Raising our Voice against racial injustice

The Voice has been at the forefront of many campaigns on issues such as immigration and nationality laws.

A protester at the Reparations March UK in Brixton (Pic: Ray Tang/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

OVER THE last four decades the push for race equality, and greater black representation has been an immense journey.

While our communities can celebrate monumental achievements, there have been many ups and downs with a long road still ahead.

As The Voice celebrates its 40th birthday we look back at some of the seminal moments in a journey that is far from over. The Voice has been, and will remain committed to highlighting the issues that matter.

Immigration and nationality  

As these 1982 and 1993 headlines remind us, countering government legislation which leads to wrongful deportations, misinformation, alienation and fear among black and minority communities is nothing new. 

The climate of fear remains as prevalent as ever among our communities whose roots are often in former Commonwealth countries, many of whom arrived in the UK as citizens at the invitation of the British government.  From the 1980s, before that, and to the present day the ‘hostile environment’ continues, from the recent Windrush scandal to the recently passed borders bill, stoking fear among Britain’s black communities.  

In fact, we are arguably seeing the most racist legislation in recent years, paradoxically pushed by the most diverse cabinet in recent times. The role of The Voice, and the need, and importance of campaigning, and informing our communities has never been greater as we head into a period where our rights are under threat as never before.

Cherry Groce Campaign

SHOT: Cherry Groce’s shooting by police sparked outrage

When it comes to police brutality, The Voice stands apart from other news outlets.  We don’t just report on deaths in coverage and miscarriages of justice which take place in our communities.  We believe in providing a space to support ongoing campaigns to secure justice however long they take.  

We covered the horrendous case of Cherry Groce, shot by police during a home raid in Brixton while looking for her son.  The shooting of Groce left her paralysed and ultimately led to riots and a face-off between predominantly white police officers and black and white youth.  Groce’s life changing injuries led to her death in 2011, and the pursuit for full accountability from the police continues. 

Galvanising support for the Groce family following her shooting, was crucial as Groce was the sole breadwinner for her family.  The officer who shot Groce was ultimately acquitted and to this day the police have failed to take liability for her shooting. 

Demand For Reparations

The conversation and calls for reparations to be paid to communities still suffering the effects of colonialism and slavery have resurfaced in recent months, gaining momentum especially, in the Caribbean.  As more and more nations continue to push for further independence , these conversations will only become amplified even further.

Backing these calls however, is not new or a novelty for The Voice. Since our inception as this headline from way back in 1995 reflects, we support the push for reparations and ‘It’s time to pay up!’.  It’s more than a trend or an electioneering slogan for us.

Almost 30 years later these calls are now being echoed by a new generation.

Don’t Procrastinate Legislate!

This was the message in this headline from the early 1990s and it remains just as relevant in 2022.  The drive for better black representation in positions of power is central to the fight for race equality as is the need to advocate for a serious race quality agenda. 

What was true then is true now.  We need constitutional reform and legislation to protect our communities against the rising tide of racism, but that means not falling into the trap of apathy and engaging with the political process as best we can, however flawed it might be. 

Lord Herman Ouseley is quoted in this piece from 94 as lobbying MPs to curb the spike in racist attacks, and to this day he is recognised for his consistent and significant contributions to pushing for race equality policies in government throughout his long career in public life.

Ending the SUS Law

The riots in the 1980s were triggered by longstanding police brutality and harassment of black communities, which began the moment black people set foot in the UK and, which has continued ever since.

In the lead up to the insurrections of the 1980s, police had been abusing the SUS law which gave the police the ability to stop and search anyone which they suspected might commit a crime.  

The SUS law was disproportionately employed against black communities, and in the lead up to the Brixton riots, anger was fuelled following the routine harassment of dozens of black men, pushing tensions over the edge.  

While the campaign to repeal SUS law led by Paul Boateng and Mavis Best was eventually successful, we are now seeing a return to the very same issue, following the passage of the Police Crime Courts and Sentencing Bill.  

Black communities are already significantly more likely to be stopped and searched , and will only see more police harassment as a result of the new legislation.  The Voice was there to support the campaign to end SUS laws in 1981 and will continue to campaign against ongoing police harassment of black communities. 

Ongoing police profiling and a series of Black deaths in custody in the 1990s demanded a change in the political landscape to empower more people from our communities to seek political leadership positions, at a local and national level.

Mental Health and policing

Over the last four decades, it’s become increasingly clear of the vulnerability of Black people suffering mental health crises’ when in contact with the state, especially in places which should be providing care, especially while in police custody.  One of the cases covered by The Voice in recent years is the case of Mouayed Bashir who died following violent restraint by police in Wales.  

Mouayed had been suffering a mental health crisis.  His family had called 999 requesting an ambulance.  Police however, turned up at the family home and brutally pinned Mouayed to the floor exacerbating an existing leg wound leading to his death.  The campaign for justice and answers continues. 

In 1986 we covered the tragic case of Michael Martin who died while supposedly in care at Broadmoor, when he should have received care in an ordinary hospital. 

It is also notable that several deaths in custody by asphyxiation involved black men who were suffering a mental health crisis, such as Sean Rigg, Roger Sylvester and Mikey Powell.

We are all too familiar with allegations of racism and brutal treatment that Black people experience at the hands of a system which places less value on black lives.  Campaigning to ensure fair treatment for our communities, especially the most vulnerable is sadly as vital today as it was in the 1980s. 

Comments Form

2 Comments

  1. | Chaka Artwell

    “In fact, we are arguably seeing the most racist legislation in recent years, paradoxically pushed by the most diverse cabinet in recent times.
    The role of The Voice, and the need, and importance of campaigning, and informing our communities has never been greater.”
    This Voice statement is truth.
    This Voice statement ought to convince Her Majesty’s Labour Supporting voters, who believe that “diversity, inclusion & Equality,” as taught by the Marxists Left, is not the remedy or the solution for skin-colour prejudice; segregation and racism as experienced by African-heritage Subjects.

    Parliament’s “diverse” members are either openly hostile to Her Majesty’s African-heritage Subject, for example, Kemi Badenoch, Kwasi Kwarteng, Priti Patel.
    Or Parliament’s “diverse” Members have been silent and useless with assisting the Caribbean-heritage Subjects who were illegally exiled to the Caribbean in 2018.
    Parliament’s “diverse” members have also been useless in addressing the peer-to-peer violence that has claimed the lives of over 250 African lives since 2015-mostly in Labour-controlled Local Councils.
    The solution.
    Her Majesty’s African-heritage Subjects need to create our own politically independent Parliamentary Lobby.

    Her Majesty’s African-heritage Subjects will continue to be attacked and abused by the Conservative Right; and the Marxist Liberal middle-class Labour and the Green Left, until we create a Parliamentary Lobby.

    Reply

  2. | DAZZA

    I live in Leicester in the East Midlands. Where people of African or Caribbean descent are treated like dirt by the County and District Councils. Denied housing, Councils are majority white and job prospects are non existent

    Why in London things have improved dramatically outside London it is a different story.

    I urge Black Londoners including the Black press to come to Leicestershire-The county not the city. And see for yourselves

    Reply

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