Newslines

Britain

Where were Black people at the Queen "Mum's" funeral? As majority Britain went emotional over the death of the Queen Mother, seen as a symbol of "decency and courage" whose death was "an irreplaceable loss to the whole nation," there was apparently less interest within the post-colonial Black minority community as judged by their absence among the one million public mourners, according to news commentators.

Flawed selection. Black and Asian candidates are barred from winnable seats by racist selection process of the three main political parties - Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative. The parties have consistently failed to increase minority representation from present levels. Of 659 MPs in the House of Commons, only 12 are of Black or Asian origins and all of those are Labour stalwarts and there are just 24 ethnic minority peers out of 699 members of the House of Lords.

Litigation. Nearly 10 years after the teenager Stephen Lawrence was killed in 1993, his friend Duwayne Brook has won the right to sue police for alleged negligence in the treatment of victims of racist crimes.

'Corrupt' Church. Supporters of Michael Nazir-Ali, bishop of Rochester, the only nonwhite among several candidates for the next Archbishop of Canterbury, the Church's highest position, may cry foul if their fears become reality. Victory may be denied him, they say, by prime minister Tony Blair's veto powers and the Church of England's selection process some describe as byzantine and "structurally corrupt".

University challenge. An Oxford University tutor has been accused of 'outrageous'racism, by student of medieval Arabic philosophy, Naadeem Ahmed, 31, of Indian/Pakistani origin

Sweet victory. Supermodel Naomi Campbell has won her case for damages against the Daily Mirror who went too far, she says, in publishing her personal details and compared her to a "choclate soldier" - a phrase she found hurtful and considered racist.

Mission impossible. The principal, Pastor Derrick Wilson, and parents of the Black-run Christian fundamentalist Tabernacle school who took to sleeping overnight in the building to prevent eviction, have lost their case. Nevertheless contradictions abound. The landlord is a Victorian charity founded for missionary work and aid to the poor. Tabernacle is one of the UK's few schools for the new urban disadvantaged - Black children excluded from the state system.

Diaspora and Africa

Shirt sale. The most important shirt in world football, the famous No 10 shirt worn by the Brazilian Pele in the 1970 World Cup fetched a record price of £157,750 at auction in London. When interviewed, Pele recalled his encounters with racism in the game, but says he did not let it blunt his skills, nor stop him excelling on the field or in society.

Back to Africa. Calls for the return of Nigeria's sixteenth century Benin bronzes have come from the Nigerian government and Folarin Shyllon, a Nigerian Africanist scholar and specialist in cultural property law. The precious objects, taken by British forces in 1897 and brought to Britain, are among the best and most sensitive examples of Africa's cultural heritage, say art historians.

'You done us wrong'. The Rev Jesse Jackson has launched a campaign for reparations from three American companies "unjustly enriched" by abetting and insuring slavery. If successful, the money will be used to boost schools, job prospects, and the enduring legacy of disadvantage of those 36 million African Americans of today whose ancestors were enslaved.

A lasting reminder. The life of President Leopold Sedar Senghor of Senegal (1906-2001) - an outstanding poet, intellectual, political leader, and first African member of the prestigious French Academy - is unparalleled. His revolutionary concept of negritude gained accolades from many African and Caribbean scholars and cultural activists. He pioneered the view that Black civilisation, in Africa and abroad, has its own values, achievements and aspirations, and added a new dimension to European literature and the politics of race relations.

Kwela, kwela. Famed for her anti-apartheid activities over four decades, the indomitable Miriam Makeba, South African singer, diplomat and freedom fighter, turned 70 in March. Her songs of resistance touched the hearts of the world as the streets of the townships turned into bloody battlefields against the forces of opporession.

Rural born but urban township bred, the talented Ms Makeba exploded into European consciousness in Come Back Africa, the underground movie expose of apartheid by Lionel Rogosin. Her film debut is forever associated with the music of street corner youngsters playing cheap penny whistle flutes and dancing to the defiant strains of "kwela, kwela!" (Get up, get up) in brave parody of the shout the police used to herd kids into their vans.

Appointed South Africa's cultural ambassador by President Thabo Mbeki two years ago, Ms Makeba said modestly "I am not a diplomat, I am a singer. But sometimes it is the artists who can speak to all the people through their art."

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