Libby Purves: Mind your language

Radio 4’s midweek programme hosted by Libby Purves should have been one of those celebratory moments for Black people and particularly Dame Kelly Holmes. Three of her four three guests were either Black or mixed heritage and all three overcame adversity to become very successful.

In the case of Kelly Holmes, a mixed heritage girl, brought up in a council house, spent some time in a care home, but in the summer of 2004 reached the sporting pinnacle and became an instant sporting icon by winning two Olympic golds in Athens. The script could not have  been better written for Purves, the host, to chronicle such a fantastic life. But Purves had other ideas. Why let the simple facts get in the way of her own skewed vision of this determined woman.

In her opening remarks Purves stated, 'watching your performance' on that faithful day, 'when you won the second gold you looked almost frightening’. . Then correcting herself, she stated, No, no you were frightening. A dark streak leaving blonds in her wake’. She called Holmes frightening no less than four times.  Not frighteningly brilliant, or frighteningly awesome, just frightening.

Those of you who read my entries on this blog might start to feel I’m a little obsessed about this issue of negative stereotyping of Black men and women. I wrote a similar piece about Joanna Riley being labeled 'aggressive' on BBC’s Apprentice. Incidentally, Joanna contacted the organisation after the show and thanked us for ours and the Black community’s support, particularly on the issue of negative stereotyping. But to answer my own question, I’m not obsessed, I am, however, frustrated that it keeps occurring, moreover, many of these comments are often made by women.

I took Purves's advice and watched Holmes on youtube win the second Olympic gold. There are many adjectives I would use for that performance, and what Holmes conveyed during that race:  Majestic, sublime, awe inspiring, heart moving, tear inducing, breathtaking, a million and one superlatives, but not frightening. And this ‘dark streak, leaving blonds in her wake’, was, to put it mildly, a most unfortunate discription of a champion that has just done your country proud.

We need to remind Purves and others that Black men and women, even when we do well and achieve success are too often labelled; ‘aggressive’ or ‘frightening’, and we have had enough.

As with Purves I suspect she, and others who use  terms such a 'frightening and aggressive',  do not intend  to be derogatory, but these terms are, and frankly they say more about their inability to deal with people of colour than it says about us.

Simon Woolley

Radio 4 midweek (Kelly Holmes interviewis 24mins in).
Kelly Holmes 2004 Olympics
2004 Olympics 1500m final women