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I went to Parliament today. And it was the 4th of July. I was there representing the Migration Museum with my colleague and friend Mona to help launch planning for the 75th Anniversary of Windrush, which will be next year.

Windrush is a word that references a generation, a movement, a culture, a part of history, a disgusting and proven #HostileEnvironment and a ship. Specifically, it was a ship that brought 800 people from the Caribbean to Britain in 1948. But it is a term that represents over 500,000 people that arrived in Britain at that time to, basically, prop up this country at a time when we needed help. As with most periods of modern history, when White people get in trouble, it is Black and Brown people that bail them out. Windrush is the personification of that, unless you count the whole of Slavery, which made America and Britain seem Great for a while. Oh, I recently learned that the Windrush was originally a Nazi ship. It Whites itself. But, I digress.

So, I went to Parliament. Ain’t no thing. I know loads of people who have been. It’s like saying you’ve been to the capital in DC, or The UN in New York. Or Bushwick. There are ante rooms and chambers that are no where near where the action happens - you know, the bars or the backrooms. . . or the bigger, more well known rooms. And it’s where one is invited when there is something that needs recognising or signifying or celebrating or apologising for. The closest I got before this was across the street at Pourtcoulis House where all the civil servants work, when we celebrated the early work of Jendella Benson and her portraits of young single mothers. This was a kick off to what will be a year of planning, convening dozens of organisations such as the Migration Museum in the effort to network and get to know one another and make connections. We at the Migration Museum see this as an opportunity to add value, be of service, make some space and offer a perspective to the mix. While we do not focus solely on the Windrush Generation, much to the dismay of many people who walk through our doors in the Lewisham Shopping Centre, we do focus on stories from around the world of people who come in and out of Britain, and ultimately make this country what it is today - a mix of people, all of whom have a migration story, whether they want to believe it or not.

So, here we were, Mona and I, in Parliament. After being ushered through security, we joined about a hundred people in a room that fit 75 and heard from MP Dawn Butler, who hosted and the wonderful Patrick Vernon, who had successfully convinced the UK government to establish Windrush Day, just a few years prior. Patrick Vernon seemed to know everyone in the room, except Mona and I. I made sure to say hello and make a lasting impression. He is a Distinguished Friend of the Museum and an inspiration. I met the two men who intend to raise the Windrush from the depths of the ocean and preserve the anchor in the next year. I met the Lionness that is MP Diane Abbott. And I met countless leaders and people from Britain who are close to this fight to bring justice, reparations and support to the generation that arrived in the late 40s and their descendants.

It was truly an honour. And what struck little old me, a funny looking kid from the hills of SeattleDCChattanoogaDenverBrooklynAndLewisham, was that we were here, in the strongest and boldest seat of power in the world, a house that once boosted proudly and unapologetically that the sun never sets on it’s empire, in the midst of the wails of the dying beast that is white male hetero supremacy… We were here on the Fourth of July. Enjoy your BBQ and #DontGetCaptured

The Spark Of Space Activation | Jason Page | TEDxLewisham

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Breath

So much anger at the moment, as my last post exhibited. The death and the misery is exhibiting broken systems that many of us knew existed for a very long time based on what we were told as children outside of the classroom, historical memory and the work of our favourite MCs, comedians, poets, painters and oracles. Even more in enraging is the piecemeal rage about any one individual while we continue to prop up systems designed to oppress us. I mean, seriously, how did we think Boris or Trump would respond when faced with a crisis of this magnitude? Work in the best interest of the most vulnerable? GTFOH. Boris gonna Boris. #trumpisaweapon gonna #Trumpisaweapon. We knew this before we allowed our bereft neighbours and cousins to put them in power, laughing, smirking, hubris all out, slimey on display. So, spare me the misguided rage about these two bamas and their base(s). It’s about capitalism. It’s about ignoring history. It’s about the racist application of the 1st and2nd Amendments. And It’s about working locally to make change. It’s about where we invest our money, energy and talents. About amplifying the voices of the unheard. So, I try and remind myself of what is important; to understand that I have a choice, remain angry or transform that rage into positive action, gratitude, positivity towards loved ones and self care. #Thinkgloballyactlocally #dontgetcaptured and #smashthepatriarchy or not. But don’t expect these bum-ass leaders to fix what they perpetuate.

