On multicultural Britain, I was never too fond of multiculturalism, because if done incorrectly it allows for cultural appropriation. One of the downsides to being of Jamaican descent is everyone thinking they everything there is about Jamaica and attempting to” inform” and “correct” me. One fear of multicultural Britain post-Brexit is the forced dilution of culture. What I mean by this is the is people of colour and black people having to limit their cultural expression but also the clumping together of cultures. Because what tends to happen is that when different cultures come together, there are going to be ones which dominant. Brexit has raised the questions of, “What does it mean to be British?” and “Are you proud of your Britishness?”. I personally still have difficulty answering both, as I am aware, different people have differing definitions of British and Britishness.
One fear is that racism and xenophobia attacks will continue to increase as Brexit for some reason has allowed many closed-minded people to think their views are now the mainstream. Another fear is that communities such as the Caribbean to minimise their cultural expression. We see how Notting Hill Carnival is reported negatively in the news or suggestions of ticketing or moving the event. Are these decisions being made by us even though they are for us?
One aspiration is that, leave voters to get, economically the Britain they envisioned. Yes, economic will be tied up with jobs and immigration but if Britain suffers, then we all suffer too. A second aspiration is for young people realising the importance of community organising, to be collectively aware of what going on. Brexit is unpredictable.
Jemmar Samuels is a 21-year-old Politics and Sociology student and activist from South London. She has a passion for tackling race and gender issues from an intersectional feminist perspective. She is passionate about celebrating and educating people about West Indian history and culture here in the United Kingdom and back home. She is an alumnus of The Advocacy Academy, a member of the Black Cultural Archives Youth Forum and currently represents Girl Guiding on the British Youth Council.