News

Olive Morris—a tragically short life dedicated to struggle

Teenager Olive Morris was hanging out at Desmond’s Hip City record shop in Brixton, south London, on a Saturday afternoon in November 1969 when it happened.

James Baldwin—a lifetime issuing an anti-racist call to arms

When James Baldwin was born in Harlem, New York, he was “set down in a ghetto” where society “intended you should perish”.

No Fixed Abode—why homelessness isn’t inevitable

The solution to homelessness in Britain is “almost laughably simple” according to Maeve McClenaghan, author of a new book on the issue.

The crimes of Captain Kimber

In 1791 an atrocity so hideous occurred on a slave ship in the Atlantic that its captain was brought to a British court. The verdict was a damning indictment of both the ruling class and the way it got its riches

Put people before profit to protect us from coronavirus

The bosses and their backers are screaming for a return to “business as usual”. They say if we don’t accept this, we will be stuck with lockdown measures that get in the way of profits—known as “the economy”.

Rebelling against the system

As Extinction Rebellion takes to the streets of London, Manchester and Cardiff, Sarah Bates looks at the movement demanding urgent action on climate change

Is Akon City Black Power forever?

Rapper Akon plans to build a new city where black people can escape racism. But, as Yuri Prasad writes, any system based on riches for a few means oppression will remain

Frantz Fanon—a vital defence of violence by the oppressed

Every struggle that confronts the violence of the system by throwing back some of its own faces the accusation that resistance itself is the problem. In response many turn to the ideas of Frantz Fanon—the anti-colonial writer and activist.

Carlota Lucumi—when Spanish slave owners cowered in fear

Waves of rebellions—from on ships to at plantations—were central to ending slavery.

Chile 1970—why the hope was broken

50 years ago Salvador Allende was elected Chile’s president. A US-backed coup overthrew him three years later. But, writes Sophie Squire, there were deeper problems than the US and the military that helped turn hope into horror

Cruel Britannia—the bloody truth about the British Empire

Isabel Ringrose tells the terrible truth about the British Empire that Boris Johnson expects us to salute

Trump campaign tries to stamp on postal service

The White House hopes that suppressing postal voting will deliver victory for Donald Trump in November’s presidential election.

Crash on the streets—how cruel Tory plans will fuel homeless crisis

Sackings and benefits sanctions have left ever more people struggling to pay their rent. The Tories’ plan to end a ban on evictions in September—meaning thousands could be thrown out

Trespass, capitalism and land

Simon Basketter looks at a new book examining how the rich have stolen huge swathes of public land—and passed centuries of laws keep everybody else out

Iran 1953—Britain’s role in coup for oil and profit

Coup 53 tells a story from Britain’s shameful history in the Middle East, says Isabel Ringrose

Pritilata Waddedar - demanding equality in the struggle for Indian freedom

She said, 'Today if our brothers can enlist in the war of independence, we too the women should be allowed to do the same'

Is it inevitable there will be a rise in unemployment?

Job losses aren’t just about coronavirus. Sarah Bates says we need to fight for jobs and against a system that destroys them

William Cuffay - a fighter to the end against the rich ‘vermin’

William Cuffay was one of the most prominent leaders of the working class movement in 19th century Britain.

Scottsboro—A case that put racism on trial

When nine black teenagers were falsely accused of raping two white women in the US Deep South in 1931, most expected they’d suffer the death sentence. But, says Judy Cox, they’d reckoned without the Communist Party

Futures ruined by Tories’ rigged results

Class is trashing the lives of hundreds of thousands of students. The downgrading of swathes of A-Level students’ grades in England and Wales has exposed how the system operates to keep working class people in check.