Linda Bellos

Linda Bellos
Linda Bellos speaking at Croydon Area Gay Society during Black History Month 2010.
Born	(1950-12-13) 13 December 1950 (age 66) London, England
Residence	Norwich
Nationality	British
Alma mater	University of Sussex
Occupation	Businessperson, politician, activist
Known for	Lesbian and feminist activism
Political party	Labour
Partner(s)	Caroline Jones
Website	http://lindabellos.co.uk/

Linda Bellos OBE (born 13 December 1950) is an ex-politician and current businesswoman and activist for gay rights in the United Kingdom.

Bellos was born in London to a Jewish mother, Renee Sackman, and a Nigerian father, Emmanuel Adebowale, who came from Uzebba and joined the merchant navy during the Second World War. Raised in Brixton, she was educated at Silverthorne Girls’ Secondary Modern School, Dick Shephard Comprehensive School and the University of Sussex. She married in 1970 and gave birth to two children, in 1974 and 1976. She came out as a lesbian in 1980. Her marriage ended in divorce in 1983. She is now a grandmother.

On 21 December 2005, she and her partner, Caroline Jones, entered into a civil partnership in the UK. The ceremony took place amongst family and friends at Southwark Registry Office. She now lives in Norwich.

Bellos is a revolutionary feminist and was the first non-white lesbian to join the Spare Rib feminist collective in 1981. She criticises the movement's 'point scoring' and the manner in which the women's movement was, in her view, dominated by white, middle-class women. She rejects the term ‘mixed race’ because she considers that every attempt to define race is reduced to definitions of skin colour. She uses the term 'mixed heritage' instead. Bellos is a person of African and Eastern European Jewish heritage. She uses the inclusive political term of ‘black’ to describe herself.

She was vice-chair of the successful Black Sections campaign to select African Caribbean and Asian parliamentary and local candidates within the Labour Party.