If you want to see the art of political communication at its most simple and effective, look to the front page of Barack Obama’s website. The traditional soft focus family picture takes a backseat to his campaign slogan. Written in bold letters that dominate the page, the words shout out at you: ‘Change we can believe in’.
There is something truly inspirational about Obama’s message. Let’s not forget that barely 50 years ago Rosa Parks sparked the Montgomery bus boycott with her act of civil disobedience and Martin Luther King rose to prominence. Few then would have believed that a black man could ever have occupied the Oval Office. It still may not happen but one thing’s for sure: Obama has allowed us to believe in the American Dream again and that is no mean feat.
And it’s that dream – the notion that, whoever you are and wherever you come from, you can fulfil your potential – that lies at the very core of what the Labour party is all about. We’ve made much progress over the last 10 years in terms of equalities legislation, but to really transform our country it’s not only laws that need to be changed; social attitudes need to be changed too. Building a more equal society is not just about opportunity. It’s also about aspiration.
You don’t just have to take my word for it. The REACH report, published at the end of last year, came to a similar conclusion. A year-long study written by 25 experts, the REACH report was commissioned by the government to look into measures that could improve the attainment and aspirations of young black men. It concluded that one of the biggest barriers preventing many young black men from fulfilling their full potential was a lack of positive black male role models in public life. Put simply it argued that there were too many ‘50 Cents’, promoting a violent and misogynistic worldview, and not enough Barack Obamas.
That’s not to say of course that those role models do not exist in the black community. Clive Lewis, the chair of the REACH group, writes eloquently in the report about the many ‘Black men actively involved in providing support, leadership and role models not just for their own children but also through mentoring programmes to thousands of young black men.’
However, the report’s conclusion was clear: more needs to be done to provide young black men with a more diverse mix of role models. And achieving this, it argued, would require a holistic approach involving government, schools, local authorities, community organisations, parents and, of course, young people themselves.
And that’s why I think that the work we are currently doing to establish a national black role modeling programme is so crucial. My department is now working with a range of people from the black community, not least young people, to build up a network of 20 key black male role models. These ‘national champions’ will work to help stimulate and support an enhanced local network of black male role models working within communities.
There are so many inspirational people out there who could make a real difference to the life chances of young black men. I am looking forward to seeing how we can work together to raise aspiration throughout this country.
If we as a party are committed to building a society in which people can reach their full potential, we need to focus on aspiration with as much fervor as we focus on opportunity. We need to be as committed to inspiration as we are to legislation. For our task is not only social change; it’s also ‘change we can believe in’.