News

Tomorrow night in Brixton, a group of young activists will seek to make history in a similar way Black groups did nearly twenty years ago.

Ellen Clifford and her activist friends will launch Operation Disability Vote. A project that seeks to inform and inspire disabled people around the UK to use their vote to demand greater equality and opportunity.

Although one in five of the population have some form of disability, many feel and remain excluded, with key socio-economic issues largely ignored.

Last night, the St. Louis County grand jury charged with examining evidence surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown released their decision. They brought no criminal charges against Darren Wilson, the white police officer who shot and killed the unarmed Black teen.

As Christmas approaches, preparations for the holiday season are in full swing. Lights are being hung, trees are being trimmed – and debates about racism are raging.

After the convincing win by the Ukip’s Mark Reckless in the Rochester by-election last night, certain sections of English society slips further into both despising migrants and blaming them for society’s ills. Shell-shocked political leaders seem to be falling over themselves in an attempt to keep up with Ukip leader Nigel Farage’s anti-migrant rhetoric.

One of Britain’s longest serving MPs, Diane Abbott, who has throughout her career campaigned against racism and discrimination in all its forms, will deliver a major speech about racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia at the School of African and Oriental Studies.

Her speech is taking place against the backdrop of a surge in support for far-right parties across Europe and even in Britain as the nakedly anti-immigrant UK Independence Party is experiencing a growth in popularity.

Dave Whelan, the Wigan Chairman, has dismissed his local MP Lisa Nandy’s concern about employing the disgraced football manager Malky Mackay. Mackay, you may remember, was overlooked for a number of premiership managerial jobs because of a slew of emails he sent to other football colleagues which were homophobic, anti-Semitic, racist and sexist. The Chairman’s response to Nandy was a complete slap down: “She’s wrong”, he said, adding:

Solution magazine marks a breakthrough in the way issues that activists have been campaigning on for a number of years have been taken up by senior politicians.

This week writing the foreword, Home Secretary Theresa May MP commended the first print edition and the crucial work done by Black Mental Health UK .

Focusing on the theme of ‘Policing, Mental Health & black Briton’ this edition was launched at the recent joint high level Home Office and BMH UK summit on this issue.

For weeks now, tensions have been rising in Jerusalem, simmering since the kidnap and brutal murder of three Jewish teenagers in the occupied West Bank in June, the barbaric setting alight of a Palestinian teenager in the following month, and the bloody conflict in Gaza in July and August which left more than 2,000 Palestinians dead, including some 500 children.

The virus of xenophobia and racism runs rampant in Rochester-by-election

The Ukip candidate and front runner in Rochester by-election former Tory Mark Reckless, has helped ensure mainstream British politics has sunk to another all time low by suggesting that Polish plumbers and other EU migrants could be asked to leave Britain if his party were in government.

Although it is a month today since Efua Dorkenoo passed away, we at OBV would nevertheless like to remember her.

A prominent human rights activist and researcher, Ms. Dorkenoo passed away on October 18th at the age of 65. She was best known for her work in combating female genital mutation, or FGM.