At the heart of Bernie Grant’s interests as a political figure, was the cause of anti-racism, and creation of a fairer society for all by tackling discrimination and its root causes. Grant was widely considered a voice for Black Britons, and as such was often the point of call for many who were experienced racism either as individuals or collectively. In his position as MP, Grant was sought out by members of the public far beyond his own constituency, when their own local representatives had fallen short of supporting them. As a an elected watchdog against racism, Grant and his office were inundated with cases and causes arising from strongly felt grievances or discrimination founded in racism. Alongside this, he was also proactive in fighting against racism when he himself was the victim, in politics and in the press. It is hard to differentiate Grant’s anti-racist work from the rest of his activities, because it was ever present in his work. But here are some examples from the archive, of cases, arguments and campaigns that Grant and his peers were engaged with during his political career, which speak to his commitment to pursuing an anti-racist future. This section is especially focussed on examples of this work both in Britain, and his growing concern with the upsurge in racist sentiments across the European continent in the late 20th century:
Arts, History and Heritage
Grant’s archive offers a glimpse into the initiatives that were ongoing in the late 20th century, with the goal of combatting the dearth in available resources, heritage institutions and public knowledge projects, on the histories and heritage of Black people in Britain. One of these such initiatives was organised by the Sam Uriah Society, at Harriet Tubman House in Lower Clapton, East London. This poster, featured in the Bernie Grant archive, publicised the centre’s exhibition entitled ‘The Black Contribution to Culture and Civilisation’. It was a permanent exhibition, and alongside it the centre offered a dance studio, costume and design workshop, AV facilities, and a cafe. The centre operated until 2013.
The year 1995 marked the 50th anniversary for Victory in Europe (VE) Day. The Houses of Parliament were deeply involved in coordinating commemoration events throughout Britain to celebrate 50 years since the end of World War II. As such, a steering committee was set up, chaired by Conservative Party politician Viscount Cranbourne, who was serving as MP for Dorset at the time. Despite the expansive programme of celebratory events drawn up by this committee, there was a noticeable lack of mention pertaining to the contributions of African and Caribbean people to Britain’s involvement in both World Wars, and indeed in the Armed Forces at the time of the anniversary. This absence was pointed out by many, including Bernie Grant, who’s archive illuminates this push for better acknowledgement of African and Caribbean people to Britain’s wartime efforts. In a letter debriefing a meeting of the WWII Commemoration Team in November 1994, presumably drafted by Grant’s office, it was revealed that the team had no plans to extend invites to Caribbean, East or West African representatives for a VE may event. The letter outlined examples of African and Caribbean contributions to WWII, such as the £2.8 million public donations from Trinidadians for the war effort, as well as the numerous combatants and casualties suffered.
The letter asked whether the government could expect people of African and Caribbean descent to accept “such an insult with equanimity”. Of course, Grant was not the only one to raise the issue of representation in the VE celebrations, political activist and journalist David Roussel-Milner, who wrote for publications such as the West Indian Gazette and The Voice, wrote to the Editor of the Independent to express his outrage at the committee’s decision, similarly highlighting the arbitrary reasoning provided by the team for this decision, being that African and Caribbean contributions were not at “brigade strength”. The archive contains another letter dated February of 1995 by David Soames MP, then serving as Minister of State for the Armed Services, responding to Bernie Grant’s insistence that African and Caribbean representatives receive invites to state-organised commemorations. In this, David Soames reassured Grant that Jamaica and Trinidad’s Heads of State had been invited, as well as 12 other Commonwealth Heads of State. This response reveals that the criticisms by Grant, Roussel-Milner and others likely prompted a better inclusion of African and Caribbean people in the commemorations.
The West Indian Ex-Servicemen’s Association wrote to Grant to thank him for bringing their concerns around the erasure of historic contributions, to the attention of the House of Commons. This campaign around VE Day is therefore a useful example of Grant’s use of his position as an elected representative, to advocate for the recognition of the role of black people in British History. (However, it was not until 22nd June (Windrush Day) of 2017, that a memorial to specifically commemorate African and Caribbean service personnel in both World Wars, was commissioned and unveiled in Windrush Square, Brixton.)
