Bernie Grant
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Bernard Alexander Montgomery Grant (17 February 1944 – 8 April 2000) was a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for
Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...
, London, from 1987 to his death in 2000.


Biography

Bernie Grant was born in Georgetown,
British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...
, to schoolteacher parents, who in 1963 took up the UK Government's offer to people from the crown colonies to settle in the UK. Grant attended Tottenham Technical College, and went on to take a degree course in Mining Engineering at
Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...
in
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, but did not graduate. In the mid-1960s, he was, for a period, a member of the
Socialist Labour League The Workers Revolutionary Party is a Trotskyist group in Britain once led by Gerry Healy. In the mid-1980s, it split into several smaller groups, one of which retains possession of the name. The Club The WRP grew out of the faction Gerry Healy ...
, led by
Gerry Healy Thomas Gerard Healy (3 December 1913 – 14 December 1989) was a political activist, a co-founder of the International Committee of the Fourth International and the leader of the Socialist Labour League and later the Workers Revolutionary Par ...
. This later became known as the Workers Revolutionary Party. He quickly became a
trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
official, and moved into politics, becoming a Labour councillor in the
London Borough of Haringey The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation o ...
in 1978. When the
Conservative government Conservative or Tory government may refer to: Canada In Canadian politics, a Conservative government may refer to the following governments administered by the Conservative Party of Canada or one of its historical predecessors: * 1st Canadian Mi ...
introduced "rate capping", Grant led the
rate-capping rebellion The rate-capping rebellion was a campaign within English local councils in 1985 which aimed to force the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher to withdraw powers to restrict the spending of councils. The affected councils were almost all r ...
in the borough in 1984. This created division in the local
Constituency Labour Party __NOTOC__ A constituency Labour Party (CLP) is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular parliamentary constituency. In England and Wales, CLP boundaries coincide with those for UK parliamentary constituenc ...
, but through this split, Grant became the Borough of Haringey leader in 1985. As council leader during the 1985
Broadwater Farm riot The Broadwater Farm riot occurred on the Broadwater council estate in Tottenham, North London, on 6 October 1985. The events of the day were dominated by two deaths. The first was that of Cynthia Jarrett, an Afro-Caribbean woman who died the p ...
, in which policeman PC Keith Blakelock was murdered, Grant was brought to national attention when he gave a speech outside Tottenham Town Hall, saying "The police were to blame for what happened on Sunday night and what they got was a bloody good hiding." His comments brought swift denunciation from the Labour Party leadership, and the then Conservative
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
,
Douglas Hurd Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, (born 8 March 1930) is a British Conservative Party politician who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1979 to 1995. A career diplomat and political secretary to P ...
, called him "the high priest of conflict"; several British newspapers also dubbed him "Barmy Bernie". He claimed that he was merely explaining to a wider audience what the feeling on the estate was like. Grant claimed his words had been taken out of context, but offered an apology to the family of PC Blakelock. There is conflicting information over whether Grant condemned the violence of the rioters the following day. To some, Grant was an extremist, yet he supported the prosecution of 45 people subsequently charged with riot and affray. The controversy did not prevent him from being elected as MP for Tottenham at the 1987 general election, one of the UK's first
Black British Black British people are a multi-ethnic group of British citizens of either African or Afro-Caribbean descent.Gadsby, Meredith (2006), ''Sucking Salt: Caribbean Women Writers, Migration, and Survival'', University of Missouri Press, pp. 76–7 ...
MPs, all of them members of the
Labour Party Black Sections Labour Party Black Sections (LPBS), commonly known as Black Sections, was a caucus in the United Kingdom, made up of African, Caribbean, and Asian Labour Party members from 1983 to 1993. Formation Since the 1960s, the Labour Party has relied f ...
movement, being elected at the same time as Diane Abbott and
Paul Boateng Paul Yaw Boateng, Baron Boateng (born 14 June 1951) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brent South from 1987 to 2005, becoming the UK's first Black Cabinet Minister in May 2002, when he was appo ...
, as well as Britain's first
British Asian British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British citizens of Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with 6.9% of the population identifying as Asian/Asian Brit ...
MP since the 1920s,
Keith Vaz Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz (born 26 November 1956) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester East for 32 years, from 1987 to 2019. He was the British Parliament's longest-serving Br ...
. Grant later stood for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party, but was unsuccessful. In 1989, he established and chaired the Parliamentary Black Caucus, modelled after the
Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce B ...
of the United States. The organisation was committed to advancing the opportunities of Britain's ethnic minority communities. In 1993 Grant co-founded and chaired the African Reparations Movement (ARM UK) to campaign for the movement for
reparations for slavery Reparations for slavery is the application of the concept of reparations to victims of slavery and/or their descendants. There are concepts for reparations in legal philosophy and reparations in transitional justice. Reparations can take numer ...
and racism. ARM UK was formed following the 1993 Abuja Proclamation declared at the First Pan-African Conference on Reparations, in
Abuja, Nigeria Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a ...
, convened by the
Organisation of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...
(OAU) and the Nigerian government. On 10 May 1993 Grant tabled a motion in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
that the House welcomed the proclamation and "calls upon the international community to recognise that the unprecedented moral debt owed to African people has yet to be paid, and urges all those countries who were enriched by enslavement and colonisation to review the case for reparations to be paid to Africa and to Africans in the Diaspora; acknowledges the continuing painful economic and personal consequences of the exploitation of Africa and Africans in the Diaspora and the racism it has generated; and supports the OAU as it intensifies its efforts to pursue the cause of reparations." The motion was sponsored by Grant,
Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British politician, writer and diarist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. ...
, Tony Banks, John Austin-Walker, Harry Barnes, and
Gerry Bermingham Gerald Edward Bermingham (born 20 August 1940) is a British politician and barrister, and was Labour Member of Parliament for St Helens South from 1983 until 2001. He was born 20 August 1940 in Dublin, Ireland, and educated at Cotton College, ...
; an additional 46 Labour Party MPs signed to support the motion, including
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
. ARM UK, in a "Birmingham Declaration" of 1 January 1994, called upon: Grant's approach to reparations included demands for the return of looted African cultural heritage (such as the
Benin Bronzes The Benin Bronzes are a group of several thousand metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now Edo State, Nigeria. Collectively, the objects form the best examples of Benin art and were cre ...
) and that the British government should financially support those who wanted to return to their country of origin. Grant was associated with the
Socialist Campaign Group The Socialist Campaign Group, officially the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs and also known as the Campaign Group, is a left-wing, democratic socialist grouping of the Labour Party's Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the ...
, and spoke out against police racism. He married three times, living with his third wife in
Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Fi ...
. He was diabetic since his thirties. He died from a heart attack at
Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...
on 8 April 2000, aged 56. His funeral procession on 18 April passed through Tottenham towards a service at
Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...
, pausing as it passed the Broadwater Farm estate. According to ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''s report, "An estimated 3,000 people... turned out to salute the black radical. There were dancers and singers, a Highland piper and African drums. Also present were Home Secretary,
Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary ...
, Chris Smith, Culture Secretary,
Clare Short Clare Short (born 15 February 1946) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for International Development under Prime Minister Tony Blair from 1997 to 2003. Short was the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Ladywood from 1983 t ...
, Minister for International Development, and Paul Boateng and
Keith Vaz Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz (born 26 November 1956) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester East for 32 years, from 1987 to 2019. He was the British Parliament's longest-serving Br ...
, Britain's most senior BAME ministers."


