Wednesday, 29 June 2011

Welsh female rugby star - MBE or member of gang?

I was thinking, if someone asked, what does cane row mean to me, what would I say?

It's a style absent from my head for much of life, because my mother, second youngest of twelve, had little chance to learn and practise before she came to England.  And there was no one in Sussex who was going to do it for her.

It's a style absent from my daughter's hair because I am clumsy-fingered and never learnt from my mother.

It's little - often white - girls coming back from a beach holiday with their hair pulled back tight.

It's Bo Derek and the look of weariness on my mother's face when suddenly braids could be fashionable.

It's Gina Yashere's joke about the above.

It's Nia Imara, at the Black Fatherhood event last October talking about how his young daughter cane rows his hair - a sign of care and tenderness.

It's black parents dreading their small children rolling in the sand pit because that style took time and sand and hair grease are long-term stubborn companions when they get to meet.

I know I'm wading in a bit late with the cane row/corn row debate, but my incredulity thermometer is still frothing at the top.  When I give talks or deliver training, I always stress the importance of  practitioners from different backgrounds talking to each other and understanding each other, gaining confidence in the words thay need to use and the different world views they can consider, hopefully bolstering up their confidence to talk with the children and parents that come through their doors.

Because surely - wouldn't one quick chat with a black member of staff (or friend?) disarm any notion of cane row being associated primarily with gangs? 

While researching the names on the Queen's Birthday Honours list, I came across this picture of Non Evans, the all-round star sportswoman who received an MBE.


She has an impressive bio, competing internationally in rugby union, judo, weightlifting and freestyle wrestling.  I have no idea of her ethnic heritage, but cane row definitely seems to indicate success.  I'm hoping she collects her gong with her hair like this.

Tuesday, 28 June 2011

Who got the gongs?

Instant caveat - this isn't fully conclusive.  If I checked every name, my sanity, if not my Google finger would give way.  But here's a pretty good selection, certainly good enough to challenge any of the misinformed who peddle the belief that immigrants and their families contribute little to society.  I've added links to more info when I could find it.

Who got the gongs?
Let’s start health.  Mark Davies, Director of Health Inequalities Partnership at the Department of Health has been awarded a CBE.  He was last spotted by this writer at the inaugural Afiya Awards celebrating black and other minority ethnic leadership in health and social care.  Beverley de Gale, who, along with Orin has worked so hard to educate our communities about the importance of bone marrow donation, has an OBE. Beverley accepted an award for Fundraiser of the Year at the Afiya Awards. Dr. Biku Ghosh, is recognised for the Southern Ethiopia Gwent Health Link, a partnership between health professionals in South Wales and healthcare workers in Southern Ethiopia. Jamaican-born former nurse and community activist in Bristol, Princess Campbell has an MBE – she was the first black ward sister working in mental health in Bristol. And one for community activist Kamaljit Kaur of the The Asian Health Agency and The Asian Women’s Network, for services to Asian women.
Over to education. Meena Modi, head teacher of Chater Infant School, is awarded an OBE.  The school, in Watford, was graded ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. 

According to Ofsted,  ‘children's attainment on entry is well below the expected level for their age. Most pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds and four fifths speak English as an additional language, with an extremely high proportion at very early stages of learning the language. The proportion of pupils who arrive at the school at times other than the start of the school year is high and many of these are also at very early stages of learning English. A significant proportion of the teachers are new to the school this year and some are at the start of their teaching career.’

The staff, children and families must have put in considerable work for the school to be awarded ‘outstanding’.  Impressive.

 An OBE also to Allison Chin, head teacher of the consistently outstanding Swinnow primary school in Leeds and to Hawa Bibi Laher, head teacher of Spring Grove school in Kirklees,  who in an interview recounted the impact of being educated of Indian heritage in segregated South Africa.

