David Brennan-Robinson

David's Story

Done wid Havin to prove mi self to white man. Tugs, teeth n drug dealer a come frum da single mommy yards dem wid no farder ina da yard, see it de, a dis wa dem a say bout da black people dem. wen da man dem a get nice tings, a bad mind movements we de pon, if a man has more den one Ute, asked if say da said mother dem come from, n den da wrenkin question a where ya come from? Wen mi a say mi BRITISH LIKE UNA dem tun round an ask a which part ya parents dem come from as you speak like say ya come from foreign n people here don’t speak like you.

Pure bad mind dem a push pon da black man dem, wukkless baby daddy, wasteman in bricks and one bag a pickney pon road wid different gyal dem, how we love fi mash up our gyal. Being a black man ina Britain is no joke, man has to mek sure my Utes dem are prepared and ready fi face da bad mind people on road, wid da colour of dem skin being da reason most heads will tek set pon dem.

Mi a ga show ya tru my work, dat we man dem yh we black men are BRITISH N HARDWORKING, n wen it comes to our utes we represent. Jhanos if ya na know ya will never.

This work considers my lived experience as a black male and the pervasive sense of constantly fighting against the negative narrative of my racial identity enforced by Caucasian society. These stereotypes of the black community include being thugs, thieves, and drug dealers who come from single parent homes with absent fathers.

If we have possessions of value or status they are perceived to be the assets of criminal behaviour. If we have more than one child, the tacit assumption is they have variable parentage. These attitudes belie the ultimate question of our place of origin. When we describe ourselves as British, we are met with further scrutiny of our heritage because the possibility of being both black and British appears an impossibility to many.

This pervasive negativity is most prevalent towards the males of the black community, as those stereotyped absent fathers, those who have been criminalised and imprisoned, and those who have indiscriminately fathered many children, or have mistreated and abused women.

Being black and male in Britain is far from easy due to these prevailing and highly damaging attitudes. They self-perpetuate a destructive legacy for younger generations to struggle with unless they are directly challenged and fairly represented.

I want to bring change through my work by making positive visual statements that raise awareness that black males and fathers particularly, can and do play positive roles. We too can be considered as good, hardworking British men who contribute to society as our white counterparts are assumed to do. This work also acknowledges that any societal privilege means that unless you have experienced this prejudice, one can never truly understand its impact.