0:00:00 > 0:00:03- CROWD:- Put the guns down! Put the guns down!
0:00:03 > 0:00:04Put the guns down!
0:00:04 > 0:00:06Black Lives Matter.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08Put the guns down!
0:00:08 > 0:00:12It started as a hashtag in 2012 after 17-year-old Trayvon Martin
0:00:12 > 0:00:16was shot dead by neighbourhood watchman George Zimmerman.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19- He killed my- BLEEP- boyfriend. His licence he's carried...
0:00:19 > 0:00:24Since then, iconic moments of police brutality captured on camera...
0:00:26 > 0:00:30..meant the movement spread across America.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33But now the Black Lives Matter brand has gone global,
0:00:33 > 0:00:37with marches in Australia, Canada and around the UK.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41But why are people here marching?
0:00:41 > 0:00:46I'm Nesta McGregor, I'm a journalist at BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49I was born in Jamaica but my family moved to South London
0:00:49 > 0:00:50when I was nine.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53I'm looking to find out what's causing
0:00:53 > 0:00:55a rise in black activism in Britain...
0:00:55 > 0:00:56They look at her and think,
0:00:56 > 0:00:58"She's a black little girl, she could be bad."
0:00:58 > 0:01:04..and what it feels like to grow up black and British in 2016.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12So I guess one of the primary reasons I wanted to make this
0:01:12 > 0:01:13documentary was to highlight
0:01:13 > 0:01:17what it's like being black in the UK in 2016.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21Even at work it happens on a daily basis - I'll have an e-mail
0:01:21 > 0:01:24conversation or a phone conversation with someone,
0:01:24 > 0:01:26set up an interview, I'll go to their premises to meet them,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29they'll come downstairs to reception,
0:01:29 > 0:01:31look around, look around,
0:01:31 > 0:01:33go back upstairs and give me a call and went,
0:01:33 > 0:01:35"Nesta, you sure you're at the right place, mate?
0:01:35 > 0:01:37"We've just been downstairs."
0:01:37 > 0:01:40And then, like, there's a moment when you hear, like,
0:01:40 > 0:01:43almost in their head, "Oh, you're the black guy that was at reception.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45"You're the BBC journalist."
0:01:45 > 0:01:49It's only when I'm saying this now I realise, but it saddens me cos
0:01:49 > 0:01:53I've sort of accepted it cos it's the way things have always been.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56And I know lots of people listening to this might feel the same.
0:01:56 > 0:02:01But there's gotta be a reason why now people want to take a stand
0:02:01 > 0:02:04and show the rest of the world how they're feeling.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14I'm not really interested in hearing the same stats about black people
0:02:14 > 0:02:17not being equal, four times more likely to be stopped and searched,
0:02:17 > 0:02:21more likely to end up in prison. We've heard those numbers for years.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24What I really want to do is meet some of the people who've come out
0:02:24 > 0:02:28to protest, and find out why they're here.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30For these protesters, obviously, trying to make their point,
0:02:30 > 0:02:32causing as much disruption as possible.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37Just in front me, traffic is at an absolute standstill.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39- What do we want? - CROWD:- Justice!
0:02:39 > 0:02:41- When do we want it?- Now!
0:02:41 > 0:02:43- What do we want?- Justice!
0:02:43 > 0:02:44- When do we want it? - CROWD:- Now!
0:02:44 > 0:02:47- What do we want?- Justice! - When do we want it?- Now!
0:02:47 > 0:02:49- What do we want? - CROWD:- Justice!
0:02:49 > 0:02:50- When do we want it?- Now!
0:02:50 > 0:02:53One thing that's quite clear is it's pretty hard to find out
0:02:53 > 0:02:56who's leading the march or if it does have a root.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59At the minute, the march has now gone back where it came from
0:02:59 > 0:03:01and is now heading towards Suffolk.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04# All I wanna say is that they don't really care about us... #
0:03:04 > 0:03:05It's pretty much trouble-free
0:03:05 > 0:03:08but not everyone is here to show support.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12We come across a couple who should have been on holiday but missed
0:03:12 > 0:03:14their flight because of a similar demonstration
0:03:14 > 0:03:17- near Heathrow Airport yesterday. - This is important,
0:03:17 > 0:03:19something's happening here and we want you to address this...
0:03:19 > 0:03:22- Of course it's important.- But it shouldn't be met with resistance.
0:03:22 > 0:03:27- It should be, "Yeah, that's true." - We paid £3,000 to go on our holiday.
0:03:27 > 0:03:28We're pissed off with you.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30..they're dead forever.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Their family, everyone's gotta mourn them, everyone's gotta...
0:03:33 > 0:03:36If you lot supported us before, we wouldn't have to do the airport.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40Don't shoot! Don't shoot!
