‘We taught Macpherson and Macpherson taught the world’ was how a black activist, who had given evidence to the Commission Inquiry, greeted its findings. For her, it was not just the Report’s conclusions that mattered – ordinary black people, who had borne the brunt of institutional racism in the police force and other public bodies,
Theme: Violence and harassment
Free trade but unfree borders
The economic order established by the WTO, the IMF and the World Bank has given corporations increasing freedom to invest, produce and trade across the globe. At the same time the freedom of movement of people across borders has been curtailed. This contradiction is most apparent at the US-Mexico border or at the eastern frontiers
From Schengen to La Linea: breaking down borders
The German campaign No one is Illegal is preparing to mount a week of action against Fortress Europe, organising camps at the EU frontier between Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. Dutch activists have also organised a border camp and in Poland anti-fascists will demonstrate at the central border police station and at the border
Uniting Against Globalisation
In June, the leaders of the world’s wealthiest nations met at the G8 summit in Cologne. For a few days the city was swamped with government officials, press teams and camera crews. But in the shadows of the media spotlight different voices were struggling to be heard – the voice of the Inter-Continental Caravan, a
People vs. Corporations: the Inter-Continental Caravan in Britain
On 21 May, at ‘People vs Corporations’, a public hearing at Euston, London, activists from the Inter-Continental Caravan (ICC) and from other people’s movements from India and Nepal came together with campaigners in Britain. The Punjabi and Gujurati Farmers’ Unions and two representatives of INHURED (International Institute for Human Rights, Environment and Development) from Nepal,
Exclusion: New Labour Style
Central to the welfare provisions of the Asylum and Immigration Bill is the removal of everyone who is subject to immigration control (including taxpayers) from all mainstream benefits. This won’t affect those long settled in Britain but it will affect those who have been ‘sponsored’ by a family member. In future, a sponsor’s failure to
Will the Police Be Made Fully Accountable?
No-one doubts that the case of Stephen Lawrence has resulted in unprecedented public awareness of racism in institutions and in the police in particular. Even hostile commentators are no longer able simply to shrug their shoulders and talk about a few bad apples. Nevertheless the debate so far has been considerably less penetrating as to
Stop and Search: Strong words but limited action
THE report of the Lawrence inquiry singles out countrywide racial disparities in the use of stop-and-search as one of the key areas of ‘institutional racism’ in the police. In doing so, the report does no more than to confirm what has long been widely known in the black community. The Macpherson report goes on to
What is institutional racism?
Institutional racism is that which, covertly or overtly, resides in the policies, procedures, operations and culture of public or private institutions – reinforcing individual prejudices and being reinforced by them in turn. Why do we need to distinguish institutional racism from individual racism? The problem is that individual racial attitudes and stereotyping have often been
Racism Goes Global
Globalisation, we are told by the likes of Tony Blair, is, in the final analysis, a good thing. But good for whom? For the West or for the Third World? For rich or for poor? For black or for white? Here, in the UK, counter-globalisation networks are publicising the facts that European politicians like Blair