#0048 Who’s truly speaking for us?

Hey Loved One,

I hope you had a good week and are staying safe.

This past week, I was headhunted for a Communications role at a Black organisation. I had seen the role, considered it, and dismissed it (it felt too politically focused rather than people-focused for me). But when I got a DM from the recruiter, I decided to hear them out.

They tried to show me the vision, but I already had a perception of the organisation and a sense that we wouldn’t be a good match.

Relatively new, I didn’t think the organisation had firmly planted its flag in the sand regarding who they were and what they stood for. They hadn’t built trust. They had backtracked on an attempt to acknowledge Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch’s appointment but their message missed the mark with some of the community, as the wording implied that Kemi should be celebrated despite her clear disdain for Black people.

What sealed the deal for me was watching an interview where a senior leader from the organisation called for “equity in tagging” following a report that Black people were disproportionately being tagged by The Met.

As the words fell out of their mouth, I was stunned. I understood what they were trying to say, but the phrasing was clumsy and made me doubt the strength of their advocacy. Instead of tackling the real issue - a system that criminalises Black people long before they ever enter the prison pipeline - they muddied their stance, too focussed on trying to sell the brand rather than focusing on calling out injustice with their full chest. Words really matter.

Interestingly, that portion of the interview has since been removed.

It made me start to question: why do we hold our institutions to different standards than the high-profile individuals in our community?

Here is an organisation that, by its very name, exists to challenge racism on behalf of Black communities, yet it seems to have no clear strategy on how to do that. They are also raising money to fund litigation against injustice, but:

1. They essentially want us to fund our own emancipation, as if we don’t do that already, every day.

2. They were nowhere to be found when teenager Marcus Fakana was arrested in Dubai. Very few Black organisations were.

Again I wondered: what are these institutions, built supposedly in our interest, actually doing? Are they focused on the real issues facing the community, or are they using those issues as leverage to access corridors of power for their own notoriety?

Just as I put that thought to bed - after politely declining further discussions with the recruiter - two people in my network came to me, asking my opinion on two other stories that dominated this week.

Ronan’s Law

British actor (and my former celebrity husband) Idris Elba is currently championing the introduction of Ronan’s Law, a response to the murder of a young Asian boy who was a victim of knife crime. I was asked:

• Why has this style of campaign never been applied to young Black men?

• Why doesn’t the world mobilise when Black boys are regularly killed on London’s streets?

I explained that they - the government, the media, those in power - do not care about our boys.

This is evident in the underreporting of our stories and the framing of violence in Black communities as “Black-on-Black crime”, reinforcing the racist narrative that we are inherently violent.

The system expects and needs us to kill each other. They’ve decided it’s our M.O., a convenient way to keep us in check.

She applauded Idris for giving his time to this cause, but I didn’t share the sentiment. Yes, Idris is using his platform to amplify important issues, but is he truly speaking to the right people? The ones who can actually influence change?

I'm pretty convinced that Idris isn't reaching the young people impacted by knife crime. I doubt they see him as the person to turn to for inspiration. We are now the Aunties and Uncles of the world, and Idris needs to step into that role too.

He should be bringing younger voices - Skepta, Krept and Konan, Stormzy into these conversations and working with them to engage their generation.

Right now, his presence in the press feels like a performance for middle England, rather than a strategic move towards real solutions.

If he truly wants to move the needle, he should be opening media doors for people like Sayce Holmes-Lewis, who has been on the ground for years doing the real work.

Stormzy and a Cheeky Maccy D’s

Stormzy was the subject of another conversation that landed in my lap.

One of my business besties asked me what I thought about Stormzy’s McDonald’s partnership, specifically the fact that Oreo is included in the “Stormzy Meal.” They wanted to know, from a PR perspective, whether I would have let that slide.

My first response? I laughed.

For those who don’t know, “Oreo” is often used as an insult towards Black people who are perceived as “Black on the outside but white on the inside”—disconnected from their own community.

Would I have caught the reference if I were on his team? Honestly, not sure.

But that’s because I see this campaign for what it is: a brand endorsement and not something I take particularly seriously.

There was criticism that McDonald’s doesn’t fit his personal brand. Yes, Stormzy is always in the gym, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t enjoy a cheeky Maccy D’s every now and then.

But there’s a bigger reason why I bring this up.

Between Stormzy, Krept, and Konan, you have three young men who invest in their communities and yet they face more scrutiny than the institutions that actively claim to protect and serve us.

Krept and Konan recently opened a new supermarket in Croydon, but instead of celebrating it, people focused on the fact that it was shared ownership with an Asian businessman, debating whether their percentage in the business was “enough” to be considered a real achievement.

Who Should Be Leading These Conversations?

Why are we not holding our institutions to the same level of scrutiny?

Why are we not working with them to shape their strategy ensuring they represent all facets of the Black community, not just “certain types of Blacks,” as my friend put it?

I would happily support an organisation that proves it is truly invested in the community, one that isn’t muted or subdued by reliance on government funding, one that is structured to be self sustaining, one that isn’t afraid to raise its head above the parapet.

And you could argue that by working on their messaging, I could have been at the heart of that change but all I’ve seen makes me think I’d be a constant challenge.

At the end of the day, our institutions should be accountable to us not just to those in power or funding them.

The sooner that happens, the sooner we create real change.

So, what do you think? Who should be leading these conversations? Are we focusing too much on public figures while institutions get a free pass?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Until next week, loved one

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