0:03:40 > 0:03:44Eventually, by luck, we come across one of the organisers -
0:03:44 > 0:03:4619-year-old student Binati.
0:03:46 > 0:03:51It was to create as much, you know, awareness about Black Lives Matter
0:03:51 > 0:03:53to the people that are here with us today,
0:03:53 > 0:03:57and to the people that didn't know the event was happening.
0:03:57 > 0:03:58And I feel like people who say that
0:03:58 > 0:04:01what we're doing isn't going to change anything,
0:04:01 > 0:04:03they're just trying to silence us and we will not be silenced.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06There's things that annoy me, like comments about my hair not
0:04:06 > 0:04:10being professional enough and I just feel like...instead of...
0:04:10 > 0:04:14What I'd normally do, I'd change my hairstyle.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17To more of a suitable... Like, European suitable hairstyle.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20But, like, I've had enough of that and it used to, like, kind of
0:04:20 > 0:04:24make me feel down but I've just learnt more to just embrace it.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26# All I wanna say is that they don't really care about us... #
0:04:26 > 0:04:29As the march goes on, we come across this guy.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33..they're a fucking million immigrants.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36So what we've got is a gentleman here now being lead away
0:04:36 > 0:04:39by the police who, during the march, actually came out of his shop,
0:04:39 > 0:04:43started shouting some abuse, telling people to go back home and how,
0:04:43 > 0:04:45you know, they don't belong here.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47- ..born and grown here. - Listen, I'm not...
0:04:47 > 0:04:50They can't keep coming here, they can't keep coming here.
0:04:50 > 0:04:51Don't talk over me.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54I heard this gentleman say with my own ears that these people
0:04:54 > 0:04:56need to go back home and stop coming here.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59Listen, my wife is a Jamaican woman, yeah?
0:04:59 > 0:05:03I've got four half-caste children. I can't even say "half-caste" no more.
0:05:03 > 0:05:04I've gotta say "mixed race".
0:05:04 > 0:05:07There's a thousand million immigrants coming, right?
0:05:07 > 0:05:11- They can't come from France. - These people are marching...
0:05:11 > 0:05:13- They can't get to the White Cliffs of Dover.- ..for equality.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16If they don't feel equal in society what do you want them to do?
0:05:16 > 0:05:17Come here, come here.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23So after the march I went to meet six of seven friends for a drink
0:05:23 > 0:05:27and they were all white. And for the first time I was actually looking
0:05:27 > 0:05:29at them and thinking, "What do they really think of me?"
0:05:29 > 0:05:32And, "Are they being honest?"
0:05:32 > 0:05:35And that was a little bit weird. And I also felt like...
0:05:35 > 0:05:37after speaking to so many people at the march,
0:05:37 > 0:05:39and now that I'm back at home...
0:05:41 > 0:05:42And this is genuine as well, like,
0:05:42 > 0:05:47it almost made me feel less black being at the march or that
0:05:47 > 0:05:50I wasn't black enough because maybe if I hadn't been working
0:05:50 > 0:05:53I wouldn't have been there, or I'm certainly not...
0:05:54 > 0:05:56..as...
0:05:56 > 0:05:58When I say "up for the fight" I mean up for marching.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02Obviously I'm for equal rights but I don't think that I would have
0:06:02 > 0:06:04got off my butt and went to a march.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11A few days later, and I've arranged a catch-up with Craze 24.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13- 'Hello.' - Hey, is that Craze?
0:06:13 > 0:06:16- 'Yeah.'- How you doing, man? It's Nesta from the BBC.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19'He tells me he's been pulled over countless times by police
0:06:19 > 0:06:20'just because of the way he looks.'
0:06:20 > 0:06:22How you doing?
0:06:22 > 0:06:24'He was the one defending the protest to the couple who'd
0:06:24 > 0:06:26missed their holiday,
0:06:26 > 0:06:29but he's also using his music to try and change things.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35# And when you hear me saying Black Lives Matter
0:06:35 > 0:06:37# I ain't tryin' to say all lives don't
0:06:37 > 0:06:40# I'm tryin' to make you pay attention to the facts
0:06:40 > 0:06:43# You always say you got my back and then you leave me on my own
0:06:43 > 0:06:46# If you're ready for the Black Lives Matter
0:06:46 > 0:06:48# You wouldn't always try and criticise
0:06:48 > 0:06:51# Instead of hatin' on the message, you would focus on the evidence
0:06:51 > 0:06:55# The facts that we recorded on our phones... #
0:06:55 > 0:06:57It's a lot cooler in here
0:06:57 > 0:07:01than it was the last time I bumped into you at the weekend.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03Why were you at the march?
0:07:03 > 0:07:09I was there because I believe in the issues that they was marching for.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12It's come to a point where we have to start talking and
0:07:12 > 0:07:16addressing the issues before they go too far.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18So, it just come to that point where...
