Simon Woolley and Kehinde Andrews are following the Al Sharpton script: seeking mass popular protest. Instead of dealing with a Cambridge crisis in the Cambridge manner, using the plentiful weapons at their disposal, they are seeking to play to Al Sharpton’s script. What do I mean by this? Simon Woolley has an official position which Al Sharpton, the National Action Network and the Al Sharpton script never had or involved. Massed protests are the tools of those without power or position. For Al Sharpton his strategy is always from an outsider position using pressured action.
“‘Immediate Family Support & Legal Mobilization
Sharpton positions himself as a high-profile first responder for victims of police violence or racial bias (such as Abner Louima, Amadou Diallo, Trayvon Martin, and George Floyd).
- Funeral Eulogies as Platforms: He delivers high-profile eulogies at victims’ funerals, framing personal tragedies into national demands for systemic policy change.”
So `Woolley treated yesterday’s Arday Vigil as an opportunity to provide a ‘funeral eulogy’ for Jason Arday. Sharpton as a Baptist minister had more experience and better oratorical skills so it is not surprising that Woolley’s version is quite pathetic. However for most of Sharpton’s victims the narrative is easy to understand and the victim stands for ‘every man’ or ‘every woman’. Arday does not work as an ‘every man’ victim. Few Black people can easily identify with him.
In fact Al Sharpton’s strategy would be more appropriate to mobilising the cleaners and service staff of Cambrdige , except very few are Black. In fact Al Sharpton had acted as an FBI informant, attending meetings with a wire, so he never was much of a threat to the establishment. He was however quite expert at performative protests.
Really foolishly, Woolley followed the Sharpton guide by offering to provide financial support to Jason Arday. This is to treat Arday as if he was no different than the poor and homeless;
‘“The families of Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Sean Bell and Amadou Diallo, among others, have all turned to National Action Network and Rev. Sharpton”
By publicly announcing that he had access to financial resources to look after Arday for the rest of his life he was boasting and claiming power. For Arday this would be a huge loss of self respect to become a pawn of Woolley rather than being a truly self sustaining independent person. In doing this Woolley was following the Sharpton script, engaging in performative protest, engaging in self promotion, but lacking human understanding for Arday.
Let us look at Woolley’s position. He is Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and Principal of Homerton College. To seek to promote street protests in London regarding a Cambridge matter is demeaning for someone of that position. It brings his position and himself into disrepute. Arday needed his reputation protected. Instead, he is offered hugs and mysterious sources of money with Woolley playing the Don Corleone or the fixer. Woolley is publicly bragging about this role, not even bothering to keep it private and confidential. Arday’s children now have to live with the image of their father being offered charity by Simon Woolley. This is disgraceful. Utterly disgraceful.