Task 6: Radio 1Xtra Programme "What is Black British Culture?"

Radio 1Xtra Programme "What is Black British Culture?"

This programme by Radio 1Xtra shows an interpretation on most peoples views on Black British.This included peopl having views that they where either black or british. Some said even though they now live in Britain they are still Carribain or African. However most of them said that as there parents are from the Carribian they are now Black British. I deliberate Black Britain is what people from the West Indies and the Caribbean credited to Britain. This includes food, style sense, language and accents. In the 1940's people from the West Indies thought they were coming to the mother land. There were a lot of them in one house, but they had nowhere else to stay so they put up with it. People of colour were not even allowed in certain venues so they had to find other ways of socialising. This is where the Black British Culture began.

The only place for them to have gathering would be house parties. The Majority of people that came to Britain were Jamaican so they bought the dialect Patois with them. This is because before the WW2 Britain still owned the biggest empire the world has ever seen, owning such countries like Caribbean but as the empire faded the close links between them didn’t which lead to the West Indian people immigrating to the UK. A lot of the black people in the 90s bought a certain fashion to the United Kingdom. This included things like baseball caps, trainers, low jeans and also large accessories like glasses. Many of these fashions are used in today’s fashion world and interpreted by youth culture. The ‘garms’ is when black people in Britain started to make their own mark and identities again by what they wear, by fashion. Celebrities like lil Wayne have been shown fashioning this look many times. People however, say that many things shown in music videos are not influencing youths today in the right way and some things said don’t need to be. People will be influenced by anything! - Music, things shown in videos (drug dealers, guns). Hip-hop, dance, garage and grime music have been accused of having a negative influence on youths however it has been successful where other races have embraced it and not just in the UK The clip also features a comment on David Beckham acting black and influences his appearance to interpret the black culture. This included how he wore his hair. Even though black people have bought so much to the white community recent government statistics show that more white defendants were found guilty then black offenders in 81% of crown court cases yet more black people were sent to prison. There has also been statistics showing that more black boys are under achieving in school then white boys. This is trying to be stopped as there are now groups in certain communities helping people with their education. Many things have now changed in the United Kingdom. Black people have bought to use new accents, food and music which are currently still alive now. This was helped by the birth of the 2nd generation of black people (black people born in the UK) which is when the two generations started to mix. The British dress sense has changed, the UK have new slang "you get me" which is a saying from Jamaica that can now be heard many times a day by youths. The Black British culture is being kept alive as kids can now wear what they want, they have no boundaries like their parents and grandparents would of hand. Youths don’t have to worry whether they are black or British anymore, it’s not neither, or. Black people haven’t lost their identity just yet, and hopefully it will be carried on in the next generation.