Following the recent surge in global support for the Black Lives Matter movement, so many of us have never been more aware of the importance of black history- learning about it and educating those around us.
In honour of Black History Month this year, this article is dedicated to an undoubtedly inspirational woman. MP for the North east London constituency of Hackney North & Stoke Newington, and the first Black woman ever to be elected to the House of Commons; Dianne Abbott.
Abbott’s parents were Jamaican immigrants who immigrated to the UK in the 1950s. After receiving a history degree from the University of Cambridge in 1973, she went on to gain years of political experience: from working as a civil servant in the Home Office, to serving as a press officer for the Greater London Council & the Lambeth Borough Council where she was active on race and civil liberties issues.
It was in 1987 when she was selected as the Labour party’s candidate for the North East London constituency of Hackney North & Stoke Newington. She won the election significantly, and became Britain’s first black female MP.
Research from Amnesty International revealed that Dianne Abbott received half of all the online abuse sent to female politicians in the run up to the 2017 election. In response, Abbott told researchers ‘I’m abused as a female politician and I’m abused as a black politician’.
In a 2017 interview for BBC, as the Labour Party’s shadow home secretary, she described in graphic detail some of the racist abuse she had experienced. ‘I’ve had death threats’, she mentioned.
To understand the systemic racism black people have to endure today, it’s absolutely imperative that we educate ourselves on black history- and not just during Black History Month but rather all year round. Read a book, watch an educational film; put effort into learning about black history, because black history is British history.
