In 1949, she was committed temporarily to a mental institution, where was on occasion held in isolation, placed in a straitjacket and subjected to ECT treatment, by her husband, who was seeking to end the relationship.
[4][5] Released, and active in the civil rights movement, she met Walker's Ashkenazi Jewish father, Jack Cohen, whose family fled anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire around 1918 and came to New York, where he became a jeweller.
[7] There, racial discrimination barred her mother from many jobs, and she had to leave her children with relatives for months while she travelled looking for work.
[5][9] Walker was in the National Youth Theatre but, as she thought that as a black person she would get few roles, went instead to Goldsmiths College and trained to become a teacher.
[14] She was elected to Momentum's Steering Committee, becoming its vice-chair in September 2015 and is a member of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL).
[18] The Chair of Momentum, Jon Lansman, addressing the criticism of Walker, referred to "a 'lynch mob' whose interest in combatting racism is highly selective".
Had he felt the need to pick me up on what I had written I would have rephrased – perhaps to 'Jews (my ancestors too) were among those who financed the sugar and slave trade and at the particular time/in the particular area I'm talking about they played an important part.'
... [My claim] has never been that Jews played a disproportionate role in the Atlantic Slave Trade, merely that, as historians such as Arnold Wiznitzer noted, at a certain economic point, in specific regions where my ancestors lived, Jews played a dominant role 'as financiers of the sugar industry, as brokers and exporters of sugar, and as suppliers of Negro slaves on credit.
'[22]Dave Rich has argued that Walker's comments are reminiscent of the Nation of Islam's anti-Semitic views on the role of Jews in the slave trade.
Having been a victim of racism, I would never play down the very real fears the Jewish community have, especially in light of recent attacks in France.
"[24] In the session, there was a discussion on the definition of antisemitism set out by the JLM, which included examples relating to Israel and which has been the subject of debate within the Labour Party.
Walker said, in relation to the discussion, and speaking as an anti-racism trainer, "I still haven't heard a definition of antisemitism I can work with".
Working with many Jewish comrades, I continue to seek to bring greater awareness of other genocides, which are too often forgotten or minimised.
"[24] A number of prominent left-wing activists have defended Walker, including film director Ken Loach, who said she should be allowed to play a significant role in the party,[26] and Noam Chomsky who said "I wholeheartedly support the right of anyone to criticise Israel without being branded antisemitic.
[32][33] Walker also performed in a one-woman show about her experience, The Lynching,[7] which she wrote in collaboration with Norman Thomas and premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2017.
[34][35][36][37] Walker was extensively interviewed in The Lobby, the 2017 TV series by Al Jazeera about some of the pro-Israel organisations and individuals active in the United Kingdom.
"[40] Another film, on the accusations of antisemitism against Walker and others following the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party, entitled Witch Hunt, premiered in Broadstairs on 3 February 2019.
[41] In the same month, the Board of Deputies of British Jews complained to the Labour Party about Chris Williamson MP, for booking a room to enable the showing of the film in Parliament.
A Labour spokeswoman said of Williamson's action: "It's completely inappropriate to book a room for an event about an individual who is suspended from the party and subject to ongoing disciplinary procedures.
[46][47] She has said that "Opposition to a Jewish state is, and remains, a legitimate, honourable political position and one that many, including many Jews, have stood by for decades".
She said Corbyn had opposed racism, war, injustice and oppression all his life and called his leadership "the greatest challenge to the established political order the UK has seen for some time".
In 2010, Walker moved from London to Broadstairs,[13] Kent[15] where she lives with her partner, the editor of Labour Briefing, Graham Bash.