Opportunities for African Caribbean Youth

I went to see the film “Pressure” last week. Made in 1975, it tells the story of the struggles of a young Black man living in London, and it is still very timely today. Unfortunately, we are still dealing with many of the same problems now. Instead of our children being sent to ESN (educationally sub-normal) schools, now we have the problem of school exclusions. Different form, same old content. However, I would argue that the racism is not as blatant these days.

Having said that, I was racially abused in the street in London a couple of weeks ago when I was wearing an African garmet.

Then, the night after I viewed "Pressure", I attended a reception held by African Caribbean Diversity, held at investment bankers Goldman Sachs. I was very encouraged that so many high-profile companies are keen to encourage African Caribbean young people by offering them traineeships. These young people sometimes join the mentoring scheme feeling alienated and unmotivated, and being suspicious about what the scheme has to offer. But when they are given the prospect of being able to achieve the kind of results they want and live the kind of life they deserve, they become highly motivated. I found this very inspiring.

Click here for more info about African Caribbean Diversity.

Click here for an article about what Young African Caribbean people think about politics and Black politicians.

I shall be publishing an interview with one of the young people from African Caribbean Diversity, so watch this space!

Keywords: African British film, African Caribbean youth, opportunities

Ancestral Energies

I went to the Talawa Unzipped sessions at the Soho Theatre last week. On Saturday, there was a good discussion about Black comedy, i.e. comedy about Black people/people of African heritage. Personally, I think it is important to have comedy that reflects our culture and our experience. In the States, there was the Cosby show and the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and then Bernie Mack. None of these really addressed racism but they did reflect Black people’s experience to a certain extent, and showed Black family life within a positive context.

In Britain, there have been several highly successful comedy TV shows including Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No. 54. So why are Asian comic writers and performers so much more successful than ours? We cannot just say it is because we are experiencing racism. The people at the BBC commissioning editors are all white, but they commission Asian comedy, so why not ours?

To be fair, BBC has aired Three Non Blondes.

What needs to happen in order for more Black people to become Commissioning Editors at the BBC and other stations?

Education of African Caribbean Boys

Trevor Phillips OBE, Chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, states that the failure to tackle academic underachievement of African-Caribbean boys is threatening to turn them into "a permanent underclass".

http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,1495885,00.html http://education.guardian.co.uk/raceinschools/story/0,,1496477,00.html

What do you think? To read more about Phillips's views, and how he was 'saved' from the education system, download the e-book "Black Success Stories" here.

Future Leaders

What do Britain's Black youth think about politics and the coming general election?

Serenity is a performance poet and trainee teacher who is involved with Youth Anti-Racism Open Parliamentary School (YAROPS).

Read this interview and a comment from Diane Abbott MP here: http://www.blacksuccess1.com/futureleaders.htm