The documentary also doesn’t shy away from the fact that black youth in London are badly affected by gang violence. The situation has become critical; London’s air ambulances today are more likely to be sent to respond to a stabbing or shooting than a traffic collision. Blacker believes the violence can be traced back to failures of the education system as well as a crisis of black identity. One older black man tells Dineen, “The youth don’t know anything about Africa or the West Indies.” Blacker takes Dineen to a vigil of a child killed by another child outside a school. During the vigil, a school friend of the deceased makes a passionate speech for unity: “Other cultures can be together. But we’d rather fight people and go and stab and shoot people. And it’s for what?”

To stop his youngest son, nicknamed JJ, meeting the same fate, Blacker sends him to Jamaica to finish his schooling. In England, JJ was told he didn’t belong in mainstream school; that he probably had ADHD and autism. He was seen as yet another unruly black child, and was sent home from school on a weekly occurrence.

In Jamaica, Dineen finds JJ excelling at school. He’s an A student who completed the year in the top of his class. JJ speaks of his Jamaican teachers’ high expectations of him, and most importantly, how he now feels “normal”—a subtle, but stunning, rebuke of the education system he left behind.

On the day of his sentencing, the judge deems Blacker to be “a failure.” The label stands in stark contrast to the words that members of the community use to describe Blacker, highlighting the enormous gap between the roles that black British people play in their communities, and how the system insists on seeing them.

After serving 15 months, Blacker is released from prison. Once he’s out, Blacker reflects on his life in the UK. He finds his store is now a boutique dress shop. Next door is a real-estate agent advertising houses that are out of reach for his family and friends.

When asked if much has changed for the black community since he was a teenager in the 1960s, Blacker somberly answers no. He points to his own family to illustrate that point. Issues of gang violence, poor access to decent education and job training, as well as few job opportunities continue to plague the black community today. Blacker’s eldest son, Solomon, was shot in the back of the head almost a decade ago. The police have yet to find his killer, or even offer an explanation as to why Solomon was killed. Blacker describes the death of his son as a “war wound”—one he’s never really healed from.

Ultimately, the documentary comes to a bitter conclusion: While Blacker has spent the vast majority of his life in Britain, it’s never made him feel at home. Toward the end of the film, Blacker brings flowers to his mother’s grave. She was the reason why he came to the UK. Now that she’s dead, he is ready to return to Jamaica. “Why would I want to stay here and suffer?” he asks.

The final scenes shows clips of Brixton on a snowy day. Garbage workers, who are all black, are seen clearing the street of rubbish. Blacker dances in the snow and sings: “England is pretty, but it’s cold.”

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