Ex-England football star John Barnes was the guest at an event for young people at Sheffield Hallam University to discuss issues surrounding the underachievement of ethnic minority pupils. Reporters from Children's Express attended the Moving On Up conference and compiled this Education Page special.
| We have to be accepted socially, intellectually, and economically, for getting into being doctors, lawyers and engineers. |
"The most important thing is how you see yourselves. I see myself as no different from you. We put people on pedestals and think they're something special because of what they do, instead of who they actually are."
Anyone who listened to ex-Liverpool and England footballer John Barnes speaking at the Moving On Up conference at Hallam University could not help being struck by his humility.
In the days of over-hyped, overpaid, and self-important sporting stars, there was a freshness about his words that struck a chord with the 140 Sheffield students who attended the event.
| | Fact file | | More than 40% of White, Indian, Bangladeshi and Chinese pupils attained 5 or more A-C grades at GCSE in Sheffield in 1999. | | Less than 20% of Pakistani, Yemeni, Caribbean, Somali, and dual heritage students achieved the above benchmark. | | This points to significant underachievement for many hundreds of ethnic minority students in Sheffield. | | OFSTED reports that nationally at secondary level data indicates that Black Caribbean pupils underachieve, and attainment of Pakistani students in terms of higher grades at GCSE is a cause for concern. | |
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"To make it in life, you have to have discipline, to make sacrifices," he told them. "You want to be a DJ, an engineer, you have to make that commitment."
Organised by local initiative 'Football Unites, Racism Divides', Moving On Up was timed to coincide with Black History Month and the start of National Anti-Racism Week in football.
Its focus was the empowerment and motivation of young people facing racial challenges and underachievement and also featured addresses by the Minister for Sport, Richard Caborn, successful black DJ Lloyd Samuels and barrister Birinder Kang.
But it was Barnes who won the hearts of the young people present. As schools struggle to come to terms with the underachievement of certain ethnic groups, his comments had a telling simplicity.
Whether talking about football, society or the individual, he was a realist. Despite believing open racism at football matches is becoming a thing of the past, he was well aware that "when you walk back to your car or a bus it is still there, and football can do nothing about that."
And he was quick to play down the importance of black sports stars as role models for young people, as it could lead to stereotyping. "We have to be accepted socially, intellectually, and economically, for getting into being doctors, lawyers and engineers," he insisted.
His greatest inspiration, he said, had been Nelson Mandela. "Because the aura around him was so powerful, meeting Nelson Mandela humbled me, looking at a man who had experienced so much, had been through so much… a man simply doing what he had to do."
Barnes' message was one of discipline and determination, developing skills rather than making excuses.
Lisa Sultanti, youth worker at Football Unites, Racism Divides, hoped that such a message would be what young people took away from the conference.
Judging by the reaction of young people at the end of the conference, this is precisely what they intended to do.
WHAT THEY SAID
"It has helped in so many ways because John Barnes said that all people should be treated equally and that sporting role models are no different from any other person because it is only one way of making a living.
"What impressed me was the way he said that whatever you believe in you should do, and whatever you think is wrong you should not hesitate to react to, and let people hear what you have to say."
Muna Abdirahman, 14, Pitsmoor
"The conference has taught me to walk away from racist acts, that you should be treated equally and that any role model is no different from any other person. John Barnes said that you should believe in yourself and to never give up in life no matter what obstacles are put in the way or your path to achievement. He gave me practical advice about how to face racism."
Jerome Blake, 12, Pitsmoor
"I came away from the conference inspired by the likes of John Barnes and other 'role models' who gave up their free time to talk to and relate to us.
"John was very down- to-earth. I was touched by the fact that he had caught the train to Sheffield and then the bus to the venue like the rest of us. He said we were all stars and that he was no different from any one else in the room.
"We should not let people with racist ideas stop us from achieving our very best."
Miriam Yafai, 14, Firs Hill
"The conference on anti-racism was not only educational but an uplifting inspiration to all who attended. Andy Kiwomya's daughter did a wonderful job of reading his speech to all who attended the meeting.
"I was impressed by the barrister who told us her husband was an army general, her daughter a policewoman, and how you should never set your standards too low or not chase your dreams simply because of the colour of your skin."
Tom Hutt, 14, Pitsmoor
"I was really impressed with Lloyd Samuels who admitted he was always in trouble with the law, and that the colour of his skin and the place he lived didn't help, but that he remained positive , that the best way to get back at racists was not to punch them in the face, but to get a job.
"John Barnes agreed, that he was prouder that his son got A grades at GCSE than anything he himself had achieved, that to do anything you had to have commitment and belief, and that he succeeded in football because he believed that whatever he wanted to do he would succeed."
Wes Taylor, 15, Nethershire.
About the team
This article was produced by Wes Taylor, 15, Rachel Walmsley, Kim Bennett, and Jasmine Stewart, 14. It was published in the Sheffield Star.
