Inside THIS MONTH The Voice says

Diane Abbott is still a legend

DIANE ABBOTT, the first Black woman MP, has endured more online hate than the rest of Parliament put together. Everyone knows why.

Many were shocked when the former shadow Home Secretary was suspended from being a Labour MP after a letter in her name appeared in the Observer newspaper.

In the letter, Ms Abbott argued that white minorities faced ‘prejudice’, not ‘racism’, a claim which angered people across the political spectrum.

She swiftly apologised, and said it was an ‘initial draft’ that was sent by mistake, and issued an ‘unreserved apology’ while clarifying that Jewish and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities all experience racism.

But the damage was done and hours later she was out of Labour, at a crucial time just before local parties like hers in Hackney and Stoke Newington select their candidates.

She is now in danger of being unable to stand for Labour again, just like her friend Jeremy Corbyn. That would be a sad end to her time as an MP that began in 1987 when she broke the glass ceiling thanks to support from the Black Sections.

No one can doubt Ms Abbott’s commitment to tackling anti-Black racism. Over 35 years, she has relentlessly championed many causes including the London Schools and the Black Child annual conferences.

It appears that tackling anti-Black narratives might also be her downfall, as the offending letter was responding to a Guardian article which suggested that anti-Semitism was more prevalent than other forms of racism.

All forms of racism are equally important, but that does not mean they are exactly the same. There are many differences in the dynamics of how they manifest. Acknowledging this is not downgrading any particular form of racism.

While Ms Abbott can talk from her personal experience of anti-Black racism, she has spoken passionately, and often, against anti-Semitism and anti-GRT racism.

That is who she is; a principled anti-racist, and her record speaks for itself. She is, and remains, a legend.

We hope that her situation is resolved satisfactorily and that she can reassure all people who suffer oppression that she is their side in