Caribbean Links
In 1985, Caribbean Links was set up by Afro-Caribbean community members, as a “voluntary and totally non-funded organisation”, aimed at promoting the Caribbean, its history, culture and people in Britain. Grant was subsequently made honorary president of the group. Originally based in Tottenham, Caribbean Links soon spread its membership and activities across the country, including an organisational trip to Liverpool. Other activities included an annual “Family Fun Day” which took place in July, and helped to bolster cultural pride and familiarity especially in younger generations living in Britain, who had begun to feel disconnected from their Caribbean heritage. Caribbean Links opted for a unifying motto “out of many… we are one”, similar to the national motto of Jamaica: “out of many, one people”.
Like many initiatives Grant was involved with, the organisation was supported by other Black activists engaged in social and political promotions of Black cultures in Britain, such as Linda Bellos and Dorothy Kuya, pictured here at a Caribbean Links event.
Black British Artists
In 1998, the British Tourist Authority launched a ‘Rock & Pop’ Map. The intention of this was to encourage foreign tourists to conduct their own, self-led tours across Britain, using this map which pinpointed British cities and the Rock and Pop music icons they had produced. However, the guide omitted to make mention of the enormous contribution of Black British artists, and as such Grant directed a complaint to Tom Clarke, then Labour MP and Minister for Film and Tourism. Clarke’s response reveals that he agreed with Grant’s criticism of the Guide: “I agree that it was a pity that Black British musicians were not more prominently included in the promotion. I recognise the valuable contribution made by Black artistes to British culture”. Despite this, Clarke’s reply did not include mention that the omission in the map might be rectified in some way. Having been an MP by now for some time, he knew that he could expect a response to such questions put to a Minister, but with Labour now in power he felt increasingly able to influence policies and prioirities. To that end, public acknowledgement and celebration of the positive contributions made by Black people to British culture and history was of particular interest to Bernie Grant, not only as a way to combat negative stereotyping and omissions, but also to foster self-confidence and empowerment of black artists and influence.
The dearth in available museums, galleries, and other heritage sites dedicated to the historic and cultural presence of Black people in Britain, was a significant issue in the late 20th century, and it was not until the 1980s-90s that, despite the persisting obstacles, such institutions began to emerge. After many years of campaigning and organising, the African People’s Historic Monument Foundation, announced the refurbishment of the Black Cultural Archives’ premises on Coldharbour Lane in 1990, and wrote to supporters to request help with the task of developing the archive and museum space. Grant’s archive contains a letter from the Monument Foundation to this affect, which outlined that many people had hitherto “failed to gain relevant information elsewhere relating to accomplishments and Black Life history in Britain”. Grant was a vocal participant in such campaigns to increase public access to historical and cultural resources of this nature, and was enthused by the development of a Transatlantic Slavery Museum in Liverpool in 1994 – which was the precursur of the current permanent Liverpool International Slavery Museum. This is evidenced in a press statement by Grant, who called for “greater commitment for Britain’s museums and galleries to documenting slavery and colonialism”.
Throughout his career, Grant advocated for better representation and opportunities for Black artists. Before his death, Grant had aimed to set in motion the development of an Arts centre in Tottenham that could help foster such opportunities, and be of benefit to the local community. This centre was to come to fruition posthumously – in 2007, the Bernie Grant Arts Centre was opened to the public, designed by the Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye. In addition to the Bernie Grant Arts Centre, and even sooner after his passing, the Bernie Grant Trust was established, which his Sharon Grant stated was set up to “seek to develop the work that Bernie started… empowering people within Black and ethnic minorities, enabling them to have a greater voice in determining their own futures”. A memorial concert was organised, along with the archive project which resulted in the vast collection held at Bishopsgate Institute which forms the basis of this digital archive, and this website.