Legacy

Grant's widow, Sharon, was on the shortlist to succeed him as the official Labour candidate for Tottenham, but was beaten by the 27-year-old
David Lammy David Lindon Lammy (born 19 July 1972) is an English politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tottenh ...
, who won the
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
in June 2000. In September 2007, in Tottenham,
Haringey Council Haringey London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Haringey in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. As of 2022, Haringey is divided into 21 wards, ...
opened the
Bernie Grant Arts Centre The Bernie Grant Arts Centre (BGAC) is a £15 million purpose-built multi-arts centre, which includes a 274-seat auditorium, studio/rehearsal space, café/bar, enterprise centre and open spaces. It is located next to the Town Hall in Tottenham, ...
in his name. On Sunday, 28 October 2012, a blue plaque, organised by the
Nubian Jak Community Trust Nubian Jak Community Trust (NJCT) is a commemorative plaque and sculpture scheme founded by Jak Beula that highlights the historic contributions of Black and minority ethnic people in Britain. The first NJCT heritage plaque, honouring Bob Marley, ...
, was unveiled at Tottenham Old Town Hall in tribute to Grant. On 5 December 2017, a portrait of Grant was unveiled in Parliament. The portrait was commissioned by the Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art. Drawn in 180 hours using pencil and charcoal by hyper-realist artist Kelvin Okafor, the portrait joined the Parliamentary Art Collection. In March 2019, the Labour Party launched the Bernie Grant Leadership programme, which was created to train and equip BAME Labour members.
Dawn Butler Dawn Petula Butler (born 3 November 1969) is a British Labour Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Brent Central since 2015. Butler was elected as the MP for Brent South at the 2005 general election. She served in ...
wrote on the launch that "This national programme is about empowering more Black, Asian, minority ethnic members to take on leadership positions in the Labour Party, develop skills and join a network of talented members and community activists across the country," saying that Grant "campaigned tirelessly for the elimination of racism both in Britain and across the world.... He was a champion of his community, a dedicated constituency MP and has encouraged a generation of BAME leaders." Grant's archive is held at the
Bishopsgate Institute Bishopsgate Institute is a cultural institute in the Bishopsgate Without area of the City of London, located near Liverpool Street station and Spitalfields market. The institute was established in 1895. It offers a cultural events programme, c ...
.


References


External links


Profile
at
Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
*
Voting record
at
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Record in Parliament
at
TheyWorkForYou TheyWorkForYou is a parliamentary monitoring website operated by mySociety which aims to make it easier for UK citizens to understand what is going on in Westminster, as well as the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assembl ...

Bernie Grant
profile on ''Black Presence''
The Bernie Grant Archives
held at
Bishopsgate Institute Bishopsgate Institute is a cultural institute in the Bishopsgate Without area of the City of London, located near Liverpool Street station and Spitalfields market. The institute was established in 1895. It offers a cultural events programme, c ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Bernie 1944 births 2000 deaths Alumni of Heriot-Watt University Alumni of The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London Black British activists Black British MPs Black British politicians Councillors in the London Borough of Haringey European democratic socialists Guyanese emigrants to England Guyanese trade unionists Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Leaders of local authorities of England People from Georgetown, Guyana UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 Workers Revolutionary Party (UK) members