At the other end of the learning rainbow, Professor Nirmala Rao, (OBE), is Pro-Director (Learning and Teaching) at SOAS. The gong is for scholarship. As a timely reminder that there is some diversity among Oxbridge professors, Professor Yasir Suleiman, professor of modern Arabic studies at Kings College, Cambridge, has a CBE for scholarship. 
Bipinchandra Dharamshi Patel, vice-chair of governors, Working Men's College, (women allowed) London, will gain a MBE for services to Adult and Further Education and Gerry Davis, Chair of the Corporation of the College of North West London has an OBE.
Working to support families and children, Debbie Ariyo has an OBE for her longstanding work with Afruca and Asif Iqbal, media and project manager of Deaf Parenting UK has an MBE.  From the young to the older, Ramesh Kumari Verma, chief executive of EKTA has been recognised for services to older people in East London, while Hector Pinkney, a long time community activist known as ‘Mr Handsworth’ has also received recognition.  Somali-born Hashim Duale, who tells a harrowing tale of fleeing from his home country, has an MBE for improving links between the Somali community and service providers in Leicester.  Sohail Nawaz, director of Shahbash, has been given an MBE for services to community cohesion in Preston. Shahbash was set up in 2003 to help Muslim youngsters in deprived areas.   Maha Ridha is recognised for support to Muslim women and Regina Waldman for charitable services in Leeds.
Now for those promoting community equality, safety and harmony. Dr. Marcus Solanki, also of Leicester – doing well, the Midlands, aren’t they? – is gonged for services to the community.  He is a mental health clinician and assistant secretary of Leicester Council of Faiths among other community-focussed work.  2007 Leicestershire Woman of the Community, Mrs. Saroj Bala Seth has an MBE for community cohesion and Kathryn Morrison, also of Leicester is rewarded for interfaith work.   Not Leicester, but not far away in Northampton, Jyotsna Arun Kotnis has been honoured for services to community relations in Northamptonshire. 
The awards for interfaith promotion -  Dr Edward Kessler, Director of the Woolf Institute of Abrahamic Faiths,  Dr. Kanwaljit Kaur-Singh (OBE), the Chair of the British Sikh Education Council,  Mona Siddiqui (OBE) who set up the Centre for the Study of Islam at Glasgow University. Devinder Kalhan, is an alumnee of the now-not-called IDEA’s Social Care Futures programme  for ‘black, Asian and minority ethnic managers across the health, education and social care sectors who are delivering services for children, families and adults’.  He was also chair of the Wolverhampton Interfaith Council for 6 years and his gong is for promoting interfaith relations.
Feizal Hajat, head of the Community Safety Legal Team in Birmingham, has an OBE, while Nazir Butt of Waltham Forest has an MBE for services to community safety.   (Mr. Butt cuts an occasionally controversial figure.)  Kuldip Rupra is Chair of MENTER, the East of England Black and Minority Ethnic Network, with a vision to eradicate racism and inequity.  Journalist Winsome-Grace Cornish has been rewarded with an MBE, recognising her work as previous editor of The Voice and at Operation Black Vote.  Ainsley Forbes, a property developer and previous Assistant Director of Social Services, now at London and Quadrant Housing Association, has the MBE gong for services to social housing.  Birmingham resident Jennifer Johnson’s trip to see the Queen is for her commitment to preventing youth homelessness.  Parvinder Singh Lalli, of Gravesend has worked in Dartford job centre for more than six years while developing community initiatives.
A touch of business.  Beverley Lindsay (OBE for business and to the community in Birmingham) set up her own travel agency and is company secretary of Black Business in Birmingham.  Rajinder Mann executive director of the Black Leadership Initiative is recognised for services to black and minority ethnic people in the West Midlands.  Nasser Siabi is Chief Exec. of Microlink, ‘the UK's largest independent supplier of assistive technology’.  Namita Panjabi, who co-founded the popular Masala World group of Indian restaurants, is honoured for services to the hospitality industry.   Mayank B. Patel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Azibo Group, is honoured for services to the financial services industry and to entrepreneurship.  The Azibo Group are foreign exchange specialists.
Over to arts, we have Mia Morris, for services to black heritage and the South London community and Mr. Augustine (Pepe) Francis, Chair of the British Association of Steelbands and Director of the Ebony Steelband Trust, MBE-ed for services to pan.  Twin sisters Amrit Singh and Rabindra Singh are honoured for services to the Indian miniature tradition of painting.  Their story of resisting the presumption of the superiority of Western art is a satisfying read.  Chief Charles Coblah Cheata Thompson, filmmaker and founder of the Screen Awards has an MBE for services to the black film industry.
On the political front, former Mayor Councillor Liaquit Ali, of Waltham Forest has an MBE for services to local government. The picture of a slightly self-conscious Cllr Ali being kissed by a former Miss Black Britain did make me smile. To stop London tipping to the north, Councillor Dora Dixon-Fyle is equally awarded in Southwark.  (Cllr. Dixon-Fyle is also listed on the Internet Movie Database.  There is absolutely no reason why I should be taken aback as many councillors have had rich and fulfilling lives prior to politics.  But I was taken aback.) Cherron Inko-Tariah is a senior policy adviser for the Department of Communities and Local Government, currently developing Big Society Policy.   She is also trying to lose weight for charity.   
And now to sport.  (Should I have included this in the paragraph about music?)  St. Kitts-born, Bury-living Denzil Hart is recognised for his services to grassroots football.  He set up a local sports club offering free sports training to children.  Former ABA flyweight champion, current trainer and boxing commentator, Duke Mckenzie has an MBE as does Sheffield Legend and heptathlete, Jessica Ennis and bright-of-hair, fleet-of-foot, quick-of-Twitter triple jumper Phillips Idowu.  
Azhar Hussain, is founder and CEO of eGrandPrix, the organisation behind TTXGP, the world's first sanctioned zero carbon, clean emission motorcycle race.  According to the website, ‘TTXGP, the eGrandPrix is an international race series providing a high profile platform for the development of electric vehicles’.  Just in case you were wondering.  The multi-talented John Ameachi has an OBE for services to sport and the voluntary sector. Written like that, it seems a rather limited accolade for a man who has bust any number of stereotypes about black sportsmen.
And congratulations to Squadron leader Kevin Mehmet 1485 (Dulwich) Air Cadets, a serving officer for more than 25 years.
Finally, a MBE for the wonderful Bert Williams from my home town of Brighton for being so central to placing Black History on the agenda in East Sussex.  I just wish I knew of him when I was growing up.

