Diversity, but At What Cost? - Dissecting Tokenism & The Politics of Representation.

The views expressed by the author in the blog are the author’s own and does not represent the views of YWCA Greenwich.

World events, culture, and a decade of unmooring Western institutions of the price we pay to keep them "great" have forced us to reevaluate who our chosen bedfellows are.

Whether it was the 2016 election or the brutal force of the Israel–Hamas war, people who make it our job to care have been asking themselves the same questions.

How do we make all the evil in the world stop?

Who will fight with me along the way?

The second question is much easier to tackle. One, it does not require action on my part but merely reflection and honesty. Easier said than done, but you can only call yourself an Equity professional if you engage in self-awareness and reflection.

Who will fight with me along the way? This is a question I have been pondering more so than recently because I am asking people to fall for the less desirable choice of rejecting the seductive charms, as bell hooks once called it -?"imperialist-white supremacist-capitalist-patriarchy."

We are all complicit. No one gets off the hook. There is no moral superiority when we all use cell phones, wear clothes made from child labor, and take a U.S.-centric approach to global and national affairs. It is not cheap nihilism to acknowledge this. It is just the truth.

In searching for knowledge and trying to break from the seemingly cartoonish swamp that is American Politics, I found myself engrossed in the morass of the politics of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom's ethos these days has shades of an aging film star – Bloated, vain, and obsessed with past glories built on P.R. fluff.

However, the most intriguing part of United Kingdom politics is that they are ten years behind United States politics.

As we were electing a?"skinny kid with a funny name,"?the United Kingdom was still dallying with Bill Clinton's tether (shout out to Jordan Peele) in Tony Blair as Prime Minister.

So here we are again, our cousins across the pond following too far behind with their first Man Of Color to make it to 10 Downing Street.

However, unlike President 44's boundless charm and charisma, cloaking moderate big "D" Democratic rhetoric in the rhetorical flourishes of populism and Camelot-esque wonder, Rishi Sunak feels more like a British Mitt Romney in better tailoring.

The rise of politicians of color of South Asian descent has seen prominence in U.K. politics. Many are from what is referred to as "so-called twice migrants."

In the early 20th century, thousands of Indians (mostly Goans, Gujaratis, and Punjabis) were imported into East Africa as sub-colonial agents of civilization. They were required to work in colonial administration and serve in the colonial police and army to keep the "native peoples" in order. At the same time, more than 30,000 indentured laborers were brought over from India to build the Kenya-Uganda railway. Many of these laborers settled in the protectorate after the railway was completed. They were soon joined by many more Indian subjects, who moved freely to the protection in search of economic prosperity. Functioning as a subordinate ruling class, Indians in East Africa enjoyed success in business, finance, and the professions throughout the colonial period and gained significant control over the economy. By the time Kenya won independence in 1963, Indians – who accounted for less than 3% of the population – owned?more than two-thirds?of the country's private non-agricultural assets.

The Guardian - How did British Indians become prominent in the Conservative Party?

Right.?

This is why "diversity" for the sake of diversity is dangerous. It is easy to give in to the cheap impulses of cheering prominence and visibility for historically minoritized groups. However, it is essential to note that classism, colorism, and proximity to the hubs of imperialism shape the destiny of many of the most prominent politicians of the current Tory party.?

Very similar to the "honorary white" status accrued by non-white South Africans, there are people of color who helm the most potent symbols of Western governments who are not working in the interest of upholding democracy, liberal humanitarianism, or equity. What they are interested in is gaining the brass ring of?"imperialist-white supremacist-capitalist-patriarchy."

To be upwardly mobile, to be invited into the "rooms where it happens," to achieve material wealth bountiful enough to pass along to your children and make your life so enriched with the vestiges of whiteness that you are willing to bar another generation of immigrants from migrating to the United Kingdom.?

It is why the former Home Secretary of the United Kingdom (Think head of the Department of Homeland Security in the United States), Suella Braverman, felt so comfortable enacting policies so violent against Brown and Black immigrants that other senior conservative ministers went off the record and said:?

