South London Communists

Black lives matter! Solidarity on the streets of south London

On Saturday 9 July, RCG comrades and supporters were amongst the thousands of protesters who joined a rally in Brixton’s Windrush Square in south London as part of a series of Black Lives Matter protests called over the weekend. There were other organisations there, such as London Black Revs, which originally called the protest, and Movement for Justice, but the majority of people were local individuals, spurred to come out onto the streets in solidarity with the appalling murders by police in the United States of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana.

These judicial lynchings have sparked fury that, more than a century after the repeal of the notorious Jim Crow laws, more black people were killed last year by police than in the worst years of segregation and lynchings in the United States. 

In 2015, 258 black people were killed by US police – more than a quarter of all deaths at the hands of law enforcement. Within the first six months of this year, US police have shot dead 509 people, of whom 123 were black. The outpouring of anger and solidarity by black people on the streets of London this weekend reflects the continuing racism and police violence experienced here in Britain.

Our ‘Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! End police brutality!’ banner was welcomed by the crowds, as was our banner of the great Burkina Faso revolutionary Thomas Sankara reading ‘imperialism is racism’. 

Many people flocked to use the open mic we set up, first in Windrush Square and later outside Brixton police station, where the black musician Sean Rigg died in police custody in 2008. RCG comrades spoke on the sound system, making clear the links between racism and imperialism, the connection between the fight against racism in Britain and the struggle in the United States. 

From the police station the march continued through local estates, where people leant out of their windows to wave and shout their support; cars beeped their horns in solidarity and a fire engine sounded its siren, as one young black firefighter leant out to high-five the protesters. 

Many bystanders came over to join us, swelling our numbers to well over a thousand. At one junction with Coldharbour Lane, protesters sat down in the busy road, bringing traffic to a halt. For more than six hours, Brixton belonged to those fighting against racism and for justice and solidarity. This truly was people power in action.

Labour councils: governing on behalf of British capitalism

On Saturday 9 July, members of the Revolutionary Communist Group, Focus E15, Class War as well as campaigners against the hated £175m ‘Garden Bridge’ vanity project endorsed by Lambeth council gathered on the South Bank in central London. We were there to expose the Labour council leaders meeting for a conference entitled 'Governing for Britain’. 

The usual suspects - leaders of the some of the Labour councils most enthusiastic about imposing austerity measures and social cleansing - were there, attending from all over Britain. 

They include Peter John of Southwark, where nearly 8,000 council homes have been lost in the last few years; Lib Peck of Lambeth, where libraries are being closed and housing estates like Cressingham Gardens and Central Hill are fighting against demolition; Robin Wales of Newham, social cleanser extraordinaire, presiding over the borough with the worst overcrowding and housing conditions in the city, while council estates like the Carpenters in Stratford remain virtually empty.

These proud executors of government austerity policies boast that they are ‘shaping how Britain will be for generations to come’. Those of us who have seen their work no exactly what shape the Britain they envisage will take. One of cuts in essential services, poverty, evictions and homelessness for the poor and shiny new luxury accommodation for private sale or rent for the wealthy middle classes and overseas investors. 

We do not share their vision and we were there to expose their lies.  They can claim all they like that their local leadership secures investment, growth, jobs, and new homes. We know that is all lies. Saturday’s meeting was all about cementing these Labour city bosses’ relationship with private companies, especially construction companies and developers, and proving that, under them, capitalism and its necessary onslaught on the working class is in safe hands.

Help us raise funds to smash 2016!

See link below… we are on a big fund drive this year and you can help out our local work by clicking the link here:

https://www.gofundme.com/southlondonrcg

Peckham job centre: still piling on benefit sanctions

On Friday 18 March, South London RCG and other activists for social justice were back outside Peckham job centre, in Southwark, to hold it to account for its high rates of benefit sanctions.

Peckham job centre continues to sanction more claimants than any other job centre in London. In January, the (now former) Work and Pensions Minister, Ian Duncan Smith, visited Peckham job centre in person https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04SCMkkf5sM to congratulate it for its successful system of punishing and impoverishing the working class.

Since October 2012, when the new sanctions regime was introduced up to February last year (the last period for which DWP data is available), of more than 75,000 sanctions imposed in south London, 7,584 – or more than one in ten – were imposed by Peckham job centre.

With five benefit ‘advisers’ working to a target of 20 sanctions a day each – that is 100 sanctions a day, imposed regardless of whether they are ‘merited’, simply for the centre to meet its draconian ‘targets’.

100 people a day, driven to poverty, hunger and despair.

The DWP’s own figures show that one in five of claimants who have died in this period have been driven to their deaths by sanctions; particularly hard hit have been people with disabilities and those suffering mental health problems.