#dontgetcaptured #trumpisaweapon #thinkgloballyactlocally #smashthepatriarchy

#RIPTy x #JusticeForAhmaudArbery

These two. Completely different pieces of our history from two different corners of the diaspora. But both hitting this week land like a ton of bricks. I came to know Ty’s music organically - haphazardly copping a single, prolly at A-1, Fat Beats or Halcyon, Beat Street or Rock and Soul. I would drop it at the little “DJ” gigs I’d get - Superfine (Whaddup Caralee!) or Grand 275 (whaddup Carmen and Mark!). I just remember his iconic high pitched voice over boom bap beats. Then moving here and becoming more familiar with his work and knowing that he was from South London and the pride that existed midst my growing community and me. It was all very warm and fuzzy. Hearing that he was sick with coronavirus was disheartening and seeing the outcry and love from his community and fans was heartwarming. To learn that he has passed was a shock that we are learning quickly shouldn’t be shocking because of what we are learning about the virus. He was 47. Far too young. Love as well to my friend Eddie who lost his mum this week. He is a gentle giant from Brooklyn. And while I never met his mother I can only imagine the pain he and his family are feeling at this time. Love and light to Eddie. Then there’s learning of the lunching of Ahmaud Arbery, his death being as American as #standyourground and thin,white, male skin. As ingrained in our fundamentals as Emmitt Till and the destruction of the Black body. It disgusts me to be reminded that this is where we are and that there is something inherently wrong with the fabric of our nation when this type of thing happens with regularity This can be prevented. we sit quietly and tamp down the rage, expected to just get over it and seek justice through “proper” channels. I must discuss this w/ honesty and sincerity w/o causing offence that leads to being silenced by our loved ones. Express rage messily w/o being told to obey, calm down. We require a reckoning, a reconciliation, an atonement. This is our history and even though you/we/your cousin, uncle and school teacher weren’t alive then did not create this reality, we have an opportunity and tools to fix it. #RIPTy #justiceforahmaudarbery #dontgetcaptured #letsgetfree

Thankful for the Safety Net... and that AR-15s are illegal

Fewer than 1 in 5 Britons want to reopen. Britons love a rule. Nothing more comforting to a British person than being told where to stand or when to clap. But the thing that sticks out most in my mind is how this compares with the United States. Right now, there are people storming state capitols there, armed with state and federally sanctioned automatic weapons. It must be acknowledged, out of respect to the countless Black Americans who have been gunned down for less that all of these protestors are white. I suppose the takeaway is that I am thankful for the safety net here and the general sentiment that it must be preserved at all costs.

When you unpack it, you really begin to see how the safety net in the UK vs the lack of one in the US colour people’s comfort and anxiety - namely the furlough benefit and the National Health Service (NHS).

I have been lucky enough to have been furloughed. In this time of state accelerated uncertainty and death my colleagues and I and our employer benefit from the safety net of government policy. It gives us piece ofmind and settles the angst the pandemic brings. In addition to these benefits, Britain has the NHS which, despite the current government’s efforts to defund it over the last decade, continues to be a national service to all citizens, the roots of which made up by the roots of humanity and civility - ensure that everyone can live their lives in peace and health.

These two pillars alone set us apart from the (newer and more messier) experiment that is the United States, where millions of people have struggled through the clunky online system to sign up for unemployment in the last month and a half, or/and suffer because they can’t get health insurance. Not to mention the millions that traditionally have held on to jobs, relationships and other conditions just to preserve their health insurance. This is no way to live.

When I hear, on a recent podcast, the firsthand account of a small business owner in Michigan who disagrees with the state enforced measures because he is responsible for his employees and believes lifting restrictions will save other small businesses, I empathise. Sorta. He voted for Trump, so my empathy only lasts so long. But I empathise with his concerns for his 100+ employees. Similarly, when I project down the road and imagine how tough it will be for people who have been laid off and currently unemployed to get re-hired, I feel sick to my stomach. And I feel thankful to be living in a society with the bones of a safety net, no matter how hard the current government has worked to dismantle it. But clapping won’t do it. And we mustn’t rely upon geriatric war heroes to to safe the safety net. It must be acknowledged how the current government bungled this, lost site of what is important by focusing on taking us out the the European Union and falsely cling to a nostalgia that no longer exists.

#safetynet NHS MAGA austerity REMAIN dontgetcaptured

All the Rage in the Face of Covid-19

It’s not productive to be angry. Having a child makes this rage that much more of an obstacle. Destructive, even. Yet, it is there - swelling inside with each headline, meme and snarky Facebook post. I remind myself: #trumpisaweapon and #dontgetcaptured.

Jokes abound, as does the all-of-a-sudden rage to remove our leaders from office. But I’m tired of the jokes. And I’m bored with the memes and Monday morning quarterbacking. It’s exhausting, holding my breath in the face of outright racist, sexist and classist behaviour and vitriol. It makes me want to scream.

