Black community needs hand up not a hand out

This comment article is written by Roger Griffith, chair of Ujima Radio in St Paul’s

What better time to begin bringing a different perspective here on the new Bristol24/7 than during Black History Month, in a city that is thriving and vibrant in arts, culture and music. 

Bristol’s black community gave Britain the catalyst of the anti-discrimination laws that began with the 1963 Bristol Bus Boycott, led by Paul Stephenson and campaigned for in parliament by then Bristol MP Tony Benn. 

In music and culture this is reflected with the creation of the Bristol Sound honed on the streets of St Paul’s from the Jamaican and Caribbean sound systems and night clubs that influenced bands like Massive Attack and Portishead. Bristol’s second favourite son Banksy (after Cary Grant, who also celebrates a festival in the city this month), also drew his influences from black culture – from American graffiti now known as street art which emerged from hip-hop culture. 

Indeed, growing up in Bristol in the turbulent 1980s as a Rude Boy with Mod friends and fighting with skinheads, one thing that did unite us was a ska or reggae beat that began in Jamaica via the beat of an African drum.

Black History Month gives many of us of black origin a chance to seek, tell, explore, find, show, hear, see and find out more about our heritage, which for a variety of reasons we may not have discovered at school or even at home. Importantly it gives those who are interested in our heritage an opportunity to explore, and we are more than willing to share our rich history. 

I know of no event that brings the different races, from different communities, together over a month-long period. This is why I was disappointed that there is no physical brochure to promote the event and champion equality not for the region but for our global audiences. 

This is the very least I would expect in return for their taxes from the authorities, and Bristol City Council in a city that with a 16% black, Asian and minority ethnic population (BAME) and with nearly a third of school-aged children of BAME heritage.   

Try explaining to the Jamaican Deputy High-Commissioner on her visit to Bristol last week of the great range of events during Black History Month via an iPhone with only an online version available instead of handing her a hard copy as a memento which she can hand to her colleagues in London and beyond. 

Nevertheless, the artists and creatives from the community and their supporters have continued to stage events on their own, begging, borrowing or finding help from somewhere. Those that require a ‘Return of Investment’ while secretly believing they are just giving a hand out need only to travel to Stokes Croft day or night and see the hundreds of tourists, revellers and Bristolians admiring the art, music, food and drink establishments contributing to Bristol’s night-time economy. 

For the old-timers in the area, black or white, they see this area as part of St Paul’s and didn’t have a say in the rebranding of Stokes Croft – let alone tasted any of its new-found fame.

Today we welcome new cultures to the ‘City of Sanctuary’ awarded to Bristol in 2011. We welcome those without a voice to contribute to our ever-expanding tapestry of cultural and artistic expression. For me there is no better way to value and include someone than by asking them to tell their own story. 

I reflected on this as I attended one of the events during Black History Month; Jamaica Rising run by a proud Scotsman of Pakistani heritage, Asif Khan. Judging by the reaction of the mixed audiences they were greatly enjoying some of the Caribbean’s and Africa’s finest art, film-making, literature, dance, music and dealing with challenging issues such as homophobia to powerful and amusing readings from the Poet Laureate of Jamaica, Mervyn Morris.   

We at Ujima Radio, our sister station Bristol Community FM (BCFM) and others are planning to work with a number of cultural and creative organisations in the region to begin to reflect the mass of talent in the city from unheard voices and seemingly invisible postcodes. 

We will be banging a familiar drum and calling for action and initiatives from those in the city with the power to create change in the media, arts and creative industries and hoping it will spur others into action in other sectors. 

We want to see better representation that reflects modern Britain and a diverse Bristol. For those well-meaning words to turn into jobs, opportunities and action. I know this tune has been played many times before but this time among certain individuals and companies I sense a real desire to change. There is no better time to start and no better city to begin. A hand-up not a hand-out is what is required. Not too much to ask is it Bristol?

Roger Griffith is Chair of Ujima Radio CIC and author of a new book From the Windrush to the White House, due out on Silverwood Books in January 2015. Catch his show as The G-Man on Ujima Radio, every Monday 4-7pm.