THE FAILURE OF BLACK LEADERSHIP IS AT THE ROOT OF BLACK UNDERACHIEVEMENT

Obvious, I hear you say. But that is at the heart of the matter. Black failure is taken for granted, as if its a given. So when another leader -often self appointed, or elevated by outsiders- fails, we just shrug, sigh and blame whitey. Of course, don't get me wrong, whitey is often to blame - after so many years, he still is a powerful presence in our lives, shaping destines and reaping benefits. But maybe it's time some of us took another look - more careful, alienated even - at who we really are ( as diasporean africans), and survey the confusing, contradictory, blend of seemingly disparate communities that want to call itself Black Britain. We ought to do this to unpick what it is that we really want from each other - as separate communities of Africans - before we can decide how we want to be lead and advocated politically.

Few of us would disagree that we are not happy with how we are represented politically, nor how we are performing across all sectors of the economy. We look over our shoulders at out Asian neighbours, or the myth of Asian success (so much larger than the actual shining success story) and cannot help but feel the heavy, panicky pangs of envy. Then we look again at ourselves and rage impotently at whitey, instead of turning inwards - at the family and its support structures- and demanding of ourselves, and each other, a fresh approach to how we deal with each other and how we work with the state.