The Legacy of white supremacy

In a previous post the History of White Supremacy I discussed the history of white supremacy which you can read here. This post is a continuation of my previous post which will explore the legacy of slavery and colonisation in todays society,

1. Religion

Europeans forced Africans to convert to Christianity and demonised African religions. They used images of a white Jesus for Africans to worship. This is psychological oppression. If you believe that God is white, you will subconsciously believe that white people are superior and that a white person is your saviour. Further, you are  less likely to rebel against your white oppressors as you would believe that harming your oppressor is harming God. Christianity was used to make enslaved Africans passive, they were taught to "obey their masters" "turn the other cheek" and endure hell on earth so that they would go to heaven when they die. There are many black people today who still worship white Jesus. My mum told me of  a saying in Ghana which states that "if you see a white person you don't need to go to church because you have met God" This is very damaging, this brainwashing has led to some people of African descent today seeing white people as more superior to them. Black people need to see themselves as Gods because we are. The human race came from us therefore we are Gods.

2. Beauty 

Africans were taught that their features were ugly, such as their hair, skin colour, facial features etc and being white was the standard of beauty. Therefore anything close to whiteness was seen as more attractive. This has caused black people to hate themselves and their features. This also birthed colorism which exists heavily today. I wrote about this in more detail here.

3. Education

I went to school in the UK where the education system, is very whitewashed. We were never taught about the great achievements of black people. We were taught about "great" Europeans, and the British Empire. In regards to slavery we were never taught about slave rebellions, only that Africans were slaves. We were not taught about the great African empires,  we were not taught about African civilisations apart from Ancient Egypt, however we were taught that Egyptians were not black (when they clearly were). We were not taught what Africans have achieved and contributed to the world. We were not taught about inventions created by black people, we were not taught about black royalty. This is miseducation, so that black people do not feel pride in themselves but are conditioned to see white people as greater than them. That is why I always advocate for black people learning their history because our history is very rich and many of our people have achieved great things.

4. Media

Black people are usually portrayed negatively in the media. There used to be minstrel shows (started in the 1830's), where white people painted themselves in blackface to represent black people in a negative light. Black people were usually protrayed as dumb, lazy and criminal. There were also cartoons portraying African people as cannibals. 

We know that the media can be racist. Black people are usually portrayed negatively, black men are usually portrayed as violent , criminal and hyper-masculine. Black women have historically played the role of the "mammy", the Jezebel (promiscuous woman), the slave or the side kick to a main white character. The first black woman to win an Oscar played the role of a mammy.  We never see too many positive representations of black people and if we do, there are only a few.

In music, there are black artists who rap about about murdering other black men, glamorise criminal behaviour, consumerism  and hyper sexualise and disrespect black women . This is detrimental to our community. A lot of our music is negative and this is what the white record labels want to promote. Unfortunately, a lot of black conscious artists who have positive content are not promoted or signed by these same labels. These labels want to push a negative narrative in the mainstream, why should our demise be the entertainment of others? this is not right. Black artists should stop allowing themselves to be used to promote negativity in our community


5. Criminal Justice system

In the UK, black people make up 3% of the general population but 13% of the prison population. In the USA black people make up 12% of the general population and 40% of the prison population. In the UK black men are 4 x more likely to be stopped and searched that their white counterparts. Black  people are not necessarily more criminal than white people. Black communities tend to be be poorer and poorer areas tend to be policed more and targeted than more wealthy communities. This leads to higher statitsics. Black young men especially, tend to be viewed as criminal. In courtrooms black people are more likely to be convicted and sentenced more harshly. In Ava Duvernay's documentary "13th" she explores the school to prison pipeline in the USA, and how privately funded prisons make money depending on the number of inmates they have, the more inmates, the richer they get.

6. Economics

Black people are economically the poorest in the world compared to other races. Majority of the poorest countries in the world are found in Africa. This is due to Africa being looted and exploited by the West and corrupt African leaders. Black people living in the diaspora tend to collectively be the poorest group in the countries they live in.  There are 2000+ billionaires in the world. Of this only 13 are black. The wealth disparity between black people and other races is huge. Black people need to become independent, especially black countries. They need to work together, black communities need to practice group economics so we can thrive as a race.