The words ‘Sanctions kill!’ appeared chalked up all around the building, as protesters chanted and spoke over the megaphone. The centre manager came out – backed by security goons from the notorious G4S - demanding we take down our banners and posters – no wonder she was embarrassed, the centre has plenty to hide. But we continued undaunted, drawing in huge support from passers-by with our petition demanding answers from the DWP and condemning benefit sanctions, and with many drivers on the busy road past hooting their horns in support.

PHOTOS: Peckham Open Mic Against Social Cleansing

We pitched up and opened up the mic again in Peckham today. It was a rainy and cold day, but the strength and resilience of local people keeps the spirits high. Always moving forward! Don’t stop until we win!

We were debating the Housing Bill, and also the high rents and high poverty in the local area. 

Local people made use of the open mic to sing about whats going on and using artwork to engage and tell the real story.

Minty on the mic touching down!

A notice board put up by ‘Peckham Vision’ where people had made their feelings clear - “Throw Peter Johns in the Thames” (!)

A very lively stall where people took leaflets for our four upcoming meetings in Peckham and bought copies of our paper FRFI. We also met a communist who worked with Olive Morris and was very supportive of what we were doing. Very powerful and proud to hear local stories of resistance.

The legend… Minty!! on the mic, singing about the social cleansing and abuse by politicians. 

Peckham OPEN MIC

We have been running an open mic session in Peckham for a few weeks, but going back a few years now. We have had local people talking about the cuts, imperialism, racism, deportations and the capitalist crisis. The open mic is the peoples’ mic!

We have also had a few artists (videos below) pass through but here are some bars from Jimmy who used the open mic a few weeks ago, and let us publish his lyrics.

Next open mic - this Saturday 13 February 12noon-3pm
Meet on the Peckham triangle on the corner of Rye Lane, opposite the Kentish Drovers pub!

Spoken Word

If life is just a game,
then lest we play it like a game of chess,
think at least 3 steps ahead,
leave without trace and beyond 2nd guess..
So lest we refresh our memory,
and remind ourselves of such magical spells,
re-connecting, extra sensory..
Sometimes it may seem like i’m not listening?
But please try not to take my poor eye contact personally,
i don’t mean to come across as ignorant,
abruptly interrupting conversation unintentionally!
Some of the manz dem frm the endz,
must think i’m trying to memorize the dictionary?
But i just try and tell it how it is whilst caring for all true friends and family..
I’m turning pictures into portals,
universally inspiralized beyond space and time to a place where,
even our own existence feels immortal..
Sat gazing at the pyramids,
ancient wonders of the Earth, built to last frm the bottom up,
common sense, for what its worth.

Unfortunately,
the richest elite aim to deplete,
this basic knowledge we’ve all known since birth.
But the facts of life, cannot tell a lie,
as most of what exists is also sure to die..
Certain fools who rule are in denial,
old school ties and pedophiles,
perverse by nature, truly vile,
i think its time we made them all stand trial!
Pending the imminent class revolt,
just hope and pray that peace results,
may 1 love and kindness truly blossom,
the life once loved re-born and not forgotten,
before time stands still and the Earth turns rotten. 

Jimmy Shhimmery (2016)

Check out John Randall from Peckham:

Icykal - Its That Time:

Peckham Stand Up! Speak out against social cleansing

The South London branch of the Revolutionary Communist Group held an open mic speak out in Peckham yesterday against social cleansing, high rents, the Housing Bill and landlords.

We also had lots of housing related banners, painting and speeches.
Passers by also used the mic to discuss their experiences of deportations, police violence and imperialism.

Rapper Icykal also performed on the open mic (videos below!), with Anti-Raids and Movement 4 Justice also coming down to join the action and distribute their flyers.

Southwark Labour Council clearly do not represent the people of the borough. We can see from their actions that they really represent the rich and big businesses. 

With the Heygate Estate, they promised the residents originally that they would redevelop the estate and move them back in. However after selling the estate to Lend Lease, one of the world’s largest property developers (for only £50 million pounds even though the land was worth at least £150 million) they will be building very few council homes. 

It cost £64 million pounds to remove all the residents from the estate, including going through the courts. Many of the residents were forced out of London and some as far as Stoke. Yet 4 members of Southwark Council who were involved in the bid, now work for the Lend Lease. 

The Strata tower across the road from the Heygate offers no council housing or affordable homes. This is against section 106 of the Town and Planning act, which states that new developments must have at least 35% afordable homes. 

Southwark Council are courting these developers to invest in the area at the expense of local working class residents. They are selling off the land which belongs to the people to private companies for them to make huge profits.

We demand the council be held accountable for their actions and if they do not represent the people then the people must represent themselves and take action. 

Next meeting: Thursday 18 February, 7.30pm:  Public meeting with film and discussion, Racist Britain: waging imperialist wars abroad, criminalising communities at home

VENUE: The Nines, 133 Rye Lane, Peckham SE15 3SN