Movement for Justice by Any Means Necessary
The Movement for Justice was set up in 1995 by people around the Kingsway College Student Union in the London Borough of Camden to tackle racism in institutional and established forms. The group confronted organised fascism as well as death in custody and wider racism to black people as well as travellers, refugees and asylum seekers. It is also the sister group to the American organization The Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration & Immigrant Rights, and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN). Movement for Justice is headed up by members of the Revolutionary Internationalist League (RIL), a Marxist-Trotskyist group.
History
The group first grew following the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the campaign that followed. The group went on to campaign for justice for the murders by racists and in police custody of many others including Rolan Adams, Michael Tachie-Menson,
The group took part in the demonstrations to close down the British National Party headquarters in the area and helped the Youth against Racism in Europe to build an anti-racist campaign through this. They also campaigned with the YRE and local community to fight drove the BNP off Brick Lane.
In 1993 a Kingsway student Shah Alam was nearly killed in a racist attack in Poplar, East London and they organised the Justice for Shah Alam Campaign which organised a march, public meetings, press conferences and court pickets to get the racists convicted and jailed.
After the death of Brian Douglas they helped get Lambeth Unison (public service workers union) and Kingsway College Student Union with the campaign.
The organisation also concentrated on mass non-co-operation with the Asylum Bill and in September 1995, published a pamphlet "Howard's Racist Immigration and Asylum Bill - What it is and how to fight it". In 1995 the group orchestrated a paint attack on Brian Mawhinney, Tory MP outside Parliament at the state opening and Queen's speech, because of his deliberate use of emotive and misrepresentative language about 'British people fearing immigrants flooding the country' which were seen by many as an incitement to racial hatred. The group continued to oppose immigration, asylum legislation after Labour took power.
After the death of Oscar Okoye the group came under attack from Lee Jasper and Brian Paddick. The groups chairman Alex Olowade was sacked from his job with Lambeth Council.
In 2001 after the police shot dead a man with a replica gun cigarette lighter in Brixton, the group organised a demonstration.[1] The demonstration was covered by the BBC.[2]
Possible infiltration by undercover police
Former Metropolitan Police Special Branch undercover officer Peter Francis, who as part of the secretive Special Demonstration Squad infiltrated the YRE and associated groups between 1993 and 1997, claimed in a 2014 statement issued through his solicitor that he had been a founding member of Movement for Justice.[3]
Recent activities
The group organised the first London student civil rights conference on 13 July 2006.
Sources
- ↑ ‘Demonstration planned after police shooting’, The Guardian, 17 July 2001 (accessed 11 April 2008).
- ↑ ‘Brixton violence 'against racist police'’, BBC News, 21 July 2001 (accessed 13 April 2008).
- ↑ ‘Statement on behalf of Peter Francis following publication of the Creedon Report’, Leigh Day website, 29 July 2014 (accessed 30 July 2014).