R.I.P Chadwick

I woke up on Saturday morning, checked my instagram and saw that Chadwick Boseman was dead. This shocked me. I didn't want to believe it was true, I was was thinking to myself "how can Chadwick be dead?". I saw that he died of cancer and he was battling with this for 4 years. Cancer really hits home for me, multiple family members of mine and family friends have died from cancer.  I remember a few years ago visiting a family friend at hospital (who had cancer). He was on his deathbed and I couldn't stop crying seeing him in that state. I felt helpless,  a couple days later he was dead.

Another time, a close family member was diagnosed with cancer. I was there when the Doctor diagnosed them. I attended every hospital appointment with them. I was there during their chemotherapy sessions, I was there when they had surgery, I was there when they had to do multiple tests. I saw first hand the effect chemotherapy had on their body. It is the chemo that causes hair loss (from all parts of your body), it causes a loss of appetite, your tastebuds aren't effective, this leads to significant weight loss. It makes you extremely weak. The reason being that chemo kills the bad cells and good cells in your body, as it can not differentiate between the two. Thankfully that family member recovered after some time.

Chadwick was diagnosed with cancer in 2016. That year (at age 26) I found a lump on my body. I was scared and was thinking the worst. I  informed my GP who immediately referred me to the hospital. I was referred to the same cancer department that I had previously attended with my family member that had cancer. I saw the same Doctor who diagnosed my family member. I had multiple hospital appointments, saw multiple Doctors/Consultants, I had to have biopsies and multiple tests. Thankfully in the end it turned out not to be cancer and I had an operation to remove that lump. This was a huge health scare for me (this is why I take my health and fitness so seriously). Last year I mourned the death of my uncle who died from cancer.

Chadwick dying from cancer brought up all these memories for me. I was surprised that he still managed to do multiple films back to back (while playing the lead character) while having cancer. Knowing personally the affect of chemo I didn't understand how he could have physically performed those roles as he would have been extremely weak and in a lot of pain, plus the mental toll it would have had on him, knowing that there is a possibility he may die from it. Despite this he still gave his all. He played the roles of legendary black people, In '42' he played Jackie Robinson, the first black person to play in major league baseball. He played the role of the singer James Brown aka the Godfather of Soul in 'Get on up'. He played "Thurgood Marshall",  the first black supreme Court Justice in the film 'Marshall'. This film showed the early years of Marshall's life as a lawyer, I took an interest in this film as I am a black lawyer myself. Thurgood Marshall won the infamous Brown v Board of Education case which allowed the desegregation of schools across America.

The biggest role that Chadwick played was the first black superhero, T'challa aka Black panther. Two years ago my friend took me to watch the film on the day it was released. I was so excited to see it. You can click here to read my post about it. Chadwick was a great actor and nobody could tell that he was sick. He persevered through his pain. He had every reason and excuse to not film or to not give a good performance, but he didn't. This shows extreme strength, courage and determination. This made me realise that in life if we persevere and are very determined to achieve, we can. We should not allow excuses to stop us from achieving our goals. Chadwick knew he had a greater purpose on earth, he touched the lives of millions of people worldwide. He became a hero and role model to many. People became proud to be black, people became proud to be African, this was a huge cultural shift amongst Africans and those in the diaspora. During his pain he still attended hospitals to see children with cancer, whilst battling it himself.

What did upset me was the livestream he did (where it was evident he had lost considerable weight) talking about donating money to help with the COVID-19 relief efforts, there were idiots who were making fun of him. People can be so negative! That is why I am always kind to people as you never know the battles people are going through behind closed doors. People wonder why he never told anyone, but I don't blame him, I would have probably done the same in his situation. Sometimes you don't want pity or to be constantly reminded about what you are going through.  You don't want to be a victim. When you are around people who don't know what is going on you forget your struggles and it takes your mind off it.

