News

The Prime Minister Theresa May announced this morning that Sajid Javid is to become the Home Secretary making him the highest ranking BME politician ever.

The decision to appoint Javid this most prestigious job by the Prime Minister will be in some way to reduce the heat and harm caused to BME communities by the Windrush scandal.

Many in the Black community and beyond  will be troubled by the news that this long term anti-racist activist was today expelled from the Labour party for 'bringing the party into disrepute'.

Wadsworth was filmed on camera accusing an MP, Ruth Smeeth of working, ‘hand in hand’ with the Telegraph in smearing the Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn. The MP was deeply upset by the accusation.

If anyone was in any doubt that even after 25 years have passed since the death of Stephen Lawrence when the Met police were accused of being institutionally racist, nothing much has changed,  then take a look at this video in which the police racially profiled two innocent young brothers Liam and Dijon Joseph.

The Prime Minister Theresa May today announced at the Stephen Lawrence 25th anniversary memorial at St Martin’s in the field that 22nd of April would be marked officially by the UK.

In a statement, Stephen’s mother, Doreen Lawrence, welcomed the announcement.

“I feel honoured she has recognised the changes that have been made in Stephen’s name and the changes that are still needed.”

She added Stephen Lawrence Day would be:

The Home Secretary Amber Rudd has in effect called time on the draconian immigration hounding of the Windrush generation; many have undergone nightmarish bureaucracy to remain in the UK.

The news of British Caribbean citizens who had given so much and have been treated so badly has beenrightly described as a national shame.

Amber Rudd has now both apologised and announced compensation to this group. It is a breath-taking climb-down from a policy that called so much grief.

Like racism itself the Far Right nationalist groups who adopted St George as their symbol of xenophobia towards practically anyone who isn’t their narrow brand of English, doesn’t stand up to the most basic logic.

http://www.obv.org.uk/../united-black-britain-forced-windrush-rethink

Earlier this month, the third annual Trans and Hijra Empowerment Mela was held in Mumbai, India. The Mela (festival) was hosted by non-profit organization Anam Prem to empower the trans community and to encourage ‘dignified’ modes of income for trans people.

In the planning meeting for the 2017 General Election, Operation Black Vote sat down with our advertising agency partners, Saatchi and Saatchi to plan a campaign that would ensure the Black vote- Black and minority ethnic vote- would be a central player that the main stream political parties could not ignore.