Being black and British

I'm 2nd generation born and raised on this fair isle called Britain and growing up in London, in a leafy villagey type area I have to say I've had it pretty good for most of my life. I can't say I've ever really experienced overt racism - yep certain shopkeepers like to put my change down on the counter, but there have been a few times that the money I've meant to pay them has fallen in  between the sweet supply and I've said sorry with a glint in my eye as I've walked out of the shop. All in all, I can't complain I did well at school, went to uni,  have a career I enjoy etc - things aren't perfect by the least  but things have worked well for me. This doesn't mean that I'm unaware of the racism and discrimination that go on in this country but like I say I've been largely unaffected by these issues.

Yet although my head has been largely in the clouds I have begun to notice that there are a number of very concerning figures in the press of late (I think they are even more concerning as they are in the mainstream media):

• Black Britons least satisfied of UK population
• Black people more likely to be unemployed in the UK than US
• Half of the UK's black young males unemployed
• 60% of black undergrads don't expect to be in employment 6 months after graduating

I could go on but its depressing! So what I really want to know is what are we going to do about this situation? We are feeling the pinch of the economic downturn harder than any other ethnic group in this country and as we are all aware that there isn't a great black politician or community leader who is going to fly down from somewhere to resolve these issues?!?!  And it would appear that the powers that be really don't give a toss, so its up to us to do something about this situation!! I also implore people like Lee Jasper to stop tweeting that black people can't be racist and actually knock on the doors of the people who matter, and Diane Abbott to stand up and speak out about the issues that affect the black community.

I'm seriously worried about the generation of black kids coming through who:

•  have university fees of £27k to contend with
• even if highly educated are more likely to be unemployed than their white counterparts.

I'm usually an optimist but from where I'm sitting the future is looking bleak. High unemployment rates leads to many other concerns such as poor mental health and increase in criminal activity. Our young people need to be given a level playing field and to know they can strive for and achieve what they want. I have a teenage son and I talk to him about the need to work hard at school, to ensure that when he goes to uni (I'm of Nigerian descent so any career requires a university degree) he gets experience in his chosen career etc, but I wonder what more can be done to ensure that our children understand the added extra they'll need to compete when their starting blocks are just behind the starting line?

I'm going to think about how I can contribute to improving things.