Orville Taylor | Look to the east for a black king ... or the maharaja?

Thirteen years ago, there was a historic event. A black man, a man whose skin had more melanin than the combined 43 who had preceded him, became president of the most powerful country that has existed in modern history. For a ‘Blackademedian’ the symbolism was major. In a nation where persons of African origin comprised some 13 per cent of the population and the deep history of enslavement and racism it was a surprise and a breath of fresh air.

This was the great United States of America (USA) that practised segregation when he was born and for the first year of his life, the Poll Tax kept black people from voting. Yes! Believe it, the USA gained universal adult suffrage a full 21 years after tiny Jamaica, the land of wood and water. Our own motto, ‘Out of Many, one People’ puts the people in the American E pluribus unum; ‘Out of many one.’ In fact, in a country that does not define itself as a Christian one, it is interesting that the official motto is, ‘In God We Trust’. Nonetheless, the ascendancy of Barack Obama gave us all a good feeling, when he won the election in November 2008.

For me there were no delusions. True, we had, months earlier, turned the track and field world on its head, grabbing the sprint dominance from the Americans. Days before, Brit, Lewis Hamilton, progeny of a black father and white mother like Obama, had clinched the word Formula 1 drivers’ title. For all the glee, we knew that there was not going to be any flood of dark faces, suiting up for the low pigment car manufacturers. Neither did we expect Obama to bring dramatic change.

SOBERING FACTS

Two sobering facts. First, despite its recent history since John F. Kennedy, the party has a plethora of anti-black legislation and policy in its resume, including the tacit support of the Ku Klux Klan. Therefore, it is a party that is finally living up to its name, with a very progressive agenda, that includes a true rainbow of interests. Interestingly, the Republican conservative party, that has Donald trump as its flag-bearer, was initially the anti-slavery party.

Obama was president of a country that had a powerful white upper class with strong anti-black elements. If we in Jamaica, a black majority country with black leaders, cannot completely eradicate the legacy of slavery and colonialism, despite free and fair elections since 1944; how could one reasonably expect the USA, with a shorter history of both democracy and end of slavery, to suddenly obliterate its vestiges?

True, Obama pushed universal healthcare, something that other democracies such as Canada and the Scandinavian nations had long mastered. His policies on immigration to protect the vulnerable, non-criminals, appointing a female Hispanic supreme court judge, LGBT rights and many other initiatives, moved the needle slightly left. However, his proposals on gun control were pushed back. For us in the developing world, while we understood and supported the efforts to get Osama Bin Laden, we are still incredulous as to what motivated the demise of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya.

OBAMAESQUE MOMENT

With the sudden elevation of Indian-descended Rishi Sunak to the seat of the next most powerful Anglophone country in the world, our Head of State’s country, England, there is an ‘Obamaesque’ moment. But reality check! As uncomfortable as white democrats might have been with him being the best available choice, his face does more closely match that of the Democrats than Sunak does with his British Conservatives. Doubtless, while not egg on the faces of his Brexit colleagues, who wanted to protect British identity; the imli (tamarind) chutney, which does wonders to their bland fish and chips, is a stroke of irony.

Yet, be not fooled, Sunak, a young millionaire in his own right, stated that he represents conservative values and the things that his party got elected on. Indicating that his task is to unite his party, crack down on criminals, defend their borders, and halt unlimited immigration. There is no pro-Asian, pro-black agenda here. Moreover, for us in the Caribbean, whose relatives were unceremoniously expatriated under the shameless Windrush scandal, there is no reason to believe that there will be any reversal. Sunak has vowed to restore economic stability. Thus, my bet is that he is not even going to turn a blind eye to our reparations claims.

For our purposes, a stable British economy is an indispensable condition for our own economic health. So, we have to hope that he fulfils this mandate. We the West Indians and real Indians must not think that he is going to curry favour with us. He might look Indian, but he is every inch a British conservative.

On another note, I observe with interest two stories. First, that Ye (Kanye West) whose ‘white lives matter’ and ‘slavery was a choice’ utterances remained unsanctioned, was swiftly punished for his anti-Semitic comments. Another developing story has Elon Musk taking over social media giant Twitter.

While the impact of this last story is yet to be felt, I want to draw your attention to Indian magnate Ratan Tata, whose contribution to human welfare dwarfs any story about Musk or Sunak himself. Tata, estimated to be worth more than $100 billion, dedicates more than 60 per cent of his earnings to charitable causes.

If we want to look at rich people who really care, check Tata.

- Dr Orville Taylor is senior lecturer at the Department of Sociology at The University of the West Indies, a radio talk-show host, and author of ‘Broken Promises, Hearts and Pockets’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com.