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SEAL OF APPROVAL: The Obama victory has become a source of black pride

Barack Obama has proved the ‘impossible’ is achievable. But if we want the same in Britain we’ve got to get our act together argues Patrick Vernon.

It has been a fantastic four weeks since Barack Obama’s election as the first US President of African descent. He has energised our self belief and confidence in our humanity. Yes we can achieve despite the challenges that we face at a personal and international level.

Now the search is on for a UK Obama and the lessons for our own political campaigning. What does it require us to achieve a similar success here! Where do we start? How do we get there?

The current political selection of candidates is more geared, according to Government Minister Hazel Blears, to ‘managerial politicians’, the people who live in the Westminster Village, as researchers, political advisers, in the media or think tanks. That’s why Harriet Harman is supporting a Speaker’s Conference to review how representative and accessibility in the British Parliament.

There is mass under representation of black MPs, Councillors and MEPs. Wealth and income inequality is also increasing with a large black underclass and emerging black middle class. This means that if you live on a council estate in Hackney, Manchester or Balsall Heath your life chances, let alone getting into premier politics, is as remote as was it in the days of Winston Churchill.

We had to wait until 1987 for Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng, Bernie Grant and Keith Vaz to be elected as MPs. It took 70 years for Diane Abbott to become the first black woman MP from the time women first got the right to vote and be candidates for Parliamentary elections in 1918. It took a further 40 years for Paul Boateng to be the first Cabinet government Minister and Baroness Valerie Amos to be the first black person to be the Leader of the House of Lords. In 2008 Dawn Butler became the first black woman MP to be a government Minister and Whip. And yet only 8 years for Jennette Arnold to become Chair of the Greater London Assembly.

Young people under 25 can see that it is a realistic proposition that we can have our own Black Prime Minster in their life time. In Hackney and elsewhere I meet young people who can relate to Obama and the history of the American civil rights movement. That is not surprising. For some reason American civil rights history is in our national curriculum but our own history of black struggle and fighting the “colour bar’ has been generally omitted. The history of the Windrush Generation is relegated to events which take place every ten years.

However, black activists and politicians are more wary of this optimism. Having a black Prime Minister could be potentially unlikely as a black Manager for the English Football Team, Director of Royal Opera House, Director General of the BBC, Doctor Who, James Bond or M!!

More cautious perceptions are based on personal experiences of racism and sexism in selection processes of political parties and the lack of power sharing at all levels of decision making even where diversity and the black contribution to political debate and leadership are valued.

The real lesson from the Obama victory is a sense of collective hope at grass root and in coalition politics. These were the catalyst for the emergence and development of the Windrush Generation and the rights and privileges that we take for granted today.

The Windrush Generation legacy is now under threat as we have not preserved and created the narratives and the lessons for young people today. Our generation have not done enough to pass on this legacy of political and community campaigning from the 1950s to the 1980s. The Windrush Generation must equally take their share of the responsibility as they still hold on to their power, status and knowledge. They have not briefed us or shared and given us the leadership opportunities. Perhaps they didn’t have the confidence, mutual respect or dialogue to pass on the baton, sometimes until their deathbeds, so that their children could feel empowered. Inter generational learning is necessary as is creating sustainable political agendas for all generations.

This means that people of my generation, the babies of the Windrush Generation, the ‘rare groove’ ‘lovers rock’ nation, the first ones from their families that went to university or worked though the ranks of the voluntary sector, local government, civil service, NHS, and corporate life in Britain, need to raise our game to create the environment and networks to facilitate the leadership for the next generation.

The 100 Great Black Briton Campaigns that I created in 2003 and the recent 100 Power list from Michael Eboda the ex Editor of New Nation highlight our historical and current achievements but also demonstrates that we still have a long way to go. For our population size compared with the USA, we should be proud of our achievement with our 2 million of African and Caribbean Diasporas compared to the 40 million of African Americans.

In the next 20 to 30 years time we could have a leader of a main political party and a Black British Prime Minister.

It seems likely that the first Black Prime Minster will be a woman. Women are more political savvy than the brothers. They have a good grasp of the political dimensions and structures of party politics and they have developed a good informal buddying and support network. The public are now used to black women taking on high profile political roles(Jennette Arnold AM, Baroness Amos and Baroness Scotland),and a black woman could create the coalition of different interest groups for political change that Barack Obama has done in America.

In Britain we are still finding our voice and a leadership style. Obama has laid down a gauntlet for us in Britain. Let us seize the opportunity and create our own agenda for change, maximising the learning from the Windrush Generation before they all disappear.

* Patrick Vernon is a Labour Councillor in Hackney, east London. He is also

founder of Every Generation Media and creator of 100 Great Black Britons,

Producer and co Director A Charmed Life film about the life of Jamaican Airmen Eddie Noble and the legacy of the Windrush Generation. Further details www.everygeneration.co.uk

Published: 09 December 2008
Issue: 1350

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