Diane Abbott: thoughts on Obama's speech

President Barack Obama addressed both Houses of Parliament in Westminster this week. I and my nineteen year old son were privileged to be in the audience. What the President had to say about foreign policy was widely reported. But more significant for me was what he said about diversity. The first thing he said was this:

“Unlike most countries in the world, we do not define citizenship based on race or ethnicity. Being American or British is not about belonging to a certain group; it’s about believing in a certain set of ideals -- the rights of individuals, the rule of law. That is why we hold incredible diversity within our borders”

President Obama is a very clever man. And he is surrounded by very clever advisors. He knows that many people in Britain (like the producer of Midsomer Murders) still think that being British means being white. And he also knows that millions of Americans still do not believe that a black man can be a legitimate president of the United States. So he understands perfectly well that diversity is contested ideological ground in both America and Britain. Furthermore he understands that much of the American right and the British right do not believe that diversity, in and of itself, is a good thing. So his reference is very deliberate. Then he goes on:

Yes, our diversity can lead to tension. And throughout our history there have been heated debates about immigration and assimilation in both of our countries. But even as these debates can be difficult, we fundamentally recognize that our patchwork heritage is an enormous strength -- that in a world which will only grow smaller and more interconnected, the example of our two nations says it is possible for people to be united by their ideals, instead of divided by their differences; that it’s possible for hearts to change and old hatreds to pass; that it’s possible for the sons and daughters of former colonies to sit here as members of this great Parliament, and for the grandson of a Kenyan who served as a cook in the British Army to stand before you as President of the United States. "

His reference to “patchwork heritage” means multiculturalism. And the whole passage is the strongest possible defence of it.

He goes on to take a side-swipe at the notion that freedom and human rights are intrinsically Western values:

" But through the struggles of slaves and immigrants, women and ethnic minorities, former colonies and persecuted religions, we have learned better than most that the longing for freedom and human dignity is not English or American or Western –- it is universal, and it beats in every heart.

Westminster Hall was packed with Britain’s political elite. They clapped Barack Obama enthusiastically. But the central message of his speech was the importance of diversity and multiculturalism. Sadly this is something so many of them reject.