"She's not stupid; she believes she has a license to say these things because she's not white. But all her language does is exacerbate hatred."

The Tories, who since their inception have indulged in colonial arrogance, are horrified that the Frankenstein monster they created in self-hating Brown and Black politicians is now creating electoral problems for them.?

It's almost hilarious to watch how pathetic and smug Sunak comes across in an unearthed video where he says:

I have friends who are aristocrats, friends who are upper class and friends who are working class.... well, not working class!"?- Rishi Sunak Says He Was 'Silly' To Say He Had No Working Class Friends.

How pathetic a sentiment. How small. How weak. How embarrassing. From the cavalier derision in his voice to his father's eyes of pride, he shows how comfortable he is in revealing the pungent power of superiority. Not realizing there is a Tory grandee somewhere saying a version of the same things about him and his race and religion.?

Sunak faced the indignity of racism himself when a caller on a local radio went on a rant saying he "isn't even British."

'Rishi's not going to win it. Rishi's not even British, in most people's opinion. He's got American allegiance; his family's American. They're Indian businesspeople. He'll go and live in America, no doubt. He doesn't love England as Boris does.'?-?LBC host powerfully shuts down racist caller saying, 'Rishi Sunak isn't even British' and 'likens former Chancellor to a member of Al-Qaeda'

So how is that for all your class solidarity? The people you seek to please and serve remind you that it does not matter how much wealth or power you have or how you received your pronunciation or elite public school education (a private boarding school for us Americans.)?Also - Boris Johnson was born in the United States...

However, he is "perceived" as more British. Huh.

Sunak is still perceived as inferior and is viewed by the worst parts of society as a useful idiot.?

I have recently been singing the praises of the romantic drama, Everything is Fine by Cecelia Rabess. It is a fascinating exploration of what proximity to people opposed to your moral compass leads you to compromise. In the book, the protagonist, Jess, a young Black woman grappling with how her liberal politics undermines her love for her Trump-voting boyfriend, Josh, gets stung by this observation:

“You don’t hate the system – you just hate your place in it.”

You would think we, as denizens of the West, would understand this better than most. However, in the United States, we are following behind our cousins across the sea by platforming people who are historically marginalized but make their bones cozying up to?"imperialist-white supremacist-capitalist-patriarchy."

How the daughter of a man who was rejected from every academic opportunity but a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) can grow up to work for a man who can be generously described as a white supremacist?

Hi Governor Haley!

Or how a gay man like disgraced former Congressman George Santos becomes… well, the list is too long to unfurl.

Black people in the United States have been battling bemusement and horror about our versions of this archetype since the wrong nomenclature of "Uncle Tom" captured the national vernacular from Ben Carlson to Herman Cain to Mr. ?Associate Justice Clarence Thomas himself.?

We are constantly at war with the Double Consciousness of Blackness, from the dilettante nature of celebrities and cause célèbre to elected officials who are more focused on solidifying a fidelity to Black capitalism than repairing the crumbling social fabric of our communities.?

So it would behoove other historically minoritized groups to police their agents of?"imperialist-white supremacist-capitalist-patriarchy."?Instead of expecting tokenistic acts of solidarity based on shared heritage or racialized trauma. Trust me, Black folks hold our public figures accountable, however cruel we may be in the process.

To truly gain equity, we must start working toward community over individualism, empathy over white-saviorism, and most importantly, self-reflection and accountability over explaining away bad-faith actors to justify "Diversity."

This is not easy. I feel a morsel of sympathy for people who are so committed to doing marginalized people harm when they are victims of oppression.?

However, you'll need a call-in.?

Because diversity for the sake of diversity is dangerous.?

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Additional Reading:

George Santos arguing with drag queens might be funny but don't forget his grim anti-LGBTQ+ record.

Slow Burn: Becoming Justice Thomas

Rishi Sunak does represent a minority — his class of plutocrats

Hero and Villain: Why Henry Kissinger Was Such an Ambivalent Figure for Jews and Israelis

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