{"id":2844,"date":"2015-01-26T15:18:28","date_gmt":"2015-01-26T15:18:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=2844"},"modified":"2015-01-27T10:05:49","modified_gmt":"2015-01-27T10:05:49","slug":"can-decide-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=2844","title":{"rendered":"We can decide the election"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

The campaign group Operation Black Vote (OBV) hosted world-renowned civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton on Saturday (January 24) in an event to kick off the organisation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s voter registration drive.<\/p>\n

 
\nBlack leaders from the UK also spoke at the event, including Lee Jasper and Diane Abbott MP, to a packed crowd at University of Westminster in central London.<\/p>\n

 
\nWon and lost in the margins<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nResearch from Operation Black Vote has found that the black and minority ethnic electorate may hold the power to decide the upcoming election in May.<\/p>\n

 
\nIn its report<\/a>, OBV shows that 168 marginal seats have BME electorates larger than the 2010 majorities of the sitting MP, when measured against the 2011 census and counting only the voting electorate.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015b168 seats equates to over a quarter (29 per cent) of all constituencies in England and Wales,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 the report notes. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bTherefore, almost one-third of MP\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s can be voted in or out depending on the extent that they, and their party, appeals to BME voters.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nOBV director and co-founder Simon Woolley introduced Rev. Sharpton by hammering home these statistics. Large swaths of black and minority ethnic voters are not registered, and they are generally less likely to vote as compared to other groups.<\/p>\n

 
\nWoolley argued that BMEs now have unprecedented political power, but if trends continue, they may not choose to use this power.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe most damning effect of racism is that it makes ourselves feel inferior,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe dynamics of racism are such that we are locking ourselves out from using our own power.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut make no mistake \u00e2\u20ac\u201c this election will be won and lost in the margins,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Woolley added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur vote could, and it should<\/em>, decide the next election.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bTheir gamble is that you won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t show up\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nSharpton kicked off his address by arguing that activism is pointless if it does not lead to direct change, and that voting was one of the most power tools to effect this change.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe battles we are fighting in America are the same battles you are fighting here in the UK,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Sharpton said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf the battles you fight do not lead to change, then we are fighting these battles to raise the hopes of our people with no purpose.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bToo many of us get caught up in the drama of activism instead of the direction of activism. We are always saying, \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mobilise, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mobilise, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mobilise,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 without thinking about what we are actually mobilising towards,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

 
\nSharpton condemned the current government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s austerity programme that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ripped through the fabric of British society.
\nCommenting on the coalition government, Sharpton said:<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHow can they demand austerity, how can they demand that you cut back, when lower- and middle- income people have never seen any economic benefits in the first place? They tell you to tighten your belt when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been left outside standing in your underpants the whole time.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut they are counting on you to do nothing about it,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bYou have 168 districts where you can be the balance of power. Their gamble is that you won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t show up, that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be angry for one or two days, you may go out and march, and then you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll go home.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut if you go out and vote, and you change some of these seats, then they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll know you are serious.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe must fight as one\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nSharpton expressed gratitude for international support of Eric Garner and various other black American men brutally murdered at the hands of police, which have sparked protests across America and the world.<\/p>\n

 
\nBut he urged those in attendance to remember the problems they face at home and listed reasons that people should vote, including among other issues the devastating effects of austerity, and an immigration bill that he called the \u00e2\u20ac\u015bworst racial profiling bill I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever seen\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t deal with these problems, you are co-signing your approval for those in power to continue in this way,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

 
\nSharpton argued, as did many speakers at the event, that all forms of oppression\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwhether it is racism, Islamaphobia, homophobia, classism or sexism\u00e2\u20ac\u201dhave their roots in the exercise of elite power and share the common ideology of dehumanisation.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bDon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let them divide you into tribes,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Sharpton said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0098This is about immigration, so that ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t for you. Or this is about women, so that ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t for you. Or this is about gays and lesbians, so that ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t for you. All of it is for us all. We must protect the rights of everybody, or else you put every other right in jeopardy.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe must fight as one, as all the same,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added, to roaring cheers in the crowd. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got the tools to do it, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got the numbers to do, the question is — Are you going to stand up and get it done?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nTo find out more about Operation Black Vote\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s registration campaign, which Unite is supporting as part of its coalition campaign with the Daily Mirror, #NoVoteNoVoice, visit OBV\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s website here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The campaign group Operation Black Vote (OBV) hosted world-renowned civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton on Saturday (January 24) in an event to kick off the organisation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s voter registration drive.   Black leaders from the UK also spoke at the event, including Lee Jasper and Diane Abbott MP, to a packed crowd at University of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[171,223],"wps_subtitle":"American civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton gives exclusive talk in UK, urging everyone to vote","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2844"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2844"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2860,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2844\/revisions\/2860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}