Writing a new Black History: politics, families and the ‘Big Society’

Black History Month (BHM) provides an opportunity for reflection on the achievements and contributions of black people to history, culture, science and civilisation.

But this is not only about reflecting on the past achievements of the great and the good, it is also about taking stock of our present politics, family structure and relationships and ways in which we can improve our life chances and life choices and change our communities.

Over the past two decades or so I have found myself caught up in numerous BHM-related programme or activities. As a secondary school teacher and later as a university lecturer, BHM was always an occasion to encourage pupils and students in reading some black classics, to discover the heroism of black women and men who against the odds achieved some amazing things.

There were also the white men and women who sided with the oppressed and marginalised. We love to trot out the list of the ‘first’ black person to accomplish something noteworthy, especially after Obama historic victory in 2009.

And, of course, if Dianne Abbott had won the Labour Party leadership contest there would have been a flurry of media activity and talk of a USA Obama-like possibility of black leadership in Britain.

Alas, it was not (yet) to be. Dianne came last in the contest, but Ed the winning Miliband said it was right that she stood as one of the five contestants for the top prize of leading the Labour Party and has awarded her with a shadow minister for health post.

Had Dianne won she would have created another one of those ‘first’ (actually a ‘double first’) often celebrated in Black History’s hall of fame—the first woman and the first black woman to lead the Labour Party.

As they say (and I’m not sure it offers much comfort for David Miliband at this juncture of his political career), ‘it’s not the winning that counts, it’s the competing’.

And Dianne’s participation in the process, as Simon Wolley, would argue has many lessons to teach us: you’ve got to be in it to win it.

2010 will be seen as the defining year for many people. People losing their jobs, household incomes decreasing significantly and massive cuts in public expenditure will all contribute to the challenges ahead. Many of us will have to rethink our priorities and (dare I say) our values.

With this backdrop the debates about the Mayor of London slashing the BHM budget and the extent to which these activities ‘retard integration’, as argued by Ed West in the Telegraph, by promoting ‘historical grievances’ will no doubt come into play.

 And if we throw into the mix Trevor Phillips’ belief that the term ‘institutional racism’ is no longer relevant in Britain (based on the clear trend, according to Phillips, that we are becoming more diverse and that ‘the younger you are, the less prejudiced you are’); and Tony Sewell’s view that black boys no longer fail in school because of racism but rather because they don’t pay attention, then we may end up wanting to rethink a lot of issues around ‘race’.

While we are rethinking ‘race’ (see October issue of Prospect), some may want us to rethink BHM and ask whether it has outlived its usefulness and whether it serves a useful purpose today.  We shouldn’t be worried or defensive about the questions. I for one am up for the debate, along with the role that families and the home play in education and community cohesion as part of the ‘Big Society’ mantra.

However one defines the ‘Big Society’ and the motivation for real change (when people are ‘fired up to play a part in the nation’s future, according to David Cameron) it is clear that African and Caribbean people, whether in their churches or civic and community organisations, have always played their part and will continue to do so. 

It is already predicted that under the present Coalition Government families will, undoubtedly, face new and old challenges of unemployment, a scramble for university places, marriage breakdown and other fractured relations leading to social disintegration.

This month saw the launch of a new charity called Faith in Britain (5 October) in the House of Commons.

The aim of the charity is to support families and strengthen communities, as well as to encourage greater participation of black people in public life.

The organisation has the support of Stephen Timms MP, David Lammy MP, Communities and Local Government, Dr Tayo Adeyemi, Bishop Eric Brown and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.

According to Dr Williams the charity is ‘timely’ and has an important role to play to help ‘build, re-building, support and inspire families and communities in our country’.

At the launch it will announce the establishing of a Family Foundation and a Commission on African and Caribbean Families in Britain to be chaired by Professor Chris Mullard CBE.

The commission will tour some of the major cities in the UK gathering verbal and written evidence. At a time when there are so many negative stereotypes of black families, the Commission will seek to promote good models of parenting, the role of grandparents and fathers in family life. It will also set up a student bursary to support undergraduates.   

The ‘Big Society’ idea (and cynics may simply label it as a convenient social philosophy to accommodate the new era of austerity and government economic retrenchment) has enormous potential and implications for all of us, but ‘you can’t have a ‘Big Society’ without lots of little societies.

And among the most critical are families in all shapes, sizes and colour. Finding practical and creative ways to support families will be central to the work of Faith in Britain.

R. David Muir
(Founding Director of Faith in Britain)

Faith in Britain

Supporting families, strengthening communities…
Tel: 07530 780110 E-mail: info@faithinritain.co.uk