What Idris Elba gets right about race
Idris Elba, who plays the detective Luther in “Luther: The Fallen Son,” breaks the accepted narrative.
As Inaya Folarin Iman, a Spiked columnist and founder of the Equiano Project, explains, “Today’s ‘anti-racism’ … claims that we live in a society defined by racial differences… This new racialist worldview is now deeply embedded in our institutions. However, there is a growing pushback.... One such critic is…Idris Elba,” who, in an interview with Esquire UK, “said he no longer calls himself a ‘black actor’ because the label puts him in a ‘box.’” … “Predictably, Elba’s comments have sparked horror among the usual identitarian suspects.”
“ ‘As humans, we are obsessed with race,” Elba said in the interview. “And that obsession can really hinder people’s aspirations, hinder people’s growth. Racism should be a topic for discussion, sure. Racism is very real. But from my perspective, it’s only as powerful as you allow it to be. I stopped describing myself as a Black actor when I realized it put me in a box. We’ve got to grow. We’ve got to. Our skin is no more than that: it’s just skin. Rant over.’”
“The dismissal and demonisation of Elba’s comments are absurd,” states Folarin. “…If you want to make the colour of your skin the defining feature of your personality and life, then go for it. Just don’t pretend that it’s ‘progressive’ – and don’t try to impose such a racially divisive outlook on everyone else.”
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