Covid racism: Being poor or Black means no vaccine

Covid racism by the authorities means there is a huge disparity in getting the vaccine if you are from a poor, Black or Asian background.

On 20 February the Financial Times published an article entitled Racial Inequality Plagues US Vaccine Rollout.

Change US to UK and the headline would fit for the UK too.

The FT article contains some striking graphic representations of that disparity, with contrasting maps of the major cities showing the incidence of deaths and infections (blue) and the incidence of vaccine administration (green).

Being poor or black means no vaccine for you

The shocking truth that it is black and poor people doing most of the dying but rich white people getting the best vaccine coverage. BAME and frontliners are in the Covid firing line but seemingly at the back of the queue for the vaccine.

To repeat, what is true for the US is also true for the UK, but try as we might we cannot find similar maps of the UK, presumably because our millionaire owned press does not think it worthy of investigation.

And vaccine hesitancy among African Americans does not explain the gross disparity. Although that metric is higher among the demographic because of the history and current practice of racism in the delivery of US healthcare, it is the weakest factor explaining the low take up.

Instead, the way in which the vaccine rollout has been executed is the problem. Although the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended ‘priority groups’ get the vaccine first, this has been ignored by the individual states administering the rollout.

Vaccine hesitancy doesn’t explain rollout disparity

Most states have opted for an online first-come-first-served approach, which skews heavily in favour of the rich and well-heeled populations that have the time to sit in front of a computer refreshing the appointments site all day (or can hire someone to do that for them), or who don’t work all-hours and therefore don’t have the time to allocate for the necessary screen time.

And then there are the people who don’t have good internet access, which will tend to be the poorest communities. Then there is the already existing biases in healthcare delivery that skew to the richest in society.

Also, governments on both sides of the Atlantic are doing little if anything to counter vaccine hesitancy, with targeted outreach campaigns delivered by institutions and individuals trusted by the communities affected.

Short-sighted ruling class policy means a Covid pandemic without end

What is going on inside the rich countries is a reflection of what is going on at a global level, where the rich countries look after themselves but leave the middle income and poorest countries to fend for themselves. If it wasn’t for the Chinese and the Russians there would be no vaccine delivery in Latin America and Africa, for example.

But the short-sightedness of the rich white ruling-class elite means that the pandemic will never end because it will continue to circulate and mutate.

All graphics courtesy Financial Times.

Justice 4 Mohamud and Moyied – Protest Cardiff 20th Feb 1pm

Mohamud Mohammed Hassan
Mohamud Hassan died after contact with 52 police officers in Cardiff. No officers have been disciplined or charged.

South Wales police are refusing to suspend an officer under investigation for their involvement in the death of an innocent young Black man – Mohamud Hassan.

They would prefer to protect one of their own instead of even pretending to try and give justice to a grieving, traumatised family.

Let’s show them true accountability.

Make your voice heard! (while wearing a mask and being socially distanced)

*We are not organisers of this event. South Wales police organised it when they refused to suspend the officer, or the other 51 that were in contact with Mohamud before he died.

Daonate to Mohamud Justice campaign here.

Justice 4 Moyied Bashir

Now South Wales police stand accused of a hand in the death of Moyied Bashir. He died after 24 police smashed into his home. Moyied had mental health issues and his parent had called the police thinking they would help get him to hospital, but instead they are alleged to have killed him. Donate to the campaign here

Moyied Bashir is second death at hands of racist South Wales police

Moyied Bashir died after 24 police officers turned up at his home following a request for help get him to hospital. Instead, South Wales police in Newport are alleged to have killed him.

It comes after Moyied’s parents called police for help getting him to hospital Moyied has mental health issues and had been stabbed three weeks ago.

Gwent Police forced their way into Moyied’s home on Wednesday and “tied him up by his leg”, according to his brother Mohammed. The 29 year old was taken to Grange Hospital, Cwmbran, where he was pronounced dead.

A large protest took place at Gwent police station in Newport on Thursday.

First Mohamud Hassan and now Moyied Bashir dead after police contact

This is the second alleged killing by South Wales police in little over a month.

Mohamud Hassan was killed by police in Cardiff after contact with52 police officers. He was held over night by police , and left covered in cuts and bruises and died later at home.

Moyied’s brother says he was on medication for his mental health:

“He’s been battling mental health for a long period of time. The combination of the medication and his mental health got a bit stressful,” said Mohammed.

Sadly, Moyied’s parents rang the police to get help but instead the police tied him up. Moyied’s stab wound was on his main artery and after the restraints were applied Moyied started getting weaker, says his brother.

The family only wanted help from Moyied but now he’s dead at the hands of the police.

Protest against police killers – Cardiff Bay police station 1pm – jail killer cops!

