Operation Black Vote

In case you haven't guessed, this is their logo.

Operation Black Vote is a British organisation dedicated to encouraging black people and members of other ethnic minority communities to engage with politics.

Background

The organisation was formed in 1996 as a result of a collaboration between two smaller groups, Charter88 and the 1990 Trust. It aims to counter institutionalised racism and ensure that the voices of racial minority groups are heard within the political establishment.

Criticism

In 2010, blogger Edmund Standing criticised the organisation in a post entitled "Operation Black Vote and the curse of racial collectivism". In it, he compared OBV to the BNP, arguing that both groups prioritise race to an unnecessary degree and encourage their supporters to indulge in a victim mentality. He concluded that the best way to counter racism is to treat people as individuals, rather than as ethnic communities, and that groups such as OBV are only making matters worse by treating skin colour as more important than individual political views.

Yeah, we'll keep an eye out for those dragon flags.

Operation English Vote

A derivative (and rather more right-wing) group purporting to represent white English people, Operation English Vote, set up shop on Facebook in May 2012. Predictably, much of its material is devoted to ranting about Marxists.

Hope not Hate claims that OEV's Twitter account is run by former EDL member Bill Baker.

External link

• Official website