| Linda Bellos |
Article Index for Linda |
Website Links For Linda |
Information AboutLinda Bellos |
|
Bellos was born to a Jewish mother and a Nigeria n-born father, and was raised in Brixton . She married in 1970 and gave birth to two children, in 1974 and 1976 , but came out in 1980 . Her marriage ended in divorce in 1983 . She is now a grandmother. She was the first Black woman to join the Spare Rib feminist collective in 1981 . She was vice-chair of the campaign to select Black candidates within the Labour Party . In 1985 Bellos was elected as a Labour councillor for Lambeth Council and became leader of the council between 1986 and 1988 . She was the first black woman to become leader of a British local authority. She resigned as leader on 21 April 1988 after disputes within the Labour Party over the setting of the Council budget. She was a prominent figure in left-wing politics in London in the 1980s and was labelled by '' The Sun '' as a member of the ' Loony Left '. Bellos attempted to become a parliamentary candidate, without success, most notably for Vauxhall . Bellos now runs her own consultancy, Diversity Solutions LTD , together with her partner, Caroline Jones, providing solutions to improve equality and diversity outcomes within the commercial, public and voluntary sectors. They recently joined designers Tony Malone and John Marsh to create the venture Design for Diversity . Bellos is co-chair of the Southwark LGBT Network and an adviser to Southwark Council and the Metropolitan Police . On 9 December 2002 , she was presented (together with Stephen Bourne ) with the Metropolitan Police Volunteer Awards "in recognition of outstanding contribution in supporting the local community". On 21 December 2005 , she and her partner were among the first couples to sign a Civil Partnership in the UK. The ceremony took place, among family and friends at Southwark Registry Office. She has accomplished many firsts in her fight for equality, notably originating Black History Month in the UK, while chair of the London Strategic Policy Unit. Bellos is a regular guest contributor to radio and television programmes. As an author, she has contributed to a number of anthologies including ''IC3'', the ''Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain'', ISBN 0140287337. Bellos works on mainstreaming equality and diversity within the British Army and the Metropolitan Police Service. She is an Independent Advisor to the Metropolitan Police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Association of Chief Police Officers, and acts in a scrutiny role on equality and diversity issues for a number of public bodies. EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|