Today there is a protest at Cardiff Bay police station to demand justice both for Moyied and Mohamud.

Mohamud Mohammed Hassan
Mohamud Hassan died after allegedly being beaten by police

Enough is enough. Jail killer cops!

He explained that their parents “rung the police with the intention to escort him to hospital with, say, two to three officers”.

But, Mohamed said, 24 cops arrived and “forced” their way into Moyied’s room and “tied him up by his leg”. “His stab wound is on his main artery, so while he is tied up, handcuffed, he started getting weaker,” he said.

“My dad is in shock saying, ‘What are you doing?’ In hospital, my brother was given CPR, oxygen, they tried everything.

“It was too late. We only wanted help.”

GoFundme page for Moyied is here

Tory ‘culture war’ against BLM is attempt to stoke racist backlash

Priti Patel describing BLM protests as ‘disgusting’ is probably as low as the Tories can go in their offensive against campaigners for racial equality.

Priti Patel must be sacked forthwith. She’s made no statement about fascist rioters on Capitol Hill in the US or anonymous racist cowards here in the UK attacking Black footballers on social media, but she has found time to direct her hateful bile at fighters for racial justice. 


Sadly it is no surprise that the Home Secretary is attacking those who marched peacefully in their hundreds of thousands all over this country and the footballers – black and white – who continue to confront the racists in our midst by taking the knee. 

Patel whipping up racism


She is a leader of a government that wants to whip up more racism – against BLM, refugees, Windrush victims, you name it – in the hope that we forget about the Tories’ ongoing abject failure to protect people in this pandemic.

She won’t succeed as most British people are not pedlars of vile racism like she is. Shame on this daughter of immigrants for lining up with the far right. But what else can we expect from a Hindu nationalist Modi supporter?

Kemi Badenoch the equalities minister has also been stirring the pot, which further demonstrates the fact that just because you are Black doesn’t mean it follows that you know anything about fighting racism or won’t necessarily do your bit to help racists, unwittingly or otherwise.

Badenoch – another front person for racism

Badenoch is the minister who decided to ‘out’ a Black journalist – Nadia White – at the Huffington Post who had the audacity to ask her a question she presumably didn’t want to answer.

Badenoch described White as ‘creepy’ because she had asked by the minister was not in a video that had just been made to encourage people from the Black and minority ethnic communities to have the Covid vaccine.

That’s a reasonable question – in fact it’s a life and death question given the disproportionate number of deaths among Black and Asian people in the UK, not to mention the similarly hugely disproportionate numbers of poor people who had died because of the criminal negligence of the Tory government.

Wilfried Zaha has a degraded view of anti-racism

Jumping on the bandwagon comes  footballer Wilfried Zaha who has disgraced himself with the erroneous observation that taking the knee is ‘degrading’. The footballer is in need of some education.

Taking the knee is a show of solidarity against racial injustice. It doesn’t have to be kneeling – you could make any number of physical gestures, from a clenched fist to doing a hand stand. It’s not the kneeling that is the important thing, it is the statement against racism and an expression of solidarity.

However, there are some who wilfully misinterpret for their own ends, some – like Wilfred – who are just plain ignorant, and yet others who are racists that seize upon the space provided by the Tories and their supporters to spread their hate.

Now the government wants to force universities to let these racist rabble rousers on to our campuses, in the latest episode of their made up ‘culture wars’. Over our dead bodies!

Tories targeting Black Lives Matter and XR as ‘extremists’ exposes their own weakness

In a disturbing development, the government today announced an investigation into Extinction Rebellion (XR) and Black Lives Matter (BLM) and other “progressive extremists”, as it sought to liken the ecological movement and the fight for racial justice to far-right thuggery and terrorism.

The Tories have hired a clapped-out ex Labour MP to be the witch hunter in chief – a certain Lord Walney, real name John Woodcock.

Woodcock performed his services to the ruling class of Britain by doing his best to destroy the Labour Party, during the time when it was led by socialist and staunch anti-racist Jeremy Corbyn.

We hope they are paying Woodcock well for his McCarthyism.

Woodcock, after citing the far right in passing, then focuses on his real target: “We must be vigilant against a similar blind spot in Britain to the prospect of progressive extremism.

“That is, unacceptable disruption or even violence carried out in the name of progressive causes to which the political establishment and large majority of the population have great sympathy, like climate change and racial injustice.”

In a backhanded way, Woodcock admits that there is no evidence of violence by Extinction Rebellion, in comments to the Tory rag the Daily Telegraph, where he mused: “There have been a number of, at the moment isolated, examples of climate change activist groups, particularly Extinction Rebellion, overstepping the mark into antisocial behaviour.”

