Marcia Kia Simpson-James.
Last night (Friday 2 July 2010) I watched a Film 'Babylon' which brought back some interesting memories.
In the light of Deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg's, and his politically 'gay' husband, David Cameron's pronouncements promoting their Freedom, and Equality Bills, I was struck by how very little has changed for Black people in the UK.
I hadn't seen 'Babylon' for decades. The fashion, and the speech brought back memories of me wearing tight hobble skirts, 'waffle' cardigans, and medium kitten heels. The Black is beautiful lick was strong, and the new generational schisms were fast developing into what would later become chasms in the Black community.
Things were sweet! At least with the brothers and sister out there a street. Although I was not a girl for the dances, I would always receive a report about the latest dance from the 'bad girls' on Monday morning at school.
Those of us considered good girls, would listen intently as the others regaled the experiences of either meeting some good-looking man "inna dance", who could "rub down good". The man was considered an even greater dancer if he could "rub out the pleats" out of a young womans skirt. This was no childs play as if we were playing on the bombsite.This was big man and woman business - a strictly Black man and woman affair.
Brixton's Abeng, was off limits to people like me. It was a mysterious place where only the badest, rudest, coarsest, young man and women went. I was warned off the place, by the woman who gave birth to me. She claimed to be a convicted Christian.
However, unbeknown to me, she hated rasta, and bowed to the white man. She became a 'Lay-Visitor', an "worked with the police". I was living with a stranger, but had many of my friends from the estate, informing me that they loved me, but they hated my mother.
I was told time and time again, that she was "a police informer". This information was too much for me to bear, since, this was the time, of SUS, where the police euphemistically "stopped and searched" young Black men, like clockwork, under the pretence that a "burglary had happened around the corner" or tell Black men wearing the popular sheep-skin coats, that "the mugger was wearing the same sheep-skin as yours".
The character Beefy, in 'Babylon' would fitted that particular racial profile.
The influential Rasta man, was the biggest target for the state and the police. Mr Rasta, taught the Black community about their "roots and culture", how we were the "original man pan earth", "everyting come from Black people", "Jesus is Black", and that white man stole us (Descendants of Slaves) and subjected us to "400 years" of abject suffering and pain.
In England, we were living a the bibilical "Babylon" and modern day Sodom an Gormorrah. A state of sickening corruption, and slackness, controlled from the "belly of the beast" by evil people, who did not give a shit about "The Community".
The only solution to our suffering and pain, was to "return to the motherland...Africa". Although I was "christianised", I rejected the corrupted white man's 'christianity' from the age of 7 years-old. I refused to go to any Black 'churches' and condemned those who allowed their children to be brain-washed and programmed by 'the system'.
I had plenty of older cousins, and relatives leaving Britain, to "go back to Africa". I was told how, 'Jamaicans' had gone to Africa and taught them politics, so that they were able to negotiate their 'independence' from the white man. I later had confirmation of these facts, from the children and grand children, of the leaders of these new independent country.
The rasta was seen as a hero to the younger Black community, and as a potenial menace, by the older, more colonial types. Those of us born in England, did not believe that we had to bow and scrap like these colonial types. We were Englishmen and women, who could drop the patois, as well as the 'apples and pears' when necessary.
We saw no conflict with loving to eat our white and yellow yam and green banana, okra (yes man!),
saltfish, coco, chocho, Jamaican avocados (considered an 'unknow' exotic 'fruit' in the 70s and 80's), Plantain, scotch bonnet pepper, pumpkin soup, so on and so forth with eating fish and chips or shepards pie.
We went to school with white children. They went to school with us. No big deal. Yes there were fight, disputes, etc, but if there was a sports events, we unified.
This was also the time, where Cherie Groce, was shot just two hunderd yards away from where I lived at the time. we were neighbours. Police harassment of Black men was so bad, that people ended up losing their jobs, ( and hence their living), due to police. The would be harassed on the way to work, on the way back from work, at the weekends, at night, in the morning, you name the time of day, harassment, intimidation, threats, and attacks came in day and night.
Black men, were being "disappeared", "forcibly detained", "tortured" and "summarily executed" by the police. These racist police were aided and abetted, by many old Black people, who saw all Black people in a negative light. There was also a broader class of Blacks, and Asians (usually shop-keepers), who operated as "grasses and supergrasses".
The so-called 'eyes and ears' of the police. All were paid in some way, shape or form. Thieir ambition was to be allowed to sit around the table with 'Mr Charlie' and his wife.
Black and white started to become outraged at the high levels of racism Black people were being subjected to in Britain. This eventually led to the Brixton riots. I was there.
'Babylon', though good, as a film, could not show the full extent of the abuse. More and more Black men, were being arbitrary attacks on the streets by the police. Black men, would literally have their balls kicked from under them, in the back of the police "meat wagon". There are Black men to this day, who can not have children because, they were in effect sterilised by these roaming 'gangs' of policemen.
Apart from receiving the political 'word' from our Rasta priests and priestesses, we received 'the word' from and through our music.
Reggae music was hot and strong in those days. Tunes with lyrics about "battering down sentence...fighting against conviction", "burn down Babylon", "Mama Africa", "Beautiful African Girl", "Black man", etc were all the rage. Those were the days. many a Black child was conceived to that music!
Even homosexuals wanted part of the Black action. They began to 'set' for young Black men, in places like Soho, and gang rape their unsuspecting Black victim. This is originally how so-called "mugging" came about. Older homosexual paedophiles, used to go around duping innocent young, sometimes desperately skint Black boys and attack them in a park, and 'gangbang' the Black youth. This was considered 'shameful' in the Black community, and required revenge.
So, the original 'rape' and 'mugging' victims, were Black young men and women.
But, that was then and now is now. The new form of harassment works through the same police force, but now it has now developed into a "multi-agency" creature.
The police work with the council, who work with the social workers , who work with the local GP's, who works with the MP, who works with the local councillors, who work with the local hospital who work with the librarians, etc to destroy English-born Black people.
The sinister Project Coast, (A global, genocidal, large-scale medical experiment on Black people) is alive and kicking in modern Britain. This experiment is one mama that is backed by the likes of the European Union and UN. They (esp. the UN) have always happened to 'turn the other way', where this UK-based genocide is concerned, but now they are actively promoting the defamation of the whole Black community.
In the days of the film, 'Babylon', we defended ALL Black people (in fact all peoples) against oppression, and human rights abuses i.e. we fought against Apartheid. Now we find out that these fools, were jealous of our political activies. Jealous!
They deal with tribalism, we deal with humanity. That says it all. I'm not interested in Nick Clegg and 'call-me-Dave' discussing 'freedom and equality', why, because these old-timers are still on the tired, immature, racist lick of 'tribal-divisison. The day they grow up, and start approaching things from a humanistic perspective, maybe then I spend time listening to these two time-wasters.
Outside of that, they shouldn't bother looking out for me, because, they still have me living and Babylon!
The Soundman was especially hated
