It is over three decades since Diane Abbott became the first black woman elected to Parliament, recently she became the first black person to represent their party at PMQs.
Abbott’s election to Parliament in 1987 was an extraordinary feat as the only the first black female MP, she entered Parliament at a time when there were no black people in the Commons, when fewer than 5% of MPs were women, and when there was widespread suspicion of black radicalism. Thirty years later, it’s easy to overestimate how far we’ve come since Abbott’s milestone election; today, she is as well-known for the storm of racist and sexist abuse she receives on social media as she is for her trailblazing history. It is recorded that Abbot get more racial abuse than any other MP!!
In her new book Robin Bunce and Samara Linton paint a more nuanced portrait of the MP> Diane Abbott: The Authorised Biography, is a collection of original interviews with Abbott herself, her friends and colleagues, and a wide array of Westminster insiders.
Join Diane, Robin and Samara live for a riveting and insightful conversation, as they discuss how this daughter of a Windrush-generation welder and nurse won a place at Cambridge University, her early days in the Commons juggling life as a single mother, the furore over Mojitogate, and being shadow Home Secretary.
Date And Time
Mon, 21 September 2020
18:30 – 19:30 BST
This series was curated by TGRG in partnership with Fane Productions and blackhistorymaker.co.uk. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Black Cultural Archives.
The book………….
Diane Abbott: The Authorised Biography Hardcover – 24 Sept. 2020
by Robin Bunce and Samara Linton (Author)
On the night Margaret Thatcher secured a third consecutive general election victory in June 1987, history was made by a daughter of Jamaican immigrants as she became the first black woman to be elected to Parliament. Diane Abbott entered the House of Commons at a time when there were no black MPs in Parliament and when fewer than 5 per cent of MPs were women. Three decades on and she is one of the best-known figures in Westminster. Buy