Not content with attacking XR, he then went on to indulge in a bit of old-fashioned red-baiting (you know the line – ‘Are you or have you ever been a communist?’).

His target was the left-wing socialist group the Socialist Workers Party: “I want to look at the way antidemocracy, anti-capitalist far left fringe groups in Britain like the Socialist Workers Party tend to have much more success hijacking important causes,”said Woodcock.

Clearly the powers that be hate the idea of people exercising their democratic right to protest and to be anti-capitalist, as well as anti racist, it would appear.

Black Lives Matter Movement responds to anti-democratic witch hunt

BLMM activist Gary McFarlane, responded to the government witch hunt in comments supplied to the media.

“Tarring XR and BLM with the same brush as far-right terrorists is an outrage. Far from the noble Lord being independent, he is the hand-picked servant of a man – the prime minister – who described Black people using vile racist language, extremist language that thankfully most people left behind in the 1950s.

It is Boris Johnson who has made pedalling Islamophobia his trademark, and in so doing providing cover for far-right extremism. So if the Lord wants to fight extremism he should start with his employer. 


“As for supposed left-wing hijackers, the Lord needs to brush up on his Black history. Many leading and influential figures in the fight for Black liberation were Marxists or influenced by Marxism – from Angela Davis to Paul Robeson, not to mention the great Black historians CLR James and WEB Du Bois (the latter being the founder of the NAACP).

“Also, one of the founders of the Notting Hill Carnival was a member of the Communist Party – Claudia Jones. The hugely influential Black Panther Party was a Marxist organisation – are they to be excised from history too by the Tories’ McCarthyite thought police? 


“The truth is that both XR and BLM have wide support and encompass people of divergent political views united in common aims – and our rulers clearly find that a threat. Meanwhile, violent fascists go about their business relatively unmolested by the same authorities.”

Don’t let Osime Brown be deported to his death in Jamaica

Osime Brown, 22, came to the UK when he was four and is now threatened with deportation – his mum fears he will die if he’s deported to Jamaica.

Osime has a learning age of six and is autistic. As if that was not enough, he suffers from PTSD and heart problems.

None of those disorders are helped by the threat od deportation to Jamaica that is hanging over him.

We reported on this case in July last year, but unfortunately the struggle is still ongoing.

The campaign to stop his deportation has been gathering a head of steam, with 50 MPs now supporting the campaign, with even the archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams writing to home secretary Priti Patel to demand the deportation in stopped.

A petition to support Osime has been signed by 358,902 people at the time of writing.

A desperate mum fears her autistic son will die if he is deported to Jamaica – where he has no relatives and knows no one.

Osime Brown. Pics by Osime’s mother, Joan Martin

Osime Brown, 22, has PTSD, anxiety, a heart problem and screams out in his sleep as he awaits a Home Office decision.

So how did Osime end up being faced with deportation to a country he doesn’t know and has no relations or other connections?

Osime was convicted of robbery of a friends phone in 2018, and sentenced to five years in prison. Winesses say that far from trying to steal the pphone, Osime was trying to stop the theft.

The hugely disproportionate sentence is sadly par for the course in the Bitish injustice system, but he now componded by the threat of deportation.

Now Osime’s mum, Joan Martin fears her son will die if deported to Jamaica.

“He has developmental delays and is extremely vulnerable.

“He would not survive in Jamaica with no one to look after him.

“He developed heart problems in jail and I worry his heart will stop again. I check every 15 minutes while he is asleep.

“Osime is traumatised. Often he can’t sleep and when he does he will be screaming, ‘No! No!’

We must stop this cruel and inhuman deportation of this autistic man.

Please sign the petition today at Change.org:

https://www.change.org/p/home-office-stop-the-deportation-of-vulnerable-autistic-man-osime-brown-stopthedeportation-robertbuckland-ukhomeoffice

Defend the Colston 4 – in court Mon 25th Jan – 8 mins silence at 9:45am

The four people charged with criminal damage for removal of the Colston Statue have their first court hearing on 25th January at Bristol Magistrates Court. If you are glad that Colston is no longer on a pedestal in our city, join us online to show them your support.

We’ll be putting on a teach-in and holding an 8 minute silence at 9.45am to remember the 84,500 people whose kidnap and enslavement Colston helped to fund and organise during his time with the Royal Africa Company. As well as taking time to celebrate the enslaved whose many rebellions brought about abolition.

Given the ongoing risks from the new variant of Covid-19, we are asking people not to attend a protest at the magistrates court in person but to do so virtually instead.

Between 9.30am and 10pm on Monday 25th please share solidarity photos and post to the event or to your social media using #GladColstonsGone, saying why you’re glad Colston’s statue is no longer on our streets.