Heineken
‘Hotel Babylon’ was a music programme, broadcasted in 1996, and produced jointly by Planet 24 and Heineken, the beer brewing company. The British Press were tipped off to a racist action by a senior member of staff on behalf of Heineken, who wrote to Planet 24 complaining that a particular scene in Hotel Babylon had “a too high proportion of negroes”. The Press approached Grant for a response, and Grant in turn wrote to the director of Heineken to offer the opportunity of an explanation. By way of finding an appropriate recompense for the racist remark, Grant’s office via his P.A and wife Sharon Grant, suggested that Heineken might sponsor a Black-led project.
Specifically, Sharon Grant recommended sponsoring a paid role to help develop Caribbean Links, which was founded by Grant as a “non-political, family organisation, which was born out of a desire to emphasise the positive aspects of Caribbean culture”. This role was necessary to ensure the required time and energy could be pooled into the organisation, as these were recurrent issues for Black-led projects at the time, who had difficulty sourcing capital and financial support. The response to this suggestion from Heineken was negative, and the director claimed that “other than a public apology and a correct way of conducting business, nothing can be done to wash away the shame that has come over us”.
Governmental discrimination
In May of 1996, Grant hit back at Tory proposals for the elderly to purchase insurance for long term care in the realm of around £10,000. Grant argued that for many Black elderly, this would only encourage them to return to the Caribbean where such insurance was much more affordable. This proposal of course, was not only significant for the impact it would have on the Black elderly as Grant highlighted, but it was also indicative of efforts to privatise and shrink services within the National Health Service, cutting it down to ‘core’ services. In this press statement from 1996, Grant made a point which he continually made throughout his career, on the marriage between racial and class-based systemic discrimination seen by the economic decisions of a then-Tory run British government. In the November 1996 budget, Grant argued, the Tories had announced tax cuts for the ‘ordinary family’, although for those 30% lowest paid in Britain, they were not affected by tax cuts but would suffer from heightened prescription costs, council tax increases and cuts to inner city council services.
Anti-Fascism
Unfortunately, due to his high public profile, Grant received many racist remarks and threats throughout his career. In the late 1980s as right wing groups were appearing on the streets, and an organisation called English Solidarity sent a flurry of messages with racist sentiments aimed at getting rid of “multi-racial” representatives, of which Grant had been identified as one. Grant wrote to Attorney General Sir Patrick Mayhew in June of 1989, to make him aware of this new group and its activities. As Grant outlined in the letter, the group had seemed to target other MPs as well, and this act constituted an offence under the Public Order Act, relating to the usage of threatening words or behaviour. The group, which according to its paraphernalia was based in Acton Vale, West London, doesn’t appear to have been prominent in any way, and one could question whether it constituted a group at all. But these threatening letters are key examples of the presence of racist and Fascist beliefs at the time, and how it affected public figures who were vocally progressive. The Royal Courts of Justice disagreed with Grant on this matter, and ruled that the letters had not breached either the Public Order Act or Malicious Communication Act.
In this same vein, in 1996, it was revealed by the News of the World, that the Ku Klux Klan was attempting to build a membership base in the UK. Horrified by this, Grant urged the Director of Public Prosecutions to intervene and prosecute those involved. He criticised the government for having fostered a political climate which had allowed racism to “flourish”, not least through its discriminatory immigration and asylum legislations.
SCORE
As the European continent entered into a period of economic stagnation, high rates of unemployment and political uncertainty in the post-cold war era of the 1990s, racist and xenophobic sentiments became increasingly evident, at both the national and European level. In particular, the development of a more uniformly stern approach to non-European immigration remained a notable focus for the nations of the European Union, with significant events such as the 1990 Dublin Convention, the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, and the 1999 Treaty of Amsterdam, feeding into the approaches of national governments, such as the UK’s Immigrations and Asylums Act 1999. These legislative developments, and anti-immigration political rhetoric, had a large hand to play in the upsurge of racist attacks, such as the infamous 1992 days-long riot and petrol bomb attack on a hostel in Rostock, Germany, where Turkish asylum seekers were being housed, marking the largest racist incident in the country since WWII. Grant and his peers had for a long time aired warnings about this new regressive wave in European politics. Black Sections, for example, drew up a Statement Against Racism in which it pinpointed the racist remarks of political figures such as former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, and Margaret Thatcher who had complained of Britain being “swamped” by immigrants. In a Black Sections letter dating November 1991 which accompanied the Statement Against Racism, the group urged the need for a meeting on the matter, and an organised approach to tackling the dangerous, increasingly violent trend in racism.
