When will race become invisible?

This could be a potentially long one!!

Anyone who knows me knows how passionate I am about race equality! Being president of my university Afro Caribbean Society was such a triumph for me; not so much because of the success and recognition we got but because of what I was exposed to and the people I met. And representing Ethnic Minorities in our union council was such a privilege because I got to see the inner politics of race issues within the university system.

But a year down the line and having steered away naturally from the student race equality movement I see so many problems that can’t be ignored.

I almost came to the conclusion once that in life and society there will always be an underdog. There will always be the one who is ugly, poor, unintelligent, lacking in status, problematic and so on. And I almost believed that for some reason it just happened that society had allowed this underdog to become people of a certain race. Now I don’t believe that there is an underdog race at all as we are all equal in God BUT I do believe society, since slavery, has created an underdog race and sometimes, just sometimes I question when, considering we are nearing the end days, we will climb up from the pit we have somewhat been reduced to.

Now this comes from me, who will soon to be entering (Ia) the city in one of the high flying city law firms like the ones I have interned with. I think the legal world and the questionable things I have witnessed within it is one reason why I’m so aware of the seclusions our white brothers have subjected us to. Each law firm I’ve been to has less than a handful of ethnic minority solicitors. Needless to say most of these minorities are not black and definitely not visible Muslims. I find myself browsing through law firms website links to all the members of staff trying to count the ethnic minority partners and solicitors. Always a complete and utter disappointment.

Now I’m not saying I need and must work with black or other EM’s to be happy at work but coming from South East London, having been socialised in an area which at least appears in my eyes to be predominately BME populated I almost need it. This is said not in ignorance but after having spent 3 years in Leeds being one of only 3 other black home students who graduated from law in a class of over 200 I know what I want. And after spending 3 weeks on an internship with a mix of races (well 12 white and 3 BME) finding that it was so hard to be real with these people, I know what kind of working environment I want – mixed race! And I’m down for being the first black female solicitor at a firm, paving the way for the rest but it still annoys me that in 2010, that is likely to be the case!

I question and wonder when we will truly get what we deserve. I wonder when our men won’t take up the most space in prisons. I wonder when the police will stop victimising us. I wonder when the city will really let us in and stop posting futile ethnic minority statistics when they know very well they have a hidden screening process. I question when black intellect will be celebrated and not just black athletes and musicians. I wonder when we ourselves will come to realise that we have so much more to offer than that anyway. I wonder when the worst areas in London or any cosmopolitan city in Britain won’t be overflowing with BME’s. Whether it’s because we’re not placed there by local councils or we just stop flocking together. And I really wonder when society will allow us to elevate ourselves up to where we want to be.

I wouldn’t change my ‘urban’ upbringing for the world. I’m so proud to have gone to a below average school because it’s armed me with so much and my dearest friends blossomed from there also. I’m even prouder that I went to a university so far away as it opened my eyes to so much. I’m not bitter at all. I hope I’m not but I’m real.
I don’t believe that every aspect of the deprivation of black people is down to slavery but I also see truth in a lot of the connections. Nor do I believe that we should forget our past as the stories I know of our forefathers who fought for equality only encourage me to fight harder.

Whether we like it or not BME’s are constantly fighting in the west because it is a white man’s world. And I don’t mean that in a silly bitter Black Panther (as I’ve been dubbed) kind of way, I mean it realistically. Now that’s not to say we are the only disadvantaged group. I’m also a woman and I’m Muslim, I could write for pages about that. But one thing I don’t see enough of in our communities is the unity. We’re so busy being divided by continents (African v Caribbean), countries (Nigerians v Ghanaians), religions (Muslim v Christian), tribes (Yoruba’s v Igbo’s) and so on that we forget that if we are not united we are going to remain the underdog and we’ll get laughed at at the same time! If we can’t love each other and lift each other up how do we expect those who keep us down to allow us to come up?

I intend to keep fighting in my own self and keep the faith that we will prosper not only in this country but in the motherland. I’m sure I’ll blog again about problems within Africa (based on what I see in Kenya) that relate to racism and stem from slavery and colonisation soon!

But I just wanted to share my thoughts on that. I want to be a leader in my own right. Do my thing as a future solicitor, business woman, mother and wife and most importantly a lover of God. Let’s keep lifting each other like me and my ladies do!!
I’ll see you at the top!!!

Shout outs!!

Shout out to my fellow lawyers – Kafayah Uthman, Crystal Debrah, Krystal AJ, Daphine Wilson, Kemi O, Lucille Amenu...

Ola Akinlade – future director of Fashion Workroom and PR Company” (Your charisma will take uu so far)

Tina Oshikoya – Co Founder of Kosher

Mary Adetunji – Fashion extraordinaire

Marian Ogun – Superwoman ready to develop the world

Labake Oloyede – First friend to already be in her career – doing something beautiful n teaching!

Layo Agunbiade – Flyest Mum I know!!

Abimaro Suit – Amazing songstress – music with wings.

Doyin Oyegoke – Soon to be big time journalist!

Charlotte Nana Yaa Owusuwaa – Air hostess

And the many more amazing BME’s doing it because we can and should!!!

TO BE CONTINUED....