Patrick Vernon

The Voice- The Black Life Britain Chose Not to Remember

The February 2026 edition of The Voice features a news report titled “The Black Life Britain Chose Not to Remember”, examining the campaign to commemorate Clinton McCurbin, who died in police custody in 1987. The article, written by Daniella Maison, focuses on how deaths in police custody are frequently erased from public memory and the efforts to challenge that erasure.

Clinton McCurbin died at the age of 29 while in police custody in Kingston, South London. He had been arrested following an incident involving a taxi and later collapsed while detained. He was taken to hospital, where he died. The article states that his death was recorded as accidental, with no police officers convicted in connection with the case.

The feature highlights the long-running campaign led by Clinton McCurbin’s family, particularly his mother, who is pictured holding a framed photograph of her son. The campaign seeks the installation of a blue plaque to mark Clinton McCurbin’s life and death at the location connected to the incident.

This plaque is  not a sentimental gesture but as a public marker intended to acknowledge that a young Black man died there while in police custody. It argues that such commemoration would place the facts of the case into public view and prevent the death from being forgotten.

The report situates Clinton McCurbin’s case within a wider context of deaths in police custody in the UK, noting concerns around police accountability and the lack of convictions following such deaths. It states that many cases remain unresolved and that families often wait decades for answers.

The article also includes comment from Professor Patrick Vernon OBE, described as a veteran campaigner, who supports the campaign for commemoration. His contribution is presented in the context of broader concerns about how Black lives lost in state custody are remembered —or not remembered — within British public history.

The Voice report concludes by emphasising that remembrance plays a role in public understanding and accountability, and that the campaign for a blue plaque for Clinton McCurbin is part of a wider effort to ensure such deaths are not erased from the national record.