Greetings,
The Black Cultural Archives (BCA) opened its doors to the public in 2014. Four years later, it is facing financial difficulties to remain open.
An institution such as The BCA is crucial to record, and preserve documentation of the history, culture, and development of a people, that has made valuable contributions to the historical, social, cultural, and economic life of British society.
At times, this argument is considered irrelevant. However, it is nonsense to sustain this point of view. No man, or country is an island, figuratively speaking. If this is not a true statement, then the powers that be in a former time would have thought twice before 'inviting strangers' into their midst who introduced a new and vibrant lifestyle, and brought with them their work ethic, culture, customs, and religious beliefs, to not challenge, but to enhance and support the 'Motherland'.
The BCA is of no less importance than any other national institution that seeks to extend knowledge and understanding of its people. This knowledge and understanding is not only to be shared with those of black ancestry, it invites universal interest to share in the uniqueness of black culture, its adaptability to the British way of life, and its willingness to participate in the advancement of Britain on the world stage.
Finance is always an issue to maintain a cultural institution. The issue becomes more problematic when the institution is not indigenous, and the solution to long term financial support becomes more acute.
As a British expatriate of Jamaican ancestry, I ask the present powers that be in the UK, to seriously consider the educational, sociological, historical relevance, contribution, and impact, The BCA will have on the cohesiveness of British society, in terms of increasing knowledge and understanding, and to encourage further full participation in the future economic prosperity of Britain for perpetuity.
Peace
Grace
Saturday 29 December 2018
Thursday 18 October 2018
A Stranger Without, a stranger within
Greetings,
Here's the thing.
You go off to a foreign country somewhere, knowing full well you are going to be up against it.
After all, you will be an outsider - right?
You'll have to 'fight' for everything.
Fight to get a job
Fight to stay in the job.
Fight for fair wages.
Fight to keep wages fair.
Fight to raise your family.
Fight to educate your children.
Fight to be accepted.
Fight to be accepted.
Fight for justice. Fight for survival.
Fight, fight, fight...and the combat goes on.
Battle worn and weary, but not defeated, the years roll on. Many an Autumn and Winter has made you shiver. Too quickly Spring and Summer have come and gone.
Suddenly, that light bulb goes off in your head, and says:
"You know what, it's time to return from whence I came."
So, you make plans, and more plans.
This time it's more than a suitcase you'll be packing, it's your whole life story.
Fast forward - you are home, really home, at last!
The walls, and the guard, comes down. No need for this anymore you say to yourself. You meet and greet -
The walls, and the guard, comes down. No need for this anymore you say to yourself. You meet and greet -
"Hello"
you dare to utter, and get a quizzical look.
Who are you? It says.
The eyes assess you with an up, down motion.
All of a sudden, you feel like a stranger, an outsider, an alien.
You wonder what's wrong. Is it something I said? Or did?
The look continues. The mouth opens, and a voice is heard and catches you off guard.
"You are from England?"
"No", you say, " I'm from _______".
"Yes", comes the response, "But you were in England?"
"Yes", you reply in exasperation, as it is clear only the 'foreign' aspect of you has sparked interest. So, after being asked a deluge of questions, while trying to 'justify' your presence in your own country, you seek a quick getaway to mull over this mind bending event.
You speak to others like yourself, and find they are in the same predicament, and have a story to tell of their acquired 'foreign status' in their own country. A 'foreign status' acquired by those who proudly walked tall and 'waved' the flag of their homeland while residing overseas, and choosing to be upstanding members of their communities and in society at large, contrary to the negative images so often depicted in the public space.
With all of that dedication to the land that made you all that you are, astonishingly, you have to 'fight' once more, but this time, to prove you 'belong' to the land of your birth, because you - wait for it! -
Look different, talk different, walk different, act different, dress different, speak with a different accent, and practise unabashed etiquette, decorum, and good manners. All of this enables your own people to distinguish you from them. What a life!
The sad thing about all of this, is that all of the good virtues, values and attitudes you have, you learnt them in your beloved homeland.
At the end of the day though, such views will always pale into insignificance, as it will never change you within, a true son or daughter of the soil of your homeland.
So, when the 'go to foreign' spirit sets in the hearts of 'thine accusers', I hope they will consider the possible outcome of a decision to live in a foreign land for an extended period.
