Black consciousness

Steve Biko once said "Black consciousness is not just for blacks, its for whites too. It frees them from their superiority. It gives them back their humanity.

This is one of the claims, by non whites. It fundamentally describes the impasse in race relations if, for what ever reason, one group feels itself fundamental superior, then true dialogue stops and a game of charades begins.

History teaches us largely our own brand of history. The path our forefathers trod and little about the vanquished. It enlarges or inflates our importance by its telling and whilst there is no doubt that the more mechanically creative a society is in leaving a paper trail of buildings and artefact, the importance of the societal interplay of the vanquished is ignored in this grandeurs attempt to instil what I know and think on others.

We all have a history. Some of it is proud and can be told and some of it is best not said.  Our history, our life is largely based on chance with only a few individuals being able to to strike out for some distant shore and create their own footprint. 
If we are weighed down by circumstance and even feel constrained in living our three score years and ten, think how much more collectively constrained and bruised a society must feel if it's 'character' is based on colour and ignores individuality. 

At least we are judged by our 'own' actions, our failings are our 'own' individual failings but what if, because of the accident of colour we were categorised from birth.

A true gift is to recognise humanity as being, "of us". Not a series of Petri dishes, each containing its own strain, some more dangerous than others !