He led a successful campaign forcing Raleigh Bicycle Company to improve their treatment and recruitment of Black workers.

Later he studied electrical engineering at Kingston Technical School before volunteering to join the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1944, pretending to be older than 17 years of age.

After enlisting in the RAF, in Kingston, Jamaica, Powe was part of a contingent of 1,935 volunteers who sailed on a troopship which docked at Greenock, Scotland, in November 1944.

In 1956, Powe campaigned for bike manufacturer Raleigh Bicycle Company to improve their recruitment policies for Black workers.

His successful campaign, which included arranging the threat of a Jamaican trade embargo,[5] resulted in Raleigh eventually becoming one of the major employers of Black people in Nottingham.

[8][2][3][4] In 1958,[5] Powe authored Don’t Blame the Blacks, a publication about the UK's complicated relationship between Britain and its Commonwealth citizens.

[8] In 1964, Powe was a key part of a campaign to push Nottingham City Council to abolish their practice of channeling all labour complaints from Black workers though a specific welfare officer, rather than dealing directly with the complainants.

[1] His funeral was held in Mansfield Road Baptist Church and he was buried in Wilford Hill Cemetery, Nottingham.