0:07:18 > 0:07:21And everyone's gotta be responsible. I felt responsible myself.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25Black Lives Matter started in America and lots of people
0:07:25 > 0:07:27can understand why Americans are marching on the street,
0:07:27 > 0:07:30but not why British people are marching on the streets.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32Black Lives Matter everywhere.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34I'm not saying that we just march for Black Lives Matter,
0:07:34 > 0:07:37but Black Lives Matter does matter everywhere in the world.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40In Britain, black people are still affected by injustice.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42There was some people who'd come there because
0:07:42 > 0:07:45- a previous march had disrupted their holiday.- Yeah.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48What did you get out of that conversation, if anything?
0:07:48 > 0:07:53I got that they was upset because they was inconvenienced.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56I felt that they was enlightened briefly by us talking
0:07:56 > 0:07:59so I felt positive that I touched someone
0:07:59 > 0:08:02or there's a chance that I potentially touched someone
0:08:02 > 0:08:04and made them see it from a different perspective.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08Again, we're all humans and it's not about black lives mattering
0:08:08 > 0:08:10more than white lives or all lives or whatever,
0:08:10 > 0:08:13it's all about us just realising we're all humans.
0:08:13 > 0:08:14If something happens that's wrong,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17we need to come together and deal with it.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Craze admits, as a teenager, he was in trouble with the law, which
0:08:23 > 0:08:27probably influenced his negative feelings towards the police.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30But what makes a 19-year-old from Manchester like Binati,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33who's never been in trouble, organise a march in London?
0:08:33 > 0:08:37I guess the first place to start is the obvious - the hair is
0:08:37 > 0:08:41a little bit different than last time we spoke to you. What's new?
0:08:41 > 0:08:44I got box braids. This is what you call box braids.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48It's like a protective hairstyle for my holiday.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50So I guess people's immediate thoughts would be,
0:08:50 > 0:08:53"So you changed your hair for a holiday but not for an employer."
0:08:53 > 0:08:57For me, I can't keep up my hair for too long cos it'll start breaking.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59So this just helps it grow and stuff and obviously
0:08:59 > 0:09:01me being on holiday and if it's getting wet every day it's going
0:09:01 > 0:09:05to damage my natural hair, so that's the only reason I've put it on.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07Like, how would you measure the march, like,
0:09:07 > 0:09:09whether it was a success or not?
0:09:09 > 0:09:13I would have liked to have, like, thousands and thousand of people
0:09:13 > 0:09:16but, you know, hundreds of people is better than no people at all,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19and because our voices are not being heard.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21So the reason that we're out on the streets is we want to stop you,
0:09:21 > 0:09:24like, from your daily activities,
0:09:24 > 0:09:27just to listen and feel our frustration.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29We're frustrated we're even having to protest.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34Do you remember the first time in your life that...
0:09:34 > 0:09:37you felt you was treated a certain way cos of the colour of your skin?
0:09:37 > 0:09:41I just went just to look for a job and over the phone I got it
0:09:41 > 0:09:44and I got to the interview and the interview was fine,
0:09:44 > 0:09:48they said, "That's fine but your hair would have to be neat,
0:09:48 > 0:09:50"you have to wear your hair in a neat style."
0:09:50 > 0:09:54And obviously I came with my hair out in my afro and I went home...
0:09:54 > 0:09:57I was a bit disheartened but I didn't really think of it in-depth
0:09:57 > 0:10:00like, "Oh, it's because of this," but it was just kind of like,
0:10:00 > 0:10:02"What am I supposed to do with my hair, like,
0:10:02 > 0:10:06"what way would be suitable for me to go into my workplace with
0:10:06 > 0:10:08"hair that's suitable?" I didn't do anything,
0:10:08 > 0:10:10I didn't raise the issue with anybody,
0:10:10 > 0:10:12I just said, "Onto the next one.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15"I'll just carry on looking for more jobs. It's not that big of a deal."
0:10:15 > 0:10:18And that's kind of the mistake that I made for myself.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21Cos it was a bigger deal.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27Binati's frustration is about people not accepting her for her natural
0:10:27 > 0:10:32self, and it's that gut feeling of inequality or injustice that
0:10:32 > 0:10:34is uniting black people.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37But everyone has their individual fight.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40Why when we're learning about black history in schools does it
0:10:40 > 0:10:42start at slavery or civil rights movements?
0:10:42 > 0:10:45Why does my name stop me from getting a job?
0:10:45 > 0:10:49Why is it an issue for me to wear my hair natural?
0:10:49 > 0:10:51We never learn about the kings and queens but, when we learn
0:10:51 > 0:10:54about the Greeks and Romans, they go back hundreds of years.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58Why don't I see more people like myself on TV?
0:10:58 > 0:11:01Why isn't there more black people in top jobs?
