Why #blacklivesmatter
Since Trayvon Martin's unjust death in 2012, we've been getting more and more reports about white police officers shooting unarmed black men for minor offences. While Ferguson burned, Middle America went about its business, but it did stop for a bit to berate me on social media for condemning America's police force.
Black people have endured prejudice against them since colonisation. First, white people took Africa and bought disease and tyranny. Then they were torn away from their families to work in plantations all over the world. Once they were emancipated from slavery, we told them they weren't allow to mix with us white folk. Then came Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement, which gave black people equal rights, but it did nothing to assuage institutional racism.
I, like most sane people, am disgusted that the world's biggest superpower allows its people to be treated so badly. Especially since it has such a chequered history with civil rights anyway. America's notoriously trigger-happy and the police are dominated by power drunk, white men. For them, shoot to kill is the standard. Not even shoot to injure. A teenager who steals cigarettes and gets a bit agro with a police force who already victimise him shouldn't have been killed. A kid in a park with a toy gun, shouldn't have been killed. A man running away after being pulled over about a broken tail light, shouldn't have been killed. At least the latter, justice was done and the police officer, who showed no remorse in his calculated kill, has been charged for murder.
These aren't isolated incidents, hyped up by the media because they make good stories. This is the norm in America. The stats speak for themselves. Black people are being victimised every day by the people who are paid to protect them, regardless of their crime. There are convicted murderers and paedophiles in jail, living life and hoping that one day they'll be released. Yet Walter Scott was killed. For running away. From a potential aggressor.
America is bonkers. Nothing that comes out of that country makes sense. Obama has taken Cuba off the terror list, introduced Obamacare, condemned Israel and is building relations with Iran, while arming ISIS and ordering a secret army to work their way through a long kill list... No, I don't get it either. But just a little reminder to those people in America, who thought it acceptable to 'shout' at me on social media for defending people who were needlessly killed by police:
I'd also like to mention at this juncture that said hardships also spawn the most spectacular and inspirational people like the aforementioned Martin Luther King, but also Nelson Mandela, Fela Kuti and Mohammed Ali. The world would be a much, much poorer place without them.
However, current black tastemakers remained quiet during the Ferguson riots. Where was the solidarity? And it's not just for black people to stand up and be counted, it's everyone's fight. It's a battle for fairness, equality and justice. Simply being human qualifies you to be part of this struggle. Despite all of this, America continues to send a message, loud and clear, to the people of the world that black lives don't matter. Not just in the news, but in its movies, TV shows, music and awards ceremonies.
It's not just America, nowhere is whiter than white.
Racism exists everywhere. It's not just black people that bear the brunt of it. The Jews were kicked out of Russia in the Middle-Ages and Edward I expelled them from UK in 1290. And that's all before we get to 1930's Germany. There's hatred between the Hutu and Tutsie tribes, Greeks and Turks and even Reading FC fans have beef with Swindon FC.
Every day racism exists just as much as everyday sexism. Except sexism generally comes from an unintentional place. Yet, we see racism in its most disgusting form all the time. Like Chelsea fans on the Paris Metro. Despite being bombarded with images and stories of injustice, we don't really do anything about it. Almost like it's silently acceptable.
Benedict Cumberbatch recently caused a furore on social media for using the word 'coloured' in an interview. While the sentiment of what he was saying was true - there should be more diversity in the arts - the use of such an antiquated racist term coming from a highly-educated, well-travelled, cosmopolitan-living, media-trained actor is simply unacceptable.
However, I don't want to mention this misdemeanour without touching on the issue he was trying to highlight. I guess the arts is the only place where discrimination is acceptable. You can't have a white guy playing Malcolm X, you can't have a black guy playing Churchill and naturally period dramas will be light (excuse the pun) on darker faces. However, how often do we see mixed race couples on screen? It only seems to happen if the storyline revolves around the couple being mixed. Most teen movies are white, with a token black or Chinese person. How often do you see white people in the Fresh Prince of Bel Air or an Aryan girl in a Snoop Dogg video?
I don't want to stop the conversation about our differences - we should feel free and comfortable to talk about the good and bad bits of being a minority. It's our differences that make us beautiful and interesting. We'd all be ignorant, in-breds if it wasn't for diversity in our communities. A night out would be nothing without a curry and a hip hop soundsystem. We can't just cherry pick what parts of other cultures we want, like cultural eugenics. We've got embrace all of it. And protect the people that gave it to us.
First published 28/04/2015
Black people have endured prejudice against them since colonisation. First, white people took Africa and bought disease and tyranny. Then they were torn away from their families to work in plantations all over the world. Once they were emancipated from slavery, we told them they weren't allow to mix with us white folk. Then came Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement, which gave black people equal rights, but it did nothing to assuage institutional racism.
