Emma Dent Coad's comments about Shain Bailey revive the awful narrative that black conservatives are 'uncle Toms'
I am a black conservative. I don't think every offensive comment is racism. But when I see real prejudice I have to call it out. Emma Dent Coad's comments about the Conservative activist Shaun Bailey were profoundly distressing, and a toxic reminder of the struggle black people face daily in defeating stereotypes.
The fact that Ms Dent Coad, who is now a Labour MP, made these comments while she was an elected councillor is a disgrace. This is why it is still relevant to discuss today, even though they were made in 2010. The tragedy is that someone who holds these views is an MP representing a sizeable black population. Make no mistake, this is racism.
Too often black people are confronted with an assumption that there is only one way to be black, and that anyone who doesn’t conform is a “coconut” an “Uncle Tom” (or as Ms Dent Coad stated in her blog, a “token”).
It implies we are too stupid to understand what it means to be conservative, or are race traitors. It also demeans the achievements of every single ethnic minority on the centre-Right by re-informing the notion that none of us could possibly be there on merit.
Where do such attitudes come from? From “community leaders” like Ms Dent-Coad, who want to tell us what to think and how to behave. They haven't given us permission to leave our ghettoes, be Conservative or make friends with posh white people. This was Shaun's crime.
This attitude traps many black children within imaginary boundaries which they believe they aren't allowed to cross. They end up living less than the very best lives they can. And sadly, in circling the wagons around Ms Dent Coad, some Labour MPs have only hardened this stance.
Responding to Nimko Ali, a Somali-born anti-FGM campaigner, Clive Lewis said: “If you think you can fight racism and be in the Tory party then I guess this conversation isn't going to go very far.” That is patronising and wrong-headed. It is denying black people a basic human right to support a party of their choosing. It's the very attitude I referred to in my Conference speech last month – that you cannot be black and conservative.
Emma Dent Coad has not apologised for her offensive remarks. She has only apologised for Shaun being upset by them. I hope Labour treats this with the gravity it deserves.
And my message to young black people everywhere is: please, please feel free to be who you want to be.
Don't let Labour's stereotypes and low expectations hold you back, and never let them treat you like a black sheep who will always follow them.
This article was first published in the Telegraph, 14th November 2017