Thursday, 23 June 2011

Slaves, sailors and scholars

I'm just listening to Hardeep Singh Kohli being interviewed by Robert Elms on his BBC Radio London show.  Kohli is talking about the paintings over 300 hundred years old that show how 'immigrants' have shaped London - from the Irish builders and the Chinese man going about his business in 18th Century Covent Garden to the the long lost portrait of an African scholar who escaped from enslavement.

The blurb says -

Hardeep Singh Kohli goes behind the scenes at some of London's museums and galleries to find the hidden paintings of the sailors, slaves and scholars who shaped the city. Through the art, Hardeep discovers how the Thames became the entry point for thousands of foreigners in the 18th and 19th centuries, and how they established vibrant docklands communities. He explores how Irish migrants fleeing the potato famine helped build the city we know today but paid a heavy price for moving here, and discovers the portrait that inspired the slavery-abolition movement and helped change the course of history.

Sunday, 26 June.  Late.

Wednesday, 22 June 2011

What about our boys?

Last Saturday, 18 June, I was a keynote speaker at a conference for Montessori early years workers.  My remit was to speak about black parents and children, stressing the importance of ongoing dialogue between carers and workers.  I argued that many black parents - and workers - may have slightly differing perspectives on the world shaped by their own experiences and the reactions to their ethnic identity. 

I also highlighted the survey carried out by our Black Voices Network that revealed how isolated many black workers feel in dealing with racism and discrimination.

The speaker that followed me, Gary Wilson, was passionate about improving educational outcomes for boys.  He gave many examples of how boys are disdvantaged in the educational system through the slow drip of negative stereotyping.

Gary Wilson's talk was witty, informative and heart-felt.  (Though, if I had the chance, I would have liked to challenge the point that girls' t-shirts constantly promote positive messages.  'Future WAG'?  'Shopaholic'?  Primark under-10, spring/summer season, 2010.)

There was much similarity in what we had to say, but one thing struck me afterwards - we rarely encoached on each other's territories.  When I mentioned gender, I spoke about girls.  When Mr. Wilson talked ethnicity, it was generally 'white working class boys'.

It reminded me about how easily it is to retreat into our comfort zones.  Next time, I will make sure I talk boys too.

