Tagged “racism”

At the height of my playing career, David Baddiel wore blackface and put a pineapple on his head to mock me on national television every Friday night. While the chants have remained ever present, and David’s name has become synonymous with mine, it’s taken 25 years for us to finally meet face-to-face. In this episode, I talk with David about the impact his racist sketches had on me, my family and the wider community, and why allyship needs to become a bigger part of football.

While watching David Baddiel's excellent Jews Don't Count documentary on Channel Four I was intrigued by the section in which he spoke to Jason Lee, leading me to seek out this podcast episode.

In the nineties at the height of “lads’ culture”, Baddiel and Frank Skinner essentially bullied and abused footballer Lee, mocking his appearance in particular.

This conversation, difficult as it sounded, is fascinating. It throws up so many moral ambiguities, such as whether or not Baddiel is a fit person to publicly campaign against racism, and related questions around acceptance, rehabilitation and moving on.

It also made me question my own prejudices and behaviours, past and present.

Most of all I was impressed by Jason Lee. His past treatment has meant that he and his family have had a lot to endure, but he speaks with such dignity, positivity and resolve.

One of several fantastic films from Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) described as “Love letters to black resilience and triumph in London's West Indian community. Vivid stories of hard-won victories in the face of racism.”

This one tells the story of Leroy Logan, a young black man who joins the police in an attempt to effect change “from the inside” as a consequence of seeing his father assaulted by police officers. He is faced with both his father’s disapproval and institutional racism within the police ranks.

A brilliant and powerful film which left its mark on me.

The others in the series – especially Education, Lovers Rock (don’t miss if you love reggae) and Mangrove are also highly recommended. Wonderful soundtracks, too.

via @mrtomchurchill

I’ve just read Rise by Gina Miller.

In 2016 Miller took the UK government to court for attempting to force through Article 50—the mechanism for starting Brexit—which would have lead to the nation leaving the EU without parliamentary consent.

Its title a reference to the Maya Angelou poem Still I Rise, the book is partly the author’s story of how she has been shaped by the successes and failures in her life, and partly a personal manifesto stating that every person can stand up and make a positive difference, even in the face of adversity.

Miller begins with her fight, in the aftermath of the Brexit vote and the “festering wounds” it exposed, to ensure that the UK’s democratic process and constitution be upheld. She traces her background as a child born in Guayana, a British colony at the time. As the daughter of a self-made man who became the country’s attorney general, she and her family saw Great Britain as the promised land, “a culture where the rule of law was observed and decency was embedded in the national fabric.” Since moving to the UK, forging a successful career and speaking up for her beliefs, that notion of justice and decency has come under scrutiny as she has been met with racist and sexual prejudice and abuse from all walks of society.

The author goes on to describe some of the specific challenges she has faced in her life including vicious hate mail, attacks by the press, being in an abusive marriage, and raising a daughter with special needs. In the end however, as a successful businesswoman with a happy family, hers is a story of strength and survival and a message of hope.

As a man, at times I felt that the book—which often returned to themes of female empowerment—perhaps wasn’t intended for me. Then on other occasions I felt that it was as important (if not more important) for me and other men as for anyone else to absorb these stories of sexist bullying, discrimination and abuse told from the female perspective.

Other core messages of the book were universal: finding your voice, speaking up when it is important to do so, overcoming adversity, and demonstrating tolerance in a divided society.

This was a book I picked up on a whim as a departure from my usual reading subjects, and I’m glad I did.