Jamie Banks highlights racism in us all
Jamie Banks hopes he’s made a statement in a way people won’t forget. The New Plymouth-born man, now living in Japan, made it to the national final of a Toastmasters contest in Osaka, where he performed his speech about racism in front of a crowd of about 800 people.
‘‘I think every country has a racial or ethnic divide of some description,’’ he said.
‘‘Most of us a have negative impressions, conscious or subconscious of those other groups.
‘‘I really wanted to bring that out into the open.
‘‘It’s very easy to see others’ racism for what it is, but our own racism appears as a generally true way of viewing people to ourselves.’’
Through his speech he urges people to watch what they say and the language they use to see what comes up.
‘‘In other words, what we do say about other groups whether they be racial, ethnic or religious and how does that compare with how we talk about our own groups or even ourselves?’’
Banks was deputy head boy at Spotswood College in 1994 and won every speech contest he entered at the school from Year 10 to 13.
From there he went on to win the Taranaki Speech and Drama Festival three years in a row.
‘‘I was lucky enough to be emcee of the National Race Unity Speech Contest back in New Zealand on two occasions as well,’’ he said.
‘‘The youth who participated in that contest showed me how that topic can produce some very powerful oratory performances that inspire people to change their views.
‘‘As a person of mixed races, I have had a lot of experiences of feeling people view me as an insider so it seemed appropriate.’’
To get to the final round of the Toastmasters contest in Osaka, first Banks won the Nagasaki City contest, then the Northern Kyushu contest and the all Kyushu and Okinawa contest.
Banks works as an English teacher in Japan.
‘‘One thing I’m really passionate about is transforming education to include not just social issues like racism but also emotional intelligence and business literacy.’’
Find out more about him on his Jamie Banks Facebook page or his blog on WordPress.
Find a full version of his speech on stuff.co.nz.