Sometimes the rage is overwhelming. We knew this (or something like it) would happen. We elect and appoint smart people to look after us and inform us what’s coming. And there are systems in place to catch the most vulnerable in times of crisis. Except, white, male, supremacy. In which case, we end up being forced to suppress that rage. This was preventable had we just taken racism, sexism and classism seriously. We left politics to the political class and kept it moving. Trump, Brexit. And now, here we are.

What is most enraging is that poor people and people of colour will take the brunt, suffer more, die in higher numbers. Women will die at the hands of domestic violence more than before. And the vulnerable will fall deeper between the cracks. And I don’t see that reflected in the remedy. I don’t see compassion from the political class. I don’t see solutions from the billionaires and the CEOs, many of whom are selling stocks, posting on social media, doing sing-alongs and making money off the crisis - carrying on as if their fate is the same as those groups mentioned above. This is as American as apple pie, lynching, cotton and Jim Crow. We know better.

Adding insult to fuckery, huge swaths of Americans don’t think our history matters or those groups most affected matter. That all lives don’t in fact matter. That they are persecuted. And that our leadership coax that fire as their last resort to stay alive. Sure, most of the world knows that our current president is an insane, racist, narcissistic sexual predator. We knew this since the 80s. Yet, here we are. It’s insulting that there are people who profess to know and love me that also pledge allegiance to this man and the government he leads. And that insult will cause even more people of colour and poor people to die. It’s hard not to wish the worse upon them. To disregard them as unAmerican. To conclude that racism and classism are the sole causes of this pandemic. Both American and British leaders dropped the ball. And here we are.

This is a rich, white man-made crisis. It comes from capitalism. It was there waiting. And the signs were there. The question now is, what do we do about it and those who refuse to acknowledge how we got here. Acknowledging the history is just as important as making moves forward. Besides, I hear that American stimulus check will just about cover the cost of a homemade guillotine. I remind everyone what we’ve known since before 2016: #trumpisaweapon and #dontgetcaptured.

South East Salon 04 // Monday, 24 February, 2020 Gaff_Deptford Nourishment by Souldeliciouz Artwork by Baserbillion Art Supported by SHAPES Lewisham and the Lewisham Creative Enterprise Zone Photography by Theodorah Ndlovu

#SouthEastSalon Deptford SE8 Lewisham Gaff Souldeliciouz Baserbillion SHAPESLewisham jwhpage

“Please try to remember that what they believe, as well as what they do and cause you to endure does not testify to your inferiority but to their inhumanity”

- JAMES BALDWIN

Happy Belated Birthday, Star

#jamesbaldwin #trumpisaweapon

There have been two mass shootings by white male supremacists in as many days bringing the total of mass shootings (regardless of the ethnicity and gender of the shooter) in the United States to 251 this year.

Over the last two days I had the privilege to visit the Legacy Museum and Memorial, part of the Equal Justice Initiative, championed by Bryan Stevenson.

I can’t calculate the weight of the juxtaposition of these two things - the experiencing of this place and the impact of this violence. But I can, with fatigue and anger, make the correlation between America’s original design of violence against Black people, the effects and sequels of the International Slave Trade, Jim Crow, Mass Incarceration and the perceived race war that is being perpetuated and stoked by the far right and Republican Party, especially embodied in the current president.

To say I saw his presidency as an inevitability is a boring understatement. Understatement because it was as clear as day in 2015 to me that #TrumpIsAWeapon and boring because of the shock and awe that people across the world are expressing with each act of violence committed by white men today.

With furrowed brow and chewing on solutions, staggering between communities and wading between hemispheres, I believe that the answers are in a concept I am developing in my mind, Atonement Tourism.

I believe true change will come when we decide to be honest with ourselves, our friends and families and our social media audiences about these correlations and the need for atonement. I also believe that atonement tourism will address many topics that are weakly discussed in the media today, such as gun control, dying small town USA, the removal of statues dedicated to racist ideology, reparations and healing social wounds and fractures between communities.

Tell the children the truth. Commit to divesting from people, corporations and entities that have benefited from hatred of Black people, the legacy of slavery and the persecution of marginalised people and communicate directly with friends and family members we know for a fact hold racist and violent views towards the other.

This is no accident. And to pretend that it is is an insult to those who have died at the hands of white male terrorists.

#atonementtourism #trumpisaweapon #EqualJusticeInitiative #Montgomery #ElPaso #Dayton #EndWhiteMaleSupremacy #DontGetCaptured