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Thread: As the 2020 Labour NEC elections get underway, the issue of black representation has been under the spotlight. And we've been asked multiple times "who was the last black man on the NEC?"
We decided to look into that. The result was shocking.
We decided to look into that. The result was shocking.
So originally, we thought there was no Black male representation in the NEC for around 20 years.
But we found this photo of the NEC from 1998. And as you can see. Our original thoughts were wrong.
But we found this photo of the NEC from 1998. And as you can see. Our original thoughts were wrong.
We initially thought that the last Black Male member of the NEC was Bill Morris (former General Secretary of the TGWU).
While he was the Chair of the Conference Arrangement Committee and has been involved in Party Decision. We saw no evidence of NEC membership.
While he was the Chair of the Conference Arrangement Committee and has been involved in Party Decision. We saw no evidence of NEC membership.
What about Bernie Grant or Paul Boateng? after looking at the brilliant Bernie Grant Archive, we found nothing that mentions a tenure in the NEC. ( http://berniegrantarchive.org.uk/ )
We also found nothing while we were researching Paul Boateng career that indicates NEC membership.
We also found nothing while we were researching Paul Boateng career that indicates NEC membership.
However, we had seen major attempts for change. During our research, we found that Kingsley Abrams tried to become the Youth NEC rep in 1986 but ultimately failed.
The NEC Youth Rep has since never been a black man.
The NEC Youth Rep has since never been a black man.
So none of the prominent names we initially thought were on the NEC. It's quite clear we needed to go deeper.
So we decided to consult @Labour_History and ask them to help us find any names. And after going through their resources and archives, they couldn't find anyone.
So we decided to consult @Labour_History and ask them to help us find any names. And after going through their resources and archives, they couldn't find anyone.
All of this has lead to an uncomfortable conclusion. After looking as deep as we can in publically available archives to the best of our ability.
As far as we know, the NEC had never had a Black (Afro-Caribbean) Male member.
As far as we know, the NEC had never had a Black (Afro-Caribbean) Male member.
Of course, this doesn't discount the various Black Women who have been elected as members of the NEC. Including former members like @ClaudiaWebbe and our BAME NEC rep @CWSewell.
But this exemplified the severe problem of underrepresentation of Black Men within the Party.
But this exemplified the severe problem of underrepresentation of Black Men within the Party.
As groups now start to get their slates together and start gearing up to campaign for this election. We really hope that they would take this into consideration.
We're tired of being told to "wait for the right comrade" on such a historical problem. Action is needed now.
We're tired of being told to "wait for the right comrade" on such a historical problem. Action is needed now.
However, while we might have come to this conclusion. The difficulty of finding these NEC documents means that we could have missed something.
If you think we missed something out. Don't be afraid to shout us out and we'll add it here!
If you think we missed something out. Don't be afraid to shout us out and we'll add it here!
We want to use this opportunity to thank 1987 Caucus member @OtisSkitch and @labour_history for their hard work in their research.