0:11:01 > 0:11:04Why is it because I wear a do-rag and a tracksuit that I get
0:11:04 > 0:11:06looked on as if I'm a drug dealer?
0:11:06 > 0:11:10Why is it when people meet me they automatically think I'm black?
0:11:10 > 0:11:12I'm not, I'm mixed race.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14Why do people take gangsta rap so literally?
0:11:14 > 0:11:17Because half of the time it's not even what you think it is.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21Why don't we have a lot of black role models in life?
0:11:21 > 0:11:25So why is it because I drive a nice car I get pulled over
0:11:25 > 0:11:27four times in one year?
0:11:27 > 0:11:30I question why we still don't have a black Prime Minister.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33At my school there's not many black people, so everybody just looks
0:11:33 > 0:11:37at you differently like, "Oh, she's the only black person."
0:11:37 > 0:11:41I'm always unsure why is it people assume I like hip-hop or why
0:11:41 > 0:11:43it is people assume I'm good at basketball.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45I feel like I'm just the same as everybody else.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48There's a lot of young black people out there,
0:11:48 > 0:11:51especially young black males, who lack aspiration in life
0:11:51 > 0:11:54and the reason they do is because they've not got
0:11:54 > 0:11:56a role model to help and support them.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00To try and understand why now more than ever before there's so much
0:12:00 > 0:12:02momentum around the movement,
0:12:02 > 0:12:04I've come to meet Bee.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07Hi, thank you for coming to the exhibition.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09I'm going to need this cos this is when I pretend I know what
0:12:09 > 0:12:11I'm talking about.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13'She's told me to come along to her exhibition which is about
0:12:13 > 0:12:16'highlighting the voices of black women.'
0:12:16 > 0:12:20And each layer is to show that black women are made up of multiple
0:12:20 > 0:12:21different layers.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24'Bee's been going to Black Lives Matter events for several years.'
0:12:24 > 0:12:29So, talk to me then. What's your life like in Britain today?
0:12:29 > 0:12:33I think life in Britain in 2016 as a black British woman is
0:12:33 > 0:12:34actually really interesting.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38Every single day I'm on social media talking about race and diversity
0:12:38 > 0:12:40and that's really important for me.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45The reason why I mentioned 2016 and social media is because...
0:12:45 > 0:12:48ten years ago there wasn't these platforms.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50So what happened in your life, then,
0:12:50 > 0:12:53why you wanted to get up and your voice to be heard?
0:12:53 > 0:12:56My daughter - I have a seven-year-old -
0:12:56 > 0:12:59and I want her to be herself, unapologetically.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01I don't want her to have to assimilate to
0:13:01 > 0:13:04a culture that's never really going to be accepting of her.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07And, actually, there'll be people saying these marches did nothing
0:13:07 > 0:13:11but make people lose support for a movement they perhaps believed
0:13:11 > 0:13:13in but all you did was cause disruption.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17For me, it's like...the impact that had,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19now people know what Black Lives Matter is.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22People in Britain probably thought Black Lives Matter was just
0:13:22 > 0:13:23an American issue,
0:13:23 > 0:13:26but when that happened we were able then to insert our
0:13:26 > 0:13:30conversation into how Black Lives Matter is also important in the UK.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32The UK has a different fight and that's why you're out there.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34The global face of blackness is American.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37So therefore when we do talk about anything to do with black people
0:13:37 > 0:13:40we instantly think of America. We don't even think of Africa.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42Yeah, we're saying hands up,
0:13:42 > 0:13:45don't shoot and we're not being shot in this country,
0:13:45 > 0:13:47but we want to show our brothers and sisters in America that we
0:13:47 > 0:13:49are standing with them.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52In this county it's hands up, don't handcuff me,
0:13:52 > 0:13:56hands up, I'm not the suspect you thought that robbed that car.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00My child's life is at jeopardy if she went to America.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03My child is a black little girl growing up in this country,
0:14:03 > 0:14:06her life is also at jeopardy because people do not look at
0:14:06 > 0:14:09her and view her the same as a white little girl.
0:14:09 > 0:14:10They look and her and think,
0:14:10 > 0:14:13"She's a black little girl, she could be bad."
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Craze 24, Binati and Bee -
0:14:16 > 0:14:18three different experiences of life.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21The sort of problems they spoke to me about might not seem as
0:14:21 > 0:14:24dramatic in those in America,
0:14:24 > 0:14:29but don't forget this is on top of the fact that black people are...
0:14:31 > 0:14:35They're underrepresented in jobs like judges, police chiefs or MPs.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37And a black graduate...
