Black to Basics (22nd October 2008)

A historic gathering of the planets foremost practitioners, in the art of societal wellbeing, gathered in the lofty towers of a world capital city, south of parliament on the 21st October 2008. The international human disease known to the enlightened as racism, is one these practitioners have climbed many great towers to cure. Indeed their success as a network of societal wellbeing practioners, called Black Sections, has over the past 25 years opened the UK's systemic eyes. They have guided the states ability to heal, this systemic long term condition, by setting standards and targets now enshrined in legislation (Race Relations Amendment Act 2000). This legislation is unprecedented, and provides a systemic opportunity for cure.

Aubyn Graham hosted and chaired this Black to basics meeting in Southwark Town Hall, with presentations from Black sections practitioners; Kingsley Abrahams, Marc Wadsworth, and Linda Bellos. They marked out the path Black Sections travelled, and clarified its cutting edge UK Black agenda of priorities. In the form of establishing a black representative political voice across; housing, education, health, economics and policing, as a healthy humane anti dote to the disease of racism.

Today, though the political parties and state have shifted, the disease has not been removed. Today a number of great Black representatives have emerged from these practitioners of Black sections work. However, the nature of this disease is its capacity for mutation. Its infectious capacity maintains its hold by an illusion. The accountability and integrity of cure needs a monitoring capacity, only Black sections has been able to provide. Through its unique 25 year track record, and commitment, to this specific form of cultural intelligence.

Saving the UK, and world, from under representation and crass tokenism requires, as minimum, the accountability and representativeness of Parliamentary representation. Very little is yet systemically in place for this. Instead we have a grotesque, disempowering, parody of representation. A sprinkle of Black faces a minimal proportion of who have passed through Black basics guidance, with world practioners in the Black sections nexus.

The disorientation we face in the inner cities is a result of the systemic disease racism, compounded by mutations, marginalising the cure. Modern society cannot afford to neglect the knowledge and experience of sincere Black representation. It needs to be hard wired into the political parties, parliament, and the state (cascading down to housing, education, health, economy, and policing) before the disease crunches humanity beyond all recognition. In the same way as Black people have been experiencing the crunch for over 400 years.

Its time to move beyond extensions of machines, reproducing the same systemic sickness. Communicate with humans.

In a filled South London committee room, younger and older humans, serious about saving the UK from the disease of racism, unanimously voted for the cure. This cure is ensuring the integrity of Black political representation, through the enlightening balm of Black sections, and the race assurance of Black only shortlists. This is distinct from the parody of representativeness, making our society so unwell.

What is the organisation you depend on, support, ignore, or work with, or lead, doing to ensure the kind of political enlightenment enshrined in the Black sections movement, protects future generations from the global human disease Racism?

We are all elements in curing system Racism disease. Please share your thoughts on these shared words?

Paul Francis AKA Abu Akil