Muhammad speak of Malcolm...

"Turning my back on Malcolm was one of the mistakes that I regret most in my life. I wish I'd been able to tell Malcolm I was sorry, that he was right about so many things. But he was killed before I got the chance. He was a visionary ahead of us all. Malcolm was the first to discover the truth, that color doesn't make you a devil. It is the heart, soul, and mind that define a person. Malcolm was a great thinker and an even greater friend. I might never have become a Muslim if it hadn't been for Malcolm. If I could go back and do it over again, I would never have turned my back on him." 

Muhammad Ali

Cardiff Mural Attack. White Saviours Need Not Apply.

The saga of a wonderful wall mural celebrating Cardiff’s rich cultural diversity that was first vandalised last November and then painted over to make way for a McDonalds advert unfolded throughout all last week.  The work is part of series of murals commissioned for the local area and painted a local Black led youth artist’s organisation Unify Creative. 

 

Thanks to the swift intervention of Black Lives Matter Cardiff and the subsequent firestorm of online protest McD’s swiftly issued a public statement stating that the whole thing was an error, and they would now commission the original black youth artist organisation to fully restore the mural. 

 

All well and good you might and say and a victory for common sense but there are some issues that need exploring further. 

 

One that immediately comes to mind is the fact that such a mural was subjected to a racist attack at all. What happened subsequently is interesting for several reasons which I’ll go into later, but one of the key questions for me is how does a 50-foot mural on James Street, Butetown get subject to a racially motivated attack and yet is literally next door to Cardiff Bay Police Station and no one was seen nor have there been any arrests following the incident? 

 

The other interesting dynamic was the local campaign to save the mural. A public crowd funder was launched out of nowhere by local white woman Sarah Bowen to have the mural restored.  That’s where the problem started. 

 

The days when white people can act as white saviours and lead the anti-racist struggle are long gone. In a post-George Floyd world, there can be nothing about us without us. 

What Sarah should’ve done of course is properly consult with and partner with local Black community organisations and worked with them, in addition to Unify Creative to save the mural. 

Instead, she rushed headlong into the black leadership space,  

 

She then got into a public spat with one of the Unify Creative team about the cost of repairing the mural. Rallying people to her cause she started accusing the Unify Creative artist of intimidating her, not wanting to account for money, she hadn't even handed over. 

When the pressure mounted she went on to racially profile this young black artist describing him as ‘intimidating and 7ft tall.’ 

 

Anytime I hear white women making these kinds of accusations about violent black men history has taught me to pause in offering instant solidarity. The reasons will be well known to most– it’s the Southern Belle Syndrome. 

 

Today this presents itself as unaccountable white saviours who expect total deference and applause for their unsolicited efforts to lead the black community and when Black communities push back – they nail themselves to the anti-racist cross and weep they’re being bullied by aggressive black men and women. 

 

Let me be clear, for the avoidance of doubt, the role of white people in fighting racism is to fully support black leadership. This is the defining politic of the anti-racist struggle. 

 

Time after time we’re battling with white saviours who think they have a right to lead our struggle on our behalf, whether it's something as straightforward as restoring a mural or having the temerity to attack black leadership using every racist trope in the Southern Belle handbook.

 

Sarah had no real mandate to launch a public appeal, she didn’t consult with Cardiff’s black organisational leadership and when she was challenged and held to account, ...well you know the script. Having an independent charity holds the money rather than becoming the sole gatekeeper was the right move - she never made. 

 

My message to white anti-racists like Sarah and her white supporters in Cardiff is simple, stay in your lane, your role is to support black leadership not to supplant or undermine it. 

 

We’re tired of the white liberalism that has no black perspective, is accountable to no one and expects to be applauded and lauded. 

Those days are done and unless you’re invited to work with black communities and even then, are prepared to be fully accountable, consult with us and stick to your behind the scenes, designated anti-racist support role, you’re not ready. 

 

Can’t do that, then whatever your noble intentions, you’ve just become part of the problem.  

 

Well done Unify Creative and BLM Cardiff you get the five-star black salute. 

 

 

 

 

 

Devastating statement of Mohamud Hassan Family One Year On From His Death #Justice4MohamudHassan #ReleaseTheBodyCam #BlackLivesMatter #SuspendTheOfficers

                          Twitter @Justice4Mohamud Instagram @Justice4MohamudHassan

Press Release: 9^th January 2022

Mohamud Hassan Family Statement on the first anniversary of his death following detention in police custody at Cardiff Police Station on 9th of January 2021.

 

Families Call to Action: The Hassan family ask that you support the one year anniversary Twitter & Insta storm today and demand that the Attorney General Suella Bravemen and Home Secretary Priti Patel instruct the IOPC to #ReleaseTheBodyCam and fully suspend the six South Wales Police under investigation. 

Use hashtags #Justice4MohamudHassan #ReleaseTheBodyCam #BlackLivesMatter #SuspendTheOfficers please tag Braveman and Patel if possible. 

 

                                                  Zyanab Hassan Mohamud's Aunt. 

Mohamud Mohammed Hassan, 24, returned to his home, battered, bruised and blood stained on 9^th January 2021 following his arrest at his Newport Road flat the previous evening. He was arrested on suspicion of a breach of the peace and taken to Cardiff Bay police station. 

Mohamud was released without charge. He died in his own bed later that day. A post-mortem later failed to establish a cause.

