Kemi Badenoch is the first black woman to lead the Conservative Party and has experienced notable racism since election. She reports pervasive online abuse and a small number of hostile MPs, describing some reactions as 'hysterical' and coining the phrase 'Kemi derangement syndrome'. Social media contains rising ethno-nationalist rhetoric and stereotypical tropes about her race and ethnicity. Born in Wimbledon, raised in Nigeria, and returning to the UK at 16, Badenoch rarely emphasizes heritage and states she no longer feels Nigerian. She criticizes anti-racism campaigners and critical race theory and emphasizes considering non-racial explanations. She faces a pivotal period delivering her first party conference speech and guarding against leadership challenges.
There's a certain cadre of people who clearly can't cope with the fact that I won this and I'm doing it. The level of personal attacks from anonymous people, it's hysterical. Not even just from MPs. I actually don't think it's that many MPs. I think it's two to three people out of 120. That's nothing. But online as well. People used to talk about Trump derangement syndrome. I think there's a Kemi derangement syndrome: How could she possibly have done this?
I always try to think of every possible explanation before I go to race and racism. I think that is a healthy way to run a society. I remember when I stood up a few years ago and said Britain is not a racist country ethnic minorities do very well here, it is white working-class boys who are actually struggling on a lot of metrics, and I got pilloried for that.
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