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| The Open Newham Editorial Board |
This week saw International women's Day, the Megan and Harry interview with Oprah Winfrey, the resignation of Piers Morgan on good morning Britain and Society of Editors boss Ian Murray resign as a consequence of seeking to deny the realities of racism in Britain, it's been a good week for antiracism in the UK.
What has been a consistent feature of contemporary racism in modern Britain since the death of George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement is the relentless and unceasing series of public attacks on black women by sections of the British media and the torrent of negative online commentary.
From the most denigrated and maliciously maligned public politicians such as Diane Abbott MP to the journalist Nadine White to the everyday racism and the workplace racism faced by women like the late Belly Mujinga, the targeting of black women continues with both pace and ferocity.
Another example of this trend exists in Newham. The ironically named newly launched website Open Newham, this week distinguished itself in an article focused on the East Ham central by-election entitled "The Odds, Runners, begin to declare.
The website claims to be a ‘A topical/satirical political website focused on the London Borough of Newham."
And in its about section, it asks of its contributors:
"The only thing we ask is that you submit something purporting to be factual, but that it is true and ideally can be verified. We love to hear the gossip and rumours, but it is for publication, we'd like to be very sure that it is true."
The article, written in a runners and riders style. with odds given on each of the rumoured candidates, attempts to use puerile humour to mask it’s obvious racism and misogyny.
I can only assume there isn't a single Black or Asian person in this undoubtedly male, pale and stale editorial team. Let's put aside its obvious McCarthyite style ‘red baiting’ suggesting a blue Labour ideological slant, the fact that out of the eight women it highlights, it denigrates as potential by-election candidates, the seven black women, and the sole white woman is praised as ‘ arguably the best qualified of the candidates’ as well as being both ‘intelligent and knowledgeable’.
In response an open letter criticising and challenging the article was published and signed by a huge list of women and men from right across the country.
The multicultural free zone website is also totally obsessed with attacking one of the few Asian women senior politicians in British politics, Mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz.
There can be no doubt that this all-white labour male tendency, skulking around, hiding behind the anonymity, prosecuting their racist and misogynistic agenda. The article is so typical of weak white men forced out of power.
I’m guessing this cabal of Caucasion consciousness are probably old friends of the former Newham Mayor Sir Robin Wales.
One can imagine they sit there, hunched over their computers, feeling utterly emasculated as they watch the rise of black women in one of London’s most multicultural boroughs, balls retreating to their stomachs, lamenting their loss of power and jealously watching black women take full control.
Take one of their targets Donna Guthrie who they laughably ( I’m guessing this is their attempt at satire) claim to have uncovered and exposed as a former member of the Socialist Worker Party. The article thanks its readers for providing this explosive information. No shit Sherlock?
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| Doona Gutherie National Women's Officer for the national organisation Black Activists Rising Against the Cuts (BARAC) |
Everyone who's anyone knows that Donna was national organiser for Unite Against Fascism and Love Music Hate Racism for years, and her former membership of the SWP is an open secret. The article goes on in its dog whistle fashion to claim that Donna is not keen on British society because of her steadfast commitment to opposing systemic racism in the UK.
That Donna has no intention of standing in this particular by-election and therefore the website's claim to be satirical yet truthful is complete and utter bollocks. Donna who is the National Women’s Officer for the national organisation Black Activists Rising Against the Cuts (BARAC) has a consistent track record of fighting racism for decades.
But the conclusion of this website seeking to summarise her commitment to demanding justice for the family of Stephen Lawrence, opposing the fascist British National Party on the streets, being a key figure in uniting all communities in opposing racism, is to be categorised as a member of "a far-left party." The designation of antiracism as being the equivalent of a subversive revolutionary communist sect is a well-worn tactic of blue Labour and the right-wing.
Should be of no surprise therefore that they share the same political perspective as Tory Minister Kemi Badendoch who declared that antiracism being taught in our schools was a criminal offence, tantamount to extremist radicalisation.
I’m calling out their puerile racism, misogyny and left baiting.
Such crude racism means this website can't be trusted, block it from your browser.
It's pathetically poor humour, loose association with the facts, its crude baiting of the left, combined with its Tory ideological perspective, should render it largely irrelevant to all unfortunate enough to stumble across its privileged white pages.