0:14:39 > 0:14:41..with the same degree.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50Filming so far is interesting.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53I am surprised at this point because, when I started making this,
0:14:53 > 0:14:57I almost assumed what the story was and that I'll be able to easily
0:14:57 > 0:15:04highlight how black people in the UK were victims of a racist system,
0:15:04 > 0:15:07and I think there definitely is a large element of that.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11But I definitely am starting to believe that the people that
0:15:11 > 0:15:13are complaining, me included,
0:15:13 > 0:15:18we need to do more as individuals, as communities.
0:15:18 > 0:15:19Like, forget colour.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22If you keep telling people that they can't be something enough,
0:15:22 > 0:15:25slowly and surely they start to believe it.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28Very early on I knew that I wanted to escape growing up on
0:15:28 > 0:15:31a council estate, never owning your own home,
0:15:31 > 0:15:35so I had a plan in place to do that. I'd go to school and college
0:15:35 > 0:15:38and study hard and then I'll take it from there.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40The only we can change it, if we want more black teachers,
0:15:40 > 0:15:43more black politicians, more black police officers,
0:15:43 > 0:15:47if we're not qualifying for those positions in the first place
0:15:47 > 0:15:49then it makes absolutely no sense.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51You say to people, "You want to be on TV?" They go, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."
0:15:51 > 0:15:54OK, or you're on YouTube or you're making videos,
0:15:54 > 0:15:55"Are you applying for internships?"
0:15:55 > 0:15:57"Oh, no, no, no."
0:15:57 > 0:16:00Like, you can't just wait at the bottom of a ladder for something
0:16:00 > 0:16:01to fall to you.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04At least if you climbed halfway up that ladder and stuck up your hand,
0:16:04 > 0:16:07someone might have a better chance of actually reaching for you
0:16:07 > 0:16:10because they see you genuinely want to be on there.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14Most of the people that we've spoken to have been stumped by one question
0:16:14 > 0:16:17and it's, "OK, you've got a top politician
0:16:17 > 0:16:21"or a leader right in front of you, and you want things to change.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23"What would you say to them?"
0:16:26 > 0:16:28What would I say to Theresa May?
0:16:28 > 0:16:30Um...
0:16:30 > 0:16:32Oh.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34I don't know how to answer that.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38No-one knows the change they're asking for. It's like...
0:16:38 > 0:16:41that change can only be, I think, within yourself.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43Like, if I've met someone who says,
0:16:43 > 0:16:45"Every single time I go down the street
0:16:45 > 0:16:48"in a do-rag and tracksuit bottoms, someone thinks I'm a drug dealer."
0:16:48 > 0:16:50And I say to them,
0:16:50 > 0:16:52"Well, don't wear the do-rag or the tracksuit bottoms."
0:16:52 > 0:16:54It's like, "Oh, my God" Like... Like....
0:16:54 > 0:16:57"You want me to whiten up." But it's not whitening up.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01People are not going to change their perceptions but you can change.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04So if you had to take off the tracksuit bottoms and people
0:17:04 > 0:17:08judge you differently and you might get further in life,
0:17:08 > 0:17:10like, what kind of a sacrifice is that?
0:17:10 > 0:17:12# Right
0:17:12 > 0:17:14# My eye just changed
0:17:14 > 0:17:17# You just buzzed the front gate, I
0:17:17 > 0:17:18# Thank God you came... #
0:17:18 > 0:17:20Today I'm meeting Jen.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23She's a film-maker now but studied law at uni.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26- You all right?- How are you? Good to see you.- I'm good, I'm good.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28'She's been on Black Lives Matter marches before
0:17:28 > 0:17:31'but knows first-hand the importance of getting a good education
0:17:31 > 0:17:33'and equipping yourself
0:17:33 > 0:17:35'with the right tools to deal with an unfair society.'
0:17:35 > 0:17:38- I was in a class of, I think, there's 26 of us.- Yeah.
0:17:38 > 0:17:43And there was at least one child from every major ethnicity,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46but for the most part it was a black school.
0:17:46 > 0:17:47But there were all races represented.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49But we were all united by class.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53Because we were all children of immigrants, basically, you know?
0:17:53 > 0:17:56And you have a lot of kids who have this level of frustration
0:17:56 > 0:17:59- who grow up thinking, "It's me." - Yeah.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01"There's something wrong with me."
0:18:01 > 0:18:05And as an individual, and on a very kind of mental, psychological level,
0:18:05 > 0:18:08it's kind of like a recipe for disaster.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11If we say the system's not going to change and I'm for us
0:18:11 > 0:18:13changing as people, lots of people say,
0:18:13 > 0:18:16"Why should I have to change? Why should I have to perform?"
0:18:16 > 0:18:17Is that something you can relate to?
0:18:17 > 0:18:19It's the whole idea of, like,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22tracksuits and hoodies or wanting to dress down.
0:18:22 > 0:18:23And some people can say,
0:18:23 > 0:18:27"It's no different to a white man wearing a tracksuit and hoodie."
