Category Archives: UK
“I can’t breathe” pleads black man attacked by Brighton police
Brighton police racist violence on display in yet another shocking video.
From the Independent
Video footage showing officers restraining a man as he repeatedly shouts “I can’t breathe” has been referred to the police watchdog.
A man can be seen lying on the ground as he is restrained by three officers near a police car in a recording captured in Brighton on Tuesday.
A witness to the incident said: “I have seen people be arrested before, I have never seen anything like that.
“It was really, really shocking. I do not understand why there were three policemen sat on him.”
Join the Brighton BLM protest
Details here.
Quarter of young black people in London stopped by cops during lockdown
Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee has got hold of damning evidence of the extent of the oppressive nature of the policing of black (and white) youth in the big cities of the UK, especially London.
Lots of anecdotal evidence has been cited about the increase in stops of young people and now we have the proof.
For black youth the level of harassment has gone way off the scale, with a quarter of all the young black people having been stopped during the lockdown.
This comes after the overpolicing of block parties on working class housing estates.
From the Guardian:
Young black men were stopped and searched by police more than 20,000 times in London during the coronavirus lockdown – the equivalent more than a quarter of all black 15- to 24-year-olds in the capital.
More than 80% of the 21,950 searches between March and May resulted in no further action, according to analysis by the office of the home affairs select committee chair, Yvette Cooper.
The figures equate to 30% of all young black males in London, though some individuals may have been searched more than once.
The Met increased its use of stop and search during the lockdown, compared with a year ago. The force carried out 43,000 stops in May, compared to 21,000 a year earlier, and 30,608 in April, up from 20,981.
Katrina Ffrench, chief executive of Stopwatch, a charity that campaigns against the disproportionate use of stop and search, said: “The number is shocking and saddening. How do those young people feel when this is their city, they’re going about their daily business, could be caring for parents, all sorts of reasons as to why they’re out?” more
Parliament Home Affairs Select Committee hears evidence on stop and search. Hearing evidence this week.
https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/cd010bb3-558c-4575-9a23-ec4a5070a3cb
3 cops share racist material on WhatsApp of Kayode Ewumi meme
More disturbing news emerged today from inside the police – this time the Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
One officer has been suspended and two others placed on restricted duties after sharing racist material on WhatsApp.
An image of actor Kayode Ewumi that had previously gone viral was reposted but with the word “monkey” added underneath.
That was followed up with another officer posting a photo of a monkey hanging from a tree.
One of the officers in the officers’ unit is from a black and minority ethnic background and the vile messages found their way to his phone.
His 17-year-old son saw the images when using his parent’s phone and contacted the media.
“I felt it was my duty to speak out about this. It has really upset my family. I’m speechless and shocked. I think we should expect more from police officers.
Yes we should expect more but sadly the evidence – if further evidence were needed – is piling up about the institutional racism that plagues the police force.
It is past time that officers who have committed racist offensive be sacked from their jobs forthwith, but here we again have suspension on full pay and so called “restricted duties”.
Enough!
Michael Holding and Ebony Rainford-Brent – our latest BLM stars
Michael Holding and Ebony Rainford-Brent’s hard-hitting and moving speech on the striving for racial justice stirred sports fan and others. Thank you.
Michael Holding in his prime was a magnificent fast bowler in the all-conquering West Indies cricket teams sides of the 1970s.
Both the England and West Indies team and all the officials took part in the Take The Knee event at the beginning of the first test match of the series.
Holding on white power…
“Everybody has heard about this lady in a park in America who was asked by a black man to put her dog on a leash, which is the law,” Holding said.
“She threatened this black man with her whiteness, saying that she was going to call the police and tell them there was a black man threatening her.
“If the society in which she was living did not empower her or get her to think that she had that power of being white and being able to call the police on a black man, she would not have done it.
“It was an automatic reaction because of the society in which she lives. If you don’t educate people they will keep growing up in that sort of society and you will not get meaningful change.”
Ebony Rainford-Brent
One-time international cricketer Ebony Rainford-Brent said her piece, and she didn’t hold back either.
“I’ve been in team environments, dealing constantly with people referring to ‘your lot,’” she said with tears in her eyes.
“I questioned myself why I stayed sometimes so long, I love the game, I think it has so much more to offer.
“But it can be really difficult dealing with that day in day out.”
Ebony said education needs to change:
“It can’t be a ‘black person’s problem’, it has got to be everyone’s problem. We have got to want a society that is representative and supports people from different backgrounds,” she said.
“That’s what it is for me. We need honest conversations, opportunities and people in positions of power. And then we can change the landscape.”
Invention of the filament light bulb
Say his name: Lewis Howard Latimer – inventor of the light bulb, as we were reminded in the history lesson from Michael Holding. Thank you again.
Covid victim George Ziwa needs your support for African funeral
My name is Stephen Smith and sadly we lost our best friend Mr George Ziwa who was found totally decomposed in his flat in March.
Because of the Covid restrictions his body has only just been released by the coroner in High Wycombe, so we have only just set up his GoFundMe page so that his family in Uganda can give him the traditional African burial they have requested.
George Ziwa was a well known member of the Buckingham and Aylesbury community, he lived on the streets from 2012 until January 2019 when he moved into his flat.
Although George was responsible for the renovation of the local Red Cross Centre’s garden during 2017-2018 his lifestyle led to serious health complications.
George died on the 1 March 2020 and he was found at his home some weeks later.
I am appealing to everybody to help send George’s body home so his 80 year old mother can put him to rest under traditional African ceremony.
Please donate generously to the repatriation fund. Thank you:
More about George
George Ziwa was born on 28th June 1973 in Kampala, Uganda to Mrs Emma Namuli and the late George William Ziwa. He enjoyed a very close and dear relationship with his mother especially as he was her last born child. George went to school in Uganda and Kenya. He studied from S1 to S6 at Namilyango College, Uganda and he was a very active member of the Ngonian and the Namilyango College Old Boys Association (NACOBA). He later went to England where he studied Nursing at Luton and Dunstable Hospital with a specialisation in mental health. Upon qualifying, George worked at the Whiteleaf Mental Health Centre in Aylesbury as a State Registered Nurse. George lived in Buckinghamshire, England until his death.
George was a loving, caring and generous person and he was always eager to help. Whenever he went to Uganda on vacation, he often met the young homeless street-children to whom he bought food and drinks. George always carried his pink Bible which his sister Linda had offered to him and he fondly referred to himself as a soldier of Christ. He was part of the congregation at Buckingham Evangelical Church. In his youth, George had joined the Boys Scouts and he took great joy in all their activities while also treasuring the strong friendships that he built with his fellow scouts.
George passed away suddenly at the beginning of March 2020. He is survived by his two children, his mother and his siblings and he will be sadly missed by his family and numerous friends.
May his soul rest in peace.
Hands off Sistah Space – defend services for women survivors of abuse
Protest to support black women’s organisation in Hackney at 5pm on Friday 10 July.
Sistah Space is threatened with closure by Hackney Council.
Violence against women has increased markedly during the pandemic.
This is already a vastly under resourced sector, so it is outrageous that the local government cannot at the least dip into its reserves to keep Sistah Space operating.
Please give your support to the black survivors of domestic and sexual abuse.
Donate to the gofundme and join the protest.
