Robin's Blog - Operation Black Vote's Call to Action

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend the launch of Operation Black Vote’s election campaign in January. At the well supported event - a full house in fact - I shared with the audience the chance to listen to a key-note from the Rev. Al Sharpton, the veteran civil rights campaigner. I’m a natural sceptic about celebrity speakers, and also have my doubts about the transferability of the US experience to the UK. I have to say that on this occasion though, Sharpton did not disappoint. It was a master class in oratory, and as well as demonstrating his natural eloquence, Rev. Al was at his acerbic best on the subject of the current debate about post-racialism, both here and in the US, post-Obama.

I share Rev Sharpton’s analysis - a Black US President has been a massive boost for all global Black Diaspora communities, but it is only a part of the journey we’re on, and it would be a big mistake for us to assume that our journey is done. We are still closer to the beginning than the end. In the USA, the Black, Hispanic and other minorities (far bigger and better organised than we are in the UK) still remain top of all the wrong charts and at the bottom of those that count. The story is the same here, and the attempts of the Labour government and others to claim that it is now class, not race, that is the key social determinant is a worrying fallacy that must be challenged. It is not surprising that – so close to an election – politicians will default to this issue, and of course it is clearly not in question that social class remains a major obstacle in 21^st century UK, but I share the view of most Black activists that race remains the major hurdle, especially when combined with social class, perceived or real.

The importance of Simon Woolley and the OBV team’s work is that we will not be able to challenge such attempts to downplay racism unless we mobilise a strong electoral presence, irrespective of which party we vote for. It is for that reason that I want to urge all NBP members, supporters and fellow travellers to heed OBV clarion call and register on the electoral role and vote when the election comes, probably within the next four months. This is not a party political issue – it really doesn’t matter who we vote for, but vote we must. We will, if we vote this time round in numbers, be decisive in a large number of metropolitan constituencies, but more importantly it will raise our collective profile with the political classes and give us the leverage to ensure better outcomes for our children and young people in schools, colleges and universities, and give us a chance of a better return for our growing contribution to the UK economy.

To find out more about Operation Black Vote visit http://www.obv.org.uk/