Fear of the Black man

Mike Best, editor of The Voice, must have had that nauseating feeling after three days of a media storm in which he was its reluctant hero. Best, publicly lamented about the criminality on London streets, particularly 'Black gun crime', and without qualifying his words stated, 'We may need to think about increasing the levels of Police Stop and search'. And with those few unguarded, unqualified words Mike Best opened up the flood gates of bigotry, and stereotype that would once again demonise Black youths.

It mattered little when he did qualify his first statement to argue: 'Of course any increase in 'stop and search' must be 'intelligence led'. Sections of the media had already got what they wanted: a prominent Black man who they would wilfully misinterpret as wanting, like them, crude blanket policing that twenty years ago alienated and angered a generation of Black youths. The conviction of 'So Solid Crew' member Ashley Walters, for carrying a loaded gun only added to their righteous indignation of Black youths.

This media calamity is a tremendous blow for Briton's Black communities. Black Britons have been desperate to clean up the streets of crime for some time now. There are brave initiatives such as Operation Trident which have embarked on a honest and frank discussions with Black activist, community workers, local people and the police in a bid to effectively tackle crime. All agree that a criminal is a criminal is a criminal, Black or white. They also agree that the 'hammer to crack a nut' approach to policing the problem was neither effective nor helped to build police/community relations.

It's all well and good for supporters of the crude 'Stop and Search' policies to say, 'If you've nothing to hide you've nothing to fear', but if you are thrown up against the wall by the police and you dare protest, you could, like many a young Black man, find yourself in the back of a police van, beaten and charged with assault on a police officer. It happens. I've witnessed it first hand when my friend Raymond Pyatt was arrested. He was lucky the jury believed our version of events. Others have not been so fortunate and had their lives destroyed.

In hijacking this complex debate, sections of Fleet Street have dragged it back to the dark days of the 1980 'Sus laws' (when the colour of skin was the main factor for being stopped by the police) and in doing so have highlighted their latent fear of the Black man - a fear which until now has only bubbled beneath the surface.

It is this fear that has labelled generations of animated Black school children as aggressive. Even in later life if a Black person dare show any passion in debate or discussion they are branded, quick as flash, an 'angry Black man or woman'. Anything you say thereafter is dismissed as irrational.

The language of the press over the last few days has also demonstrated at best a lack of understanding of Black people and at worst a gross lack of respect. Top of the list must be the Telegraph who headlined a leading article by Janet Daley, 'The blacks we betrayed...' Further on in her uninvestigative journalism she points to 'the mean streets of Brixton where the terror is really out of control'. And to add to her notion of a 'murderous, gun-crazy, gangland,' (all her words) she labels it 'Black on Black crime'.

When was the last time you heard 'white on white crime' or 'Chinese on Chinese crime'? Exactly - never. This notion of 'Black on Black' crime ignores basic criminality by one person on another, and instead conjures up a picture of a barbaric people who are determined to destroy each other.

When this media frenzy finally subsides the challenge for all of us are three fold: First, deal effectively, and proportionately with criminals whoever they are; secondly, as has been promised but not delivered, deal with the causes of crime: poverty, depravation and little hope; and, finally, that we all have the good grace to distinguish criminals from community, animated behaviour from aggressive behaviour, and troubled areas from murderous, gun crazy, mean streets.