Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Honouring the Windrush generation
As well as paying tribute to those who arrived in Britain from the Caribbean, African and Asian regions to work and to build a better future for themselves, we must recall the ongoing injustices they and their families still face, says ZITA HOLBOURNE
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
I AM the daughter of the Windrush generation. My mother arrived in Britain from the Caribbean in the early 1960s.
Like many others of the Windrush generation arriving in the ’50s and ’60s from the Caribbean, African and Asian regions, they came to work, to build a better future for themselves and loved ones.
Instead of being greeted by welcomes and opportunities, they were greeted by signs of “No blacks, No Irish, No dogs,” by colour bars in housing and in the labour market and more — by fascist attacks and police brutality.
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For generations black women have shaped Britain’s activism, arts and public life despite exclusion and discrimination. ZITA HOLBOURNE pays tribute to these political trailblazers and cultural icons, whose courage continues to inspire
by Henry Fowler, General Strike 100 project co-ordinator
Women are a vital part of the labour movement and have much to contribute, but there’s far more to be done to make sure that our sisters’ voices are truly heard, says PHILIPA HARVEY
This ‘Big Meet’ our focus is building the next ‘Megapicket,’ say HENRY FOWLER and GAWAIN LITTLE of the General Federation of Trade Unions