I like chocolate

Unless you’ve been living under a rock over the past few months or even weeks, you cannot fail to notice that the subject of race, diversity or immigration has been grabbing the headlines. Trevor Phillip’s recent article has provoked a debate about political correctness and the things we should or should not say. Whether or not you disagree with his comments, it has made me think about my own views when I was recently challenged when making a comment stating that “I prefer to date within my own race”. I was accused of being racist as I was discriminating one race over others.

As black woman, I am very proud of my culture and who I am. A lot of who I am is from my parents who instilled great values in me, including self worth and respect for others. I come from a long line of proud people, like my mother who educated me about my history. This gave me a sense of pride and appreciation that enabled me to love everything about my skin at a time when being young and black in Britain was sometimes seen as a curse.

Over the years, this has made me more appreciative of the struggles of my ancestors. When I decided to set my own PR business, 15 degrees almost 20 years ago, I wanted to champion those in society that were underrepresented, I wanted to make sure products and services effectively reached marginalised groups, so I chose to specialise in diversity. So what am I saying here? I love black art and dance, I love black movies, I love black soul food, I love to support black businesses, I love black men. I could go on and on. What I’m trying to get across is, that loving all these things and having a love of my culture does not make me anti everything else. I do not exclusively watch black movies, but when they are released, I do passionately support them, because unfortunately black movies are still not seen as being commercially viable despite actors such as Will Smith and Denzel Washington having huge success at the box office. When I see a talented black photographer or poet, I actively go out of my way to offer help to promote them because I know it is so hard for them to ‘make it’. People are still asking why do we need the MOBO’s, Britain’s Black Business Awards and the like. Some people say they are racist, as we would not have a white equivalent. Well, until we have a level playing field and not two separate ones, these events are promoting the successes across these industries where black talent is still going unrecognised.

So, I happily admit it, I love black men. I love their strength, their beautifully sculpted bodies, their humour and their intelligence, but I especially like all of this wrapped up in chocolate. I just have a sweet tooth, which does not make me racist; it’s just simply what I prefer.

Life or Entertainment?

So it looks like Jeremy Clarkson has got himself in hot water once again after he reportedly took a swing at one of the show’s producers. Clarkson has been suspended and the show has been put on hold pending an investigation. In the meantime, an online petition requesting the BBC to lift the ban and reinstate the controversial presenter has already exceeded 500,000 digital signatures within 48 hours and it is still gathering pace. I have to say; I am staggered at this response and what this petition says about us as a society.

Top Gear is one of the BBC’s most lucrative and popular shows. And Clarkson has played a big part in driving its success. It is estimated that Top Gear makes £150 million in revenue for the broadcaster’s commercial arm BBC worldwide and has become a global and powerful brand. The show is the most widely watched factual programme in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It plays in 214 territories worldwide and has an estimated global audience of 350 million. These facts and figures are impressive and by all accounts, Clarkson is a controversial personality who divides opinion after a long line of gaffes and now a ‘fracas’. He’s made some controversial comments on and off the air over the years, yet some of the comments on the online petition declare him as ‘godlike’. Yes, he makes the BBC a lot of money, but the underlying mystery for me is what has moved so many people to make the Change.org petition one of the fastest growing in history?

The #NoMorePage3 campaign on Change.org has so far secured 242,337 signatures. However, this was set up in 2012 and took a great deal of hard work and time to achieve. Are we really a society that will offer more support to a television figure known for causing offence and outrage than for a gender simply seeking equality? Similarly, more people have signed the Clarkson campaign than the campaign to end female genital humiliation (FGM).

Perhaps, the times we are living in, with so much doom, gloom and austerity, the nation needs some escapism and light relief in the form of their favourite TV programme and we are supposedly one of the most generous nations that give to causes at home and around the world. But my heart does despair sometimes when campaigns such as FGM could save lives if they had such support. I am however, reminded that more than a million people from around the world backed British student Emily Clarke when she launched a petition last year to save Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman, arrested when she was 8 months pregnant and sentenced to death for being a Christian. At 500,000 signatures, the Jeremy Clarkson petition is lagging behind this campaign but could eventually overtake it.

To sack or not to sack Jeremy Clarkson is an issue for the BBC. I personally don’t think any one person is bigger than an organisation, for example Apple is still a success after Steve Jobs and if it is proven that Clarkson has assaulted a colleague then he should face the necessary consequences. I just hope that we are not a shallow and selfish nation that turns a blind eye to wrongdoing, just so we can watch our favourite programme, as this is what happened with Jimmy Saville. His position afforded him way too much privilege and access which we now know he abused.

As a PR specialist, I know how hard people work and the effort needed to generate that level of support. I would just love to see that transcend to worthwhile causes that are more worthy and could benefit from the publicity, especially when lives could depend on it.