4 July 2019

Magid Magid is probably best known for “banning” Donald Trump from entering Sheffield

Magid Magid made quite an impression as he arrived for his first day at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Wearing a baseball cap and a T-shirt bearing an anti-fascist slogan, the newly elected MEP said he was asked to leave the building.

Who is Mr Magid and what barriers has the 30-year-old Somali refugee from Sheffield overcome to end up as a Green Party MEP?

“I know I’m visibly different. I don’t have the privilege to hide my identity. I’m BLACK & my name is Magid. I don’t intend to try fit in. Get used to it!”

This was Mr Magid’s response to being asked to leave the European Parliament building by someone he said he believed to be an official.

While the European Parliament said no member of staff was involved, Mr Magid – one of six MEPs for Yorkshire and the Humber – said the incident “says a lot about what people think the stereotypical politician is meant to look like”.

And it’s hard to argue he doesn’t have a point – of the new European Parliament’s 751 members, less than a dozen are black.

more:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-48037783