Bonnie Greer and Kwame Kwei-Armah wax lyrical on black Britain in the NS

Our friends at the New Statesman have published two important and excellent pieces on black culture this month.

The first article sees the popular commentator, Bonnie Greer, taking a more nuanced approach to issues of role models and leaders in the black community. Greer says:
“Following the recent visit of Jesse Jackson to the UK, the Guardian lamented that black Britain had not, as yet, created a similar leader of equivalent power and influence. I congratulate black Britain on its failure to achieve this. Here, the ‘Big Man’ model of a Jackson or a Farrakhan cannot be the answer. ‘No Leader’ would be more particular to this country.”

She goes on to point out the important differences between the African American and British black experiences:
“Black America is largely monolithic and our roots tend to be Southern Baptist and rural. We have roughly the same accent as a result of segregation and its consequent restriction of movement.….Black Britain, on the other hand, is international. It is urban. It has no rural history in this country. Within the living experience and memory of all black Britons are other countries, other cultures.”

And according to Greer, we need to promote more positive views of the continent from where Britain’s black people descend:
“I will forever be grateful to my parents and teachers for presenting to me an Africa that was other than the land of spear-waving, screaming crazies depicted by the media when I was a child. Besides the Darfurs, the Sierra Leones and Zimbabwes, we need more good news about Africa. Because it does exist.”

The second article, sees outspoken actor, playwright and (like Greer) Newsnight Review regular, Kwame Kwei-Armah, addressing the exodus of Britain’s black actors to the U.S., the problems they encounter in building careers in the U.K and the solutions. He talks about the difficulties he experiences sourcing black actors for his plays:
“When I write a Caribbean character aged over 55 into one of my plays – as I did recently for Statement of Regret, which opens at the National Theatre in November – there is a maximum of four actors from among whom the director and I can choose. All the others have dropped out of the game because there was no work for them.”

Kwei-Armah suggests we look at who the hottest talents are and create projects for them that give a sense of career progression, as one of the solutions. He also points to up and coming talents, Michael Obiora, Angel Coulby, Javone Prince and Ashley Walters, as ones to watch.