City councillor: ‘I was racially abused but it won’t stop me speaking out’

ABUSED FOR STANDING UP TO RACISM: City councillor Aneesa Akbar. Picture by Neil Holmes Photography

City councillor Aneesa Akbar suffered racist abuse after challenging far-right propaganda. In this exclusive interview, she tells Simon Bristow she won’t be silenced, and why the Black Lives Matter movement has given so many people hope

A city councillor was left upset and “lonely” after being racially abused during lockdown.

Aneesa Akbar, the only female BAME member of Hull City Council, was targeted after calling out a piece of far-right propaganda in March, just before lockdown was imposed.

The central ward councillor said she felt it was her duty to challenge racism, but was shocked by the abuse she received in response.

She said: “I decided to challenge it on Twitter. Representatives have to stand up for their communities, and this was impacting on our communities and it felt like a tipping point so I had to speak out.

“I had unpleasant messages on Twitter, but the emails were more vicious. People were saying I was racist and sent offensive pictures. It was a handful of people but I was surprised because I was getting phone calls from residents saying I didn’t care about white people.

“I had emails from people across the city linked to [far-right group] Britain First. It felt intense and lonely and I was upset.

“A lot of the things I’ve done [previously] was talking about class, and for the first time I was talking about racism and everyone wanted to delegitimize what I said. For a while I felt I’d found my place in politics, but as soon as you change a bit they just want to shut you out from it.

“I think the intensity of lockdown and wanting to make things better, being the only BAME woman on the council, to stick up for communities, it felt intense and lonely. Politicians don’t talk about how that affects them.”

She added: “Scrutiny is fair on the decisions we take, but attacking someone because they are gay, for their ethnicity or religion, shouldn’t have a place in 2020. It felt like I was the only one communicating it.

“There were other councillors who were supportive and making sure I was safe, and I was being heard, but ultimately it comes down to to a lot of people thinking it’s easy to ignore.”

Councillor Akbar did receive support from the council and her ward colleague, Councillor Shane McMurray. She did report the abuse to police.

‘THIS ABUSE SHOULD HAVE NO PLACE IN OUR SOCIETY’: Aneesa Akbar. Picture by Neil Holmes Photography

Then came May and the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer in the US. This triggered an outpouring of grief and anger and protests across the world under the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. It led to the largest anti-racist protests in the UK since the abolition of slavery movement.

For Councillor Akbar this remains a cause for hope. She said: “It just allowed for so many people of colour to have this conversation, to talk about how they were feeling and their experiences in society.

“I had lots of calls from people across the city - my phone didn’t stop for the first week. I was taking calls from people who experienced racism at work. I was speaking to Lib Dem BAME activists telling me about their experiences.

“It just felt like we were moving forward and it started with the space to have that conversation. It felt really empowering and I hope it won’t be just for a couple of months - not allowing neighbours or friends to get away with racist remarks, and to start to challenge why racism exists in society.

“I think it’s given me and many others a lot of hope in terms of how we can go forward. It’s brought a lot of people together and brought young people together to talk about our history and the way we have created change.

“There’s this group of people who don’t want to live in a society that demonises and scapegoats people. The whole Black Lives Matter movement feels like it started with George Floyd but it started under Obama and police brutality before then. I did not expect it would end up a global civil rights movement. It was so inspiring to see the way it created this domino effect.”

‘BLACK LIVES MATTER HAS GIVEN PEOPLE HOPE’: Aneesa Akbar, talking to The Hull Story. Picture by Neil Holmes Photography

Councillor Akbar is originally from Manchester and came to Hull in 2010 to study politics at university. The 28-year-old graduated in 2014 after difficulties in her personal life while at university. She has been a councillor for two years.

Last autumn she stood against Hull North MP Diana Johnson in an open selection process triggered by branches of the constituency Labour party. This decided who would be the Labour Party candidate at the General Election.

When Ms Johnson won the vote, Councillor Akbar - who said they had “different visions for the constituency party” - immediately began campaigning for her and helped her retain the seat at the election. “She still believes in the same things I do and the Labour Party, and I’m proud to have campaigned for her,” she said.

Councillor Akbar describes herself as a socialist and said her interest in politics began during her youth. She said: “I grew up in Manchester and there’s always been a disparity in wealth, especially in boom periods in Manchester, and it made me angry.

“I grew up under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and seeing the way working-class communities were being attacked by a Labour government made me angry. It made me want to change the world.

“In GCSE history, the teacher gave us a radical history of Manchester, and we talked about the differences individuals have made. It was exciting and that made me want to learn about politics.” She joined the Labour Party in 2015, just after Ed Miliband led the party to a crushing defeat at that year’s General Election.

She said the most inspirational figure as she began her political journey was Shami Chakrabarti, now a Labour peer.

“I watched Question Time and she was so feisty and just spoke the truth,” she said. “There was no other Asian person I could think of that was so prominent in politics. She made it feel OK to be there.”

Councillor Akbar said Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader “breathed life” into ideas she believed in, “talking about fairness and equality, and amplifying the voices of so many people who had been silenced”.

She will continue fighting for what she believes in, and is very happy in her adopted city, despite the abuse she received.

She said: “I genuinely did just fall in love with the city, the people are so friendly here. People like to talk about the charm of Manchester and Leeds, but they don’t have the same charm Hull people do, and you’ve got that deep history here and it’s been great to see that evolution.

“You have started to talk more about your history and the great things this city has done. It’s a resilient city.”