CONTROVERSY hit the first working day of the historic five-day African and African Descendants World Conference Against Racism at Sherbourne Conference yesterday when non-Blacks were asked to leave.

It came in a motion from members of the 50-strong British delegation who felt they were misled by organisers into thinking they were attending a conference for Africans and African descendants only.

“We told them emphatically that we don’t want to be sitting down with no Europeans or Asians,” said Kwaku Bonsu, a London disc jockey and black activist, “and they assured us that this is an African and African only event and that is why we came here.”

Several people rose to speak on the motion and more than three-quarters supported it. Emotions flared but chairman, Dr Jewel Crawford, managed to bring them under control by calling for a vote. More than 95 per cent of delegates summarily voted in favour.

All non-Blacks were then asked to “leave quietly”.

A local, white interpreter tearfully walked out. She returned later, saying organisers had apologised to her.

Bill Farrington, a freelance journalist from New York who was also asked to leave, said: “It made me sad and frustrated that I had come all this way for nothing . . . but when you attend such conferences, you learn just how strongly people feel about issues of racism.”

Chairman Crawford said: “The fact that white faces were less than ten – that apparently didn’t make a difference to a number of people – they still felt they just wanted to have a meeting that was limited to African people, to black people . . . . A meeting of our own that was just specially for us and not inclusive of other people.

“But at the same time I asked them to leave, I did encourage them to go on and form their own caucus, group.”

Prior to the vote, Senegalese Doudou Diene, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, hotly opposed the motion and threatened to walk out if it were approved.

He warned that approving the motion could reverse the gains made at the Durban conference last year.

“Durban has been one of the most successful conferences in the last 20 years. The conference in Durban has put the issue of racism and racial discrimination in a more holistic and global basis. It has put the issue of race in a historical perspective. Secondly, it has put the fundamental principles that the victims of discrimination, based on race, social status or gender face, also into perspective.”

He said there was a powerful anti-black group working to crush Durban and this would give them needed ammunition.

“There is a strong, organised and deliberate campaign to weaken the final document of Durban. The campaign is really powerful, not only to wipe out the memory of Durban, but also to stop any kind of follow-up, so that the best thing for us to do in trying to give ammunition to the campaign to weaken Durban is to approve this motion.”

Head of the Pan African Commission David Comissiong said while he was not at Sherbourne at the time of the vote to expel non-Blacks, he felt the vote had been done democratically and there was nothing he could do.

“I think it’s very unfortunate; I don’t think it’s an issue that should have arisen at all. We were given an explanation that in England many of these delegates have had bad experiences with events such as these, where they have had people from other races being involved and they have had bad experiences. So we’re told that that is the background out of which their position emerged.”

Some speakers argued that the conference was for black people to address their hurt.

“How can they heal when the perpetrators are there?” said Dr Kuba Assegai of the United States.

After the vote and discussion that followed, the conference resumed.