Sorry Barack, this pains me to say it, but I have to vote for Paris Hilton instead! :o)

I hate to do this to my presidential intended, especially one so deserving of the office and all that, and after all that campaigning too, but I have to switch my allegiance to Paris Hilton for president, and with her having chosen sweet little Rihanna for Vice President too. What a team they will be, particularly for galvanising the men to join them in governing effectively in the White House. The men would be so busy being goggle eyed at the ladies, they could both get some very tricky policies through without a murmur!

Paris is eminently qualified, according to her latest advertisement. Her brief but dramatic advert shows that:

a. She has an energy plan, which is more than John McCain has.
b. She is pretty articulate and sweet with it too.
c. She tells it like it is and does not mince her words with niceties (calling her rivals "bi*ches").
d. She can look beautiful (which is more than McCain ever can!)
e. She is quite ready to lead (Boy, I can see LOTS of men itching to follow her in her swimsuit all the way to Capitol Hill!)

In fact, I think Paris and Barack would make a wonderful pair in the White House as they are both supposed to be 'celebrities', they both have that and elusive X factor and we are obviously in the celebrity age. i could also campaign for them both at the same time. Saves lots of angst on my part having to choose! (This is getting more exciting by the minute!)

And why did I switch my strong allegiance so quickly, despite the hand wringing?

Because Paris is indeed very hot, as she says, and us hot ladies have to stick together when the chips are down!

Kudos to President Paris, I say!

(PS..Her advert has been seen over 2 million times in a few hours already!)

Why Don Imus Was Right to be Sacked

The CBS popular radio announcer, Don Imus, who enjoys over two million listeners on the radio station WFAN, called the Black members of the Rutgers University team "nappy headed hoes". As usual, he does not believe he is racist and leading Black leaders called for him to be fired. As a Black person, normally I would be against anyone losing their job or livelihood because of a racist remark, no matter how abhorrent. But this case is different for three main reasons.

First, Imus has had thirty years in his job, building up a sizable audience for his morning show; people who, no doubt, look to him for guidance and being a role model. One would have thought that those years in the job would have given him a sensitivity for the feelings of his audience and a respect for the listeners who keep him there. One would also have expected that such long years would have built up an expertise which fosters the kind of responsibility and respect we would expect from such an experienced talk show host.

Yet, his critics say that during his thirty years he has shown a 'pattern of racially charged remarks' which he retorted were either 'misinterpreted' or 'satirical'. Regardless of misinterpretation, or otherwise, they were still racist, yet he did not desist. But racist remarks of any kind have no place in the vocabulary of someone on the public stage who is supposed to be serving a diverse audience. Being in a position of authority, especially with the privilege of being White in a majority White community, carries certain responsibilities as well as rights. We cannot attack people who are weak, or powerless, then say we are not bullies. Just as one cannot continue to use racist language down the years, aimed at vulnerable members of the community, then say one is not racist. It's a contradiction in terms. If we use the language of the bully, we are bullies, and if we use the language of the racist, we are racist. We cannot use the language of hate if we aspire to love. The two are inompatible.


Language Conveys Meaning
Second, the language we use defines who we are. For example, the word 'boredom' does not exist in my vocabulary. I have never used it in my lifetime to describe my feelings because I have too much to do in any one day and cannot find the time to be bored at any point. The word NO does not exist for me either, especially when trying to achieve something, because I believe everything is possible. Someone else who does not believe that will think 'no' first before they look at the possibilities. Moreover, I have never thought of saying anything racist about another person because I value every person and treat them with respect until they show me otherwise. So language is not just something we learn to use for communication or our benefit; not just something we pluck out of the air at random. Language represents who we are, body and soul, and the meanings we wish to convey.

We cannot use negative language and achieve positive aims, neither can we put down others and expect to make friends with them. Language reflects our identity, ethics, beliefs, who we are and aspire to be. We give life to what we believe through language. We would NEVER use words we are not comfortable with unless we are coerced. We also stamp our own style on our use of words so much that when something comes from us which doesn't sound in line with our personalities, not the 'normal' thing we would say, people begin to wonder. Language comes from the heart and the head to reflect exactly who we are and what we value. So when we use negative terms against others, we are actually demonstrating our fears, our insecurities, our low self-esteem, prejudices and, most of all, our feeling of power over them. We have the power to say such remarks, so we do it. Otherwise, why would this man, who has a job many would die for, wish to say something so awful about vulnerable women far away he didn't even know - comparing Black beauty to White beauty which is culturally incomparable.

