Can Black Britain produce an 'Oprah'?

During my annual leave over the Christmas period, I enjoyed watching the last series of the Oprah show before she launches her OWN TV Channel. Despite the undercurrent of feelings by some that Oprah is not “black” enough, the lady has some massive achievements under her belt! I wonder if I’ll ever see a British (and obviously black) Oprah in my lifetime – not to mention a Barack Obama (a whole different ball game). Just how far behind African-Americans are the Black-British?

I was hoping that 2011 would be different, pre Olympic year and all that. No such luck….. It’s only February and already the figures on teenage killings are on the increase.

In one of the latest attacks Daniel Graham was stabbed by a gang who then tried to follow him onto a crowded bus to continue their handy work. Sadly Daniel died in hospital a couple of hours later. This was at the end of the same week where Ezekiel Amosu 17, was pushed or chased in front of a bus and killed – within half a mile from where I live. I can’t imagine the devastation that the families are going through. Added to this, there is the hell and heartbreak that the families of the perpetrators have to go through too. Where will it all end? Why are our black teenage boys not afraid of anything? Even Prison?

I’ve been in discussions with my friends and loved ones about this, trying to find the reasons. As one would imagine there aren’t one or two answers but a complex network of overlapping issues.

I was further troubled by the recent intriguing BBC4 documentary Scenes from a Teenage Killing. Despite having my reservations about the way some of the families were portrayed, I found the show moving but also bizarre. The saddest moment for me was when a mother whose son was stabbed (and ultimately killed) described her feelings of numbness towards his death. These echo the feelings of a very dear friend of mine whose son was killed last year – whether the victim is 17 (a teenager) or 26 (a grown man) the feelings of the families are exactly the same.

Friday February 4, 2011 was the birthday of Rosa Parks who was not a Civil Rights leader, just a humble woman who believed in SOMETHING. This is what is missing with our children – they have less and less to yearn for as everything comes so easy. Easy come, easy go. Who are their black role models? Where are they? CBBC have produced Rastamouse – great. Where are the developments? How far have we come from the “Gollywog” era? The only positive thing I get from this is that 20 years ago I would have been accused of having a large “chip on my shoulder” if I had asked these questions. But now I am genuinely intrigued to find out the answers.

We need to re-instate that “yearning” feeling in our children.

Where do we start?

Dawn Joseph

Read more from Dawn over at her blog Life’s lessons.