In life we all go through hardships, difficulties and pain, but we shouldn't allow this to stop us from achieving our goals. I believe that we all have a purpose on earth. One day we are going to leave this earth. I would rather die knowing that I have achieved my goals and touched/changed the lives of people, than die without accomplishing anything. Rest in Power Chadwick, you have left a Powerful Legacy here on earth. Thank you for all you have done for us, you are with the ancestors now. Wakanda Forever

My Journey to becoming a Lawyer

My journey began at 16 years old. I had no idea what I wanted to do career wise, and to be honest, Law had never even crossed my mind. In my final year of secondary school I was fortunate to obtain a place at a week long summer school at Cambridge University. This was part of a wider scheme to introduce students from "disadvantaged" backgrounds to University to encourage them to apply in future. In relation to the disadvantaged background,  I was a black female, from a working class background who grew up in a council flat, and attended local state schools. I didn't have any connections and did not personally know any professionals, let alone any lawyers (the first time I met a lawyer I was 19/20). My mother had instilled in me from a very young age the importance of education. As we didn't have much growing up, my mum always emphasised that education was the key to a better life.  Because of this I was very studious and academic, achieving good grades.  My teachers were encouraging and reminded me that I could achieve anything I wanted.

During the summer school, it felt surreal being at one of the worlds top universities. The other students and I stayed on campus for a week and attended  a number of lectures. These were introductory lectures  in a wide range of subjects  including History, English, Science, Law plus many more. In the Law lecture we were introduced to criminal law which I had found extremely interesting, out of all the lectures it was the only one I didn't find boring. This is what sparked my interest in law and I did further research. I did have doubts as to whether someone with my background could be a criminal lawyer as the legal profession is dominated by privately educated upper class white males, which is the complete opposite of who I am. Fast forward I went to sixth form to do my A-Levels in English Literature, Psychology and Sociology and got accepted to do a degree in Law and Criminology at Manchester University.

Minus the social side of university which I enjoyed, I found studying at university quite challenging. There were times I considered dropping out. To be honest I am not a big fan of lectures as I find it really passive and I prefer classrooms where it is more interactive as I learn a lot better. This did affect my grades and for the first time in my life I had to do exam resits (2 in total). I felt like a failure in life as I was always used to getting good grades, I even cried on the phone to my mum about this. However, when I did my resits there were so many other students who were also resitting that I felt less bad lol. Fast forward again, I graduated with honours.

Now being a graduate, reality hit me hard. There is this notion that we are fed that if you work hard and get your qualifications you will automatically get a good job. THE LIES! I learned really quickly that work experience and who you know is  far more important and will get you further. I applied for work experience at multiple firms (the vast majority never got back to me), but luckily a small high street firm in east London specialising in criminal defence offered me a placement for a few months. It was unpaid but the experience I gained was invaluable. After this placement  I experienced a few months of unemployment (I had applied to law school to do my Legal Practice course but this course wasn't starting for another 6/7 months). My mum made me apply for Jobseekers allowance so I could have some income in the meantime while applying for jobs, so I was signing on bi-weekly. I became depressed during this period as I saw some of my peers with their graduate jobs while I was unemployed at home and broke. I never expected to be in this position, however this is a reality for many graduates and we should be be encouraging them and not putting them down, (I had experienced this).

Fast forward I studied the legal practice course (LPC) part time while working part-time in retail. In order to qualify as a solicitor you need to complete a training contract for two years with a  law firm. Obtaining one is very difficult and can take years, some students aren't able to obtain one. I had applied to numerous firms, either I never heard back from them or I got rejection emails. It definitely affected my self confidence. I thought I would never obtain a training contract and was ready to give up, I had even stopped applying to firms for a period of time. I remember one of my colleagues at my retail job had asked me if I had made any recent applications, I told her I hadn't and felt like giving up. She started shouting at me saying that I had made it too far to quit now and I should keep going. I felt like I was being told off but she was right, that was the kick I needed to continue applying. I also came across an organisation called Urban Lawyers which helps black people and ethnic minorities to enter the legal profession. I went to a few of their events and it was good to see many people that looked like me from similar backgrounds who were lawyers or working towards entering the profession. After a year and half of applying I managed to obtain a training contract with a high street firm and became a qualified Solicitor in November 2017. In the UK 21% of solicitors are from a BAME background and of this 15% are Asian and only 3% are black. We need more black lawyers in the profession.

The hardest part of the legal profession is getting your foot in the door. Once it is in, it becomes easier.  I used this this opportunity to network and build relationships with various lawyers. I've had the opportunity to speak to top lawyers who have represented clients in some of the biggest cases in UK history. I've worked on cases dealing with murder, rape, multi-million pound fraud, supplying class A drugs as well as less serious offences. Despite my accomplishments I've always felt self-doubt, that I'm not good enough and don't deserve to be in this space. I later learned that this is called "imposter syndrome" and  that many working class/black professionals experience this.