Finally, his responsibilities. Don Imus has a radio programme which goes out to a diverse community with sponsors from that community. When he disparagingly talks about certain people in such racist ways, what message is he giving to his Black listeners about their worth and value? Most important, how does he expect those listeners to react who thinks him worthy enough for their time in tuning in to his programme? Sometimes, as we get so bloated with our own power, we forget about respect to the people who put us where we are. The word RESPECT has sensitivity at its core. Where was Imus' sensitivity to his diverse audience?

However, the comment which summed up the real effect of Don's offensive remarks came from Senator Barack Obama about his children and went straight to the heart of the issue with its simplicity. "He didn't just cross the line," Obama said in an interview. "He fed into some of the worst stereotypes that my two young daughters are having to deal with today in America. The notions that as young African-American women.....that somehow makes them less beautiful or less important. It was a degrading comment...."

Imus abused the authority placed in him as a public announcer, one who is supposed to be serving ALL members of his public, not just the White section of it. If he decides to make racist fodder out of others, he should know that carries consequences. By showing little sensitivity to his diverse audience and supporters with those awful sexist and racist remarks, he effectively relinquished the authority vested in him to act in an unbiased way and forfeited that respect. It depends on the society we seek if we can actually condone such discriminatory behaviour in the 21st century. The world has moved on a lot with our global interaction, a point that certain old hands are ignoring and resisting until they are foced to acknowledge it. Perhaps for the first time in his life, Don Imus is learning that certain actions have consequences, and free speech actually carries responsibilities for ensuring the rights of everyone.

The Real Value of Barack Obama's Presidential Bid

The first time I heard of this man he was touring Kenya, his ancestral village, and everyone there was gushing about him, treating him like a king returning home. This was late 2006. I had never heard of Barack Obama before, didn't realise he was an American senator, also didn't realise how few African-American senators there were, but was not at all surprised at the hero-worship back there.

Black people do not have too many wholesome heroes to inspire them. Many of the latter day heroes tend to come from the music field and what a dreadful example of drugs, drinks and rock and roll many of them are setting; not to mention the distasteful words in rap music which show little respect to women, and others, for that matter. Even when there is clear genius among us, we have a way of robbing it of its effect (Michael Jackson comes to mind?). I adore that man's music yet feel so disheartened at the way he has changed himself in such a sad way, detracting from the very talent we are trying to appreciate.

Starved of Black role models, many people despair of ever being reflected significantly while clinging to people like Oprah Winfrey and Oscar winners Denzel Washington and Halle Berry for some reflected glory. Minorities everywhere live vicariously through role models because of the absence of homegrown heroes, and Blacks in the UK are no different. In fact, when Colin Powell first became a general, one letter writer to the Voice newspaper noted drily that, "Had General Powell been in Britain he would have been Corporal Powell!"



No Inspiration for Black Teenagers
I have never forgotten that because it struck a chord of relevance and recognition which, 20 years down the line, is still resonating loudly with the invisibility of minorities in public positions of power and responsibility. There just aren't any to inspire the teenagers coming up; to reinforce their presence and value. Many of those in place are 'yes' people, beholden to the political party which put them there, securing their positions while being afraid to rock the boat, without backbones to be individual and to make that real difference, as they are gradually swallowed up by both the Establishment and the 'system' and lose their voice.

You can tell a lot about the government of a country in how they seek to unite the people and be representative of them. If the people associating with Britain's government and monarchy are anything to go by, the is an all-White country! You will not see a Black person of substance or expertise around the them in Britain, unless it is a bodyguard! Yet the Queen is the head of a multicultural Commonwealth and loves to boast about that when she visits them. Obviously charity does not reach as far as our home! This is very disappointing to me because, with Britain's history, and the way it trumpets regularly about justice and fairness, one would have thought it would have led the field in recognising diversity and its own multicultural population in more visible and tangible ways. As a staunch Briton, who love this country, I find that so sad.

That's why America has always had a special place for Black people everywhere because, through the relentless advance of our African-American brothers and sisters in all walks of public life, we too can live vicariously and pretend we have similar opportunities. Our successful African-American brothers and sisters allow us to dream, to imagine, to luxuriate in what is possible. We feel as though we share that success because it looks so easy, and we have so little. However, we have always acknowledged that the supreme position of president was always closed to everyone except White males. Not any more, it isn't. Thanks to one man who dared to dream, we can share that too in believing the sky is truly our limit.