Monday, 20 June 2011

What are the barriers to challenging racism in schools? FREE events

Show Racism the Red Card and the NUT are launching findings from their research on the barriers to promoting effective anti-racist practice in schools on 4 July 2011 in London.  For details of the event, as well as a FREE teacher training event in Reading the following day - sorry, can't resist the capitals for FREE - please see http://www.theredcard.org/news/forthcoming-events

It will be interesting to see if anything new can be said.

A grant, events and a scholarship

One of the joys of putting together the bulletin in my old job, was finding out what was going on in the worls.  Sadly, I don't have access to the bog, deep pool of info I enjoyed previously, but I'm still on a few lists.  So, for starters...

Black Women’s Health and Wellbeing in the UK – Resistance, Resilience and Renewal
A FREE conference on Wednesday June 29th 2011, 10.00am – 4.30pm (to include lunch), organised by The Open University Health Promotion and Public Health Research Group and Black Researchers Group.  The conference is being held in London.
The morning will be chaired by Professor Ann Phoenix (Institute of Education, London University)in the morning and Professor Cecille Wright (Nottingham Trent University) in the afternoon.  Presentations include:-
Jenny Douglas (Open University) – ‘The politics of black women’s health in the UK-intersections of ‘race’, class and gender in policy, practice and research.
Dr Dawn Edge(Manchester University) – 'Why are thou cast down, o my soul' – Black women, depression and spirituality.
Naomi Watson (Open University) – ‘ We never saw her on Christmas morning for …17 years….’  Exploring the impact of shift work, night duty and unsocial hours in the NHS on the family life of African Caribbean women nurses and the implications for childrearing and their children’s career choices.
Ann Mitchell  (Open University) – ‘'Assessing the contribution of participatory action research ‘Myth or Reality’: a research study of Guyanese women living in the UK with Type 11 Diabetes.
 Dr Vivienne Connell–Hall (Goldsmith’s College) Work/Life Balance and Pressures:  Perspectives from African Caribbean Women.
Dr Bertha Ochieng (Bradford University) Black women’s beliefs on health and healthy lifestyles.
Dr Nancy Greer Williams (University of Arkansas) Health Disparities: African-Caribbean Women and the Intersection of Culture, Class and Race.
Jacqueline Walker (author of ‘ Pilgrim State’) 'Writing the experience of resistance and Resilience’.
To book a place contact Katherine Perry k.d.perry@open.ac.uk
For further information contact Jenny Douglas j.douglas@open.ac.uk or Naomi Watson n.a.watson@open.ac.uk
 REAP (Refugees in Effective and Active Partnership) is holding a conference on ‘Becoming British: refugees, citizenship and experiences of integration’.
The conference is on Wednesday 29 June 2011 in London W5. The conference fee is £45 for statutory organisations, £10 for voluntary organisations, £5 for REAP members and £3 for unwaged participants.
REAP believes that whatever we are is what ‘British’ is. A fundamentally important part of what ‘British’ is, is giving refuge to those in need, and fighting to protect that right. REAP knows that people who have sought refuge in the UK are often generous and valuable contributors to communities and British society as a whole.
Becoming ‘British’ – both as an identity and a nationality – seems to increase the likelihood that refugees become effective citizens, actively engaged in policy and British democratic institutions. REAP believes that citizenship comes with duties and that it is time all British people – born here or arriving for refuge or other reasons - take back the ‘Britishness’ agenda from the far right.
People who have suffered from destructive discrimination and aggression in their countries of origin come to Britain to find refuge and the chance to become a valued and valuable part of a more secure, more equal or just different society. Their struggles - first for leave to remain in Britain, and then for British nationality - are important elements of a far longer-term process of building new relationships, knowledge and identities as they rebuild their lives in Britain. Those struggles and experiences play a large part in whether or how far people feel they can or have ‘become British’.
What does ‘British’ mean anyway?
Robert Owen  Bishop Research Scholarship in History
Christ's College is offering a one-year Research Scholarship in History, designed to support scholars at an early stage of their research career. The Scholarship may be used to support a year of pre-Ph.D. independent study, either before or after an M.Phil. Degree in History. Previous Scholars have used the Scholarship for learning a language or mastering an adjacent scholarly field. The Scholarship is also available to provide partial support to candidates for M.Phil. Degrees in the Faculty of History at Cambridge.
The Scholarship is open to graduates of any university. They must have received their first degree by October 2011 and not have graduated earlier than May 2010. Holders of the Scholarship must become members of Christ's College. The Scholarship is currently worth £10,000. It may also pay up to £1,000 as a supplementary allowance for research expenses.  
An application form and further details may be downloaded below or obtained from the Fellow's secretary, Christ's College, Cambridge, CB2 3BU (agb43@cam.ac.uk). Completed application forms should be returned to the same address by 1 July 2011.
Journalism training for young adults (18 – 30)
The Catch 22 Academy is open to all potential and existing Catch 22 contributors who lack experience in journalism. Simply put, it provides a ‘learning by doing’ experience for young adults .
Special Grants Fund to support Commonwealth Theme 2011
The Commonwealth Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of a Special Grants Fund of £100,000 for Civil Society Organisations and Commonwealth Associations to undertake strategic and innovative projects that will promote the Commonwealth theme for 2011, ‘Women as Agents of Change’.
Grant applications for up to £20,000 are invited from registered CSOs and Commonwealth Associations across the Commonwealth from 26th May-1st July to undertake projects lasting between three to six months which meet at least two of the following criteria:
> Foster collaboration and learning between women’s organisations in more than one Commonwealth country
> Involve collaboration with national women’s machineries (NWMs) and governments in promoting women and girls’ social, economic and political empowerment
> Showcase the achievements of women in addressing social, economic and political change at national or regional levels
> Projects which will have an impact on women at a regional level
> Bring together women from different geographical, social and ethnic background to promote national and regional priorities
 Priority will be given to applications which address one or more of the following areas:
> Capacity enhancement for Women’s organisations in policy development and implementation
> Implementation of the Commonwealth Gender Plan of Action (PoA)
> Women’s leadership and participation in democratic governance
> Social protection and girls’ development
> Opportunities for rural women and girls
> Women’s social, economic and human rights
Coming soon-

