This month’s topic for you to ponder is the impact of gun crime. After the recent spate of shootings of young men in their prime, Iesha Slater gives her opinion of gun crime and asks why black people are still dying at the hands of ignorance.

March 2007

TOPIC:Behind the shots

Comment by: Iesha Slater

The abolition of slavery is finally getting some mainstream coverage. Two hundred years have passed since the Abolition of Slavery Act was introduced, but who really knows or cares about 2007 commemorating the anniversary of the abolition of slavery?

I ask this question because if more people were attuned to their heritage they wouldn’t be shooting their brothers and sisters! Gun crime is all over the media, but the causes aren’t.

No-one likes to feel unimportant or down trodden, but this is something black people have to live with on a daily basis, whether they like it or not. I believe that gun crime is influenced by the ongoing negativity, which includes institutionalised racism and racism that is dismissed and left to go around like a bullet in one’s mind.

‘Black on black’ gun crime has a great connection to the lack of heritage embodied by the black role models within the mainstream. One only needs to look back at the arrival of black immigrants from the Windrush in1948. Where were the guns then? And whose hands are they in now?

If real black role models, real heroes and real black professionals like Oladuh Equiano, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Dame Jocelyn Barrow, Jacqui Harper and Benjamin Zephaniah were highlighted in schools, people would not be so lost.

Could the ongoing issue of reparation be a key factor in unleashing and solving the increasing numbers of ‘black on black’ gun crime? Barbara Makeda Blake Hannah, a Jamaican reparation activist, made a courageous point in 2004 when she approached the issue of reimbursement for slavery: nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Also Linda Cowell from The Voice cited Dr Robert Beckford, the man who fronted Channel 4’s ‘The Empire Pays Back’ in August 2005, and then went on to explain that the German government had apologised for slavery and paid a settlement of $5 million dollars to African-American students.

We need to look at a few of the outstanding black historians that have contributed to British culture and history in a big way such as Ignatius Sancho and Mary Seacole. Let’s not forget the great work that local Hackney communities are doing to prevent gun crime, as well as the support and much-needed evidence Operation Trident offers to counter ‘black on black’ crime.

An interesting spin would be if a young person caught up in gun crime could respond to this piece in writing, giving their stance by using their voice and taking a step forward to actively advance the next generations. However the reality is that black roles models are not included in the school curriculum. This fact alone highlights the unimportance of the black race in British education. It encourages negativity, which filters through in many different ways including gun crime, a lack of identity and severe mental health issues.

People in the community are talking about encouraging black culture in mainstream education, but the question I want answered is why has it taken so long to address the matter? Have the black community been an experiment? And if we are going to address the matter of black culture in mainstream schools we need to ask, who is writing for whom?

The other day I came across five teenage mixed-heritage girls calling each other ‘niggers’ and ‘coloured’. Surely this reflects their insecurity and the affect of the slave mentality and modern slave programming where essential historical facts are hidden from the younger generation. There is a significant need to incorporate a clearer picture of black heritage in education.

Come on British government - what are you waiting for? The 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery is here and black lives are still being lost, this time through gun crime. We have done ‘the nothing’, so let’s try ‘the ventured’. The aim must be to prevent gun crime as quite frankly enough damage has already been done to previous generations.

Iesha Slater
Hackney resident and voluntary community arts & culture development director

Responses

From: Jay

I think that it is broader than just gun crime, but is about crime and violence across the board and how young people are becoming desensitised to this. Games consoles, TV, MTV Base, even adverts give the impression that life is free and easy and there is nothing to encourage them to be responsible or to be nurturing. Iesha Slater’s piece showed why history is important as well as black people needing to take responsibility for their own. We need to wake up!

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From: K.D.

Tony Blair talked rubbish when he said it gun crime and stabbings are a ‘black’ problem. It gives a bad impression, like black people and families are too scared to help and aren’t trying. Like I said rubbish! He acts like black people aren’t victims. The focus is just on young people as criminals. Are the police their job? Are the teachers? Is society? I don’t think so. It’s all about blame. That isn’t helping.

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