Anti-racism

Is this the end of racism in the US?

11 November 2008
Does the election of a black president mean that the US is now a society that has moved beyond bigotry? Certainly the election delivered racism a tremendous blow.

The Black Panthers: defiance in the face of repression

04 November 2008
The Black Panther Party was founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California.

Black Panther: Emory Douglas and the Art of Revolution

04 November 2008
The outstanding Emory Douglas exhibition at the Urbis in Manchester is much more than an art show. Visitors can feel the atmosphere the Black Panthers developed in and the outrage that made the party grow.

Emory Douglas interviewed about the Black Panthers in print

04 November 2008
The former Minister of Culture in the Black Panther Party talks to Ken Olende about the fight for black liberation in the United States and a new exhibition of his art work

Babylon: A call to arms in the fight against racism

14 October 2008
Every so often a film comes along that so brilliantly captures an era that it can tell you more about how life was than any historical document. Babylon is one such film.

Tommie Smith interview: Olympic black power gesture of defiance

14 October 2008
Mexico City, 16 October 1968. Two black athletes stand on the podium at the Olympic Games with their fists raised. They wear black gloves and keep their heads bowed throughout the US national anthem. (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Carlos-Smith.jpg">» The famous image</a>)

Has Black History Month become too safe?

07 October 2008
Every year in late September I get a flurry of emails from council officials telling me that October is Black History Month and that a number of events are taking place to celebrate it. These are typically accompanied by flyers featuring pictures of Mary Seacole or Nelson Mandela.

Why no outcry from black leaders as police target black males round Notting Hill?

02 September 2008
Picture this scene – hundreds of young black men, some appearing to be as young as 13, rounded up, surrounded and held for hours without charge by a cordon of police in body armour; parents standing outside the cordon demanding to be told what is happening to their children; dozens of officers with machine guns sealing off the area; simmering anger from those released from the cordon after being searched and finger printed.

The Notting Hill riot and a carnival of defiance

19 August 2008
The establishment and the media are never quite comfortable with the Notting Hill Carnival, which is held this weekend, but they are generally happy to praise it as an annual celebration of Britain’s diversity.

Plan to close mosque highlights anti-immigrant bias of Italian government

08 July 2008
The Italian home affairs minister, Roberto Maroni, a member of the hardline, anti-immigrant Northern League, has ordered the closure of Milan’s largest mosque. The Jenner mosque attracts 4,000 worshippers each week.

Marcus Garvey: a liberating legacy of challenging racism

08 July 2008
Black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey inspired millions in the 1920s with slogans like, "Up, you mighty race, accomplish what you will" and "Liberate the minds of men and ultimately you will liberate the bodies of men."

The hidden story of West Indian volunteers in the Second World War

17 June 2008
The arrival of the Empire Windrush 60 years ago represents a defining moment in British history.

UB40 and Steel Pulse at anti-'Rivers of Blood' press conference

22 April 2008
Birmingham bands UB40 and Steel Pulse joined Yaz Alexander at a Love Music Hate Racism press conference on Friday of last week.

Enoch Powell and racism

15 April 2008
This Sunday sees the 40th anniversary of Enoch Powell’s "Rivers of Blood" speech – the nastiest and most calculated piece of racism ever to be heard from the lips of a senior politician in postwar Britain.

Martin Luther King and the fight against racism in the US

01 April 2008
The legendary US civil rights leader Martin Luther King was assassinated on the balcony of his hotel in Memphis, Tennessee 40 years ago.

Who’s to blame for racism?

18 March 2008
There is a recurring theme in the media’s discussion of racism – that white working class people are more racist than other sections of society. The reality is that racism comes from the top of society and is deliberately propagated by the ruling class.

The White Season's shabby attack on multiculturalism

11 March 2008
White Season? Whitewash more like it. A backlash against multiculturalism has been gathering strength ever since the 7 July 2005 bombings in London. It has now become a tidal wave, sweeping through that supposed liberally temple, the BBC.