REMEMBER, a son or daughter of home soil, but a stranger in a foreign land, will NEVER, EVER, be a stranger within the land of their birth.
THINK ABOUT THAT.
Peace
Grace
you dare to utter, and get a quizzical look.
Who are you? It says.
The eyes assess you with an up, down motion.
All of a sudden, you feel like a stranger, an outsider, an alien.
You wonder what's wrong. Is it something I said? Or did?
The look continues. The mouth opens, and a voice is heard and catches you off guard.
"You are from England?"
"No", you say, " I'm from _______".
"Yes", comes the response, "But you were in England?"
"Yes", you reply in exasperation, as it is clear only the 'foreign' aspect of you has sparked interest. So, after being asked a deluge of questions, while trying to 'justify' your presence in your own country, you seek a quick getaway to mull over this mind bending event.
You speak to others like yourself, and find they are in the same predicament, and have a story to tell of their acquired 'foreign status' in their own country. A 'foreign status' acquired by those who proudly walked tall and 'waved' the flag of their homeland while residing overseas, and choosing to be upstanding members of their communities and in society at large, contrary to the negative images so often depicted in the public space.
With all of that dedication to the land that made you all that you are, astonishingly, you have to 'fight' once more, but this time, to prove you 'belong' to the land of your birth, because you - wait for it! -
Look different, talk different, walk different, act different, dress different, speak with a different accent, and practise unabashed etiquette, decorum, and good manners. All of this enables your own people to distinguish you from them. What a life!
The sad thing about all of this, is that all of the good virtues, values and attitudes you have, you learnt them in your beloved homeland.
At the end of the day though, such views will always pale into insignificance, as it will never change you within, a true son or daughter of the soil of your homeland.
So, when the 'go to foreign' spirit sets in the hearts of 'thine accusers', I hope they will consider the possible outcome of a decision to live in a foreign land for an extended period.
REMEMBER, a son or daughter of home soil, but a stranger in a foreign land, will NEVER, EVER, be a stranger within the land of their birth.
THINK ABOUT THAT.
Peace
Grace
Tuesday 1 May 2018
The People Who Don't Matter
Greetings,
Creating a 'hostile environment' for illegal immigrants is one thing, when done in a just and humane manner. Creating an excuse to get rid of people because it is convenient, and knowing it is unlikely that the people in question will be able to defend themselves against the establishment through lack of paperwork and crucial documentary evidence, is testament of the hidden resentment towards the immigrant.
It is no ordinary set of immigrants either. I am talking about the invited, productive, economy building, clean up the messes of the 'Mother Country' - literally - after the war, while putting up with anti-immigrant fervour.
What makes this whole scandal more distasteful, is that those mostly affected are the children who came to join their parents in England, because the establishment, at that time, had created the environment for them to do so. Change in the law treats them as outcasts without mercy, yet there WAS evidence available to prove they had right of residency. If the late Mr. Enoch Powell was alive today to hear of the deportations, I believe, he would be in his element
It is clear some people don't matter - but guess what - statistics do! Their cheap labour, matters, the resources from their respective homelands, matter, to want to flood their Region with goods, matter, regardless of the detriment to its respective domestic economic policies. Yet they, of human flesh, sinews, and emotions, who did not go to England to beg, and be dependent on the 'Motherland', find themselves almost tossed out, or, tossed out completely, from a country in which they have, legally, spent their lives striving in to make a living, raise their families, and gradually build their lives.
People make mistakes, yes, and fail to do what they are supposed to do. However, what disturbs me deeply in cases highlighted in the media, as well as a recent revelation, is that the issues could have been resolved quickly if crucial documentation was retained, and made available, which brings me back to the heading of this post again. There are people with the mindset who fervently believe, some folk, just don' t matter, and are dismissed with more impunity than waste disposal. Harsh words, befit harsh, and unjust treatment to its own citizens, and former subjects of The British Empire, who happen to be 'invited' immigrants.
I welcome the apologies of The Right Honourable Theresa May MP, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and welcomed the move by the former Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, MP, to rectify the situation.
Now, I understand, a new Home Secretary is in place, Sajid Javid, MP.
The resignation of one, and the appointment of another, is irrelevant. It is the ability, together with the policymakers, to correct the enduring anti-immigrant, immigration policy, to net those who are truly illegal immigrants in the UK.
