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Pillars of Change Deepening Crisis Cyber-Action for Social Change
Thomas L Blair "Provocative, intelligent and impassioned, Pillars of Change is a survival guide for Black scholars as alienated youth force the pace of urban change. Based on the Black experience in Afro-Europe, the analysis and solutions will be welcomed in all parts of the Black World." Overview Thomas L Blair says they forced leading Black elites and scholars to recognise the need to draw strength from urban youth cultures and to promote Afro-European Studies to educators and policymakers. Furthermore, they should use the tools of the Information Age to digitise Black History and link the African Digital Diaspora in cyberspace. This, he says, will help shape the identity and power of coming generations and lay the foundations for greater understanding among people in multicultural democracies.
Table of Contents: Elements of Change: Immigration and its effects; Distress; Attitudes towards Blacks are less welcoming; The historic present; Inevitable results of change "We're Black and Proud": The scholars story; Youth's story; The social change story; What then is the role of the Black intellectual?; Thoughts on an ending Urbanism and Poetics: Youth's urban cultures challenge Black poetics; Respect for youth and all who labour; Towards African European Studies; Digitising the African Diaspora; Homage to Mme Y C Diop – Mother Africa in Europe : Fundamental source of ideas; Niam n'goura; The mes of solidarity; "I must go on" What Can We Do? - Resources and Further Reading - Notes on the author – Acknowledgements Pillars of Change is a lucidly written account of the conflicted yet inter-linked destinies of Black youth and intellectuals in often hostile western societies. It was forged in the great halls of the Sorbonne and UNESCO in Paris 2007 on the occasion of the 50 th anniversary celebrations of the 1 st International Congress of Black Writers and Artists in 1956. The celebrants were led by renowned personalities of liberal inspiration: Mme Yandé Christiane Diop, director of Présence Africaine and the grand dame of African culture and literary expression, Wole Soyinka, writer and Nobel laureate, and Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Director, W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, Harvard University . Biographical Note Thomas L Blair is a sociologist and editor and publisher of the Chronicleworld http:// www.chronicleworld.org , the Internet magazine on the Black experience in Britain and Afro-Europe. His website CyberAction for Social Change http://www. thom blair.org.uk showcases his work on urbanisation and racial integration in world cities. Both have been honoured by The British Library for inclusion in the first national archive of web sites on communities and cultures. Edition Blair is a new imprint aimed at general and academic readers, and launched in the UK in mid-2007. Our publications will help readers "make use of the past to keep up with the present and future trends". All rights reserved Copyright © Edition Blair May 2007
Your participation is welcome Back to top | Back to Home page | So, what's your view Pillars of Change -- Readers offerWanted: Your Views Registrants should be concerned with and/or working in or behalf of African peoples and African Caribbean Diaspora communities. Why your views count Your participation is welcome Back to top | Back to Home page | So, what's your view Deepening crisisThe "Browning of Britain" - New start needed for race equalityAs summer segues into autumn Prime Minister Gordon Brown bristles with intent, but can he deliver a Covenant with Black Britain? It's sophisticated and trendy in politics and the media to claim we live in “a new country in the making” and "open to diversity". Indeed, we're told, the barriers to equality are quietly receding. The new Prime minister's pledge to 'change' Britain and "tap the pools of talent", is one example of these sentiments. But, in this era of change in government leadership, my Afro-barometer tells me that for all the talk of "pioneering for social justice", Mr Brown will have to demolish the colour bars that stretch into every area of life, domestic and foreign policy. This is no random thought or personal view. Let's face it the interests and the rights of Black Britons have been under attack for a long time. Without an effective counterforce the assault can only grow more oppressive. A recent survey by the Voice , the 25-year-old Black newspaper, supports this view. "Almost the entirety of Black Britain (9 out of ten) agrees that racism remains an issue," said the Voice . Moreover, "seven out of 10 Black persons in the UK believe that racism has either remained the same or worsened over the past three to four years" – a period when Mr Tony Blair's New Labour Government, of which Mr Brown was the Chancellor, promised to confront the problem. Though it would be churlish to deny individual achievements over the years, in politics, business, sports, fashion and music, the Voice reports that in all essentials of life "racism is alive and well". What does this mean in real terms? It means talents wasted in poor schooling, hard-knock neighbourhoods and low paid jobs. It means skills never developed and legions of Black youth in care, prisons or on the mean streets of London and big cities. Left adrift, Black youth face difficult lives and are often destined for tragic fates. Even aspiring, law abiding, job-hungry Blacks are so marginal and insignificant they do not appear on the positive side of the social ledger. What's more the biggest issues facing Black communities -- such as chronic unemployment, poor housing and racial discrimination -- don't register a blip on the radar of mainstream, corporate and political elites. To counter this dire prospect, Britain needs concrete strategies that will lay to rest all fears of continuing Black disadvantage. It's time for a "solutions summit" drawing on the best ideas of independent Black Advocates. Prof Gus John calls for schools that open the minds of youth and parents to the brighter possibilities of the future. "We need collective action to hold those whom we elect to account, whatever their colour. Sentimental and sycophantic celebration of the fact that we now have Black barons and baronesses of the realm gets us absolutely nowhere". Black Advocate, Dr Vince Hines, with the intuitive rigour that characterises his community work, says: "Strategies should be based on the successes and good practices of surviving black and ethnic minority self-help groups with over thirty years of experiences working at the grassroots". "I believe that successful community development in Britain is in the nation's interest. Better trained and well-motivated citizens, whatever their ethnicities, ward off damaging world competitions in trade and commerce, and contribute to the wealth of the nation. It is a simple equation: 'Racism is bad for the Nation. Equal Opportunity is good". Twenty-year veteran of national politics Diane Abbott MP, who began her parliamentary career in 1987 with the Black and ethnic minority advocates Bernie Grant, Paul Boateng and Keith Vaz, is an essential link to civil libertarian principles. " We were not selected because of our good looks and charisma, at random or as an act of patronage by our leadership. We were selected on the back of a feeling in society that had arisen because of the riots in London , Bristol and Liverpool in the early 1980s that it was high time that, towards the end of the 20th century, this House of Commons started to look like the people of Britain . If the case for representation was important 20 years ago, it is, if anything, more important today". Simon Wooley, founder of Operation Black Vote, heads a nationally acclaimed organisation which actively fights against the "Black democratic deficit in the UK ". He calls for a "crisis race summit to serve notice on the Government". So, what should Mr Brown do to meet this challenge? (One thing for sure, people are sick and tired of the same old shill game. No more flying visits to the ghettos. End the candy floss sound bites and media shoots with compliant Black children; sweet but insubstantial.) Empowering historically deprived Black communities to reach their full potential is the most serious economic and civil rights challenge we face today. Solutions must be sought as part and parcel of all timeless egalitarian principles and effective urban policies. The "Browning of Britain" is a great challenge. Is this too daunting a task for the man who as the most powerful Chancellor in modern history transformed the Treasury into a formidable policy-making machine?
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