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This morning I was walking in London, once a city of commerce from slave trading.
I won’t ask anyone, including me, to feel “white guilt.” There exists, to keep society healthy, a boundary called “the statute of limitations.” At the same time, as my favourite essayist noted, “Every healthy society must demand a little more than it can reasonably expect” (George Orwell) And perhaps, just as when we put big bins for recycling at the edge of community parking lots, without guilting the public, we similarly have today, without guilting the people, social responsibilities through space and time, for lingering racism. Let today’s racism be only by individuals, and no longer have agreement from official society.
In the London air was the question: Should Britain have Remorse for slavery? Doubtful, I would not want to “walk that talk.” Should Britain take Responsibility? That’s walking on a shaky bog. Should Britain make Repairs? Ah, here the ground is firm like peat moss.
In London, I conducted business in a traditionally “white middle class” place, the Bank of England. There is (with 12 regional branches) only one such bank in England. It’s in London, in a long stone building with only one public entrance. To enter, my daypack had to go through a scanner. I chatted with the happy guard, who was from Nepal. I didn’t think until later to ask if he had been one of the British army Gurkhas. (A remnant of true imperialism is when you can recruit battalions of Nepalese for your fighters) After my banking, I stepped out to walk a few yards and then back inside to the Bank of England Museum. This time I had to remove my belt and empty my pockets. Not to safeguard conservative white males: There was money and gold on display. Behind glass. Except for a standard gold bar, which you were invited to lift one handed. I managed the task, and then said to the straining tourist beside me, “I needed to brace my elbow on my waist.”
All of the rotundas (dome rooms) are on the Bank side of the huge building, except one in the museum. And there, in a grand circle are the words, in black against conservative red, Time To Reflect. On what? The murder of George Floyd in May 2020 … led to significant public scrutiny of institutions like the Bank of England… review the portraits of former governors and directors in its collection… links to transatlantic slavery. Of the items on display inside the bank, ten (eight paintings and two busts) were identified as having these links and, after consultation with staff at the bank, were moved from the display.
Should the bank care? After all, every Briton today, regardless of race, religion or creed is figuratively white through literally benefiting from the city’s capital, building on capital raised partly through historic slavery. Furthermore, while I myself like history—with a special fondness for “history of art”—I don’t expect the average person to care, or do historical research, or stay awake during a history lecture—let alone have white guilt. And yet? At the end of the day, as a social institution, as an organ of society… Yes the bank should care and it was right to consult, besides senior executives, all the staff, especially staff who are members of various minority groups including persons of colour. It all counts.
I remember a fictional commanding officer during a future war, during a long serious “down time,” going through the rosters and closing the files of dead soldiers, and making sure his men knew he was doing so: The symbolism counted. Somebody cared about those dead men, while now somebody cares about Britain’s slavery heritage. A caring that, by implication, extends through modern times to modern people still stressed by racism.
In London, the most visited attraction is the Tate Modern. I was there a few times. I don’t know how many people visit the older art museum, Tate Britain. The former displays new-fangled Picasso, Van Gogh, and rebellious art from all the world: Progressive. The latter displays only art from Britain: Normal. Incidentally, the new ten pound note features a self-portrait, hanging at Tate Britain, of Turner. He has his own permanent display wing. Without mentioning George Floyd, Tate Britain is surely part of our sweet flowing creek of progress. I say this because the little write up cards on the wall at every painting purposely mention any Black person within the piece, even if he is not intended to be the main focus. I regret that I only visited the place once, and didn’t think to write down any commentary.
But at the Tate Modern I did think to write down the words at the entrance to the exhibit of A Year in Art, Australia 1992. It was a good year for “anti-colonial” action, art and photography. At the doorway: Tate acknowledges and pays respect to the traditional owners of Country throughout Australia and recognizes the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respects to the Elders of those lands and acknowledge the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practises of the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander peoples.
I enjoyed London and I know: beyond an active few—liberated artists and angry leftists and Black feminists, and more—is society as a whole, with even bankers stepping up to bowl at the wicket. I wish them well.
…
…
Sean Crawford
flying in a tin can,
far above breathable air,
(The atmosphere is blue)
May
2022
Footnotes on art and race:
~The Bank of England museum had a map using proportional arrows to show where the African slaves were transported. Living in Canada, where much US culture spills over, I had assumed slaves were mostly transported to the US of A. Not so; the vast majority went to colonies in the Caribbean, and further south.
~The (Queen) Victoria and Albert museum recently put on a showing of David Bowie. One of the books in the gift shop includes the observation that people in grief from his passing took comfort from the fact that, unlike so many celebrities, no one ever had a harsh word for Bowie. Here is a link-page for Bowie, during an interview, confronting the racism of MTV. (Music Television)
