Ska legend Pauline Black on being "raised to be white" - Lives Less Ordinary, BBC World Service

Key Concepts

• Two-Tone Movement: A British music genre from the late 1970s that fused punk, ska, and reggae, characterized by racially integrated bands.
• Dual Heritage: The experience of being born to parents of different racial or ethnic backgrounds.
• Microaggressions: Subtle, indirect, or unintentional acts of discrimination or bias.
• Identity Formation: The psychological process of developing a sense of self, particularly regarding race, heritage, and belonging.
• "Rude Girl": A subcultural style and persona adopted by Pauline Black, characterized by androgynous suits and trilby hats.

1. Early Life and Adoption

Pauline Black (born Belinda Magnus in 1953) was adopted at four weeks old by a white, working-class family in Essex. Her adoptive mother, who had undergone a hysterectomy and suffered from Bell’s palsy, was advised by a doctor to "have a baby" to improve her mental well-being.

• The "Baby Supermarket": Black describes the adoption process in the 1950s as transactional, noting that mixed-heritage children were often left in orphanages (such as Dr. Barnardo’s) while white infants were quickly adopted.
• Racial Dissonance: Despite being raised in a household that used racist language and held prejudiced views toward non-white people, Black was never subjected to slurs by her family. However, she was forced to assimilate into a "white" identity, with her mother attempting to suppress her natural hair and forcing her to adopt "patrician" speech patterns.

2. The Search for Identity

Black’s realization of her difference was triggered by her adoptive mother’s disclosure of her adoption, which Black described as a "fairy story" that left her feeling physically ill.

• Cultural Influences: Lacking positive role models in her immediate environment, Black turned to television and literature. A pivotal moment occurred in her teens when she discovered the poetry of Langston Hughes, specifically "The Negro Speaks of Rivers." This provided her with a sense of pride and a connection to her heritage that was absent in her home life.
• The "River" Metaphor: Black views her life journey as a tributary, eventually leading her to Coventry, a more racially diverse environment than the white-dominated Essex of her youth.

3. Musical Career and the Two-Tone Movement

In the late 1970s, Black became the lead vocalist for The Selecter.

• The Name Change: She consciously changed her name to "Pauline Black" to reclaim her identity, likening the act to the historical use of "X" by figures like Malcolm X to signify a break from slave names.
• The "Rude Girl" Persona: Rejecting the two common archetypes for black female performers at the time—the "earth mother" backing singer or the "disco queen"—Black cultivated an androgynous look featuring suits and trilby hats. This allowed her to command the stage with authority and dignity.
• Navigating Racism: The band performed during the rise of the far-right National Front. Black recalls that their gigs attracted an eclectic mix of fans, including skinheads who had been radicalized by far-right literature. She chose to confront this tension directly rather than "preach to the converted."

4. Reconnecting with Roots

At age 42, following a distressing incident in a London department store where she was mistaken for a lavatory attendant, Black decided to locate her birth parents.

• The Discovery: She found her birth mother in Australia and discovered her father was Prince Gordon Adenle of Osogbo, Nigeria.
• Genetic Realization: Black discovered she was the eldest of 17 children. Meeting her father’s other family members provided a sense of "wholeness." She noted that despite being raised in a different culture, she shared physical traits and mannerisms with her birth parents, highlighting the significance of both nature and nurture.

5. Synthesis and Conclusion

Pauline Black views herself as the "embodiment of Two-Tone." Her life reflects the complex intersection of British colonial history, the struggle for racial identity, and the power of music to bridge divides. She concludes that while her upbringing was fraught with contradictions, it was the catalyst for her unique artistic voice.

Notable Quote:

"I discovered that I was the oldest of 17 of my father's children... It made me feel finished and whole. Those are the only words that I can actually describe. I think that knowing who your parents are is actually far more important than I had thought." — Pauline Black