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FEBRUARY ‘13
Manchester Football: The Beautiful Game… or is it?
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We must fight for a better future Lee Jasper has dedicated his life to the fight for racial equality - and now he tells The Nubian Times that things have never been worse for the B.M.E community.
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ho is Lee Jasper? Well, he describes himself as a U.K political activist, with some 30 years of activism under his belt. Born in Cheetham Hill in 1958, with an Irish Grandmother and African father, Jasper went on to gain an Honours degree in social sciences in 1986. As a mature Student Lee moved to London, from there he established the National Black Caucus and for many years worked for the Mangro Community Association with recognised community activist, Frank Crichlow. A key campaigner for racial justice, Jasper was one of just two black people to give
evidence in the Steven Lawrence murder Inquiry and was also the only black person to give evidence to the United Nations regarding racism in the United Kingdom. Jasper was given the role of senior political Director for Ken Livingston at the Greater London Authority during Livingstone’s term as London Mayor. He also has chaired the ‘Black Activists Rising Against the Cuts’, an organisation highlighting the disproportional impact that the cuts have in the black community, and in 2012 he ran in the Croydon North by-election, amassing 2.88 % of the vote. I asked him how he thinks the position of the B.M.E has
evolved in the last few decades. “I believe we are in the worst position we’ve ever been in. The problem I have is that for our children and grandchildren, we’re bequeathing a future to them that is actually worse than what our parents had.” For Jasper, much of this comes down to a lack of jobs and a loss of community. “We have allowed local authority laws to break up our communities and the government have now created a state where one in two black people are unemployed, how long before the B.M.E community has to do something about this?” He draws parallels with America and paints a picture
of a future of drugs and crime “because people will have no viable alternative.” “When you think of the quadrupling of university fees and the levels of unemployment young people have to face, either we leave the United Kingdom or we must fight for a better future here.” So if he were Prime Minister, what would Lee Jasper do to help the B.M.E community? “I would implement the collection of corporate tax. Why is it that these people are making millions but paying zero tax? There is 120 million in unpaid corporate tax in this country. If we were to cancel the new… cont. on page 4
hen Arthur Wharton played for Preston North End in 1886, he became the first black professional footballer to ever play in the football league; he was recently inducted in to the history books, as one of the 100 Great Black Britons. Since that time, football has become much more of a multi cultural game. The city of Manchester boasts two major sides in Manchester City and Manchester United and both sides have international playing squads, with members from the Ivory Coast to Bosnia, from Ecuador to Brazil – the sport has progressed and in many ways become a beacon of multi-culturalism. In fact, 25 percent of the players plying their trade in the English Premier League are either black or from an ethnic minority. Clubs academies are consistently nurturing young black players into first team stars, such as Manchester City’s Micah Richards, or United’s Danny Wellbeck. Robin Van Persie
Mario Ballotelli
But racism is still a pressing issue for the beautiful game. One highly decorated black player is Manchester United and England defender, Rio Ferdinand. He became one of the first players to speak out about the current level of racism in the game. Earlier this season, Ferdinand refused to wear a “Kick Racism out of Football” t-shirt, in protest at the lack of progress made in eradicating racism from the game. This followed the high profile incident last season, which saw Rio’s brother Anton claim to be racially abused by Chelsea defender John Terry during a Premier League match, an offence that Terry was found guilty of by the FA. Another incident saw Liverpool striker Luis Suarez found guilty by the FA of abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra, but many felt that the punishment didn’t go far enough. Recently, Lord Ouseley, the chairman of ‘Kick it Out’, has criticised the Football Association… cont. on page 15
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Ray of hope for football with Bradford F.C.’s growing new fan base.
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