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The Lord John Taylor Of Warwick:The Only Black In England's House Of Lords
Jamaican immigrants' lawyer son is elevated to baron's rank
It was a day John Taylor will not forget as long as he lives. A prominent London barrister and up-and-coming politician and TV and radio host, he and his pediatrician wife, Kathie, were attending a garden party at No. 10 Downing Street, the British prime minister's official residence. "Could I speak to you for just a couple of minutes?" he recalls Prime Minister John Major addressing him. After they had walked away from the other guests, the personable lawyer recalls, the prime minister continued, "Look John, I've had a great admiration for you over the years, and I've watched the way you've performed in court and I'm a great fan of yours. How would you feel if your name were put forward in terms of recommending you to the Queen to become a lord-a member of the House of Lords?" "I said, `That would be tremendous,' Taylor remembers responding. `In about ten years, I could really see that happening."' But obviously, the prime minister had other plans. "No, John, not in 10 years; I mean NOW!" he told Taylor, who admits he was "gobsmacked" (British slang for "speechless") at the PM's revelation. After getting over his initial shock, Taylor accepted graciously. "I could have rooted to the spot," he recalls. "It was just a lovely, lovely surprise." As the prime minister had promissed within a few months after the garden party, John David Beckett Taylor, the commoner son of a professional cricket player and a nurse, both Jamaican immigrants, was elevated to nobility and ceremoniously installed as Lord (or Baron) Taylor of Warwick (pronounced Warrick) in the County of Warwickshire. At age 43, he also became one of the youngest and the only Black member of the 1,205 member House of Lords, a citadel of British tradition and conservatism.
Lord Taylor, who was born in the city of Birmingham, and who refers to himself as an "Afro-Saxon," says that Warwick is not an area he represents and that, as a member of the House of Lords, his constituent jurisdiction is nationwide. "When you become a lord," he explains, "you choose a seat. The seat is an area that you want to be associated with. It's a seat that represents your heritage, your background. Warwick is where basically I'm from. I grew up in that area. My father, who died eight years ago, played county cricket for Warwickshire." The baron points out that Warwick also has one of the most beautiful castles, but hastens to add that he neither owns a castle nor lives in one. In fact, there are really no monetary perks connected to his title, he explains, except compensation for attending sessions in the House of Lords as well as travelling and other expenses. Yet, the honor and prestige, plus the national recognition and ability to influence national policy which his position afford him are quite enough compensation as far as Lord Taylor is concerned. "I still have to earn a living," he explains, "which I do as a barrister, a lawyer, and by speaking all over the country as well. I also work for television and radio as a presenter [talk show host]."
Asked how he divides his time between his major responsibilities, he says that the House of Lords takes precedence. "I go there every day," he explains, "but the lords don't sit in the morning. They start at 2:30 p.m., which means that in the morning I can work. I can go to court. I can make television and radio programs. But the afternoon, and sometimes all the evening, is taken up with [House of] Lords business, since we have debates and we have votes."
Although his title is not a hereditary one, his wife, who is White, automatically became a baroness or "Lady Taylor" while his two daughters, Laura, 9, and Alexandra, 2, became "the Honorable Laura Taylor" and "the Honorable Alexandra Taylor," respectively. Asked whether he was appointed to his exalted station for a certain term, Lord Taylor says no. "They have to take me out in a coffin," he chuckles. "I don't have to stand for re-election. This is literally for life."
A member of the Conservative Party, the closest thing to the Republican Party in the United States, Lord Taylor regards the fact that he is the only Black in the House of Lords as "a disgrace," and says that he intends to use his exalted position to bring about change. " Part of my vision is to start opening up all that because I really do believe that life and politics and society are not static. My vision is that society evolves. Twenty years ago, the thought of a Black person being in the House of Lords would have been a joke."
He says he also intends to address an issue in the House of Lords that is of vital importance to him. "I am concerned about the lack of opportunity for young Black people," he says. Eager to serve as a role model, he is involved with some Black charities that are trying to help with increasing opportunities. "I'd like to think that if they [young Blacks] can see my situation, they become encouraged," he says. "Not every young Black person is going to become a lord. I accept that," he concedes, "but they've got to believe that they can achieve and maximize their potential."
Lord Taylor sees no conflict between his Conservative Party's political philosophy of "law and order, family values and the concept that nobody owes anyone a living" and his stated goal of uplifting disadvantaged Blacks. "I passionately believe in equality," he says with appropriate passion in his voice, "and I want to see Black people move on. But we won't do so unless we challenge ideas. That's why I've even debated on televison with racists. Unless you debate with them, you can't expose how stupid they are. Obviously there are people who don't like what I say, and there are people who applaud what I'm saying. More people seem to applaud what I'm saying than the opposite because I've got a lot of Black support and White support. And that's unusual in this country. For as a Black politician, normally you've got just Black support."
When it comes to racists and racism, Lord Taylor knows firsthand what he's talking about. In 1990, when his Conservative Party selected him to run for a Parliament seat in the all-White town of Cheltenham, it caused a ruckus that made headlines throughout Britain and beyond. Some of his staunchest opposition came from members of the local Conservative Party establishment, who openly opposed the selection of "a bloody n.... r from London" to represent them. Some even bolted the party in protest. At the height of the brouhaha over his candidacy, Taylor and his family were subjected to racist hate mail, degrading leaflets and other insults. Yet, throughout his ordeal, Taylor-in typically British fashion-kept a stiff upper lip.
Although his first foray into elective politics ended in defeat at the polls by a member of the Liberal Democrat Party, it turned out that the turmoil caused by racists had a silver lining. It made John Taylor a household name throughout the British Isles, a fact that is already paying political dividends. "In a way," he says, "the racists did me a favor because they brought me to prominence. Because of all the fuss and all of the hullabaloo, there was a lot of media coverage, especially on television. This gave me a chance to give interviews and to explain my vision of a multiracial, multicultural society because I believe different nationalities, cultures and colors working together is a positive thing, not a negative thing."
Lord Taylor credits his compassion for disadvantaged Blacks in England to the influence of his spiritual hero, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "In a way," he says, "my life was turned around a lot by Dr. King. It's significant that it was a Black American rather than a Black Englishman who inspired me because we don't have the kind of history that Black Americans have, in terms of Black achievement. We haven't had the sort of Black political leaders in this country that you had.
Lord Taylor, who says that he has visited the United States twice, confides that he received his image of Black America to a large extent through EBONY. "I grew up with EBONY," he says. "Unfortunately, we don't have an English equivalent. One or two British equivalents were started, but they folded. EBONY is so important because it shows Black people who are achieving. EBONY has done what other Black magazines should have been doing in this country."
Lord Taylor says that he will do everything he can to make a difference in England. "I really do want to inspire Black people, especially young Black people, to believe that they can also achieve their dreams."
A devoted family man, the baron unwinds from his many legislative and legal duties by spending a Sunday afternoon with his wife, Lady Kathie Taylor, and their daughters, Laura, 9, and Alexandra, 2, in London's Westminster Park.
An article by By Hans J. Massaquoi published in EBONY magazine May 1997 - a motivational magazine to inspire Black People everywhere
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