Outside of Black Sections, Bernie Grant worked on building a continental anti-racism movement broader than the Labour Party’s Black members and supporters. In 1990, Grant announced the creation of a new umbrella organisation called Standing Conference On Racial Equality in Europe (SCORE), in appreciation of the European Community’s anti-immigration sentiments in particular towards individuals arriving from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean to the European continent. At its outset, SCORE brought together over 40 organisations, to work together on providing information on the issues affecting Black and racially minoritized communities, promote the equality of condition for all within Europe regardless of heritage or nationality, or religion, and argue for legislation to ensure equal treatment under law. Having first launched SCORE in the House of Commons, with speakers including chairman of the Confederation of Indian Organisations Tara Mukherjee, the UK’s second largest city of Birmingham was then chosen to host the inaugural meeting of SCORE, on 24th November 1990, due to its notable Black and Asian population and political precedence.
Grant was sceptical of the benefits of the European Union as it pertained to the rights of African, Caribbean and Asian communities, stating “it is important that Black and ethnic minority people are aware of the pitfalls of a united Europe. What we must ensure is that Black, migrant and ethnic minority communities are not subject to racism and discrimination and the xenophobia that is now rearing its ugly head even more blatantly in Europe”. SCORE soon developed its own regular newsletter Scoreboard, and included writings from SCORE members such as Josephine Ocloo – also Vice Chair of the organisation, and included segments such as a news round up, information on upcoming events such as conferences by the Anti-Racist Alliance, activities by groups such as the Society of Black Lawyers, and relevant publications. In its 1993 edition, Scoreboard criticised Britain’s stint in Presidency of the European Community, pointing to the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Bill which proposed harsher checks on non-European migrants and asylum seekers for criminal backgrounds and records. In 1995, Scoreboard revealed that the SCORE Campaign For Free Movement in Europe was pursuing a challenge to the High Court, over border checks and controls toward migrants of member nations of the European Community. As SCORE argued, the challenge was intended to expose the UK’s controversial approach to border control, undermining the concept of “free movement” for the European community.
As chairman of SCORE, Grant often spoke on behalf of the organisation and spread awareness on the issues of racism in Europe. For example, Grant was invited to attend a Black History Month event at the University of Michigan, where he delivered a presentation entitled ‘The Resurgence of Racism in Europe’. He also travelled widely in Europe bringing together black politicians who had begun to appear in Portugal, France and Italy, and encouraging them and sharing his experience. Grant’s significant connections with the wider African diaspora aided SCORE and other European-based initiatives in bolstering greater awareness of the specific experiences of Black and ethnic minority communities wherever they may be, and stimulating discussion on building unity outside of national or even continental borders.
Organisation for Africans in Europe
In 1992, Bernie Grant was invited to attend the 56th Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Council of Members in Dakar, Senegal. The OAU was originally formed in 1963 in Addis Ababa, as a continent-wide collective vehicle to address issues affecting Africa, related to colonialism, neo-colonialism, and self-determination for African states and peoples. During this trip, Grant made contact with various African delegates, and embarked on a trip to Goree Island, which between the 15th to 19th century was the largest slave-trading centre on the continent. This trip had a large impact on Grant, who had been making plans to develop an Organisation for Africans in Europe, with the aim of strengthening connections between Africans on both continents, and advocating for the rights of Africans based in Europe. As Grant reported to the Secretary General of the OAU, this new European-based organisation was necessary in the context of what he described as the burgeoning “New World Order” and the advent of a Single European Economy, which was ushered in by the EU to strengthen European markets and businesses. This organisation was short lived and never developed fully, due in large part to Grant’s finite resources and time as one of a mere few Black political representatives in Europe at the time, and the decision to invest already restricted resources and energy on what became the African Reparations Movement UK (ARM), from 1993 onwards.