The lessons this journey has taught me is to always be persistent despite failures (which is inevitable). Despite the difficulties that you may face due to race, gender or class do not use it as an excuse to not achieve in life. Life is what you make of it.  I also learned the importance of black representation, because when you see someone who is similar to you achieving great things it will inspire you to believe that you can also achieve the same. It is important to have supportive people around you who will encourage you and push you to  be great. Do not waste time on negative people. Personally, I like being around people who are ambitious go-getters as  this motivates me to do better. I believe that God and my ancestors have had my back and seen me through this very difficult journey and will continue to see me to greatness.

Will there be a Revolution?

REVOLUTION

Six years ago I wrote a post about Mike Brown. Here we are again, another unarmed black male being killed by a racist Police officer.  2020 has been a crazy year to say the least. We heard about the story about Ahmaud Aubery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and more recently Ryshard Brooks.

There have been many similar deaths for a number of years but the murder of George Floyd literally caused a major worldwide shift. I think it is due to the nature of his death, a police officer putting his knee on George's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, while he was begging for his life. This reminded me of Eric Garner's death, because they both said "I can't Breathe" whilst dying.  

There were hundreds of protests which took place around the world. Protests  took place in every single state in the USA, Canada, all over Europe ( I went to a protest in London), Australia, New Zealand, South America, middle east,  Africa and Asia.  All 54 African leaders united and demanded that the UN have a meeting about racism against black people. This has never happened before in history. People of all races came together to protest the racial injustice in the world.

Almost every company has  issued a statement expressing that they are against racism and support the Black Lives Matter movement (though I do not believe they are all being genuine). Many of these companies are having diversity meetings and training.  Some companies have shared data in regards to the number of black employees they have, including in leadership positions, and have made pledges to increase the number of black employees in leadership roles.

I have seen many other positive actions which have emanated from this shift. I've seen that black businesses are being promoted more and black people are taking part in initiatives to support black businesses (group economics).  For example, here in the UK we have Black pound Day. More black people are unifying (which I love because I believe in Pan-Africanism),  huge amounts of money are being donated to help black organisations. Statues of racists are being pulled down, laws and policies are being enacted, councils are agreeing to defund Police departments in the USA, meetings have  happened in the USA senate, and in the White House regarding police brutality and racism. Some white people are educating themselves about the black experience, and many racist white people are losing their jobs! (goodbye Karen!).

On July 4 2020 I saw a viral video of a 1500 strong, armed Black Militia Group called NFAC (Not

F***ing around Coalition) led by Grandmaster Jay, marching in Stone Mountain, Georgia after threats had been made by the KKK that they were going to kill black people. I loved seeing this imagery of strong brave black men (and women) who  are willing to protect each other by any means necessary. The white supremacists were scared!. These are the images we need to see instead of the usual victim role we are used to seeing. Our ancestors were fighters and always resisted against the oppressors.

George Floyd did not die in vain. His death has sparked a huge increase in the Black Lives Matter movement which is literally changing the world. The discussion of racism is everywhere. I believe that the COVID-19 pandemic, as unfortunate as it is, has helped the shift. As more people are at home due to quarantine they have more time on their hands, and are able to focus more on what is going on in the world as distractions have been removed. 

The world is changing before our very eyes. The system of White supremacy is starting to be dismantled. Many of the young generation  (especially white people) have a different mentality to those of the older generation. This gives me hope. Though I believe things will improve,  I do not believe that  racism is ever going to completely end. The onus should not be on black people to end racism, as racism was  created by white people, therefore only they can end it. I do not believe that black people should be begging racist whites for equality or their validation. I believe that as black people we should demand it! we should not give all our power to Massa but empower ourselves. When a racist white person does something bad to a black person there needs to be consequences. We also need to create our own establishments, our own networks and do things that benefit us instead of everyone else. We can learn from our Asian and Jewish Counterparts who practice this. The global African diaspora need to collectively  focus  on gaining economic power. With  economic power it would become difficult for racist whites to mistreat us. We need to liberate ourselves to power and do for self.