As more and more people travel the Internet I become increasingly concerned that the worse aspects of society and bureaucracy might also enter in. As a Black woman (burdened by a cultural history older than the West) am I destined to come face to virtual face with the same immigration restrictions as those which greet me now?

It is not that I feel my African heritage is a burden, but boy, oh boy, how it impacts on those out there who see it a threat.. The stereotypical images of Black people exist within the virgin territories of the Internet. Black web sites are in the main sought out by those piranhas seeking sexual release via the computer screen followed closely, too closely, by White Supremists who have substituted computer viruses for the burning cross of not all that long ago.
The Internet allows the individual a certain level of anonymity. I don't have to say that I am Black if I don't want to. In fact I don't have to reveal my gender either. But why shouldn't I and anyway it is there in my writing, in my words, in my living. It is too much a part of me to be lost in the spaces of a keyboard. Corny or not, I am what I am whether on the streets of Manchester or the Internet Highway.

I despise the fact that we in the Black community remain one or more steps behind almost everything that requires financial investment. As artists we struggle for funding recognition that can enhance our earning potential in general terms of more exhibitions, bookings, publications. Those of us who have joined the techno' community are not au-fait with all that is going on despite a recent report presented to North West Arts Board that supposedly included evidence of the increasing number of Black artists working in New Technology although, the officer commented, it wasn't clear in the paper. No it doesn't make sense at all.

So the question is, how will I journey? Is there space out there for me and those like me? Are we going to be allowed to leap forward like the envied space explorer or are we to be confronted at every stop because our cyber language is tinted by Blackspeak? Are we to be allowed space for ourselves? Allowed? See, the language remains the same, the expectations no different. Except, via the Internet I can now communicate with far more of my people then could ever gather together on this isle of no longer so Great Britain. My family is no longer isolated from me on the distant shores of Africa, Asia and North America, but is expansive and all embracing across the Caribbean and high into South America. The voice that travels speaks in many tongues but of one message that joins us together. We are strong. The reality of this is that immigration controls or not, Blackspeak will resonate across cybe space and unless you are willing to join in, you will be like the sorry passenger on the tube, irritated by a bass beat line of the Black commuter's headset as you try to tap your foot to the rhythm of life.

SuAndi [101651.2770@compuserve.com]