Race today
John Denham recently argued that we should downgrade the importance of racial equality in view of the focus on the disadvantage experienced by the white working class. I found this interesting given the history of the Labour Party and the trade unions’ main focus on class as a clear benchmark between us and the other political parties.
We all recognise that we need a sophisticated and targeted approach in tackling racism and disadvantaged today compared to 30 years ago. However, John Denham’s arguments remind me of a similar debate with the dismantling of the affirmative action policies that America went through over 20 years ago.The fallacy of his argument is highlighted in the best-selling book by Cornell West, the African-American academic and one of the philosophers around the Matrix film discourse. His book ‘Race Matters’ reasserts the business and ethical case again that although class/socioeconomic status is still important, race still dominates America and racism is still alive and kicking, which still creates disadvantage for African-Americans and other ethnic minority communities. However, the book does challenge certain taboos and experiences within the African-American lifestyle and their interaction with racism. Two recent illustrations demonstrate the nature of structural racism in America and the historical connection with the civil rights movement. The first is the response to hurricane Katrina in New Orleans where the black working class were let down by George Bush and the second is the overtly racist media campaign attacks on Barack Obama during his presidential campaign and again 12 months after his success of becoming the first African-American President.
Obama’s journey reflects the success of breaking the ultimate ‘class ceiling’ but also the contradiction that the fight for racial equality and social justice through a coalition of communities and democratic socialist principles is still essential and not dependant on one individual alone.
Thus as America today marks the birthday of Martin Luther King, a public holiday there since 1986, the battle for race equality still continues. This resulted from a number of bills presented to Congress. However, it was the petition of 6 million signatures and the lobbying by celebrities such as Stevie Wonder, alongside the King family and their foundation that won the day as a public holiday and an opportunity to educate and inform future generations of Americans.
With the Olympic games in 2012, I believe that we need to have a similar public holiday to commemorate and celebrate the contributions to Britain over the last 60 years of Black, Asian and other minority communities. It would also remind us all that Britain has been and will always be a nation of migration and cultural diversity and we should embrace this in a positive way.
The Windrush generation
The seeds of modern migration were sown in the former colonies of the British Empire with countries from Africa, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, south east Asia, and Oceania with over 2.5 million service men and women volunteering during World War II to fight fascism.
I suggest that we choose the day when the SS Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury in 1948, 22 June, as a public holiday. This is arguably the most powerful and iconic symbol of migration and the rise of modern day multicultural Britain to date. The Windrush is not simply about the 492 Caribbean men and women that arrived in Britain on that ship but everyone from the Empire and the Commonwealth who were British subjects and saw Britain as their mother country.
It is important that this is recognised particularly because things changed with the ‘rivers of blood’ speech made by Enoch Powell in 1968 and the 1971 Immigration and Nationality Act, which defined Black and Asian people and their dependants as second class citizens.
The constant drip-drip references to the failure of multiculturalism and the loss of ‘Britishness’ as an inclusive concept creates much uncertainty and lack of confidence. This is particularly so for young people and the most recent migrants to Britain (the super-rich aside) who now feel under constant attack and scapegoating.
A Windrush Day is important if we want a tolerant, respectful society especially if want to tackle all forms of political extremism and terrorism.
Such a day would prevent political parties from using the race card and immigration card to appease certain white voters and now a growing established Black and Asian middle class. Windrush Day would be different from celebrating Commonwealth Day which we do not actually observe in a meaningful way in Britain.
Unfortunately there are still sceptics who believe that multiculturalism has failed and that we need to ethnically cleanse certain aspect of British society so that Britain look as it did circa 1950.
This adds to the importance of teaching about the Windrush as part of the national curriculum for a generation of young people who can learn the history, survival techniques and strategies which can help them to influence the world they live in today. We are fortunate to celebrate events such as Black History Month, Notting Hill Carnival, Mela, Diwali and Eid which have now been embraced by central and local government, education with inclusion in the national curriculum, museums and the arts.
The Windrush generation is now disappearing as many of these pioneers pass away, suffer from long-term health conditions, or languish in nursing homes. Some have migrated back to their countries of birth.
Many of those born between 1910-1940 may not be around at the next Windrush celebrations in 2018.The question we need to ask ourselves is: why wait 10 years to celebrate this?
We will regret as a country if we fail to take individual and collective responsibility for systematically documenting their history and contribution to Britain and beyond, as a legacy for young people of all ethnicities and nationalities.
The government and the public should undertake the following activities in time for the 2012 Olympics which were won for London on the strength of our cultural diversity:
1. Promote the idea of a national public holiday based on the contribution of immigrants to Britain from the Windrush era onwards in the creation of multicultural Britain
2. Develope a national oral history programme to fund community organisations, schools, and to record and document the Windrush generation and their contributions to Britain
3. Take immediate action to stop fascists and racists demonising and stereotyping the contribution that Black, Asian and minority ethnic people make to multicultural Britain.
Please sign the petition to show your support