0:18:27 > 0:18:29You're both going to have assumptions about who you are,
0:18:29 > 0:18:31based on what you're wearing.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34But I guess the point I'm trying to make is the fact that it's true,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37you know, there will be an assumption of this white person
0:18:37 > 0:18:38in terms of what they're wearing
0:18:38 > 0:18:41and there will be an assumption on you in terms of what you're wearing.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43But as a black man there's an added assumption
0:18:43 > 0:18:45on top of that general assumption.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48You've done everything you were told that you couldn't do.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52You're doing what I would consider, if not a dream job,
0:18:52 > 0:18:54certainly a job that you love.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57- So...fight's over. - Fight's just begun.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05So, as you can guess, I'm back at home,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08about to make dinner for a few specially-invited guests.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11And part of the reason I'm doing this
0:19:11 > 0:19:14is because I'm a tiny bit confused.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17We have my good friend Adrian who I play football with.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19Have done for a few years.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22And he works with disadvantaged children.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25We've got Bee, who you might remember from the art gallery.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29We have Brad, who is a friend of my girlfriend,
0:19:29 > 0:19:32and we've been out socially a few times as well.
0:19:32 > 0:19:33And me.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35Obviously. Chef, host.
0:19:35 > 0:19:36You name it.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40Chicken to start, lamb for main, let's hope there's not an argument
0:19:40 > 0:19:44for dessert over my new thought that it's better to change tact
0:19:44 > 0:19:47than wait for society to change.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51I think asking black people to change themselves is a reach.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53We can't change because we haven't done anything wrong.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55We live in a society...
0:19:55 > 0:19:57Change doesn't always mean you're doing anything wrong,
0:19:57 > 0:19:58it just means a different approach.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01I know, but I think... I don't know, though, like...
0:20:01 > 0:20:03No-one is going to...
0:20:03 > 0:20:05You're not going to jump into the top of a company,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08you have to start somewhere, that was my point.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10Yeah, I do think so, I'm not going to deny that you shouldn't start
0:20:10 > 0:20:15somewhere. If you want to be part of the game, you get in the game,
0:20:15 > 0:20:17you don't sit on the sidewalk.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19The key thing here - and this is where you come in -
0:20:19 > 0:20:24in terms of...even if we're going to infiltrate the system and work,
0:20:24 > 0:20:25we still need...
0:20:25 > 0:20:27- White allies. - ..white allies.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29- Of course.- We're not saying...
0:20:29 > 0:20:31- But...- Do you guys...
0:20:31 > 0:20:32I'm just...
0:20:32 > 0:20:37Where you may see something, you've got the right to step in and say,
0:20:37 > 0:20:40- "Hey, that's not right." - Totally agree with you.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43But I think there's a generational difference, I really do.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46If I was in a position of power, it wouldn't bother me.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50Like, I do think it bothers people to employ black people.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52I think that's a generational thing.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55'The night throws up a few surprises.'
0:20:55 > 0:20:59- You've been stopped and searched. How old are you?- 26.
0:20:59 > 0:21:04Can you imagine? I know boys who are under 15 that get searched daily.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07'Talk soon goes back to the marches.'
0:21:07 > 0:21:11I don't think we have to look at every single protest in, like,
0:21:11 > 0:21:13causing a change.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15You hope to get people to know what you're fighting for,
0:21:15 > 0:21:19people know the issues. Just really bringing it to the agenda.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23So, I mean, normally with a protest there is an end goal,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26so if it's just to highlight
0:21:26 > 0:21:29the agenda do you think people are unaware?
0:21:29 > 0:21:32- That there is racism in Britain? - Yeah.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34Yeah, of course.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36Who's unaware?
0:21:38 > 0:21:40Um...
0:21:44 > 0:21:47I think there's a lot of people will argue racism doesn't exist no more.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49So..
0:21:49 > 0:21:53As a black person I know there are a lot of cultures or races,
0:21:53 > 0:21:54I'm bottom of the pile.
0:21:54 > 0:22:00I'll speak to a friend and she's white, she prefers black guys.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02But she's turned around and said,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05"My dad will never allow me to go out with a black person."
0:22:05 > 0:22:08Brad, is that a feeling you can relate to?
0:22:08 > 0:22:12Um, no, it's not. I don't know, it just...
0:22:12 > 0:22:14I've never felt that way.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16And that probably is because I've gone through
0:22:16 > 0:22:19a naive world where I've just kind of gone about my bit...
0:22:19 > 0:22:21It's your experience, man, it's not naive, it's your reality.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24Don't you think that what you said about that girl,
0:22:24 > 0:22:27it goes back to the generational changes?
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Because I would never say that to my son or daughter.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32I think that is ingrained in those people and I don't think that
0:22:32 > 0:22:34will change.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36'With dinner over, there are some definite takeaways.'
