One of America’s foremost civil rights, political and religious campaigners, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Senior has chosen to visit Birmingham based success story East End Foods as part of a tour of the UK to mark the 50th anniversary of the Great March on Washington.
He will be the guest of honour and give a speech at a special dinner hosted by the company which has grown from a humble shop in Wolverhampton to a multi-million pound leading supplier of Asian food and employer of 350 people, operating from the former HP Sauce factory in Aston. The dinner will be attended by 200 guests from the world of business, politics and show business.
Chairman of East End Foods Tony Deep Wouhra, said: “It’s a great honour to be singled out as the only British company that Jesse Jackson will be visiting. This is in part due to our history when I arrived with my brothers from India in the 1960’s with very little money and went on to create a business that is now one of the largest ethnic food manufacturers in the UK providing employment and opportunities for people from different ethnic backgrounds supplying the growing British and European appetite for Asian cuisine. We even sell our spices back to India!”
MP for Leicester East, Keith Vaz, is hosting Reverend Jackson’s visit to the UK. He said: “50 years ago Dr Martin Luther King, Junior gave his historic “I have a dream” speech during the March For Freedom on Washington. Jesse Jackson was part of that movement and went on to become one of the world’s foremost leaders in bringing together people and opportunities regardless of their race, culture or gender. The Reverend is an inspiring individual who has spent his whole life fighting against inequality and for justice. I hope he will be inspired by his visit to East End Foods which is a brilliant rags to riches story and showcases all that is best about Birmingham as a beacon of multiculturalism.”
Jason Wouhra, who is a director of East End Foods and the youngest ever chairman of the West Midlands Institute of Directors, said: “As the second generation of the Wouhra family, myself and my cousins are committed to continuing to build on the success of the business and also give something back to the local community that welcomed our family in the 60’s. We have already invested £11m in a state of the art depot and we are now pressing forward with plans for an academy to help and develop youngsters interested in the food industry. Our plans include an urban farm, hotel and conference centre to be built on the current site over the next two years.”
The dinner for the Reverend Jesse Jackson will be held on Thursday, 5th December at East End Foods in Aston, Birmingham.
