Darker Shade

Within the work that I do with young offenders, I often come across lost and confused black youths. This is the legacy that we, the 80s child, has left behind. In an effort to rebel against what was then, a very racist British society we lost sight of our goals, perhaps because we had little guidance (we were born with little sense of our own identity, black culture made to conform to white society).

The confusion that we felt was passed on to our children and in turn they now seem lost. (I'm generalizing, as the young people that I work with represent only a small minority of the ethnic youth, despite what the media may have us believe).

I have always been a fan of Ken Boothe's 'Is It Because I'm Black?' from the 'Let's Get It On' LP, but was unfamiliar with the original Sly Johnson version until about 15years ago when I happened upon a compilation LP whilst cratedigging in a shop in Camden.

Listening to it the other day, made me wonder, can we still use racism as a reason for the position that we as a people are in today? I have my own views on the subject but thought that I would pose the question by writing the following poem. It comes in two parts, the first addresses the adversities that we as a black nation have had to overcome and the second part looks at the legacy of being black in Britain (or indeed any western society). How much of our predicament have we created ourselves?

I have posted three versions of 'Is It Because I'm Black' in the Back In The Day music section below, including the two mentioned above and an interpretation from Sly Johnson's daughter Syleena. I have always admired Ms. Johnson and there could be no fitting tribute to her father than to cover this track. She stays true to the original whilst still making it sound fresh and when you listen you'll realise why she is known as Syleena 'The Voice' Johnson. It's a song that lyrically captured the mood of the time and was very relevant to me whilst growing up in East London. Is it still relevant today? Some would argue that like Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On', it's just as relevant now as when it was written. What do you think?

Hope you enjoy the poem and of course please offer your opinion on the subject.
BA


The dark brown shades of my skin
Only add colour to my tears
Three white brothers on the corner
Only adds to our fears
Yet the only difference between us
Is our position on this Earth
Your destiny you see
Was decided even before your birth
To be born and raised
As a brown child
Determines our status
Fate was also sealed
By where God placed us
We didn’t choose our social position
We didn’t choose to be black
We didn’t choose to be slaves
But we chose to fight back

Through the message of the drum
Human railroads formed a path
To freedom so they thought
But then came the aftermath
Liberation wasn’t something
That we gained overnight
Buffalo soldiers
Tuskegee
We had to die we had to fight
Then came the 60s and civil rights
And we would not be here today
If not for those who paved the way
Still
Something’s holding me back
Is it because I’m black?
Perhaps

You see
Things have changed
We shared the winter in America
And Gil Scott Heron’s revolution may not have been televised
But we saw it with our own eyes
And had revolutions of our own
Brixton, Tottenham, Toxteth
Our oppressors heard our voices
And responded through screeching tyres
Of the Black Mariah’s
They gave us carnival
At first as a novelty
So they could see
The monkeys swing in the trees
Then as a way to keep us all in one place
So we couldn’t spread out
And disrupt their Bank Holiday

And all this time while we laughed at Love Thy Neighbour
The Real McCoy and danced the soul train
The education system stayed racist
Still watching Kunta Kinte eased the pain
Put fire in our veins
But then leaving school
No jobs could be found
That paid us a wage for which we
Could be proud

So we made our mistakes
Baby girls had baby girls
Boys joined the penal system
Our only true liberation
Was at the blues dance
Shocking out to the sound systems
With the words of Enoch Powell
Ringing in our ears
We faced the BNP head on
But never faced them with any fear
And so we earned our position
Pulled ourselves up from nothing
Paid our dues
Became something
Nurtured our children
Not to make mistakes like we
And so got them a babysitter
By the name of MTV

Looking back over my false dreams
Wondering why my dreams never came true
Not wanting the same for our kids
As we went through
Their life chances are better
The ghettos are few
Even though we know the system
Hasn’t changed that much
Affirmative action
Has kept the ball in touch
So now things should be for the better
But what’s going on
Too much skunk in their belly
Idleness is strong in this one
Obi Wan

Get rich or die trying
Is the moral of the youth
They live without faith and hope
And steer away from the truth
Shank him
All because he looked at me funny
Twelve year old youth
Gets stabbed in an alley
Still the future looks better
Barack is the new lick wood
Bringing hope to us all
At least we believe he should

But the cleanup must first
Come from within
The problem is now
So where do we begin
We were murdered and raped
And enslaved and for what
In the 21st century it should have all stopped
But we’re still not free
We’re still not free
Will we ever be free
Only if you
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our minds
The problem is we don’t know
Who holds the key
And complain we don’t have the time

Education unemployment and incarceration
Are still prevalent throughout
All dark skinned nations
Teenage pregnancy homelessness
Will it ever end
If you’re a non white
Not for you my friend
So we sit and debate
The state of our people
And suggest through conversing
How to deal with it all
But before we consider
Who’s to blame
And ways to clean up our act
Ask yourself this question
And see what comes back

If something is holding me back
Is it because I’m black?
Perhaps