Tremendous Self-Belief
The real value of Barack Obama lies not just in the possibility of him creating history on an unimagined scale. It actually lies in what he represents to Black people everywhere; the fulfilment of the impossible. As Nelson Mandela once echoed in a speech, by his fearless action and tremendous self-belief, Barack gives permission to all of us to dream too in a way which wouldn't be understood by a White person in any number of years, because they take success and status for granted. White role models are limitless, proliferating every minute of every day to become commonplace and taken for granted. When a White person says he'll be a millionaire by the time he is 30, that is almost a fact beyond dispute. There are too many millionaires around to suggest otherwise. When a Black person says it, we wonder from what basis. How are they going to do it with the lack of role models to inspire them and the lack of precedence to motivate them? A superhuman task. It then becomes an uphill struggle as they contend with self-doubt, the scepticism of their peers and the discriminatory practices around them.

However, regardless of whether he gets into the White House or not, the presence of Barack Obama in the American presidential race has already turned a new chapter for every African-American male by showing them their own worth and power. Barack has taken the baton from Colin Powell and is proving to them that the humblest person, without wealth or whiteness, can attain the highest office. And it must begin to do something positive to their thinking and aspirations. I do hope so.

The heartfelt words from this donor, a Navy veteran, which accompanied the $5 he sent to Barrack, says it all. It was his first ever donation and his daughter inspired him to send the money: He said, "Being an African American male, to have that positive role model in Senator Obama, it's given me so much hope. To be able to look at my daughter one day and tell her, 'You can be anything you want in the world' ... In the past I might have said, 'You could be anything you want to be. But president? No' ... But now, he's given me that light. Now, I can tell her, 'You really can be anything you want in the world.'"

Amen to that, sir – and Thank You!

4 Key Reasons Why Barack Obama Will be The Next US President

On 11th February I wrote an appreciative blog on Barack Obama, the new presidential hopeful. Then I was in awe of the 'audacity' of this man from nowhere, much inspired by him and his dreams and I wondered whether his hopeful dash had anything to teach the UK. However, I concluded my blog with these words: "Much as I would like Barack Obama to become the next President, I do not think that he will, on this round. I think he should be Hillary Clinton's running mate and what an unstoppable team they would be - his charisma with her experience, not to mention the differing gender, race and personal ethos which would add extra appeal. He would at least dent her conservatism while gaining the necessary training to succeed after her.

Well, two months down the line, I take it ALL back! In my humble opinion Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States of America for the following reasons:

1. Grassroots Support: Barack is intent on being the People's President in a very clever move to distance himself from the big lobbyists and sectional interests which usually drain White House incumbents of their power. The fewer factions he has to answer to, both White and Black, when he gets into office the more his hands will be freed to carry out the kind of policies he wishes to introduce to change America and unite it, as he is promising. If his hands are not tied with great expectations from those with the power, he can embrace the masses more sincerely with more room for action.

He is quietly involving as many people as he can so that when he actually stands on those White House steps, the ordinary man in the street who donated his $5 can actually beam with pride and say, "I helped to get him there." And that's a powerful sense of inclusion Mrs Clinton hasn't yet realised, or learnt, in our YouTube and blogger age. People want to feel significant and valued and, with his website, of which I am a member, Barack Obama is doing just that, with regular information and encouragement to be part of his circle as well as a pioneer in the dramatic change afoot in America. It would be exciting times for those who have never been involved in the political process or got near a potential president. To know that their effort and involvement can actually make a difference would be a tremendous boost for their feeling of worth and value!

Big business and big money can help to get you into any public office in the USA, but it is the people who will keep you there. By encouraging his supporters to hold meetings in their houses and communicate with one another as much as possible – in essence, to be mini-campaign managers for spreading the word on his behalf to attract even more local attention – he is building a formidable base of public support because nothing succeeds like word of mouth. Soon this 100,000 flock, and the money he is likely to receive, will both dramatically expand as people realise he is now a very serious contender.



Shrewd Move
2. New Style. It is clear that Barack and his team are determined to do things very differently. Notice how they deliberately waited to announce their first quarter figures, well after the hullaballoo of the Clinton camp. They were in no rush to boast. That was a shrewd move because Clinton's aides completely underestimated him, believing that their money was so high as to overwhelm her rivals. But, not for the first time, has Barack snatched the initiative and the media attention in a dignified way, demonstrating that he is his own man, who is determined to do things his way, and a new way, and can take care of himself very well. Notice too that he has refrained from cosying up to people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, though he has praised their role in making it all possible for him with their pioneering days. He is trying not align himself with specific factions in order to encourage a broader appeal. And that can only be good for both the country and his support base.