0:22:36 > 0:22:40It's an internal battle for me cos it's like certain people need
0:22:40 > 0:22:43to be held accountable for their actions and their behaviour,
0:22:43 > 0:22:47but we gotta play our role in this as well and create solutions.
0:22:47 > 0:22:48Tonight for me has been huge.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51I mean, there's things that I've learnt which, as you said,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54the white saviours, you do need an ally.
0:22:54 > 0:22:55And you said, like,
0:22:55 > 0:22:58and I'll be watching the news and I'll see the Black Lives Matter
0:22:58 > 0:23:00on there but I wouldn't go on Facebook and post it,
0:23:00 > 0:23:01I wouldn't go on Instagram.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04And now that's kind of changed my attitude to think, "Yeah, I should."
0:23:04 > 0:23:08And I should help and do something to help.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10Cheers. Here's to dessert.
0:23:10 > 0:23:11And washing up!
0:23:14 > 0:23:17Binati's now back at uni and I wonder whether she still
0:23:17 > 0:23:20has the same drive she had in the summer.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24When we spoke to you the plan was to definitely have another march.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27What are you guys actively doing? Apart from sharing stuff on Twitter.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31We've not...like, set a date for any marches,
0:23:31 > 0:23:33just of yet.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37Not that we're waiting for something big to happen, but...
0:23:37 > 0:23:41we just don't think there's a particular reason just right now
0:23:41 > 0:23:43to just go out on the streets and march.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45Which might please a lot of people who were saying marching's
0:23:45 > 0:23:47never going to do anything,
0:23:47 > 0:23:50"You guys were out in London cos it was a nice day."
0:23:50 > 0:23:53But, you know, "Do this for 90 days in a row in the rain,
0:23:53 > 0:23:56- "sleet and snow and I guarantee you wouldn't be there."- True.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00I mean, that would definitely, like, make a statement if we did it, like,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03carried on every day. But, erm...
0:24:03 > 0:24:06I, personally, couldn't do that. Not right now anyway.
0:24:10 > 0:24:15As filming comes to an end, I'm back where my life in the UK started.
0:24:19 > 0:24:24So we're back in Southeast London. This is the estate I grew up on.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26Got lots of new buildings.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28Obviously some of the old stuff is still here as well.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31And I definitely say some of the best memories of my life
0:24:31 > 0:24:33were made here.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36And this is where my attitude towards life in general,
0:24:36 > 0:24:38friendships, relationships,
0:24:38 > 0:24:41was definitely formed in this estate.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45I lived here for maybe 15 years.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49It's where I met this man. Known him for over, what, 20 years in general?
0:24:49 > 0:24:51- Yeah.- Do you remember over here playing when you could jump over
0:24:51 > 0:24:52this easily?
0:24:53 > 0:24:55HE CHUCKLES
0:24:55 > 0:24:59And I keep on telling people the craziest thing about growing up
0:24:59 > 0:25:02in a place like this is so many people live here that there was
0:25:02 > 0:25:04so many friends for you to have. You don't even need more.
0:25:04 > 0:25:05Don't need new friends, yeah.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08I know lots of people are not council estate but it gives you
0:25:08 > 0:25:12a certain character and a certain closeness and affinity to people.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16The only thing that was bad is...and I got no shame in admitting it...
0:25:16 > 0:25:19- let's say that there was ten of us in total.- Mm.- I think me and you
0:25:19 > 0:25:22are probably the only ones who weren't in trouble with the
0:25:22 > 0:25:26law every week, or weren't going to prison and going to jail.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30What made you stay away from that side of things?
0:25:30 > 0:25:33Well, everyone dips in and dips out
0:25:33 > 0:25:37but I just looked at the bigger picture.
0:25:37 > 0:25:42And also my home played a big part.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44Your foundation, yeah?
0:25:44 > 0:25:46My mum, sisters,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49they were doing well so you didn't want to drag everyone else down.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Like, did you feel the system was against you and it wasn't
0:25:52 > 0:25:55going to change so you had to give yourself the skills?
0:25:55 > 0:26:00Maybe for the poor, working-class, it's harder, but that's general,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03that'll be white, black, Indian, Chinese, you know, it's harder
0:26:03 > 0:26:06than if I was coming from a middle-class family.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08It's a mind-set.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11So, I never really tried to play the race card.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13I tried my best - it's too easy.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17It's because I'm black why I can't get that job? No.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19It's cos you didn't wear the right thing to the interview.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22Simple. You know what I mean? You didn't do your research beforehand.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24I've got a lot of...
0:26:24 > 0:26:26I don't like even talking about race but I've got
0:26:26 > 0:26:30a lot of black friends that do quite well. But that's because...
