This is fascinating.

I mean, Kanye West is clearly barking mad, so I really wouldn't use him as an example of anything.

Not sure about Idris Elba, thouhg he seems to take on roles that are challenging in terms of character and that coud as easily be white as Black.

Sir Lenny Henry is not a man who keeps quiet about issues, but his take is interesting. He reminisces -to comic effect - about his childhood, standing on the doorstep of his home in Birmingham, talking to his school friends in a Brummie accent, then to his mother in Jamaican English/Patois. It strikes home for everyone, because we all have idfferent inside/outside codes, it's just that in this case, the difference is more marked. my parents brought me up to speak BBC English, but outside the house, with schoolmates, I spoke the East Yorkshire dialect used by kids with less pretentious parents. Sir Lennys' blackness adds another layer, that's all. In his later charitable work, he does not concentrate solely on Black issues. Yes, he works agaisnt racism, and for more Black representation, but his concerns are wider, encompassing the disabled and the poor as well.

Sir Trevor MacDonald, one of our most distinguished TV journalists, newscasters, anchormen and documentary-makers, projects the image of the educated English gentleman. But henever forgets that he is Black, and at a stage when he can undertake whatever work he choses, he examines the experiences of Black people the world over, knowing that his work will carry weight.

Yet on the other hand, the late Benjamin Zephaniah, a clearly anti-establishment figure and vehemently Black, was equally well-regarded. He obtained professorships, residencies, awards, was a regular panellist on the prestigious Question Time programme and was offered an OBE, which he declined (probably the reason why they never offered him a knighthood).

I sometimes think that, despite the clear evidence of systemic racism in some parts of UK society, we're still doing a bit better over here!