3. Time For a Big Change. The negative antics of President Bush has ensured that America has lost a lot of its power, credibility and respect, and is now ready for change. Not just a cosmetic one, but a dramatic change. In fact, watch the world's response to America once Barack is installed, at least in the first couple of years as he proves himself. His manner will be far less adversarial because he is a conciliator who speaks from love, not hate, and that is why people find it easy to warm to him. I knew I would see a Black president in my lifetime because the signs were always there. But I never believed one without too much experience and so young would be taking centre stage, which shows his maturity, sincerity and great competence at dealing with what he has to do.

4. Blind Spot. America has had a blind spot ever since Hillary has been campaigning. There was such a foregone conclusion about her ability to fundraise and fit the role of president that they left little room for any alternatives. No one could have predicted Barack Obama's presence and enormous success so far. Like the Google juggernaut, no one saw him coming. Being so preoccupied with all the other old contenders, they left little room for the new. Those who did spot him in the distance were perhaps ready to dismiss his chances because of his relative inexperience. But Google came out of nowhere to dominate the world with their new way of thinking, amazing innovations and fearless way of acting. Barack Obama, whom the rest of the world had barely heard of 6 months ago, seems to have begun his own journey towards global domination.

It is no longer a question of whether he will get into the White House. It is simply a matter of when, and the sooner the better. Anyone who can have such an impact on a huge country in such a short time has tremendous talent for leadership, which his supporters obviously desire. The only place for such a talent to do itself justice is right at the top, in America's historical White House, its main seat of power, from which it can lead and inspire.

Does Obama's Audacity Carry Lessons for Britain? (2)

(This is a comment on my article below on Barack Obama and my reply to it.)

Elaine, I agree with everything you have said. This article is on the ball. It also goes to show that you don't always have to marry outside of your community to be successful. To me that is the most salient point. While love is more important than race, the fact that he has chosen a Black woman to be his wife speaks volumes. A lesson that Black leaders in the UK need to embrace as opposed to scorn in the name of acceptance. Delroy Constantine-Simms


Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment on my article, Delroy. It is appreciated.

While I see the point you are making, and thank you for making it, about Barack's choice of a wife, White members are 'his community' too. We cannot disown one half of his heritage to suit ourselves. Just because he looks more 'black' than 'white' does not mean he should just relate to the Black part of his life. He is both Black and White, and disowning the White part means disowning his dear mother! We seem to expect this kind of action from any mixed-heritage, successful person in our community. They are then put in an unenviable position of being treated negatively, as extraordinary beings on probation of 'acting Black', instead of ordinary humans with their own feelings. Yet we do not lay this extra emotional burden on White peers. They are not judged by their choice of mates. They are just left to prove themself.

I think it is time for us to leave such colour codes out of love. People fall in love for all sorts of reasons across personal, professional and geographical lines. Though he obviously gravitates towards a Black wife, with a White mother as a role model he could equally have settled for a White wife too. Would that have made him less of a passionate, caring human being to other Blacks? Would you have marked him down for that and treated him with less respect? Are we still feeling so inferior as a group that we can still regard any mixed partnership as a threat? I am speaking as the product of a White grandfather and the ex-wife of a Sikh. That has not made me any less conscious of being a Black woman in my world, neither has it tempted me to disown my very fair mother to show how 'black' I am!

Time to extricate ourselves from superficialities in the 21st century, Delroy, if we are going to fight the real battles of exclusion that we still face. We are too wrapped up in colour when we should bear it in mind, yes, but realise that colour is only one major part of our make up: the rest are gender, religion/beliefs, class, self-love and aspiration. In fact, self-love, aspiration and self-confidence are far more important in our life journey than colour because they have given us successes like Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry and, above all, Oprah Winfrey, the richest Black woman in the world. Her colour did her no favours, along with being the victim of violence and sexual abuse, but she rose above it to show that, no matter what colour you are, achievement, money and power speak far above that.


Main Reasons Behind Failure
The same absence of self-love, confidence and aspiration has incarcerated millions of Black brothers and sisters in prison. People who would rather blame their White peers for their current underachievement while they deal in drugs, rob, kill and maim, instead of raising their aspirations and getting an education to progress their life in a more self-fulfilling and self-empowering way. We love to show how 'black' we are at certain times but loathe ourselves at quiet moments- like our hair, our physical features, our luck - because years of slavery, repression, imposition, exclusion and confusion have robbed us of our identity and our soul. Our obsession with failure, blackness, and discrimination is what has kept us down. They have stopped us from seeing what is possible and blighted our success. We fail to see a balance in our life by always pointing out the negatives when they should also accompany the positives in some way.