0:26:30 > 0:26:33I broadened my horizon, went to university,
0:26:33 > 0:26:34met friends at university,
0:26:34 > 0:26:38then the places I now go I meet a certain level of people, you know.
0:26:38 > 0:26:43So it's not a race thing cos I have black friends that are doing well.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46- My thing is it's building blocks. - Mm.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Me and you grew up on a council estate,
0:26:48 > 0:26:50so my one dream is that - and there's nothing wrong with
0:26:50 > 0:26:53council estates - but my one thing is I want to leave my
0:26:53 > 0:26:56son a home so that's one less thing he's gotta worry about.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00My thing is, my children have to go to private school.
0:27:00 > 0:27:01- I teach, yeah?- Mm.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05So in school I'm saying, how old are you going to live for?
0:27:05 > 0:27:09Till you're 80, all right. So you want to be a "gangster".
0:27:09 > 0:27:12More than likely, between the ages of 16 and 20 you'll go to jail,
0:27:12 > 0:27:15yeah? Get in trouble a numerous amount of times,
0:27:15 > 0:27:18and that's going to shape your life for the other 60 years.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Look at the big picture. "No, but, sir, I need this, I need that."
0:27:21 > 0:27:24Like, "This is what my bother does, this is what my uncle does."
0:27:24 > 0:27:27I'm like, "But you don't need to do that."
0:27:35 > 0:27:36Left.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44'I couldn't leave here without saying hello to someone special.'
0:27:44 > 0:27:47So we're just off to see my nan, who still lives on this estate.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51Hopefully she's in.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57SHE CHUCKLES
0:27:57 > 0:27:59It's almost like you knew I was coming. How you doing?
0:27:59 > 0:28:01Come give me a hug. You all right?
0:28:01 > 0:28:05Would we get you to fix the hair...?
0:28:05 > 0:28:09'When I started making this film it was to answer a simple question -
0:28:09 > 0:28:11'why are black people in the UK marching?
0:28:11 > 0:28:14'The answer's a simple one. It's that feeling -'
0:28:14 > 0:28:18most, if not all, of the black people I've spoken to can relate to
0:28:18 > 0:28:22the feeling you get when you don't feel equal.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24All right, Nan, I'll see you later, yeah?
0:28:24 > 0:28:26Yeah. Bye.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28I promise I'll come tomorrow.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31'Why now? Because, to be honest, from the time I arrived in the UK
0:28:31 > 0:28:32'to my treatment now,'
0:28:32 > 0:28:34nothing has changed.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37I think the only difference is, with the power of the
0:28:37 > 0:28:41Black Lives Matter movement, people are treating it like a brand.
0:28:41 > 0:28:42It's something to jump on.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45I describe it like it's a bus heading towards a journey
0:28:45 > 0:28:48and at the minute the bus is travelling as fast as it's
0:28:48 > 0:28:50probably ever going to travel,
0:28:50 > 0:28:52so why not jump on to get to your destination?
0:28:52 > 0:28:55So after the dinner party at my house the other day,
0:28:55 > 0:28:58I was thinking about it all night and I woke up with a thought -
0:28:58 > 0:29:01bear with me, this is going somewhere -
0:29:01 > 0:29:05in the old days houses were badly built so rats could come inside,
0:29:05 > 0:29:07but over time...
0:29:07 > 0:29:10we've reinforced the houses and they're built better so rats
0:29:10 > 0:29:12no longer come inside,
0:29:12 > 0:29:14and you can't change the rats,
0:29:14 > 0:29:16they'll exist and they'll do what they want.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19But you can barricade your house, yourself,
0:29:19 > 0:29:22so that the rats don't affect you.
0:29:22 > 0:29:24I guess to me racism is the same.
0:29:24 > 0:29:26You can't eliminate it right now
0:29:26 > 0:29:28but you can barricade yourself so that it
0:29:28 > 0:29:32no longer affects you in the same way it did before.
0:29:33 > 0:29:38So, for me, the journey I've been on is very real
0:29:38 > 0:29:41because back at the march in Suffolk I just wanted to hold hands
0:29:41 > 0:29:44with all the other black people and take a stand about injustice.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47And I don't want to play down those struggles cos they're real
0:29:47 > 0:29:51and it's what black people face every day, but my opinion
0:29:51 > 0:29:54has definitely changed throughout making this film.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56He wants to play one touch.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00Because the thing for me is, if we want to escape this cycle and
0:30:00 > 0:30:04we don't want this for our children or our children's children,
0:30:04 > 0:30:07should we as black people stop waiting for a saviour,
0:30:07 > 0:30:09stop waiting for other people to help us,
0:30:09 > 0:30:13stop waiting for the system to help us and take more responsibility?
0:30:13 > 0:30:16Because if we do that then the rats of racism,
0:30:16 > 0:30:19they shouldn't really be able to affect us, should they?