In my opinion, the Windrush Scandal, which could have been avoided by Her Majesty's Home Office, has, inadvertently, become a smokescreen for the real illegal immigrants in the UK, to hide behind. This is where the challenge lies.
At the end of the day, contentious political issues produce rhetoric, and more rhetoric to calm the storm. I say, on this issue, we'll see how long it takes for this Windrush Scandal, to subside.
Peace.
Grace
Creating a 'hostile environment' for illegal immigrants is one thing, when done in a just and humane manner. Creating an excuse to get rid of people because it is convenient, and knowing it is unlikely that the people in question will be able to defend themselves against the establishment through lack of paperwork and crucial documentary evidence, is testament of the hidden resentment towards the immigrant.
It is no ordinary set of immigrants either. I am talking about the invited, productive, economy building, clean up the messes of the 'Mother Country' - literally - after the war, while putting up with anti-immigrant fervour.
What makes this whole scandal more distasteful, is that those mostly affected are the children who came to join their parents in England, because the establishment, at that time, had created the environment for them to do so. Change in the law treats them as outcasts without mercy, yet there WAS evidence available to prove they had right of residency. If the late Mr. Enoch Powell was alive today to hear of the deportations, I believe, he would be in his element
It is clear some people don't matter - but guess what - statistics do! Their cheap labour, matters, the resources from their respective homelands, matter, to want to flood their Region with goods, matter, regardless of the detriment to its respective domestic economic policies. Yet they, of human flesh, sinews, and emotions, who did not go to England to beg, and be dependent on the 'Motherland', find themselves almost tossed out, or, tossed out completely, from a country in which they have, legally, spent their lives striving in to make a living, raise their families, and gradually build their lives.
People make mistakes, yes, and fail to do what they are supposed to do. However, what disturbs me deeply in cases highlighted in the media, as well as a recent revelation, is that the issues could have been resolved quickly if crucial documentation was retained, and made available, which brings me back to the heading of this post again. There are people with the mindset who fervently believe, some folk, just don' t matter, and are dismissed with more impunity than waste disposal. Harsh words, befit harsh, and unjust treatment to its own citizens, and former subjects of The British Empire, who happen to be 'invited' immigrants.
I welcome the apologies of The Right Honourable Theresa May MP, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and welcomed the move by the former Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, MP, to rectify the situation.
Now, I understand, a new Home Secretary is in place, Sajid Javid, MP.
The resignation of one, and the appointment of another, is irrelevant. It is the ability, together with the policymakers, to correct the enduring anti-immigrant, immigration policy, to net those who are truly illegal immigrants in the UK.
In my opinion, the Windrush Scandal, which could have been avoided by Her Majesty's Home Office, has, inadvertently, become a smokescreen for the real illegal immigrants in the UK, to hide behind. This is where the challenge lies.
At the end of the day, contentious political issues produce rhetoric, and more rhetoric to calm the storm. I say, on this issue, we'll see how long it takes for this Windrush Scandal, to subside.
Peace.
Grace
When it is time to step down, and move on
Greetings,
I am saddened on reading about how it has all ended for
Robert Mugabe, former President of Zimbabwe. Moving forward one's country after controversy can be a tricky business, particularly when the political atmosphere within, and on the world front, is difficult.
History can be a cruel storyteller, so it is wise to know when to walk away, not only for the leadership, but more importantly, for the Zimbabwean nation.
I fear what the history books will record post the late Mr. Ian Smith, former Prime Minister, of what was then, Rhodesia.
On that, one can only speculate.
I hope Zimbabwe, and its people, can move forward together, in the spirit of democracy.
Peace
Grace
I am saddened on reading about how it has all ended for
Robert Mugabe, former President of Zimbabwe. Moving forward one's country after controversy can be a tricky business, particularly when the political atmosphere within, and on the world front, is difficult.
History can be a cruel storyteller, so it is wise to know when to walk away, not only for the leadership, but more importantly, for the Zimbabwean nation.
I fear what the history books will record post the late Mr. Ian Smith, former Prime Minister, of what was then, Rhodesia.
On that, one can only speculate.
I hope Zimbabwe, and its people, can move forward together, in the spirit of democracy.
Peace
Grace
Thursday 18 January 2018
Where has all the good sense gone?