People like you can change perceptions, Delroy, but you have to adopt a new approach for a new millennium. Not still harking back to the past and living there, judging everything on negative colour lines while the present rushes past us and denies us a future. Point out discrimination and grievance, by all means, but let's stop turning on our brothers/sisters and give them some slack. We cannot return to the past to change a single thing but we can learn from it in some way to make our present and future more glorious than anything before them. Barack Obama has done that. It is all about the present and the future for him.

But that choice is ours. Only by changing our way of seeing the world, those personal perceptions which harp on negativity and seek scapegoats, can we even begin to take advantage of the opportunities available, let alone fulfil our true potential.

Does Obama's Audacity Carry Lessons for Britain?

A man speaking more than 3000 miles away moved and uplifted me today as a Black woman and gave me hope for the future. He was eloquent, passionate, good looking and fervent in his desire to make history; to show what could be achieved with simple belief and faith in one's ability. His team expected 1000 people to turn up to hear him announce his candidacy for the presidency of the most powerful country in the world, but 15,000 actually made the journey to be part of history, fired by what was possible. I was one of the first to subscribe to Senator Barack Obama's online campaign a few weeks ago, though I am not an American. But I share one thing with Mr Obama, the belief that anything is possible if we just believe it, have faith in it and act upon it. I believe in the power of thoughts to get us where we want to go and Obama has obviously been exercising his thoughts, big time!

As a Black woman in the UK, there are a lot of things I admire about America, though I wouldn't live there, as I love Britain too much. But America certainly has that quality of personal encouragement and the fulfilment of dreams. Being successful might cost you an arm and a leg in financial terms, but there are lots of fellow dreamers who are only too willing to help you to achieve that dream, living vicariously through you to taste their own success too. America's vastness, immense opportunity and huge diversity inspire one to greatness and Barack Obama, a virtual unknown, is the living embodiment of what is possible when the time is right, the belief is high and the stars come together.

Terror and Crime
Britain sadly lacks such dreams and success for Black people. We hear about British Blacks only in negative terms of terror and crime. No one from minority communities is positively highlighted regularly in the media, as they do with the members of the White majority, because very few minorities are in the media to give it an alternative view and to widen its appeal. But the media merely reflects the rest of British society in its negative treatment of those who are different. If you wish to see the true visibility of minorities in Britain, just cast your eyes around the entourage of the British Royal Family and that of the Prime Minister. The only face you might see which is Black will belong to the odd bodyguard. There will be few Black people of substance in these illustrious circles. But we are in the 21st century and minorities have been here for years. Yet, leadership at these heights, among people who are supposed to lead our Commonwealth, is crucial to unite the nation and to give a strong message of inclusion. A nation divided against itself cannot thrive in any way, it merely implodes from the inside.

Britons talk a lot about our multicultural society, but Black talent stays hidden in its own community, a victim of fear, prejudice, lack of opportunity and sheer exclusion, clothed in invisibility and neglect, while deviance is trumpeted as the only Black and Asian achievement worth noting in the public arena. We are about 25 years behind America in the way we treat our diverse communities, still a very long way from a Black Prime Minister. Is change really possible among such entrenched institutional racism? Perhaps not in my lifetime.

After all, in 2007, the Local Government Association (LGA), based in London and avidly promoted by Mayor Livingston's office, has all 31 of its most senior officers being White, despite having 39% of minority staff working for it! The magnitude of this situation seems to have been lost on the Mayor's diversity team if we can have such a discriminatory situation in place, and posing as normal! This authority (which boasts itself as being "The UK's top government body") represents and advises every council in the UK, councils which serve a multicultural society. Yet not one of its minority workers has been deemed suitable for its highest positions to reflect this diversity. What message of competence is the LGA giving out to talented minorities, despite its office being based in our most diverse capital?

My pessimism is borne out by that incredible example of exclusion. But, like Senator Obama, I audaciously live in hope. My love for the UK and its potential does not permit me to accept otherwise. It would be too depressing.

Next Vice-President?
Much as I would like Barack Obama to become the next President, I do not think that he will, on this round. I think he should be Hillary Clinton's running mate and what an unstoppable team they would be - his charisma with her experience, not to mention the differing gender, race and personal ethos which would add extra appeal. He would at least dent her conservatism while gaining the necessary training to succeed after her. We would also get three for the price of two as Bill Clinton, that great orator and action man, would be in the background too.

Good luck, my friend. I have few doubts that when you reach the White House, you will also have changed an awful lot of perceptions about what is possible right across the world. And, who knows, even Britain, and its own minorities, might learn something of value from your courage and audacity. Thank you for sharing your vision in such a definitive way.

Decide for yourself between the two rivals!"