 

The family have also issued a call to action calling the public to support a planned Twitter & Instagram storm for justice scheduled between 5 pm and 7 pm January 9th, 2022.

 

The Mohamud Hassan family statement reads. 

 

"One year on from the untimely and suspicious death of our beloved family member Mohamud Hassan we remain a family in shock at the treatment from we received Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) throughout the last year.

 

We call on Attorney General Suella Braverman and Home Secretary Priti Patel to intervene and demand that the IOPC release all police bodycam and CCTV footage to the Hassan family immediately. Further, we call on South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, whose silence on Mohamud's death has been deafening, to support our demand that all sic police officers be suspended from duty immediately. 

 

Initially, South Wales Police and the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) both issued press statements in the wake of Mohammud's death. They all reported that Mohammud told everyone the day he died that Cardiff police officers had beaten him up. The implicit suggestion indicated that there was no case to answer despite the expressed concerns of the friends, family, and witnesses.

 

As a family, all we've ever wanted is honesty and answers. We have had none of that. The Police and the IOPC have conspired to cover up, obscure, frustrate, delay and dispute our search for the truth.

 

As of today, six Cardiff police officers are now under investigation, and the only reason we believe that happened was due to our relentless questioning of the Police version of events.

 

We have repeatedly requested that the IOPC provide the family and our legal team access to the video showing the final hours of Mohamud's life. Despite our repeated requests for access to film recording of the last hours of Mohamud's life, the family have been consistently denied access by the IOPC. 

 

We believe that all families of those that die in suspicious circumstances in police custody should have an automatic right enshrined in law to get immediate access to police bodycam footage showing exactly what happened during their final moments on this earth.

 

Police body cam videos were introduced to help improve public trust and confidence and enhance police accountability.

 

That hasn't happened, and public trust and confidence in South Wales Police have deteriorated. 

 

Part of the reason for this is that most families who suffer a death in custody are routinely denied access to this footage because the IOPC wishes to dampen down public outrage whilst the police, we believe, use these body cam videos to construct a plausible legal defence.  

 

Had the footage of Mohamud's last moments been released to us, then we would have been spared the slow torturous agony of consistently speculating day by day on precisely what happened to him that awful night.

 

In stark contrast, we see in the US, after a death in police custody, police bodycam videos being released on demand to families in the immediate aftermath of such incidents. 

 

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the tremendous support we’ve received as a family from the public. Your continued support has been of enormous help to us in enduring the last year.

 

Please continue to support and take part in our all-day Twitter and Instagram storm for justice on January 9^th, 2022, with a power surge between 5 pm – 7pm. 

 

We’re also requesting people post pictures or videos tagging both the Attorney General and the Home secretary with the hashtags #ReleaseTheBodyCam #Justice4MohamudHassan

 

Shavanah Taj, General Secretary of Wales TUC and a supporter of the campaign, said. 

 

"The Wales TUC remains resolute in our commitment and support for Mohamud Hassan's family and the wider community, who are seeking an honest and transparent explanation of his death. Given historical allegations of institutional racism levelled at South Wales Police and other recent cases of police brutality, we need to ensure that the investigation is subjected to independent legal scrutiny, supported by independent expert witnesses.

 

We have a duty to stand up to racism and systemic structural inequality and call out racism wherever we see it. It is important that the trade union movement in Wales continue to support our members both inside and outside of the workplace, and how we respond to tackling widespread inequality must remain a priority."

 

Hilary Brown, CEO VC services the Hassan legal representative, said,   

   

"The length of time it has taken for the IOPC to conclude their investigation is totally unacceptable. The family made requests early in the investigation to disclose the police bodycam and CCTV of MH that both the IOPC and South Wales Police have access to – which has still not been disclosed to the family. This failure has significantly contributed to the ongoing trauma suffered by the family. This denial constitutes a cruel and unusual punishment for a family seeking nothing more than the truth as to what happened to their beloved Mohammud."

 

Zita Holbourne, National Chair &Co-founder of Black Activist's Rising Against Cuts (BARAC UK), said

 

"It's a national scandal that a year on the Hassan family have no idea how Mohamud died, and yet both the IOPC and South Wales Police have had unrestricted access to this footage. It's utterly unacceptable, and the Attorney General should instruct the IOPC to release the police bodycam footage immediately." 

 

Lee Jasper Campaign spokesperson said. 

 

"It's time to end the scandal that sees families suffering the pain and grief of losing a loved one whilst in police custody and simultaneously trying to search for the truth. The release of this footage should be a matter of human rights, and families should be given unrestricted access to police bodycam footage. We call on the public to support this critical demand. 

 

So do ask that you write and demand that Attorney General Suella Braverman and the Home Secretary Priti Patel, two women of colour, by the way, instruct the IOPC to release all police bodycam and CCTV footage to the Hassan family immediately. 

 

The family also repeat the call on South Wales Police Crime Commissioner Alun Michael to suspend the six officers under investigation from duty. In no other profession can you be under investigation for suspicion of causing death and remain at work.

 

We suspect the real reason that both South Wales Police and the IOPC refuse to release this footage is as evident as it is outrageous. It allows both to manage the public and media backlash and provides an opportunity for the officers involved to construct their legal defence." 

 

A preliminary pre inquest hearing was held 3^rd March 2021.  The full Inquest hearing is scheduled for 27^th May 2021 at Pontypridd Coroners Court and will accessible online.

 

End