Is Political Blackness Still Relevant Today? That is the title of a recently published Guardian article. The article is a debate between Dr Kehinde Andrews an African-Caribbean man and fairly well-known race pundit; a South Asian woman and a Chinese woman whose names I forget and with whom I am less familiar. The article sets out to discuss the various opinions of those in the debate on whether the concept of political blackness that was popularised in the 70's is still relevant in Britain today. The debate offers 3 different opinions on the relevance of that 1970's political blackness. All 3 argue that political blackness is no longer relevant at least in the 1970's articulation.
Of those who participated in the debate only one participant Dr Andrews argued that whilst the political blackness of the 1970's was no longer relevant there was still a need for some type of black politics; arguing that the African-centred political blackness like that of the Pan-African Congress that was held in London in 1900 or that of the African-American political thinkers such as Malcolm X and or Louis Farrakhan should perhaps be adopted to replace the tradition political blackness of Britain. Dr Andrews comments were later picked up and responded to in a short web video by Lee Jasper a well known "black" activist of the traditional political blackness and former race adviser to former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone. Jasper argued that political blackness of the 1970's was still relevant and gave a number of reasons why he thought so. I share a British-Caribbean heritage with both Dr Andrews and Jasper and wanted to share my thoughts on what I think political blackness looks like today. Firstly I would like to clarify exactly the understandings of both political blackness in Britain and political blackness in the UK.
Political blackness in Britain differs from political blackness in the US. In the US political blackness refers to being of African heritage in some way and is connected to the ideals of black power that developed in the 60's and 70's. In the UK political blackness refers to being a descendant of a former British colony and is connected to the ideals of Marxist and radical socialist politics of the 70's and 80's. Political blackness in Britain is not dependent on African racial heritage and collective economics but heritage that connects you to an experience of colonialism under the British Empire and favoured government infiltration to collective economics.. All those who have been born from a colonial experience from Jamaica to India to Africa to China and even Australia and Canada who were of a Marxist or radical Socialist politics have technically been considered politically black in British politics. It has not included many white Australians or Canadians but British political blackness could include them as they share a colonial experience in the British Empire. Black History Month since it's inception has always been a reflection of that concept of political blackness in Britain. So Black History Month is littered with references to Walter Rodney, C L R James, the Grenadian Revolution and the British Black Panther Party that embraced the Marxist inspired left-wing decolonisation politics.
At the heart of political blackness in Britain has been the notion of decolonisation an idea that is not quite relevant for the experience of political blackness in the US. As decolonisation in the formal sense has been achieved and China and India have risen alongside African states such as Nigeria and South Africa political blackness has become somewhat redundant to ethnic groups whose nations now experience self-governance and are amongst the biggest economies in the world. Those that were once willing to gather together in a localised version of the "non-alignment" movement of third world nations in the 50's no longer need those relationships and are no longer oppressed by or suffering from the effects of colonial governance.
Today there are attempts by those such as Dr Kehinde Andrews to revise Political Blackness in the context of Pan-Africanism or the US conceptions of Political Blackness. I believe that the task of Pan-Africanism can be as difficult for local Pan-African's as it is for those on the global stage in the African Union who struggle to gather together people of differing ethnicity's, economies and heritages into a Union. I also see that the models of political blackness developed in the US have not been as beneficial as Affirmative action programmes that sought further integration and in the end produced the likes of Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama. There are also attempts like that by Lee Jasper to resurrect the notion of British political blackness of the 70's and 80's but again I do not believe this is possible and British political blackness had limitations due to it's ideological principles. Perhaps there are a few nostalgic students that may enjoy the idea for a few years but the resurrection of British political blackness is not likely.
I believe that if there was some concept of political blackness today it would revolve around the relationship between the UK and those former colonies in the Caribbean that are still in a political relationship with the UK Crown and those in Australia and Canada that share the same Head of State and their relationship to the UK and the Crown. As Britain plans it's Brexit future and many are considering the notion of a Commonwealth Free Trade Zone between the "Anglosphere" nations I believe that a political blackness today revolves around making sure that those from the British-Caribbean are included as part of the journey as people of the "Anglosphere". Political blackness today means fighting for British-Caribbean nations that have British names, speak English and share a Head of State with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK to be given a place at the table if discussions around a new Commonwealth Free Trade Zone or what is referred to as CANZUK comes to fruition which today looks more than likely. Those in Britain who share heritage with those in the British-Caribbean should put all political energy into lobbying for greater "Anglosphere" integration that includes the British-Caribbean nations as equal partners.
We must fight to give a fundamental human right of freedom of movement to those British-Caribbean nations that pledge allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II. British-Caribbeans must fight to be part of the emerging "Anglosphere" because we are an Anglophone people; we are not strangers. We are fundamentally culturally British. I believe that we must lift our voices and be the most fervent supporters of the emerging "Anglosphere". The opportunity for people of the British-Caribbean to travel without restriction to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK in culturally familiar surroundings to work, live and dream is a opportunity that British-Caribbean nations cannot miss. The opportunity for citizens of the aforementioned nations to consider the British-Caribbean as a home away from home is too much of an opportunity for them to miss too. It is a win-win.
The political blackness of both Dr Andrews and Lee Jasper are politics of a different time and experience. Today's political blackness should not about be about decolonisation and radical socialism, neither should it about a US model of black power. The only political British blackness today is a politics of closer integration between the British-Caribbeans and our fellow the "Anglosphere" nations towards a new post-racial Geo-political paradigm where a British-Caribbean is considered as much part of the brotherhood as our partners.
God save Britannia!
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