Gee Bernard

Gwendolyn Enid "Gee" Bernard (29 December 1934 – 6 December 2016) was the first Black councillor for Croydon in London for the Labour Party. She served from 1986 to 2002.

Early life and education

Bernard was born in 1934 in Jamaica and grew up on a farm. She later moved to England as a teenager and studied at the University of North London and East London College, qualifying as a social worker.

Career

In 1980, she worked in the education department of Tower Hamlets Council and was elected a member of the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) in 1981.

In 1986, she was elected to the Croydon Borough Council for the ward of West Thornton, becoming its first black city councillor. She represented the ward until 2002.

In 1993, she founded the Croydon African and Caribbean Family Organisation (C.A.C.F.O), which, amongst other things, provided education for children excluded from school. In 1997, she organised parents in Croydon to crowdsource a register of children formally and informally excluded from school.

Death

Bernard died on 6 December 2016. She was 82.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Trustees". Croydon African Caribbean Family Organisation UK. 2 January 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  2. ↑ Simon (8 December 2016). "Gee Bernard: Croydon's great Black activist dies". Operation Black Vote. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Croydon pioneer Gee Bernard will be sorely missed". Inside Croydon. 2016-12-10. Retrieved 2026-06-07.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Hon Alderwoman Gee Bernard". Your Croydon. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  5. ↑ Brook, Hilary; Smith, Lewis (July 16, 1993). "Feud between councillors deepens over 'racist' slur". Croydon Advertiser. p. 3. Retrieved 7 June 2026 – via newspapers.com. They want Coun Michael Wunn to apologize to Jamaican-born Gee Bernard.... Coun Bernard added: "I am British. I've been in London for 31 years. It's not for him to tell me to go home."
  6. ↑ Brook, Hilary (July 3, 1998). "Children with a lotta bottle have hours cut". Croydon Advertiser. p. 17. Retrieved 7 June 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Brook, Hilary; Smith, Lewis (July 16, 1993). "Feud between councillors deepens over 'racist' slur". Croydon Advertiser. p. 3. Retrieved 7 June 2026 – via newspapers.com. They want Coun Michael Wunn to apologize to Jamaican-born Gee Bernard.... Coun Bernard added: "I am British. I've been in London for 31 years. It's not for him to tell me to go home."
  8. ↑ "Interview with Gee Bernard". Oral Histories of the Black Women's Movement: The Heart of the Race Project (Interview). Interviewed by Hayley Reid. London, UK: Black Cultural Archives. March 2009. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  9. ↑ Todman, Alice (2013-09-13). "Headmistress of Croydon X Factor star [Hannah Barrett], 'not surprised' at her success". South West Londoner. Retrieved 2026-06-07. CACFO, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, was founded in 1993 by Councillor Gee Bernard (CQSW), Croydon's first elected black female MP.
  10. ↑ "'Lost' Pupils Wander Streets". Croydon Advertiser. May 2, 1997. p. 2. Retrieved 7 June 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Sinclair, Leah (14 December 2016). "Croydon's First Black Councillor Passes Away". The Voice. Archived from the original on 16 December 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2024.