Category: Thing of the Day

All that is necessary for racism to continue to flourish is for people like you to do nothing, but what can just one person achieve? From the examples of Black activists, we can see that under the right circumstances and with sufficient ability and will, we can see individuals can achieve quite a lot but that there are limits to what can be achieved by isolated individuals fighting institutionalised oppression. This post suggests four steps you can take to become actively antiracist and challenge the endemic racism in our society and institutions.

From Steven Lawrence to Chris Kaba, it is evident that Britain is not a safe place to be Black, while a quick look at the death rates in healthcare suggests these headlines only highlight the tip of a lethal inequality iceberg. It is imperative that everyone take notice and act to end the endemic inequalities in our society and institutions.

Educational campaigner, opponent of divisive methods of taxation, and co-founder of the Abasindi Co-operative – a Black women’s self-help cooperative in Manchester responsible for a variety for community outreach projects.

Founding member of the Black Unity and Freedom Party, which argued for the equal value of women within the Black liberation movement, Bean recognised the differing needs of Black and White women and promptly opened the Black Women’s Centre in Brixton to offer a safe, supportive space for women.

Olive Morris was just 27 when she died, but she is widely commemorated as a powerful campaigner for racial and gender equality, squatters’ rights and housing. The Jamaican-born community activist co-founded the Brixton Black Women’s Group in 1973, campaigning fiercely …

Heroes of British Black History – Olive Morris Read more »

Mavis Best was the Black rights activist who ended the ‘Sus law’ that was being used by police to oppress Black people.

Doctor, actor, vice-president of the actor’s guild, co-founder of Performers Against Racism and the Black Theatre Workshop, Mahoney was one of the first Black actors to join the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Teacher, pioneering educational diversity activist, museum founder, BBC and BFI Governor, the first patron of the Black Cultural Archives, Jocelyn Barrow was the first Black woman ever awarded a DBE (equivalent to a knighthood).

Another member of the Black Panthers and the Mangrove Nine, Howe established the Race Today Collective and chaired the Notting Hill Carnival Development Committee for many years. During his twelve years as editor of Race Today, the magazine supported several …

Heroes of British Black History – Darcus Howe Read more »

Trinidadian physician and research scientist, Altheia Jones-LeCointe led the British Black Panther Movement, recruiting thousands from the 1960s onwards, including the late broadcaster and campaigner, Darcus Howe, as well as giving talks in schools and teaching classes in anti-colonialism. A staunch defender of women’s as well as racial rights, she developed procedures within the Black Panthers to investigate and punish men suspected of the abuse or exploitation of women.