He Actually Did The Meme!

You know the joke: what do you call a black man in a suit and tie? The defendant!

A black barrister has said a security guard told him he could not park in a court’s car park in London because “it’s not for defendants”.

Stephen Akinsanya, who in June was awarded an OBE for raising awareness of youth knife crime and its prevention, said the incident, at an east London court about four weeks ago, illustrated the lack of progress on racism within the criminal justice system.

Because of course he did… 

He said: “It was a sort of reflection of what happened when I first qualified back in 1993, going into the same court, being asked by a security guard which case I was on trial in. And as a junior lawyer thinking: well, why does it have to be that I’m the one on trial? Why can it not be that I’m the lawyer? 

I’ve been assumed to be a shop worker many times in a supermarket despite not wearing a uniform, did I complain or be offended? No I just shrugged and got on with life! 

“And then 33 years later, pulling up in my car to park in the same court building, a security guard saying: ‘You can’t park here.’ And when I said why, he said: ‘Defendants can’t park in the car park.’”

When he challenged the guard, “he was completely embarrassed” and raised the barrier to allow him to park, said Akinsanya.

He never seems to think that it’s because the court staff  sees an overwhelmingly black criminal intake  that of course they will assume that he’s another one.

Akinsanya said: “I’m privy to seeing how the bar has changed with a lot more people from diverse backgrounds entering the profession but there is still a perception that, if you’re black, you’re more likely not to be the lawyer, you’re more likely to be a defendant who’s attending court because you’re on trial. “I just think: why are we still in this position in the 21st century? Which makes one think about the wider conversation we were having [on the podcast] about the lack of black judges.”

He believes there should be targets to increase representation and a body that is held accountable if they are missed.

If you want more Professor Ardays, that’s exactly how you should go about it. So tell me, has the case of Professor Arday made things better for educated black people, or worse?