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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