The NUJ Black Members' Council event will have speakers from South Africa, where the Sharpeville massacre happened that's commemorated on this day, the US and Britain.
Thirteen young Black people were massacred in a New Cross, south London, fire widely suspected to have been started by racists, in January 1981. Then thousands staged an unprecedented Black People's Day of Action demonstration.
In April of that year, Brixton, a few miles away, went up in flames when the youth fought back against oppressive "Operation Swamp" policing that targeted Black men. They were inspired by South African youth who, in 1960, rose up in Sharpeville against the white supremacist regime running their country.
Sixty nine of the protestors were slaughtered. Each year the UN commemorates that fateful day. It has added significance after the murder last year by a white US cop of unarmed Black man George Floyd, which made international news because it was filmed by an unwitting citizen journalist, who was a teenager.
Angry Black Lives Matter protests swept the globe. Our international speakers will recount the history and discuss how we build a sustainable liberation movement as a fitting tribute to the fallen heroes.
