A poem created in homage to Linton Kwesi Johnson 

Abstract

The promotion of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) lies at the heart of British values. As we renew our efforts towards decolonising not only our academic spaces, but society as a whole, we need to further scrutinise EDI as a sociological object of inquiry. It is imperative that we evaluate the efficacy of Diversity and Inclusion directives as mobilisers of social justice rather than as quantifiable measures of supposed anti-racism. Intentionally departing from the notable work of scholars such as Robin DiAngelo (2018; 2021) and Sara Ahmed (2012), this critique is presented through a dub poem as a sociopolitical rebuttal against academia’s ontological biases against Black modes of cultural expression.

Conforming to a mode of expression aligned with Black radical thought, this poem considers the extent to which British society has (or has not) become more inclusive of Black cultures since the arrival of the ‘Windrush generation’ and their children. Drawing upon Linton Kwesi Johnson’s (1982) Inglan Is A Bitch, British values are interrogated throughout the poem in line with Black Caribbean sensibilities.

The poem seeks to capture the current sentiments of many Black scholars who currently feel that their views regarding EDI recruitment strategies, conference panels and institutional processes remain unheard. For many of us, EDI does not value our Black Britishness and represents a form of glorified institutional box-ticking. It is necessary to reexamine the role of EDI to ensure that its implementation serves ethnically minoritised communities and actually promotes both our racial and cultural inclusion.

EDI is a Bitch.

EDI is a Bitch.

Yuh dun know dat da truth of British Equality,
Is dat we really ain’t one big community.

We ain’t all given equal opportunity,
Life feels like slavery’s continuity.

EDI is a Bitch
Der’s no escapin it.1

EDI is a Bitch

Der’s no runnin ‘way from it1

Same way der’s a problem with valuing Diversity,
As all cultures are not valued equally in our actual reality.
Many of my people still facing adversity,
  While other groups seem to have constant immunity.

EDI is a Bitch
Der’s no escapin it.1

EDI is a Bitch

Nuh baddah try fi hide from it1

Here’s da issue wit a ting like Inclusion,
In schools and prisons, nuff Black folk be placed in seclusion.
Treating us like some dangerous foreign intrusion,
Inglan is a Bitch fi tru, like Linton Kwesi Johnson’s conclusion1.

EDI is a Bitch
Der’s no escapin it.1

EDI is a Bitch

Nuh lie me ah tell, it tru.1

How do our leaders define ‘Respect’?
We see nuff man in Parliament stan’ up tall and erect.
Even the Black ones that we choose to elect,
Dem so is first to talk about da Black people the UK should eject.

EDI is a Bitch
Der’s no escapin it.1

EDI is a Bitch
Yuh haffi know how fi survive in it1

Can we stop equating Respect with Tolerance?
Dey is not the same ting, let’s expose this dissonance.
Dis myth is just fuelling our continued ignorance,
Believing we are living under sum anti-racist British governance.

EDI is a Bitch
Der’s no escapin it.1

EDI is a Bitch
Yuh bettah face up to it1

Can’t chat ‘bout EDI without throwing shade to Democracy
The lovechild of modernity and Britain’s aristocracy.
Ultimately a product of colonialism and all of its pillage and piracy,
Dem man always been teef - der’s no such ting as meritocracy!

EDI is a Bitch
Der’s no escapin it.1

EDI is a Bitch

Der’s no running ‘way from it1

Do I think EDI promotes Individual Liberty?

No; I think it breeds a whole leap a fuckery and pure negativity.
EDI transforms Blackness into Britain’s multicultural property,
So that Black hard work and loyalty murders Black creativity.

EDI is a Bitch
Der’s no escapin it.1

EDI is a Bitch, fi tru

A wah we a go do bout it?

References

[1]     Inglan Is A Bitch by Linton Kwesi Johnson (1980).