BLACK HISTORY MONTH GREETINGS FROM BARAC UK: REMEMBER THE PAST - FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE - CELEBRATE OUR ACHIEVEMENTS !

MAXIE HAYLES, CHAIR OF BARAC BIRMINGHAM IS HIGHLY COMMENDED IN THE EUROPEAN DIVERSITY AWARDS 2013. CONGRATULATIONS MAXIE!

DR MARTIN LUTHER KING 'I HAVE A DREAM'

Guy Bailey, Roy Hackett and Paul Stephenson with a 1960s-era Bristol bus

BARAC MARCH AGAINST GLOBAL RACISM AND INJUSTICE

A DREAM THAT’S STILL TO FIGHT FOR FEATURE WRITTEN FOR THE MORNING STAR NEWSPAPER by ZITA HOLBOURNE

A DREAM THAT’S STILL TO FIGHT FOR

FEATURE WRITTEN FOR THE MORNING STAR NEWSPAPER, FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE MORNING STAR ON 28^TH AUGUST 2013

FIFTY YEARS ON FROM MARTIN LUTHER KING’S MOST FAMOUS DREAM, RACISM STILL ABOUNDS IN BOTH TORY BRITAIN AND THE USA SAYS ZITA HOLBOURNE

2013 marks the 50^th anniversary of two major events in the struggle against racism, in the USA and here in the UK. 

On this day in history, August 28^th the march on Washington for jobs and freedom took place calling for civil and economic rights for African Americans.  Dr Martin Luther King gave his iconic speech known as his ‘I have a dream speech’ where he set out his vision for a future where black people would be equals with white people.  Attended by an estimated quarter of a million people it was the largest political mobilisation seen in Washington. 

In the same year the Bristol bus boycott took place led by Paul Stephenson with the West Indian Development Council, inspired by Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott.  Responding to the refusal of the Bristol Omnibus company to interview a young black man, Guy Bailey, for a job on the buses because he was black, the boycott lasted 4 months until the company was forced to remove its colour bar. It attracted national publicity and led to the first race discrimination law in the UK, the Race Relations Act 1965 and the Race Relations Act 1968.  Shamefully the trade union for workers on the buses, the TGWU, worked with the Bristol Omnibus Company against the employment of black workers when as a trade union they should have been stamping on discrimination.  It took 50 years for the successor union, Unite to issue a public apology for this. 

50^th years on, my organisation, Black Activists Rising Against Cuts (BARAC) UK launched a campaign in Parliament for 2013 entitled  MLK50, Equality In Our Lifetime, hosted by John McDonnell MP.  We believe we are entitled to equality in our lifetime because we and those who went before us have already fought long and hard for equal rights. We don’t believe equality should be an aspiration for future generations but something we are entitled to now.

Asking the questions 50 years on, how far have we come? Have we achieved the dream?  through a programme of actions and events, the answer is painfully obvious to African, Caribbean, Asian and migrant communities in the UK.  

 Equality is being stripped away every day. From David Cameron’s speech in Munich in 2010 declaring the ‘failure’ of multiculturalism to austerity measures disproportionately impacting on black workers, service users and communities, from Islamophobia to  the rise of the far right,  watering down of race equality law to under-resourcing of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, from the return of SUS laws and young black men up to 32 times more likely to be stopped and searched than their white counterparts to deaths in custody and racist murders and most recently the government’s racist advertising van campaign and targeting of black people at train stations to check immigration status, we are living in a society where racism is increasing  -yet the government would have people believe we are living in a post racial Britain where there is no need for race equality measures.

The story in the USA is a similar one – whether I am doing press interviews, radio shows or talking to black activists in the USA there is a recurring response to my accounts of the ever increasing racist events in the UK ; ‘what you describe is exactly our experience here’  ‘ you could be talking about the USA’ .  The recent verdict in the Trayvon Martin murder trial disgracefully justifying his killing by George Zimmerman through the Florida Stand Your Ground law has led to widespread outrage across the USA and wider with a well-attended march and rally BARAC organised last month against global injustice and racism, calling for justice for Trayvon Martin, Jimmy Mubenga and Azelle Rodney amongst others. Black activists in the USA have also called an International Boycott of Florida products until Stand Your Ground Law goes which has been supported by international artists including Stevie Wonder who have declared their refusal to perform in Florida.

