The ‘coconut’ is not a modern phenomenon. The term that refers to a person who is perceived to be ‘brown on the outside but act culturally white on the inside’ was recently tested in an English court on whether it was a racial slur. The court found, rightly in our opinion, that characterising two British politicians of South Asian heritage as ‘coconuts’, in the specific context of the case, should be characterised as ‘political satire’.

The two politicians at the centre of the case aren’t unique in their behaviour however. In fact, it would be fair to say that most of the political class in the UK, that have ethnic minority heritage, aren’t authentic to their racial heritage. This is indicative of the value the Establishment put on such people and how they are rewarded with advancement. Authenticity is punished.

Throughout history, colonialists have used the tactic of ‘divide and conquer’ where ethnic or religious groups have been set against each other to the advantage of the colonial power. During the era of slavery the slave who was the most servile was given special privileges by his master, including in some cases, living in the master’s house instead of the slave quarters. This so called ‘house ni**er’ would often demonstrate extreme cruelty against the other slaves to win his master’s approval. With time, this ‘special slave’ would mimic the affectations of his master to demonstrate that he was better than the other slaves. In the end however the ‘house ni**er’ was just a slave, despised by the other slaves and reminded of his ethnic heritage by the slave owners.

Even in this day and age, people who display inauthentic behaviour in order to curry favour with the ruling class are rightly viewed with a mixture of suspicion and derision. Watch a debate on immigration levels, the tactic is to wheel out a conveniently non-white volunteer who trots out the predictable talking points about the ‘country being full up’. The same tactic is used by Islamophobic groups who deploy an ‘Uncle Tom’ to spout anti-Muslim rhetoric.

It’s in this context the importance of coconuts should be remembered.