#TakeTheKnee events from around the UK – pics and reports, Wednesday 21 July
First BLM protest in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.
50 to 60 people took part in Take the Knee event outside Notts County Council offices.
Led by SUTR and supported by the Labour Group with an excellent turnout of Councillors
Wanstead flats Newham, East London
Islington Town Hall, London
Swansea Cwmdonkin Park before an online rally took place
Cambridge
25 NHS staff joined the #TakeTheKnee event at Littlemore hospital, Oxford, to say #BlackLivesMatter
The killing of Elijah McClain
In August 2019 gentle, kind Elijah McClain was killed by US police.
From The Cut:
Last August, police officers in Aurora, Colorado, approached 23-year-old Elijah McClain as he walked home from a convenience store. The Aurora Police Department later said that a 911 caller had reported a “suspicious person” in a ski mask, and that when officers confronted McClain — who was not armed and had not committed any kind of crime — he “resisted arrest.” In the 15 minutes that followed, the officers tackled McClain to the ground, put him in a carotid hold, and called first responders, who injected him with ketamine. He had a heart attack on the way to the hospital, and died days later, after he was declared brain dead.
When violinists played in a park at a vigil to remember Elijah (he taught himself to play the violin), this is what Aurora police did (what is wrong with these warped people?):
Updated Sunday 5th July 2020
Open online forum – Police, institutional racism and the fight for justice – 2 July
Thursday 2 July 6pm on Zoom
For Zoom link register at bit.ly/31pZN0o
Organised by Stand Up To Racism.
Last week’s event had 500 attendees from BLM groups all around the country, so make this a date.
London BLM protest Marble Arch to Downing Street – Sunday 5th July 2pm
Called by All Black Lives UK
Assemble 2pm Marble Arch for march to Downing Street. Protest ends at 6pm. Wear PPE.
updated 15:08 BST 5th July
A march against the war in Yemen taking place at the same time. Our government is complicit in the war crimes being committed by Saudi Arabia with the help of British-made weapons.
On struggle one fight!
BLMUK, Palestine and media anti-Semitism slurs
Black Lives Matter Movement (BLMM) was formed in London in 2016 and is not affiliated to BLMUK.
BLMM does however support the struggle against racism in all its forms, be it against anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or anti-Arab racism.
Criticising the state of Israel is not anti-Semitic and we support BLMUK’s call for solidarity with the Palestinians.
Labour Party racism against black women MPs not addressed
Furthermore, it is shocking that the Labour Party has still not disciplined staff members for their racism towards black women MPs.
The lack of concern in the media concerning this blatant racism by Labour staffers is equally disturbing.
Amnesty International on Israeli training of US police
As Amnesty International has pointed out, Israeli police forces have played a key role in training militarised US police forces. Whether this involves training in the restraint methods used to kill George Floyd is not known but we note that this specific allegation has been denied by the Israeli state.
Here’s an excerpt from the Amnesty report published in 2016:
Baltimore law enforcement officials, along with hundreds of others from Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, Arizona, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington state as well as the DC Capitol police have all traveled to Israel for training. Thousands of others have received training from Israeli officials here in the U.S.
Nevertheless, as Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has documented, Palestinians are routinely killed by Israeli police and occupation forces using live ammunition, ‘non-lethal’ weapons and restraint methods.
An injury to one is an injury to all
This anti-BLMUK witch hunt weakens the fight against all forms of racism.
Of course the focus of the black lives matter movement is on fighting anti-Black racism but we see the connections to other forms of racism.
Attacking BLMUK for standing up for Palestinians is an attempt to weaken the anti-racist movement, and this would appear to be the aim of much of the media and the right in this country.
For those that may have missed – here is the BLMUK tweet in support of the Palestinians:
Kill the immigration bill! London, Monday 29 June 5pm
Kill the immigration bill!
Monday 29th June 5.00pm
London, Piccadilly Circus
Wear masks, non-identifiable clothes to protect your identity
Protect the Windrush generation & protect young refugees.
Lesson plan for Entry 2 learners for English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
My name is Lucilia Branco and I am an ESOL tutor.
I work for Tower Hamlets idea stores and teach English to speakers of other languages.
As ESOL teachers we work with a lot of migrants and refugees and believe their voices should be brought into conversations about race and racism.
I , together with my colleague Lisa Thomas, have created a lesson for my Entry 2 learners (elementary level – still beginners) .
Black Lives Matter projections – from Marble Arch to the Tate Modern