Austerity measures both here in the UK and the USA are amplifying racism and the disproportionate impact of cuts on black workers is made worse because black people  already faced discrimination in the labour market before the economic crisis and as a result find it harder to get work when their jobs are cut.  The con-dem racist campaign against migrant communities spread myths and lies which leads to racist attacks when the truth is that migrants do and have always benefitted the economy and contributed positively to society, enriching our culture.

Families here, like the family of Trayvon Martin, who we hosted here  last year to give solidarity from the UK are forced overnight to become activists in order to fight for justice when their loved ones are murdered by racists or at the hands of the state, often for many years.

Attacks on legal aid will have a detrimental impact on victims of racism, especially since many race advisory and anti-racist organisations are struggling to survive with funding cut and many have had to close down as a result. 

1 in 2 young black people are out of work and are barred from further and higher education because of EMA being slashed and tuition fees being tripled. Black women bearing the brunt of public sector cuts are struggling to make ends meet for their families.

In 50 years much has been done to fight racism and stand up against it, with race equality laws introduced, the public sector equality duty  which stemmed from the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence , yet 14 years after the MacPherson report the recommendations aimed at eradicating institutional racism from the Police forces and other public sector organisations, the vast majority of the recommendations have yet to be introduced with recent revelations of police infiltration of anti-racist organisations and spying on the Lawrence family and their supporters.

At the MLK50 march held in Washington on Saturday 24th of August, Martin Luther King the third, addressing the audience of thousands said; ‘the task is not done, the journey is not complete. The vision by my father 50 years ago was that his four little children would be judged not by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character’. Participants expressed a view that the dream was out of reach for the majority of them.

If we are to truly overcome racism, we have to aim high like Dr King did, not settle for second best or being treated as second or even third class citizens, we must organise, mobilise, remain determined and strong and stamp on racism every time we witness it. The dream may not have been achieved but that does not mean we should abandon it.  Everyone has a responsibility to fight discrimination not just those on the receiving end. Equality is a right, not a privilege.  There will always be doubters and haters but that does not mean we should not dare to dream.

BARAC will be organising a meeting in Parliament, inviting anti-racist organisations from across the UK with the aim of creating a manifesto against racism for the UK. For information about the BARAC MLK50 Equality In Our Lifetime campaign and to receive updates from us email: barac.info@gmail.com or visit our website: www.blackactivistsrisingagainstcuts.blogspot.com.

Zita Holbourne is an award winning trade union and community activist, a poet, writer and visual artist. She is the co-founder and national co-chair of BARAC UK and elected to the TUC Race Relations Committee and the PCS union National Executive Committee.

MLK50; EQUALITY IN OUR LIFETIME, MARCH ON WESTMINSTER FOR JOBS AND JUSTICE

DARE TO DREAM; IN MEMORY OF DR MARTIN LUTHER KING (50 YEARS ON)
WRITTEN BY ZITA HOLBOURNE; POET~ARTIST~ACTIVIST

Fifty years since the dream Martin Luther King shared with a nation
Of equality for all and an end to discrimination
As we reflect fifty years later the question we must now ask
Is what progress have we really made in the half century that’s passed?