Greetings,
With all the challenges ethnic minorities face in the UK, it is beyond me that a member of it, who had attained high office, could not forsee the risk of coming up with a bright idea.
It appears to me, a fundamental principle has been missed while negotiating the dizzy heights of power - how to walk the ever narrowing, thin, chalk line, and not fall off. It is clear the past has taught no lessons. Such high elevation does not eliminate obstacles, fences deeply entrenched, and bar set.
Resistance to change is still high on the popularity ratings.
Entering the political territory puts one face to face with the status quo. Therefore, it should be understood, what the position is on the inside.
I can only hope reflection on the matter will bring about a return to common sense, as we wait, in the long distant future, for history to be recorded again.
Peace
Grace
With all the challenges ethnic minorities face in the UK, it is beyond me that a member of it, who had attained high office, could not forsee the risk of coming up with a bright idea.
It appears to me, a fundamental principle has been missed while negotiating the dizzy heights of power - how to walk the ever narrowing, thin, chalk line, and not fall off. It is clear the past has taught no lessons. Such high elevation does not eliminate obstacles, fences deeply entrenched, and bar set.
Resistance to change is still high on the popularity ratings.
Entering the political territory puts one face to face with the status quo. Therefore, it should be understood, what the position is on the inside.
I can only hope reflection on the matter will bring about a return to common sense, as we wait, in the long distant future, for history to be recorded again.
Peace
Grace
Monday 15 January 2018
A Narrow parameter
Greetings,
Life has its highs and lows. Stress filled moments. Cliff hanging experiences. Easy going times where everything is alright with the world, and 'Thank God I'm alive!' days.
Above all this chapter, there is one thing that niggles me, and in my opinion has no justification - the perceived entitlement of some to predetermine the future of folk regardless of their ambitions, feelings, objections, etc., etc., etc.
How dare anybody dictate what you should aspire to be. Listen, if one cannot accept another persons choice because one does not agree with it, let it be. If the choice involves risk, give constructive guidance and send them on their way rejoicing for a successful outcome.
Trying to box in, or even worse, block the hopes and dreams of others is to 'turbocharge' them to defy the odds, restore self-esteem, and prove their detractors wrong. It is destructive to deliberately discourage the intention and objectives of an individual. That individual may turn out to be a highly skilled and productive member of society.
Now, let us not get confused with, or excuse, sheer stupidity, failing to think things through, or outright refusal to accept the opinion, and record the mobile position of others. However, all, or part of the above may be taken with either a positive approach as part of healthy robust exchange, or be dismissed completely.
I am saying, allow people to be what they want to be, and to achieve their dream. Who knows, others thirst for success may awaken you out of your lackadaisical/complacent/indifferent attitude to life, and spur you on to fulfill your true potential.
Never set narrow parameters for others, negatively, to suit your ego. The only success in that is to end up within that narrow parameter yourself.
Peace
Grace
Life has its highs and lows. Stress filled moments. Cliff hanging experiences. Easy going times where everything is alright with the world, and 'Thank God I'm alive!' days.
Above all this chapter, there is one thing that niggles me, and in my opinion has no justification - the perceived entitlement of some to predetermine the future of folk regardless of their ambitions, feelings, objections, etc., etc., etc.
How dare anybody dictate what you should aspire to be. Listen, if one cannot accept another persons choice because one does not agree with it, let it be. If the choice involves risk, give constructive guidance and send them on their way rejoicing for a successful outcome.
Trying to box in, or even worse, block the hopes and dreams of others is to 'turbocharge' them to defy the odds, restore self-esteem, and prove their detractors wrong. It is destructive to deliberately discourage the intention and objectives of an individual. That individual may turn out to be a highly skilled and productive member of society.
Now, let us not get confused with, or excuse, sheer stupidity, failing to think things through, or outright refusal to accept the opinion, and record the mobile position of others. However, all, or part of the above may be taken with either a positive approach as part of healthy robust exchange, or be dismissed completely.
I am saying, allow people to be what they want to be, and to achieve their dream. Who knows, others thirst for success may awaken you out of your lackadaisical/complacent/indifferent attitude to life, and spur you on to fulfill your true potential.
Never set narrow parameters for others, negatively, to suit your ego. The only success in that is to end up within that narrow parameter yourself.
Peace
Grace
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