MJR News - Movement for Justice & Reconciliation

Shades of Black book launch

6/10/2022

Shades of Black: The Origins of Colour Consciousness in the Caribbean is an important new book looking at how colour consciousness in the Caribbean has affected immigrants, and issues of race, in Britain. It is written by former MJR trustees Clifford Hill and Nigel Pocock and current MJR Chair Alton Bell. We have been sent these details of a launch event online.

Should there be positive discrimination in the public sector?

As we mark Black History Month, we would be delighted to invite you to an important discussion as part of the launch of Shades of Black, a new book exposing the roots of colour consciousness and racial discrimination with a view to exploring the question ‘Should there be positive discrimination in the public sector to encourage anti-discrimination?’

Aimed at creating conversation across the UK on this important area, you are invited to join us on Thursday 27th October 2022 between 12.30pm and 2.00pm. A meeting in the House of Commons will follow on November 24.

This meeting will be introduced by Sir Stephen Timms MP with contributions from Dr Clifford Hill, Pastor Alton Bell and others.

To join us online, please register here. To attend or for further information, please register or contact Adam May by email or phone 07736 949 869.

Please share this invitation to anyone you believe would benefit from this discussion.

Find out more about Shades of Black here.

Only 1% of Windrush claims approved by Home Office

20/9/2022

Freedom of Information data obtained by Labour MP Kate Osamor has revealed that only 1 per cent of payout reviews under the Windrush compensation appeals process have been successful. Out of 3,479 claimant appeals in 2021, only 42 resulted in a settlement. The MP has said Windrush claimants are being told to “take it or leave it” when they receive offers. “The Home Office perpetrated the Windrush Scandal. Now they are deciding how much compensation should be awarded to their victims. The result is unsurprising – consistent and poor-quality decision making resulting in insultingly small offers of compensation.”

Read more and some individual claimant's stories here.
Read here about the Home Office's refusal to speed up the case of a woman with terminal cancer.

Press Statement from Church Leaders re. 'Child Q'

22/3/2022

National leaders and congregations of the black majority churches in the United Kingdom have issues a statement to express their horror at the "shameful and inhumane actions" on a 15-year-old girl on school premises by officers of the Metropolitan Police. Signatories include Rev Alton Bell, chair of MJR. Read the full statement here.

Windrush compensation - MP's stats reported by BBC "dated".

26/11/2021

In our previous post we reported a main BBC news item on the Government Windrush Compensation Scheme, where a group of MPs were asking for it to be removed from the Home Office due to the low rate of payouts made so far. We have since been contacted by a member of the Windrush Cross Government Working Group who told us the data used by the MPs was "dated" and therefore now inaccurate.

The latest situation includes:

42% of those who have applied for compensation have received a final offer, while 29% of compensation claims have received a payment.
The 5% figure some news outlets have used is based on the number of payments made against old estimates on the number of people eligible for compensation (which estimated there were around 15,000 people eligible), which we have since revised (to 4,000-6,000) following analysis and insight from extensive outreach and engagement with people affected.
Since the changes the group made to the Scheme last December, the amount of compensation paid has risen from less than £3 million to over £31.6 million, with a further £5.6 million having been offered.
There is no cap on the amount of compensation that can be paid out and the group will ensure that members of the Windrush generation receive every penny of compensation that they are entitled to
Over 13,800 people have been issued with documentation confirming their status or British citizenship.

He went on to say: "The Working Group is a critical friend of the Home Office and Government and my main interest is accuracy of information to counter any attempts to either talk up or talk down the actual state of play. Whatever people make of the statistics the government put out – and part of my group’s work is to provide robust challenge internally – the latest information on the Compensation Scheme is available here".

Windrush. "Will we get government compensation before we die?"

24/11/2021

The main story on BBC News today was the continuing delay on compensation payments to victims of the Windrush scandal. The scandal saw thousands of UK residents - most of whom were originally from the Caribbean from back in the 40's, 50's and 60's, wrongly classed as illegal immigrants. The compensation scheme was started in 2019, but delays have meant that by September 2021, only one in five of an estimated 15,000 eligible claimants had applied to the scheme and only a quarter of these had received compensation. 23 have died before receiving compensation. Now a cross-party group of MPs have asked that the scheme be taken from the Home Office and recommended an "independent organisation" should be handed responsibility for running the scheme, to "increase trust and encourage more applicants". Read the full story and listen to interviews here.

Post-Black History Month reflections on equality and cohesion in the UK

1/11/2021

After this year's Black History Month the Guardian asked prominent Black British figures to assess where the UK stands in terms of equality and cohesion. Actor David Harewood says: 'There are voices on the right that are aggressively seeking to stamp out any discussion of white complicity in the disadvantage of black people. ... But that’s because they don’t understand that slavery and colonialism are the roots of what we go through today. The legacy of slavery is racism.'

Other voices include MPs, academics, writers and designers. Lester Holloway, editor of the Voice comments: 'a narrative of “common cause” is emerging between all oppressed communities'. (This is exactly the dynamic MJR has been seeking to draw attention to!). Read the full article here.

Black History London Tube Map

27/10/2021

For Black History Month Experience London has teamed up with the Black Cultural Archives to launch the first ever Black History Tube map, celebrating the rich and varied contribution Black people have made to London and the UK from Pre-Tudor times to the present day. Read more about some of the people featured here. Click the image to see the full map.

Climate Change... is Racist

19/10/2021

Author Jeremy Williams' book "Climate Change....is Racist" looks at the connection between climate change and race as well as what can be done to bring about climate justice. He will be discussing these issues at an online event on November 18.

Climate change is an example of structural racism – something that will affect people in different ways and can result in divides along racial lines. The effect of climate change on the Global South is rarely highlighted and it’s something that will affect us all in the future. Those in the world who have contributed the least to this crisis will undoubtedly suffer the most. More information and booking here.

Britain's #BLM Statue

24/9/2021

Joseph Sturge memorial*

This is a podcast series by Dr Nathaniel Adam Tobias C------. Episodes 1 and 2 were launched online on Wednesday 22 September at 6pm, with Episode 3 to follow in November. This is part of the Henry Moore Institute's Our Monuments Research Season.

There has been a lot of talk, to put it mildly, about Britain’s statues and slavery. But what about Britain’s statues and anti-slavery? It turns out, that, while statues of slavers are among the statues Britain shows off, statues of anti-slavery activists are, in curious contrast, some of the statues Britain hides. To take us into Black History Month in the UK, this podcast series asks what, exactly, in its anti-slavery statues, Britain is hiding.

More info and links to download the first two podcasts and transcripts here.

*image by Brian Boru 100, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Recognise or Demoralise?

22/9/2021

A special event as part of this year's Black History Month, hosted by UNISON Manchester.

An afternoon of celebration, history, inspiration, culture, recognition and engagement with performances, speakers, a play and refreshments. All are welcome and you don't have to be a union member to attend.

The event is being held at Manchester Central Library, St Peter's Square on Wednesday 6 October 2021 from 2pm - 5pm. more information and booking here.