Greetings!

I don't agree with Morgan when he says that racism will dissapear if we just stop talking about it.

I do however agree that the idea of having a month in which to celebrate black history, has becoming very limiting. In England our Black History Month is October. Although there are plenty of good events that are organisised, I always have to think, 'is this the only time that are are allowed to have a voice in wider society?', 'Is this the only month which they will allow us to have any funding?', 'Is this the only time they will "tolerate" us???.

I agree with the comment before, Afrikan Istory is 24/7/365, and cannot be limited to one month in the year, and should not be.

I know this is not what Morgan articulated, but I wonder whether this was what spurred him to say what he said.

In 2007 in England we will be acknowledging the 200th anniversary of the 'legal' end of England's involvment in the slave trade. This was the legal abolition, but as we all know, it continued for some years after that. To get funding for these events there was talk that it should be focused in October 2007 as there would be a much better chance of getting funding. When I heard that I was angry and argued that if that has to be the case, then it is also proof that slavery days are still with us even today!

It sounds as if Morgan was being a bit blinkered and simplistic, but I think the wider issues it raises are more important to consider, than rallying around to diss this Elder of our diasporic community.

Blessings.

Rastafari Peace and One Love,

Ras Shawn Naphtali