Black role models

 The news today (29th Aug 2020) is dominated by the death of Chadwick Boseman. It is always tragic when someone dies at such a young age and our condolences go to his family and friends. But who is he? I've never heard of him. A presenter on Sky News earlier described his death as an 'immeasurable loss'. An 'immeasurable loss'! Was he the discoverer of a universal cure for cancer? The man who came up with the scientific 'Holy Grail', the Theory of Everything? Has he discovered a perpetual motion machine, set unimpeachable political standards or is he a Nobel Prize winner. Nope, none of those; he's an actor, a black actor raised to the level of a God on the tide of the 'Black Lives Matter' pandemic that is sweeping the world. 

In these days of racial tension, with enhanced awareness of diversity problems, the Black Lives Matter movement would do better to provide other role models for young black people. Being good at carnivals, acting in films and singing in rhythm and blues bands, for example, does not build the esteem or respect they seek. Nor does seeing youngsters sporting flash cars and bling bought on the back of County Lines drug dealing. We need to see on television more black scientists or academics, not because they fulfill a diversity quota but because they are esteemed by their peers for the quality of their work.