I, like most sane people, am disgusted that the world's biggest superpower allows its people to be treated so badly. Especially since it has such a chequered history with civil rights anyway. America's notoriously trigger-happy and the police are dominated by power drunk, white men. For them, shoot to kill is the standard. Not even shoot to injure. A teenager who steals cigarettes and gets a bit agro with a police force who already victimise him shouldn't have been killed. A kid in a park with a toy gun, shouldn't have been killed. A man running away after being pulled over about a broken tail light, shouldn't have been killed. At least the latter, justice was done and the police officer, who showed no remorse in his calculated kill, has been charged for murder.
These aren't isolated incidents, hyped up by the media because they make good stories. This is the norm in America. The stats speak for themselves. Black people are being victimised every day by the people who are paid to protect them, regardless of their crime. There are convicted murderers and paedophiles in jail, living life and hoping that one day they'll be released. Yet Walter Scott was killed. For running away. From a potential aggressor.
America is bonkers. Nothing that comes out of that country makes sense. Obama has taken Cuba off the terror list, introduced Obamacare, condemned Israel and is building relations with Iran, while arming ISIS and ordering a secret army to work their way through a long kill list... No, I don't get it either. But just a little reminder to those people in America, who thought it acceptable to 'shout' at me on social media for defending people who were needlessly killed by police:
- America's president is black.
- America made its fortune from the plantations that were worked on solely by black slaves.
- If it wasn't for the slaves, cotton wouldn't be picked and white people wouldn't have become rich, foreigners wouldn't have invested and cities like New York would never have been built.
- And it was probably black people that built those cities.
- America's favourite sports are basketball, baseball and American football, whose stars are black.
- If it wasn't for black people, America's greatest inventions in the arts wouldn't have happened, like jazz, blues, soul, funk, gospel, hip hop and RnB.
- These went on to create rock n roll, so without this we wouldn't have Elvis or The Beatles.
- Then there's the associated tap, street dance, bebop, break dance, jive and lindy-hop.
- And where the greatest American writers got their inspiration, step forward all the Beatnik writers, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker and Mark Twain.
America is built on the blood, sweat and tears of its black people
It is what it is because of them
I'd also like to mention at this juncture that said hardships also spawn the most spectacular and inspirational people like the aforementioned Martin Luther King, but also Nelson Mandela, Fela Kuti and Mohammed Ali. The world would be a much, much poorer place without them.
However, current black tastemakers remained quiet during the Ferguson riots. Where was the solidarity? And it's not just for black people to stand up and be counted, it's everyone's fight. It's a battle for fairness, equality and justice. Simply being human qualifies you to be part of this struggle. Despite all of this, America continues to send a message, loud and clear, to the people of the world that black lives don't matter. Not just in the news, but in its movies, TV shows, music and awards ceremonies.
It's not just America, nowhere is whiter than white.
Racism exists everywhere. It's not just black people that bear the brunt of it. The Jews were kicked out of Russia in the Middle-Ages and Edward I expelled them from UK in 1290. And that's all before we get to 1930's Germany. There's hatred between the Hutu and Tutsie tribes, Greeks and Turks and even Reading FC fans have beef with Swindon FC.
Every day racism exists just as much as everyday sexism. Except sexism generally comes from an unintentional place. Yet, we see racism in its most disgusting form all the time. Like Chelsea fans on the Paris Metro. Despite being bombarded with images and stories of injustice, we don't really do anything about it. Almost like it's silently acceptable.
Benedict Cumberbatch recently caused a furore on social media for using the word 'coloured' in an interview. While the sentiment of what he was saying was true - there should be more diversity in the arts - the use of such an antiquated racist term coming from a highly-educated, well-travelled, cosmopolitan-living, media-trained actor is simply unacceptable.
However, I don't want to mention this misdemeanour without touching on the issue he was trying to highlight. I guess the arts is the only place where discrimination is acceptable. You can't have a white guy playing Malcolm X, you can't have a black guy playing Churchill and naturally period dramas will be light (excuse the pun) on darker faces. However, how often do we see mixed race couples on screen? It only seems to happen if the storyline revolves around the couple being mixed. Most teen movies are white, with a token black or Chinese person. How often do you see white people in the Fresh Prince of Bel Air or an Aryan girl in a Snoop Dogg video?
I don't want to stop the conversation about our differences - we should feel free and comfortable to talk about the good and bad bits of being a minority. It's our differences that make us beautiful and interesting. We'd all be ignorant, in-breds if it wasn't for diversity in our communities. A night out would be nothing without a curry and a hip hop soundsystem. We can't just cherry pick what parts of other cultures we want, like cultural eugenics. We've got embrace all of it. And protect the people that gave it to us.
First published 28/04/2015
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