Recognising Progress

I was recently asked to be a keynote speaker at an event discussing the Black contribution to History and its importance in a British context. Whilst I enjoyed the experience of regaling all with my mellifluous tones and it was plainly a thrill to have the Mayor as my warm-up act, the full-stop to my speech arrived just before Christmas in the form of Trinidad-born Ronald Samm: the first black tenor in the UK to sing the role of Othello in Birmingham Opera Company's production of the Verdi opera. In real terms this may not seem to represent much of an achievement at the end of the first decade of the twenty first century: the lead role in an opera taken by a Black man rather than a White man in blackface, but universally positive reviews for his performance assume a poignant resonance with far-right parties across Europe growing in popularity and 22% of those polled after Nick Griffin's disastrous Question Time appearance saying they would consider voting for his party. And late one recent evening, availing myself of the Knutsford M6 motorway services, I was confronted with a 'smiley watchover voodoo doll' which, as you can see, is essentially a cruder (!) version of a golliwog. I mean, it's even wearing a loin cloth and holding a spear for fuck's sake!

All of which begs us to posit this most vital of questions: what does it mean to be British? Can it be right that my parents' endeavours on behalf of this country (my Father was stationed in Germany with the R.A.F. and my Mother dedicated decades to the welfare of others in her work for the N.H.S.) become a mere sidebar to the colour of their skin?

Parliamentary debate on race and immigration has deliberately conflated these two separate concepts and now exists within an extremely narrow framework (so narrow, in fact, that here in the North West the BNP were able to pointedly quote Gordon Brown's "British jobs for British workers" epithet on their campaign billboards entirely without irony), whilst the system of filters in the media ensure that no other perspective is offered for debate. For example, the real causes of immigration - adverse conditions in countries of origin, global inequality, war (the UK sells arms to many of the countries topping the UK list of asylum applicants, despite the fact that military conflict remains a root cause of refugee flight), injustice and human rights abuses - and their connectedness to the impact upon us as a nation are ignored. The dominant mainstream discourses hint at immigrants as a dangerous 'other' in relation to Britain’s 'law abiding majority' whilst reiterating fears and reinforcing prejudices, thus securing a negative image of immigrants entirely disproportionate to their statistically insignificant impact upon society. Debates around themes such as belonging and nationality, ethnicity and xenophobia specifically target immigrants and refugees reinforcing the idea that the new societal danger should be associated with a newly arrived section of the population.

And so to 2010 which represents the sixty second anniversary of the Windrush arrival, and it is in an unfortunate climate similar to that in which my forbears alighted upon these shores that Philip Davies Conservative MP for Shipley recently enquired: “Is it offensive to black up or not, particularly if you are impersonating a black person?" and in a recent radio interview with George Galloway suggested that what one needs to consider with 'blacking up' is whether or not any offence is intended. He also asserted that Political Correctness is a recipe for disaster with zealots dictating what we can and cannot say. Somehow, he extrapolates that not 'blacking up' plays into the BNP's hands. Thankfully the nation has moved on from curling up on the sofa to watch The Black and White Minstrel Show and Love Thy Neighbour. And as we think back to those times of racial insults bandied about as mere banter, aren't we glad? He also suggests bald people and those with red hair suffer the same level of discrimination as black and minority people and asks, disingenuously: "Why it is so offensive to black up your face, as I have never understood this." Well, Phil, let me explain:

History forms the architecture of the present and ever since the European Age of Exploration, when white people first encountered and entered into sustained relations with those of a darker complexion, 'people of colour' have been the very special object of the white man's deepest - and perhaps primordial - fears and fantasies; they were seldom conceived as fully human, or culturally and intellectually equal. Blackface minstrelsy created in the 19th century was specifically designed as a sneering lampoon which revelled in asserting that Black people were inferior. A contemptuous shorthand for racist images and ideas which played an influential role in globally propagating, communicating and sustaining abhorrent stereotypes which still hold fast today. Enoch Powell and London Mayor Boris Johnson referencing 'Picaninnies' and 'Watermelon smiles', 34 years apart, quote directly from this 2 century old canon.

But it's plainly not just Mr Davies who needs enlightening. In a move as baffling as it was pernicious the October issue of French Vogue featured a 13 page spread dedicated to Dutch Model Lara Stone in blackface. Australia, a continent with a despicable history of racism and, according to Professor Colin Tatz, guilty of genocide on at least two counts, saw Harry Connick Jr appear on the Hey Hey It's Saturday television show where he was forced to endure a blackface 'tribute' to Michael Jackson. Harry, to his eternal credit, expressed his disgust. The host, performers and other panel members insisted it was harmless and certainly the all-white audience were grinning and clapping along and booed quite loudly when the routine was cut short.

Whether it's the Mexican government sanctioning a series of mocking minstrelsy styled stamps, Formula One fans in Spain jeering Lewis Hamilton whilst in blackface, Croatian football fans aiming monkey chants at black footballers or Oxford University Rugby students blacking up for a 'Safari Bop'; they are all of them at pains to justify their behaviour by saying they are not racist, it's just a bit of fun and when confronted by a negative reaction they go all Heath Ledger as The Joker and ask: "Why so serious?". Well, perhaps it's because the intent is always a lampooning mimicry designed to shock. There are those who'll question the veracity of the following statement, but as an adult I have a concern for impact: I take responsibility for my actions and if I'm insensitive enough to say or do something which hurts someone's feelings I apologise. That's what adults do. It's not a political action. It's just good manners.

It remains to be seen whether an aftershock from the cultural and political seismic shift represented by Obama's victory across the Atlantic ultimately reaches Britain where parliament has a mere 15 black and ethnic minority MPs out of a total of 646 (it needs at least 58 to reflect the demographic profile of the country). For now though what is thrown into sharp relief is the notion that Western Europe is intrinsically more tolerant than the United States. Despite a purported embrace of diversity and social justice, Europe remains very far from the harmonious ideal. Black and minority individuals in Europe are allowed to help shape fields such as sports, arts and culture, but are seldom found in the upper echelon of politics and policy-making. By contrast the United States, which often, rightly, has to bear quite pointed criticism on the subject of racism, is no stranger to successful, high-profile Black and minority politicians. The dramatic social change which took place in their Civil Rights era happened across the whole of the country at the same time and allowed an acceptance of minorities in elected office and positions of authority. Whereas the histories of Germany, France, Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Spain are not connected to one another in the same way nor have they experienced the same types of change at the same time. Each European country has had a very different history, particularly when it comes to colonialism and their quest for Empire, but what they have in common is a deep-seated belief in the inherent superiority of Western European culture.

It looks as though, for the next few years at least, Black and minority people of Britain will have to live our political ambitions vicariously through Barack Obama. In the meantime we should celebrate the fact that Ronald Samm has managed to manfully bury the emblems and motifs of racism and, in this arena, has rendered the point of contention one of ability not race. A mere trifle perhaps on prima facie evidence and, as discussed previously, restricted to a domain in which, traditionally, we're allowed to play, but this has a much wider cultural significance. Never again will it be the default position that the lead role in this particular opera will go to a white person wearing blackface, and when stacked up against the calculated cynicism of Philip Davies MP and dodgy soft toy manufacturers, that is real progress.