THE DEBATE AROUND black sections of the Labour Party looks like being the most explosive, and the most exciting at this year's conference.
The Party is faced with both a challenge and a tremendous opportunity. The emergence/ of the movement towards black sections is a vital step in the direction of a unified black movement linked to the labour movement.
Socialist Action discussed the black sections movement with MARC WADSWORTH of Vauxhall Labour Party, Lewisham GLC councillor, and DIANE ABBOT, Westminster Councillor and candidate for Labour's NEC. They are all on the steering committee of the black section.
As they explain, black people in Britain constitute one of the most loyal sections of the Labour vote, are more likely than white workers to be in a trade union, and remain loyal to the organisations of the Photo: LAURIE SPARHAM (FL Committee labour movement. This is despite the fact that the record of the British labour movement on black rights is close to despicable.
Black people have begun to organise to demand that this record is changed by ensuring that black people's loyalty to the labour movement is reflected in their involvement at every level, and in a struggle for policies that meet their needs.
If Labour responds to this challenge, by ratifying the black section, it can both ensure this support from black people continues — strengthening the labour movement in all its battles; and build new confidence that the struggle for socialism is a struggle for equality and justice for the whole of the working class, not just a part of it.
The demands of the black section must be met! All socialists should get involved in the campaign into and beyond this Party conference.
DIANE ABBOTT — standing for the women's section of the NEC, supported by the Labour Women's Action Socialist Action: Perhaps you could saying around black sections has only started comparatively recently. The women's SCCUUl has been decades, section for a long time. Why have black sections only begun to develop in the last period?
Diane Abbott: I think three things have not least converged. There is a mood for change in the Labour Party of greater potential than there has been since 1945 second generation immigrants in this country. relate to the politics of the countries they came from, in some ways they still talk with more energy about the politics of Jamaica. The themselves as based here.
The third thing thought in the past that if they were nice enough then make them MPs. That has proved to be untrue - white people are not going to give up power.
all about is black people within the party organising to take power and not waiting to be given power.
Marc Wadsworth: Black caucuses have existed for some time - for decades. It party that Diane has talked about, that we can institutionalise the position and get the best benefits. good enough for us to organise in a caucus that is smiled on benevolently by the party but doesn't have any teeth.
instance, that has existed for ages, but they don't have any voting rights. It didn't occur to delegate status with voting rights on the GMC or on the EC.
WHOLE when Russell selected then deselected anybody else has been in the party.
defeat was so huge that it told there was something very wrong structurally with the Labour Party. It is that sort of watershed that has given us a mood of part defiance and part confidence that we can move forward as an organised group within the party, fighting for our rights with a common voice rather than being a supplicant going round with our begging bowl.
that was loosely gathered around the Labour Party. They had some initial success in getting 13 black councillors into the Town Hall. But because it was a largely single-issue, apolitical caucus, whole thing went sour, defection of Ambrozine Niel to the Tories in a row over black people in education.
black sections formally linked into the Labour Party, framework.
that might be seen as our natural allies in this fight but you have to remember that many of those people have grown fat on race and that we are proposing to take their platform away from them.
black people speaking on behalf. That is the great challenge to them and a great challenge to the movemember of the family now feels strong enough and politically mature enough to stand on his or her own feet.
the LOVELIC going now for and there has been a youth Then there is a whole generation of My parents' generation still new generation see that people white people would To me what the black sections are with the changes in the No longer is it They have a caucus in Battersea for them demand They discovered they were horribly Profitt was faster than these areas.
The margin of Russell Profitt's as the only reliable vote.
candidate.
black turnout.
There is also a black caucus in Brent tion with the This experience shows the need for clear element You mentioned those left wingers should be No more do we want surrogate Led single issue.
COTOWE - to the socialist family that a future cabinet minister. What do you think of the objections that have been made by the leadership for example, which has objected that this is not the way to ensure that black people are integrated into the Labour Party. And then there is the more dogmatic Militant type of position that this is a divisive move? Russell Profitt: It was interesting that the leadership sought to head off the move towards black sections by rejecting them on the very day that the first working party meeting was to be held. It was seen by the leadership as a major threat and one which they should try to stamp out at an early stage.
As far as I am concerned that is indicative of the racism that there is in the party. It is in a sense calling for sole rights to decide what matters as progress on race.
We are not accepting that. We take as our starting point that as the people who experience racism we are the ones who are best able to define a way in winch we can make progress That is the debate and the argument that the leadership must accept. Since the initial move we are growing. There are more black sections being formed every week campaign COll tinues. They will have to accept it, and if they are not on our side, in the words of Stokely Carmichael, 'they are part of the problem'.
MW: Talking about the institutionalis ed racism in the Labour Party, it is a vast omission that Kinnock doesn't have a black advisor nor does anybody in the leadership.
I heard that when they were trying to put together some propaganda race quite recently they couldn't find a photograph of any black people Walworth Road and that is the Labour Party headquarters. They had