This April marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Bernie Grant (1944 – 2000).

The late Bernie Grant MP led a remarkable life. Over 35 years, he was at the forefront of a furious dialogue about race in British society as a trades unionist and civil rights activist, as the first ever Black Leader of a local authority in Europe in Haringey, North London, as an outspoken Black Member of Parliament, and as an international campaigner.

Bernie Grant MP was one of the first four MPs of colour elected to Parliament in 1987. He was at first a controversial character having been misquoted in the Newspapers during his observations about the Broadwater Farm riots in 1985. Bernie Grant became a stalwart of the Left Wing of the Labour Party with his roots in trade unionism.

He became known as a champion of his Tottenham constituency and for often unpopular causes like the The Africa Reparations Movement (ARM UK), set up by Bernie Grant in 1993 with the aim of seeking reparations for the harm done to Africa and the African diaspora through enslavement, colonisation, and racism. During the anti-apartheid years he was a passionate supporter of the ANC and its liberation struggles. Bernie Grant died after a long illness in 2000. One of his closest allies, Jeremy Corbyn, now leads the Labour Party.

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