Films
Above: Caribbean ex-servicemen returned to Britain after serving in WW2
Saturday 21 March 1pm-4.30pm
Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road SE1 Tube: Lambeth North.
Free entry: First come,first served www.iwm.org.uk
1946 after black people had fought and died all over the world for Britain those still in England were told to go back where they had come from. On this day we will tell the untold stories of the post-war generation with films, audio clips and testimony from war veterans who were also veterans of the Civil Rights movement in Britain. As a black person in the post-war years you were:
* refused bank loans
* refused jobs
* restricted to live in bombed out areas
* blocked from buying homes
* harassed by police
* refused entry to churches
* refused service in pubs, hotels, restaurants
* forced to pay a higher mortgage than whites
* spat at on public transport
* attacked by the general public
* treated as if stupid in schools
War veterans such as Billy Strachan, Sam King and Connie Marks used their organising skills to fight such discrimination. We will focus on how such obstacles were overcome and if the lessons have been learned/remembered by the present generation
Saturday 21 March 2pm-4.30pm
BFI Southbank (near Royal Festival Hall) Belvedere Road SE1
Tube: Waterloo. Tickets ₤5 Phone 0207 928 3232 www.bfi.org.uk/southbank
King Leopold II of Belgium in the early 20th century turned the Congo into a vast rubber-harvesting labour camp in which he killed millions and amputated the hands of tens of thousands while claiming he was civilising the African. Although represented in the west as typical "african savagery" the chopping off of hands was promoted by white people as a means of terrorising Africans to collect rubber in order to make Europeans rich. This is why one of the world’s richest countries is home to such misery today. This award winning documentary sets the context for understanding the crisis in Kivu, the 5 milllion Congolese deaths in the last ten years and why Patrice Lumumba was assassinated by Western governments. The Congo was also crucial to the winning of World War 2. Followed by panel discussion
Above: Map of British Mandate of Palestine 1923 which includes parts of what is now considered Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia
Friday 13th March 7pm-9.30pm
Unit 9 Eurolink Business Centre, 49 Effra Road SW2
Tube: Brixton.Adm: £5.00 entry. www.blackstarline.info
A special presentation sampling the work of Ben Bousquet, Tony Tee, Lord Balfour, Edward Said, Golda Meir, John Pilger,Tony Benn, Chaim Weizman, Noam Chomsky, and John Henrik Clarke to examine the background to the recent attacks on Gaza. Unusual and little known facts such as the following will be ilustrated with video evidence in this interactive session..
West Indian Troops in WW1 defeated the Turks in winning Palestine for the British.
Palestinians fought in WW2 for the British.
Uganda and Guyana were considered as homeland nations for European refugees.
Ethiopians were relocated from Africa to Israel
Sudanese government sent aid to Palestinians, while in Darfur there is a lack of aid for Sudanese people.
The British blocked holocaust survivors from landing in Palestine in 1947.
Friday 6th March 7pm-9.30pm
Unit 9 Eurolink Business Centre, 49 Effra Road SW2
Tube: Brixton Adm: £5.00 entry www.blackstarline.info
Visual biographical details of black women from all over the world who have resisted slavery, colonialism and racism . Women do not get the historical credit they deserve. This event will give the audience video and documentary evidence of the who, what and why of 40 female fighters who used guns, pens or placards. Bring notepad and pen and be on time, this is a small venue, latecomers will end up standing . Women include: Queen Nzinga, May Jemison, Dora Akunyili, Dame Jocelyn Barrow, Una Marson, Edna Ismail, Lieutentant Sanite Belair, Althea Gibson, Mavis Best, Fawzia Hashim, Dr Beryl Gilroy, Leyla Hussein,Edna Ismail, Benadita Da Silva, Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, Dr Patrica Bath, Professor Elizabeth Anionwu and many more. Proceeds toward the Girl Child Concerns School in Kaduna state Nigeria where £200 sends a poor girl to school for one year. For video sample click here http://www.blackhistorywalks.co.uk/3.html then click African Proverb .