Participating in the conference on Integration versus Multiculturalism caused me to really think about what is happening in Britain where these issues are concerned.  For me as the descendant of enslaved Africans neither of these options has ever existed. 

Unconscious assimilation into black British culture means that I have never had the opportunity of developing a culture that truly reflects who I am and what I aspire to.  I have never, therefore, been able to stand proudly beside other cultural groups in Britain to showcase important cultural attributes as a ‘black British’ person.  It becomes apparent why, therefore, I have never enjoyed the benefits of a multicultural society given my marginalisation as a ‘black British’ at the periphery of English society.  At the periphery I have lived as an onlooker under the constraints of an externally imposed cultural disorder. 

To integrate (the American model), on the other hand, is to hold onto one’s own cultural roots while also committing oneself and one’s group to shared values common to the society as a whole.  Having been deprived of my cultural roots as the descendant of enslaved Africans and having been unconsciously assimilated into British society integration has not been an option either. 

The journey for me has had to be one of de-assimilation from ‘black British culture’ through developing my conscious bicultural competence enabling me to understand my particular positioning within the society. 

Becoming responsible for my own learning was the beginning of my de-assimilation journey from lack of cultural integrity to the development of cultural integrity. 

What I see happening in Britain today is that multiculturalism is failing and that there is a movement towards integration.   This is most commonly seen in the call for schools to work on identifying shared British values.  Gordon Brown also made a statement about minority ethnic groups being free to identify for themselves what it means for them to be British. 

It seems, however, that at some time we are going to have to stop this ‘muddling through’ approach in Britain and commit ourselves to a sincerely agreed position.  The crucial next step after such agreement must be that of accountability to what we have agreed whether it be multiculturalism, integration or biculturalism.

Biculturalism is synonymous with integration except that it focuses on internal integration for the individual and community/group.  Biculturalism in this way is also important for the ethnic majority and is not just a strategy to be applied to black and minority ethnics. 

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