accountability.”
T-shirts are available to purchase via SPAARKD at spaarkd.com/c/mabel. Show your support at the 7-year Anniversary Silent Walk at 6pm on Friday, 14 June, leaving from the Notting Hill Methodist Church.