Who got the Queen's gongs?

Does the Black middle class get it better?

Popular culture and stereotyping

Thursday, 16 June 2011

"Brown Bottom?"

If a child asks us why people are different colours, what do we say?

If one child makes another derogatory comment about another's nose, hair, skin tone, how do we deal with it?

Meryl Shepherd, early years lecturer, Persona Dolls tutor and most importantly of all - in my eyes - Black Voices Steering Group member, addressed that very issue at the Una Conference in Amsterdam, in May.  Meryl has kindly allowed me to publish her presentation here.



Some of the Una Conference Black Voices Network team.  Clockwise from top left, Meryl, Mary, Jane, Haki and me.

Before I start my presentation I would like to bring a real child into our discussions…

I want you to imagine four year old Kelly who is of Korean descent. That means I want you think about her very light brown skin, her straight, black hair and the shape of her eyes.  I was working in a nursery with another group of children and Kelly came up to me and said, ‘Meryl, I white you brown why’? I started to answer her by stating that I was born in a hot country but the way she was looking my body up and down showed me that she was also asking another question entirely.  She was in fact asking me – Meryl, where does the brown stop?

Kelly made me aware that my answer was incorrect as many people have dark skins that were not born in hot countries. I rolled up my jumper’s sleeves and said to her,’ yes Kelly, I’m brown here too’. She continued looking me up and down, clearly questioning me with her eyes so I rolled my trouser leg up and said, ‘yes Kelly, I’m brown here too’. She continued looking me up and down so I showed her my back, my neck and my stomach. Kelly then looked at me and said ‘Meryl’; I looked back at her saying ‘yes Kelly’ and she asked, ‘bottom brown’?

How can practitioners support very young in their developing understanding about the similarities and the differences that make us all the unique individuals that we are?


One practical way is to use the Persona doll approach, which has been tried and tested. This offers a practical way to support practitioners to discuss and air their questions and thoughts that relate to our racial differences. The Persona Doll approach focuses on all inequalities to challenge discrimination in a safe, non-threatening way.

Persona dolls are different to the other dolls that children use in nursery settings. They are the practitioner’s dolls and they come to ‘visit’ settings. They do not have their own voice, but through the practitioner they tell stories or ask challenging questions that allow the children to answer or comment upon.

