Movement For Justice By Any Means Necessary

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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.

[edit] 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 an 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 immgration, 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 another innocent civilian in Brixton, the group organised a demonstration [1]. The demonstration was covered by the BBC.[2]

[edit] Recent activities

The group organised the first London student civil rights conference on 13th July 2006.

[edit] Sources

  1. ^ 'Demonstration planned after police shooting', The Guardian, 17th July, 2001 [1] accessed 11/04/08
  2. ^ Brixton violence 'against racist police', from the BBC, Saturday, 21 July, 2001, [Http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1450042.stm]-accessed 13/04/08