The saga of a wonderful wall mural celebrating Cardiff’s rich cultural diversity that was first vandalised last November and then painted over to make way for a McDonalds advert unfolded throughout all last week. The work is part of series of murals commissioned for the local area and painted a local Black led youth artist’s organisation Unify Creative.
Thanks to the swift intervention of Black Lives Matter Cardiff and the subsequent firestorm of online protest McD’s swiftly issued a public statement stating that the whole thing was an error, and they would now commission the original black youth artist organisation to fully restore the mural.
All well and good you might and say and a victory for common sense but there are some issues that need exploring further.
One that immediately comes to mind is the fact that such a mural was subjected to a racist attack at all. What happened subsequently is interesting for several reasons which I’ll go into later, but one of the key questions for me is how does a 50-foot mural on James Street, Butetown get subject to a racially motivated attack and yet is literally next door to Cardiff Bay Police Station and no one was seen nor have there been any arrests following the incident?
The other interesting dynamic was the local campaign to save the mural. A public crowd funder was launched out of nowhere by local white woman Sarah Bowen to have the mural restored. That’s where the problem started.
The days when white people can act as white saviours and lead the anti-racist struggle are long gone. In a post-George Floyd world, there can be nothing about us without us.
What Sarah should’ve done of course is properly consult with and partner with local Black community organisations and worked with them, in addition to Unify Creative to save the mural.
Instead, she rushed headlong into the black leadership space,
She then got into a public spat with one of the Unify Creative team about the cost of repairing the mural. Rallying people to her cause she started accusing the Unify Creative artist of intimidating her, not wanting to account for money, she hadn't even handed over.
When the pressure mounted she went on to racially profile this young black artist describing him as ‘intimidating and 7ft tall.’
Anytime I hear white women making these kinds of accusations about violent black men history has taught me to pause in offering instant solidarity. The reasons will be well known to most– it’s the Southern Belle Syndrome.
Today this presents itself as unaccountable white saviours who expect total deference and applause for their unsolicited efforts to lead the black community and when Black communities push back – they nail themselves to the anti-racist cross and weep they’re being bullied by aggressive black men and women.
Let me be clear, for the avoidance of doubt, the role of white people in fighting racism is to fully support black leadership. This is the defining politic of the anti-racist struggle.
Time after time we’re battling with white saviours who think they have a right to lead our struggle on our behalf, whether it's something as straightforward as restoring a mural or having the temerity to attack black leadership using every racist trope in the Southern Belle handbook.
Sarah had no real mandate to launch a public appeal, she didn’t consult with Cardiff’s black organisational leadership and when she was challenged and held to account, ...well you know the script. Having an independent charity holds the money rather than becoming the sole gatekeeper was the right move - she never made.
My message to white anti-racists like Sarah and her white supporters in Cardiff is simple, stay in your lane, your role is to support black leadership not to supplant or undermine it.
We’re tired of the white liberalism that has no black perspective, is accountable to no one and expects to be applauded and lauded.
Those days are done and unless you’re invited to work with black communities and even then, are prepared to be fully accountable, consult with us and stick to your behind the scenes, designated anti-racist support role, you’re not ready.
Can’t do that, then whatever your noble intentions, you’ve just become part of the problem.
Well done Unify Creative and BLM Cardiff you get the five-star black salute.
