Women in Politics - Carrying on the family tradition
For many in Derry the name Hume conjures up many feelings and memories, it is associated with the civil rights campaign, the peace process, the credit union, the Nobel peace prize and many more.
As part of an on-going series of features on local female councillors, reporter Rory Mooney talks to SDLP councillor, Brenda Stevenson, about growing up in the city as a member of one of Derry’s most prominent families, her time on Derry City council, and her hopes for the future.
For many in Derry the name Hume conjures up many feelings and memories, it is associated with the civil rights campaign, the peace process, the credit union, the Nobel peace prize and many more.
Brenda Stevenson is the niece of former SDLP leader and Nobel laureate winner John Hume.
Despite being a member of one of the most famous Derry families, Brenda has chosen to use her married name rather her maiden name while standing for election, despite being guaranteed an Assembly seat on the strength of her name alone.
“Standing as a Hume is not an option,” insisted Brenda. “I’ll always be a Hume but I’m a Stevenson now, I want to show that I can be a good elected representative on my own without just being known as a Hume.”
Growing up in the Galliagh area against the backdrop of the Troubles, Brenda admits that being a Hume in Derry at the time was not always easy.
“It wasn’t always easy being a Hume growing up in Derry, but it’s taught me a lot about who I am and where I have come today.” Brenda said.
“When you carry the name Hume, it obviously has political meanings with it. During the hunger strikes as a teenager in Belfast at university, it wasn’t easy being introduced to strangers, people’s attitudes to you would have been different if your had would have been Doherty or McLaughlin or something like that.”
Despite being the niece of John Hume, Brenda says that it was the influence of her parents that most shaped her political outlook growing up.
“My parents were both very active in the community when we were living in Galliagh.
“They were always involved in the church and really instilled the sense of community identity into us.
“Even though I come from this background, my parents always taught us to be fiercely independent, to go out and get an education and spread our wings.”
With her parents’ influence of getting an education and being independent, Brenda travelled to London to attend university, where she enjoyed the anonymity of not being known as a Hume.
“Being away in England was a great experience for me. I got to meet new people and I didn’t feel the pressure of being a Hume as much while I was over there.
“But being in England also made me fiercely proud of being a Hume and my Irish roots and I always knew that I would come home and that’s what I did.”
Although a party loyalist Brenda did not throw herself into the SDLP when she came back from England in 1994.
She found herself a job and started a family with her husband and moved from the city to Claudy, where at first hand experience she saw the social issues that come with living in a rural area.
“I had my first child in ‘95 and I had my second wee boy in ‘98, I began to see what it was like living in a rural isolated village, with lack of facilities.
“I got involved with the parent toddler group, where we were fighting for funding.
“From there I became involved in a lot of different organisations, I was a founder member of the Derry Children’s Commission, so I was becoming very vocal in my community locally.”
Through her involvement with various local community groups, Brenda was fast becoming a rising star within the SDLP where the party asked her to run for council, where she did not feel the sense of burden of continuing the Hume name.
“I think the party saw a role for me and ask me to stand because of my involvement through all of these community groups.
“I always had the want to do it, which was more important than carrying on the Hume name because obviously I’m not a Hume anymore, I’m a Stevenson. Part of me knows I have achieved what I have achieved because I am who I am and because of John’s role.”
Originally co-opted onto Derry City council in 2006, Brenda stood for election last May when she was the only woman to be elected in the rural ward.
“It’s an achievement in itself that I am the only woman elected from the rural ward but it just shows how far women still have to go, we’re still well outnumbered.
“All of the political parties have a long way to go on addressing gender balance.”
With a heavy council work load, and a family to care for, Brenda also works full time as a technical instructor for speech and language therapy.
“I work in paediatric special needs and I love it,” Brenda said.
“It’s an area I have always been interested in down through the years and it can be a really humbling experience at times and make you think that these are the people who we’re fighting for.”
Brenda disagrees with many who believe that if she was to stand as a Hume, that she would be a certainty to win a Assembly seat on the strength of the Hume name, and says that if selected to stand in future elections that it will be under the name Stevenson and not Hume.
“People see me for me and what I have achieved.
“Many people I have spoke with don’t even realise that I am a Hume so doesn’t really come into it.
“I’ll always do what’s in the best interests of the party, so if the party sees fit to select me run for council again or whatever, I’ll do what I have to for the party and I’ll be running as Stevenson not Hume.” Brenda laughs.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Derry
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South east
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.