The dolls are culturally appropriate and can be male or female. They are used to help young children to empathise with others and to consider how it might feel if something negative and or hurtful was said to them or happened to them. They can be used to redress imbalances that the children may have heard around them without highlighting people who may have made negative comments in the past. As these people could be parents or close family members this is an important point because practitioners do not want to appear to blame parents. 

Persona dolls are introduced to the children as unique individuals around the same age as the children. They have families, homes, pets, strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes just like the children they are being introduced to. In this way they offer young children the chance to say, ‘I do that’, ‘I have a brother too’ or ‘my nanny visited me on an aeroplane as well’. This shows children that though we may look different to each other on the outside, on the inside we share many experiences.

Listening to the dolls’ story unfold, the children are able to comment or to elaborate on whatever they have just heard the doll or another group member say. The practitioner’s role is to facilitate the discussions that unfold. Seldom is it necessary to ‘correct’ a child’s view or suggestion as other children in the group, through open discussions are heard to say, ‘but that’s not true because’ or ‘yes they can if they want too’ or ‘that makes me sad when people say that’. Being offered this opportunity to ‘hear the children thinking’ is indeed a privilege that early years practitioners experience on a daily basis.

Using Persona dolls, all kinds of topics that may otherwise been seen as contentious can be discussed, as the focus is not on the children but on a doll. Perry’s mixed heritage for example could be introduced to the children as his mother and father originate from different parts of the world which results in them being different colours and Perry being a third colour. To learn more about Perry though you will have to come to our symposium later on today!

Well - you've missed the conference, but for more details of Perry and Persona Dolls, see http://www.persona-doll-training.org/ukhome.html

Patrice

White/brown/girl/boy and Nancy Dell'Olio

The resistance to the the idea that children notice and judge skin colour from an early age can be astonishingly strong. 

Why? 

Do we still argue that children don't absorb gender stereotypes young?  If a young child asked, 'I'm a girl, you're a boy, why?' would we pretend that the differences they see are in their imagination?  (Not a conversation to have in a supermarket.)

It would be a hard to convince a child that gender differences don't matter bearing in mind the whole marketing industry focussed on those differences.

After all, the otherwise magical toystore Hamleys, in London's Regent Street, still promotes a 'girls floor' and a 'boys floor', in migraine-inducing pink and Superman blue, respectively.  Little imagination's needed to work out what toys are where. If only they could be subversive and put the nail bar in the 'boys floor'.  (Against gender stereotyping? See Pink Stinks.)  It's also just as well I'm a feminist, because a black Barbie isn't really happening there either.  Though, should my sanity run away, I could have purchased a Bratz doll - many skin colours, European features - where my daugher could learn the essential life skills of tidy nail polish and flattering mascara.

The significance of skin shade and colour, the hierarchies and prejudices, are likewise always evident.  I'll be writing about popular culture in the future, but for now, did anyone else read the rather jaw-dropping interview with Nancy Dell'Olio, in last Sunday's 'Sunday Times Magazine'?  The word 'spoof' came to mind. 

'Since I was a little child... people have always looked at me, and not just because I'm beautiful; it's something else inside me.  I know I'm fascinating.  But I prefer the word charisma to beauty...'  As my daughter says - 'Oh, my!' 

I came to (no, I didn't faint from laughing) :- 'I'm privileged to have good skin.  It's not olive, you know, it's rose and very delicate'.

Later Nancy talks about her great intelligence and kindness.  Sadly, self awareness doesn't seem to be among her many self-advertised attributes.  The notion that light skin is better is especially tiresome and damaging to children who have to suffer the impact of historical prejudices that many adults feel unable to challenge or indeed, may actively promote.  (Seen the advert for skin lightening for Asian skins on the back of London buses?)

It is about time that we adults, parents and practitioners, black and white, draw a line.  Just as Pink Stinks so rightly challenges the limitations that toy companies want to place on girls' and boys' imaginations and expectations, we should be doing the same about skin colour. No child should believe they have greater value in our society, because their skin is deigned 'light' or 'dark'.  As a mother, writer and activist, I will not accept that. 

Will you?