In his modest living room, the black Iraqi percussionist Adnan Abdelrahman shows off the drumming skills his father taught him as a boy. "It's a profession you inherit," the 56-year-old says, displaying his tambourines, darbuka and goatskin drums. "If someone dies, his son takes his place so the art doesn't disappear." Abdelrahman is a guardian of centuries of musical knowledge of Iraq's black community, centred in the city of Zubair near Basra. "Since the establishment of the Iraqi state, we have not seen someone from the community occupy senior positions in the state. We have not seen a governor, a minister or a lawmaker", says 30-year-old activist Majed al-Khalidy. According to him, the community faces a high drop-out rate from school, poor job opportunities and discrimination through misuse of language -- even from religious clerics, with many people still using the Arabic term "slave" to designate a black person. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES