THE EMMA PAST IS BLACK BRITAINS FUTURE!
My roots in Black History Month stems from my South London cultural roots whilst growing up as a teenager, the openness of Black culture through its art via music and love of new ideas, drove me to improve myself no more than watching Chinese’s Kung Fu films at the Brixton cinema during the late night shows every Friday evening. Yes I had Black friends, and I was the only Asian amongst them, they took me on board due to my character not just because of my race, no more than when I visited Blue’s sounds throughout South London and found the token white person with a similar characteristic.
We were the generation of the cold war, creative artistic expression through our music and fashion, and family loyalties that went beyond the present gang culture - we made the most of what we had and appreciated it. The veterans of the Second World War were still many in numbers and the notion that another war was around the corner kept us together fighting for freedom and one’s growing culture. Yes Britain gave the world from these humble roots a global culture from recognising Bob Marley’s artistic genius to cultivating Soul 11 Soul. We had arrived as a notion of British-ness regardless of your race, creed or colour, maybe just an urban phenomenon, but a global one non-the-less we rocked the U.S as much as the U.S rocked the U.K. That is why I am proud of this Nation, because we didn’t only win the war but we won the peace also, the Polish migrates who enjoy our economic and culture where once our sworn enemies as part of the Soviet Union alliance. The irony is that, whilst our soldiers now fight the Taleban in Afghanistan it was these same Taleban fighters who fought the Soviet Union in the 1980’s and defeated them, this lead to the end of the cold war and a great party on the Berlin Wall. Yes Germany became united, Europe became bigger and Eastern Europeans became richer but sadly, Black culture was never recognised.
Yes something went wrong, it wasn’t that we British fighting for freedom through out growing Black culture, would not fight or die for democracy, it was that the politicians didn’t grasp peace with both hands. The politics of divide and rule still continued, further marginalising Black culture to ZOO stories that reflected any Ethnic Minority group to a day, event or historical past. This is why Black History month is so important, it reminds us of the present, the past and prepares us for the future. Black is not just race but Black is a cultural phenomenon, from its musical roots, fashionable sense and creative political struggle for freedom and equality. Many great leaders have come and gone, whilst the present decide to re-brand themselves, around a political group but Barak Obama has a philosophy of non-tribalism or political dogma. It was sad to see that he against all the odds promoted an idea like Dr Martin Luther King or even John F Kennedy, that still sounds strange to us in the 21st Century, have we still not learnt anything from any major wars.
The struggle for Diversity is a struggle for Equality, nothing less or more than White history itself, so organisations like EMMA Media that promote and fight for equality should be supported and promoted for their characteristic not just for their economic value. Each UK establishment that has benefitted from the ending of the cold war should give something back to what makes Britain so great. It’s the culture that unites this country through expression of Equality hence I started the EMMA Awards in 1997. Sadly, many racists element felt threatened by a united culture regardless of race, creed or religion hence the divide and rule politics by trying to undermine any organisation trying to do some good against a world becoming so bad through clear greed.
During a economic down turn, it’s the Diverse few who suffer against the tribal groups who protect their own, undermining the foundation of British culture that will lead to even more economic instability in the U.K and globally. We at EMMA (Ethnic Multicultural Media Academy) believe that to succeed in an even more competitive global economy we must use all the TALENT available, hence DIVERSITY. Diversity of people, backgrounds, ideas, perspectives, talents and experiences makes good business sense. Diversity is not just a nice thing to do. It is morally right and also commercially sensible. It is essential to profitability. Diversity is the ability to recognise, accept, understand, connect and respond to different cultures in which we work. It involves learning and respecting. It means selecting, developing and promoting the best people regardless of race, religion, any national origin, colour, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability. Diversity perfectly allows any organisation/business to relate better to its customers or constituency. The EMMA Awards celebrated these facts, as an apolitical and a-religious organisation, away from the commercial markets or agendas.
We all live to build and die for our legacy, regardless of race, creed or religion no more or any less than the Great Europeans, South Asians, South East Asians or African leaders have done so in the past. Especially, when you consider the great cross roads of the Middle East where cultures collide and many great religions have transpired to promote peace and harmony. I still believe we have as Humanitarians more in common than not, but this is over looked by tribal groups around the world promoting their majority against their minorities. At least Black History Month puts Black in the Union Jack!
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