Selección de los componentes oleosos y tensio-

On some occasions when stories about African Caribbean peopleboth within and beyond the UK, appear in the mainstream media, I feel the need to advance a different perspective on the story, frustrated by the manner in which history is framed within a particular discourse that legitimises violence and brutality and manages to problematize and racialise people of African descent, even when white Europeans are in actuality the ‘other’ as an unwelcome presence in African nations. One such occasion was a story published in the Daily Mail

abuses during the colonial invasion of Kenya during the 1950s. I was disturbed by the framing of a violent military invasion, legitimised as a ‘British military campaign’ whilst the Mau Mau were described as ‘a militant African nationalist movement’. The whole story is framed around the Foreign Office, the potential cost to taxpayers if other former colonies lodge lawsuits and the official documents which went missing. Only towards the end of the story in four short paragraphs are the actual atrocities mentioned. The Mau Mau are decentred by whiteness and their suffering is marginalised. Having met some of the veterans in Kenya in 2007 whom I interviewed on a video camera, sharing their horrific suffering I felt that their stories needed to be told. So I wrote a post (Gabriel, 2013) and inserted a YouTube video of their testimonies, aiming to convey the depth of their suffering I had witnessed:

I interviewed many of the Mau Mau veterans, most of whom were elderly, frail, impoverished and still deeply mentally scarred by what they had endured. One woman was so traumatised that in recounting her experience she became very emotional and burst into uncontrollable sobs, and could no longer continue speaking to the camera.

I shed tears that day too, not least because as one of the surviving children of a Mau Mau veteran reluctantly acknowledged – ordinary Kenyans are still suffering because the British still occupy the land that was stolen from them and they are still living in poverty as a consequence of the loss of that land, and theft of their livestock.

They were forced to leave their homes with only the clothes on their backs and when it was over they were left with nothing. All their belongings had gone and their livelihoods and means of earning an income were a distant memory.

The post was just to establish context, the real story is told through the video testimonies of the Mau Mau veterans where they take centre stage, their voices are privileged and counter- narratives emerge.

9.5.1 Reflection on representation: The Academic

Whilst most of the posts I have written are related to my experience of undertaking a doctoral research project, on rare occasions a story that catches my eye in the mainstream media causes me to digress and I feel have a moral obligation to offer an alternative perspective. As

someone who pays close attention to race equality in higher education through reading the latest reports and studies, I am intolerant of public officials who get their facts wrong. So when I came across an article in the Independent (Wright, 2012), comments made by MP Simon Hughes prompted a responsive post (Gabriel, 2012b). Below is an extract:

What does surprise me is the ill-informed and misleading comment by Simon Hughes. He is quoted in the Independent as saying:

‘Although there is evidence of improvement, there are still too few black youngsters who apply to university and particularly to the highest ranking universities.’

I would be interested to know exactly what ‘evidence’ Simon Hughes is referring to. His comment further adds to the destructive discourses on race that presents us as social problems and agents of our own disadvantage.

Such statements obscure the real picture concerning participation in higher education among the UK’s black population, allowing the government to side- step the real issues. It’s hard to understand why Simon Hughes does not show any interest in tackling the systemic racism that result in black graduates facing higher levels of unemployment.

A study published in 2009 by Paul Wakeling at the University of York called Are ethnic minorities under-represented in UK postgraduate study, reaffirms that higher numbers of ethnic minority students apply for university places than white students, although they have a lower success rate. But despite this – they still end up with higher admission rates than white students:

‘Qualitative research suggests that this success is contrary to racist stereotypes, evidence of ability and dedication to education as a means of self-improvement and social mobility.’ Sadly this dedication and commitment is not yielding any dividends for many of the UK’s young black graduates – but that does not make them the problem

My aim with the post was to demonstrate through evidence in the form of a research paper, that Simon Hughes’s statement to the press was contradictory to the facts. I wanted to

demonstrate that whilst black graduates are denied equal opportunities in the job market, his statement presented them as social problems of their own making through not attending university in large enough numbers. Although Hughes was the target of my wrath, I still hold the Independent accountable for sloppy journalism in not researching and presenting all the relevant facts.

9.5.2 Reflection on representation: The Fortysomething

The majority of my posts are focused on my own experience and experiments with hair products, hair care routines, nutrition, exercise and clothes. The remainder are based on research around diet, nutrition, hair and beauty products. As such I rarely comment on stories in the mainstream about African Caribbean people. However, there was just one occasion when I did write a post about the British actress Marianne-Jean Baptiste who appeared in an edition of one of my favourite television shows with a dramatic new, natural hairstyle. In the same episode another black actress wore her hair in its natural, afro-textured state. It was celebratory in tone as this extract demonstrates (Gabriel, 2012a):

I was pleasantly surprised yesterday evening to see one of my favourite actresses, British-born Oscar nominee Marianne-Jean Baptiste, playing the role of Judge Patricia Seabrook in Harry’s Law (season 2).

But what I enjoyed most, aside from her excellent acting was the short, natural hairstyle she wore so elegantly. She looked very slim in that episode, as if she has lost a lot of weight since I saw her in Without a Trace, playing the role of FBI agent Vivian Johnson.

In that show she wore her hair relaxed with different weaves. Whilst she looked great, for me she never looked as beautiful as she does with her hair worn natural. On yesterday’s episode of Harry’s Law, there was another black actress sporting natural hair tied back in a neat pony tail. She played the role of a mother, who along with her African American husband had adopted a Chinese girl four years prior, whose parents came from China to claim their kidnapped daughter.

Unfortunately I do not know the name of this beautiful actress as she was not listed in the full cast on IMDB or on any other websites about the show I had time

to search. But it sure was great to see two beautiful black actresses wearing gorgeous natural hairstyles!

It is a short post aimed simply at highlighting the fact that black actresses in the US are no longer portrayed through European standards of beauty with long, straight, swishy hair. In reflecting a dramatic shift that has seen many black women, including celebrities resist chemical straighteners and hair extensions; it is no longer a rarity to see black actresses wearing their hair in its natural condition. Given many of my posts around that time were about natural hair, I felt it would be of interest to my audience and provide a little inspiration! Visuals are always very powerful and I managed to obtain two images of Baptiste: one with straightened hair and one with natural hair, to show the difference. It also sparked my interest given that Baptiste is a British actress who has been very successful in the US, securing leading roles in top American dramas, which eluded her in Britain.