And keep checking back for updates, there will be more details and exciting associated events coming soon.In solidarity and hope.

The four people charged with criminal damage for the removal of the Colston statue have their first court hearing tomorrow – Monday 25 Jan – show your support online 9.30 – 10am fb.me/e/172vnC8JE #GladColstonsGone #BlackLivesMatter 

Priti Patel plans to introduce racist SVRO stop and search laws

Home secretary Priti Patel has announced the government’s intention to push ahead with yet more racist stop and search powers for the police, despite no evidence that they help to stop violent crime.

The government plans to introduce legislation to enable the introduction of Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVRO), which would allow the police to stop and search any individual who has been convicted of a prior criminal offence.

Patel announced the new measures in comments to the Mail on Sunday.

But there is no evidence that stop and search fights crime. In 2018/19 nothing was found in 72% of searches. Black people are already 10 times more likely to be stopped than who’re people and the serious violence reduction orders will increase this racial disproportionality. 

Add to this the fact that the draconian Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act means the police already have wide discretion to stop and search without the need to show “reasonable grounds”, the real purpose of Patel’s new power grab is to be seen to be acting tough and, sadly, to stir up more racism.

Only 5% of stops under Section 60 lead to an arrest.

SVROs will give the police power to search anyone with a previous conviction without having to provide grounds for doing so. How are such persons going to be identified? By the colour of their their skin? 

The rollout of SVROs comes on the back of the increase in stop and search targeting Black kids, under the guise of the Covid legislation. Stops in May 2020 in London shows that 1 in 8 of all Black males aged 15 to 25 were stopped in London.

Stops by the London Metropolitan police in May 2020 were double the figure for 2019, according to the Home Affairs select committee.

Patel told The Mail on Sunday: “A minority will say these measures are disproportionate and will affect minority communities or claim that this is racism. That is simply not true.

“People will say these measures are controversial. But to me, when people are dying, that doesn’t matter. The government’s number one job is to keep our people safe.”

The Tories don’t care how many more lives their policies ruin and care even less about the addressing the real causes of violent crime.

Much of inner city violent crime on the streets is driven by turf wars over drugs, so why not legalise all drugs.

Many stops in London and elsewhere are initiated because a police officer says they could small cannabis, so why not legalise cannabis as they have in Canada and more than a dozen US states?

Meanwhile, Black men continue to die after contact with a police officer, such Mohamud Hassan who dies in Cardiff last week after allegedly been beaten by police office at the Butetown police station.

 

Police fine BLM activists fighting for justice for Mohamud Hassan

Black Lives Matter (BLM) activist Bianca Ali has been fined £1,000 for being part of protests against the death of Mohamud Hassan, who died after detention by South Wales Police. Daily protests have taken place since the alleged beating of Mohamud by police last Friday (8 January).

He was released on Saturday morning (a week ago) and died later at home. He was covered in wounds and bruises family and friends say after he was beaten by police. His death has been met by spontaneous protests to demand justice.

The police who claim no excessive force was used against Mohamud in the police station, have refused to release any video footage from inside the station. The CCTV and body cam footage his reported to have been released to the IOPC investigators.

Bianca is not taking the state repression lying down: “They will never keep me quiet, I will always speak out against injustice.” 

A gofundme page has been set up for Bianca to pay the fine. The response has been magnificent – £1,590 has been raised already.

At the time of writing £48,862 for the Justice4Mohamud campaign and all monies for Bianca’s fine above the £1,000 required will be sent to the campaign to get justice for Mohamud.

Please join BLMM in donating to the campaign – donate here

Protest outside Butetown police station, Cardiff

The protests outside the Butetown police station were not organised by BLM Cardiff, despite what the police claim.

BLM Cardiff said: “The police took two riot vans to Bianca’s house and were banging repeatedly on her door. Please tell us why, other than disgusting intimidation tactics, that was needed?”

“As we said before, we did not organise these protests – if anyone organised these protests, it’s the South Wales Police [because of their brutal racist violence]. “What did they expect people to do?”.

“The movement cannot be stopped.” 

The Justice4Mohamud campaign is going from strength to strength. A solidarity protest was held in London which was also met with police repression and arrests.

I supposedly independent investigation is being conducted by the Independent Office Of Police Conduct, with south wales police describing Mahmoud’s death as “a tragedy”.

But South Wales police have a long history of racist policing which stretches back to the infamous Cardiff Three – in which three black men were framed for the murder of Lynette White, one of the most blatant miscarriages of justice ever seen in Wales – and beyond.

Protesters demand justice for Mohamud Hassans family
Protesting for Mohamud outside Butetown police station, Cardiff

Sign the petition to demand justice for Mohamud:

Justice for Mohamud Mohammed Hussan