Bernie Grant: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|20th-century British politician (1944–2000)}}

'''Bernard Alexander Montgomery Grant''' (17 February 1944 – 8 April 2000) was a [[Labour Party (UK)|British Labour Party]] politician who was the Member of Parliament for [[Tottenham (UK Parliament constituency)|Tottenham]], London, from 1987 to his death in 2000. He was a member of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]].

In 1993, Grant co-founded and chaired the [[African Reparations Movement]] (ARM UK) to campaign for the movement for [[reparations for slavery]] and racism. ARM UK was formed following the [[Reparations for slavery#Abuja Proclamation and ARM (1993)|1993 Abuja Proclamation]] declared at the First Pan-African Conference on Reparations, in [[Abuja, Nigeria]], convened by the [[Organisation of African Unity]] (OAU) and the Nigerian government. On 10 May 1993 Grant tabled a motion in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] 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]], [[Tony Banks, Baron Stratford|Tony Banks]], [[John Austin-Walker]], [[Harry Barnes (Labour politician)|Harry Barnes]], and [[Gerry Bermingham]]; an additional 46 Labour Party MPs signed to support the motion, including [[Jeremy Corbyn]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=10 May 1993|title=ABUJA PROCLAMATION - Early Day Motions|url=https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/5521/abuja-proclamation|access-date=2020-07-09|website=edm.parliament.uk|publisher=UK Parliament}}</ref> ARM UK, in a "Birmingham Declaration" of 1 January 1994,<ref>Quoted in [https://stopthemaangamizi.com/tag/1st-august/page/2/ "Why We March on 1st August"], stopthemaangamizi.com.</ref> called upon:

[[File:Bernie Grant Blue Plaque on the old Tottenham Town Hall.jpg|thumb|alt=Blue plaque reading: "Bernie Grant 1944–2000 Trade Unionist, Council Leader, Member of Parliament and People's Champion held legendary surgeries here 1987-20001987–2000". Inscribed around the border is: "Nubian Jak Community Trust / Haringey Council / Unison / Lee Valley Estates"|Blue plaque dedicated to Grant at Tottenham Old Town Hall]]