Do Black Lives Matter?

  by John Wilkins

DISCRIMINATION of people from whatever social/ethnic group must be discouraged. Debate on Brexit unduly focussed on immigration, which sadly encouraged some with little knowledge of the benefits over centuries of immigration, to justify their xenophobia against East Europeans, people from BAME heritage and others.  Now we are faced with the apparent disproportionate infection and deaths in the BAME community and the renewed focus on discrimination by police forces in the US, and to a degree this country, against people of colour.   If we agree that discrimination is wrong, then it becomes far worse when it is institutionalised.

However, I want to focus on why people from African and Caribbean heritage need all our support.  My views on how we got to impasse were reinforced when I listened to a black health care assistant on ITV news.  She was sacked for complaining about poor quality of PPE and leaving work to get her own.   On her return to her shift she was fired.  Interviewer Emily Morgan asked her what her mother, a nurse, would have done in the same situation. The lady said her mother would have been more compliant and accepted the situation without complaining.

This anecdote sums up the problem faced by the black people here and particularly in the US. Centuries of abuse have taught many to be compliant in order to firstly survive and then get educated, certainly if they wish to progress in society.  Why else would a some black people, including a lawyer on Channel 4 News, be so vociferous in defending Trump's handling of the protests over the killing of George Floyd?

As the song goes:  'The times they are a changing'. Large - scale protests in the US and across the world have been swelled by people of diverse ethnicity with one placard I like saying 'White silence = violence'. EU's Fundamental Rights Group stated that EU countries 'must try to eradicate discrimination, harassment and violence against black people'.  They also admitted that 'racial harassment, violence and discriminatory ethnic profiling are commonplace in Europe'.

Violence rarely succeeds in reversing discrimination, it often leads to greater violence.  What can be the way forward?  Black representation needs to increase in police and politics in particular, with more at the top of those fields and in the boardroom.  I will make my observations first before quoting from two leading black voices.

Now married to a Nigerian I have spent a lot of time contacting my previous MP about the worsening situation there with regard to sectarian violence in Nigeria.  Try as I could I found little real desire to speak out by African friends and found some dismissive of it as a problem.  I found a lot of Africans are happy to talk politics but do not wish to get actively involved.  Which is why I was saddened that one Nigerian, Deyika Nzeribe, was so involved he put up to challenge Andy Burnham for the Mayor of Greater Manchester, but tragically passed away shortly before the elections were held.

So I would like to echo the plea that Lord Simon Woolley made at a Black History Month event at Manchester Cathedral last year. #  He brought a few young people forward at the end of his presentation and urged them to work with their community and if possible get involved in politics.

Next a few comments which I found from Charles Critchlow, formerly National Chair of BAPA (Black and Asian Police Association).  Speaking from 30 years experience in the police he says “Black Representation matters greatly, but Black police leaders are of little use in the struggle for racial justice as long as they are selected, nurtured and developed exclusively within a system that maintains white supremacy”.  He adds: “Racism is so hardwired within the British system and psyche that it’s often impossible to penetrate”.  Therefore “this is why we need to develop our leadership as much as possible, independent of this poisonous system”.

Other groups have suffered from discrimination but have have found the ability to organise and get more involved in the political landscape and have been more vocal.  Although it is understandable that people from different backgrounds band together, this can lead, and has led, to those with the weakest voice losing out. In many cultures a black person is placed at the bottom of the pile.  Accounts of Nigerians' treatment in China and Chinese exploitation of Africa shows contempt for black people.  With regard to the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, a ritual to promote the bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood by showing everyone equal in the eyes of Allah, there seems a hierarchy.   I am told by black Muslims it is Arabs first, SE Asian second and black Muslims bottom.  In S. Africa, even after apartheid it is whites followed by Asians, with most blacks at the bottom.  Even in the English language black has a surfeit of bad connotations, eg. black looks, blacklisted, black sheep of the family, black market, blackmail etc.

I will finish on a positive note. I see many young black voices coming out to seek an end to racism improve well-being and standing of the black community.  A local group here in Greater Manchester, CAHN (Caribbean and African Health Network), has raised awareness of medical problems more prevalent in their communities, such as diabetes, lupus, sickle cell etc.  They have also raised the profile of the black community through helping in events like Black History Month, remembering the Windrush generation as well as their health seminars.

I hope that the black voices will be more strident to chip away at decades of indifference to their plight.  Three things need to happen: stronger family units, better education and more political involvement.   Education is now more valued but there is, as Charles Critchlow says, a need for black leaders to come forward who can 'maintain a firm connectedness with the hopes and aspirations of our people and be in the vanguard of true black empowerment, this is the challenge for us in the 21 st. century'.   I hope we can use the evil of police brutality in the killing of George Floyd can be a catalyst for real change in reducing racism in ALL its forms.

# Lord Simon Woolley is a political and equalities activist.  He is the founder and CEO of Operation Black Vote and the Chair of the Prime Minister’s Race Disparity Unit.

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