I have a dream of no poverty or deprivation
An end to prejudice, injustice and discrimination
No abuse or harassment causing devastation
Where challenges to these are not met with confrontation

I have a dream that we’ll rise up in unity
Act like one strong and determined community
Live in a world of equal opportunity
Where progress is anticipated eagerly

I have a dream of access to jobs and employment
Where we are assessed on our achievement
Where those with the power to decide don’t cast judgment
Based on class or gender or age or skin pigment

I have a dream that every one of us each and every day
Will rise up to those blocking us from progressing on our way
That we’ll expose the hypocrites and end the moral decay
Be unrelenting in our pursuit of truth, do not just say

I have a dream that the evil of fascism will be no more
That peace will come and there’ll be an end to illegal war
That the pursuit of justice is not blocked by biased law
And in all we strive for, equality is at the core

I have a dream that our children will be judged on merit
Where irrespective of colour or class they’re given credit
For their skills, ideas and talent, not broken in spirit
That we create a legacy that they’re proud to inherit

I have a dream of free access to education
Where knowledge is not barred due to financial situation
Where we can build a firm and secure foundation
For ourselves, our kin and the next generation

I have a dream of sufficient welfare
Free and accessible healthcare
Of a world that’s equal and fair
Where those who hold the power hear

I have a dream where we’re free to embrace
Our colour, gender, sexuality and race
Where we’re not made to feel out of place
Because of disability, status or face

I have a dream where instead of judging by skin
We live side by side, not like enemies, but kin
Where faith and hope, not hatred and ignorance, win
Where we never stop believing or dreaming

I have a dream that we will always dare
To aspire to and dream of a better world where
The quest for liberty outweighs the fear
Of those who are not brave enough to share
Our dream 
 

PRESS RELEASE: BARAC UK, Protest Against Global Racism and Injustice; I am Travyon Martin, endorsed by Public Enemy

BARAC UK HAVE CALLED THE FOLLOWING PROTEST, supported by:

Operation Black Vote, the National Black Students Campaign, Global Afrikan Congress, PCS, RMT Black Members, Counterfire, UAF, Love Music Hate Racism, Youth Against Racism, Europe, Lambeth TUC, Lambeth People's Assembly,  One Society Many Cultures,  Unite the Union, Defend the Right to Protest, NUT and other anti racist organisations 

BARAC UK, Protest Against Global Racism and Injustice; I am Travyon Martin, endorsed by Public Enemy

Press Release for immediate use.

Friday 26^th July

BARAC will be holding a march and rally against Global Racism and Injustice in solidarity with the families of Trayvon Martin Stephen Lawrence, Azelle Rodney, Jimmy Mubenga and many others to highlight the reality of racism and seeking justice, both here in the UK and the US.

Revolutionary rap act, Public Enemy, performing at the Koko Club in London’s Camden Town encouraged the audience to take part in the march and rally.

The demonstration will take place on Saturday 27 July  assembling 2pm at the USA Embassy, Grosvenor Square, London with speeches in support of Trayvon Martin, leaving at 3pm and marching to Downing Street where a final round of speeches will be given in support of the Lawrence call for a public inquiry into recent allegation that the Met Police sought to smear both family and friends and with the families of Azelle Rodney and Jimmy Mubenga and in response to allegations of police infiltration of anti-racist groups.

Zita Holbourne, Co-Chair BARAC UK said:

Injustice and racism are increasing every day - it’s an issue here in the UK and in the USA and elsewhere, this is why we need a global response. We are demanding a truly independent public inquiry into police spying on the Lawrence family and their supporters and the infiltration of anti-racist organisations and for the ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws to go. We support the call from USA activists for a complete Florida boycott until the laws are revoked and applaud artists such as Stevie Wonder for refusing to perform in Florida. It’s a disgrace that families who lose their loved ones through racism must then spend a life time pursuing justice. No justice, no peace!

Lee Jasper, Co-Chair of BARAC UK said:

We march today in solidarity with the family of Trayvon Martin and to highlight the reality of rising rates of racism in Britain. The US authorities should abolish the hated 'stand your ground' law in Florida that is a license to kill. We march to support the call from the Lawrence family for a full and independent judicial led public inquiry into the allegations that the Metropolitan Police sought to smear both the family and supporters through a covert police surveillance unit.

We march for Jimmy Mubenga, Mark Duggan, Kingsley Burrell, Smiley Culture and Azelle Rodney. We march for justice and equality in the 50th anniversary year of Dr Martin Luther King’s 1968 March on Washington. The truth is that his dream is a threadbare vision here in the UK where racism is on the rise amplified by austerity.

Speakers include:

MC for the day: Zita Holbourne, National Co-Chair of BARAC UK

Lee Jasper, National Co-Chair BARAC UK

Donna Guthrie, BARAC Black Women

Simon Woolley, Operation Black Vote

Adam Khalif, PCS National Executive

Joe Welsh, London and Eastern Regional Chair, Unite the Union

Aaron Kiely, NUS Black Students Officer

George Galloway MP

Sabby Dhalu, One Society Many Cultures

Weyman Bennett, UAF

David Nieta, Society of Black Lawyers

Alfie Meadows

Lyndsey German, Peoples Assembly

Lois Austin, Youth Against Racism, Europe

Paul Mackney, Greek solidarity Campaign

Plus local artists will be performing on the day.

Background:

The national anti-austerity, anti-racist campaigning organisation Black Activists Rising Against Cuts (BARAC) UK, is co- chaired & was co-founded by Lee Jasper and Zita Holbourne National Executive member of the PCS Union. Established in July 1010 the movement seeks to campaign against the disproportionate impact of austerity on black communities, workers and service users and organise community action.

For more information:

Contact Lee Jasper 07984 181797.

              Zita Holbourne barac.info@gmail.com

Web: www.blackactivistsrisingagainstcuts.blogspot.com

Twitter: @baracuk

Facebook: Black Activists Rising Against Cuts

Ends

MLK50; DARE TO DREAM (A POEM BY ZITA HOLBOURNE)

DARE TO DREAM; IN MEMORY OF DR MARTIN LUTHER KING (50 YEARS ON)

A poem for the MLK50 Equality In Our Lifetime campaign

Fifty years since the dream Martin Luther King shared with a nation

Of equality for all and an end to discrimination

As we reflect fifty years later the question we must now ask

Is what progress have we really made in the half century that’s passed?

I have a dream of no poverty or deprivation

An end to prejudice, injustice and discrimination

No abuse or harassment causing devastation

Where challenges to these are not met with confrontation

I have a dream that we’ll rise up in unity

Act like one strong and determined community

Live in a world of equal opportunity

Where progress is anticipated eagerly

I have a dream of access to jobs and employment

Where we are assessed on our achievement

Where those with the power to decide don’t cast judgment

Based on class or gender or age or skin pigment

I have a dream that every one of us each and every day

Will rise up to those blocking us from progressing on our way

That we’ll expose the hypocrites and end the moral decay

Be unrelenting in our pursuit of truth, do not just say

I have a dream that the evil of fascism will be no more

That peace will come and there’ll be an end to illegal war

That the pursuit of justice is not blocked by biased law

And in all we strive for, equality is at the core

I have a dream that our children will be judged on merit

Where irrespective of colour or class they’re given credit

For their skills, ideas and talent, not broken in spirit

That we create a legacy that they’re proud to inherit

I have a dream of free access to education

Where knowledge is not barred due to financial situation

Where we can build a firm and secure foundation

For ourselves, our kin and the next generation

I have a dream of sufficient welfare

Free and accessible healthcare

Of a world that’s equal and fair

Where those who hold the power hear

I have a dream where we’re free to embrace

Our colour, gender, sexuality and race

Where we’re not made to feel out of place

Because of disability, status or face

I have a dream where instead of judging by skin

We live side by side, not like enemies, but kin

Where faith and hope, not hatred and ignorance, win

Where we never stop believing or dreaming

I have a dream that we will always dare

To aspire to and dream of a better world where

The quest for liberty outweighs the fear

Of those who are not brave enough to share

Our dream 

 

Written by Zita Holbourne, copyright January 2013

LISTEN TO 'I HAVE A DREAM' HERE via SoundCloud