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Welcome to the latest edition of the Ligali newsletter Following last month’s nomination for last month’s African British Community Award, Henry Bonsu has been dropped from his popular Sunday night Radio show on BBC Radio London. As supporters of the show, we are saddened and outraged at the BBC’s decision, particularly in light of some of the racist comments from listeners, including certain members of the Asian community, who ironically claimed that Henry was ‘racist’ for focusing primarily on his own community during the show. Funny, we didn’t hear the same people complaining when the BBC decided to dedicate an entire radio station to the Asian community. Of the 168 hours of broadcasting across BBC Radio London, Henry’s 4 hour show takes up a little over 2% of airtime. Despite the fact that 98% of the broadcasting rarely if ever focuses on serious issues that effect the African British listeners, it would seem that this is not enough for the racists. Of course, those who do not like the topics of Henry’s show can always switch off but to call him racist for doing something that no other presenter at the BBC does and which no other licensed Radio station in the UK seeks to do is nothing short of ludicrous. We ask that people make their voices heard on this very serious issue, an issue that has far reaching implications for the voice of any African British media professional who has any sense of loyalty for their community. The BBC still falls disgracefully short on quality and quantity programming for our community that is undiluted and uncompromising. The ‘urban’ music digital station 1Xtra for the ‘urban’ audience is not a valid alternative for the second largest, continually expanding ethnic group in UK. Ligali has met Henry on a few occasions, and each time he was using his knowledge, experience and influence to highlight inequality or champion causes and artists who otherwise would never get the exposure they deserve. Far from only focusing on the ‘pop’ular or well-known issues, personalities and organisations within the African British community, Henry and the team behind his show took the time to search for those people who were underexposed or behind the scenes of community activism. This in itself is something to be recognised and applauded. In the spirit of community support, we ask you to support our campaign to reinstate Henry on his popular and much needed community show. If you click here, all you need to do is enter your name, email address and push the button. It should take less than one minute to complete. As if the loss of Henry from his superb show was not enough, Geoff Shumann has also been sacked from 'Urban' Choice FM. Geoff is commonly known for hosting the Schumann Shuffle on Saturday mornings, another forum in which the community could air their views and opinions. The loss of Geoff following Capital FM recent take over of the station raises concerns about the future of this previously highly respected community serving radio station, and indeed the overall future for African British radio stations and presenters in the UK. To voice your objections to the removal of Geoff from his well-known show, visit Choice FM's feedback page or email info@choicefm.com We would like to thank all of you who replied to our request for help with our writers project, the response was overwhelming and positive. This month we have another project in its infancy, we have set up our first online radio station and we need those of you with internet access to test the quality of its transmission for us. To access it, visit the Ligali site and click on the Ligalimedia link and click the radio listen here image.We are seeking people you who are willing and handy with a recorder and microphone to go into your local area and make short programmes on current issues affecting our community. Although the station will not be a predominantly music orientated station, we do welcome sample audio submissions from positive African British artists who want to gain a little international exposure. We must stress that we are not setting it up as a commercial enterprise so there will be no adverts or money involved. The project is in its infancy and we don’t anticipate a full launch till later this year. Any suggestions as always are appreciated. Finally, we will be holding a Ligali family meeting near the end of this month at The Market Bar, 1-2 Crutched Friars, London, EC3N 2HT on Monday 22 March 2004 at 7pm. You are welcome to drop by and find about more about us and make any suggestions and comments in an informal and friendly setting. Peace & Revolution 2004 |
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On a positive tip Ligali and leading Human Rights Barrister, Matthew Ryder, presented a superb ‘Know your Rights’ empowerment workshop to over 50 young people from Hackney, all with an insatiable desire to know their ‘stop and search’ rights. During 2003 there were 15 murders, 45 attempted murders & 124 other shootings in London, despite this the Met is making good progress tackling Gun Crime, yet whilst Ligali welcomes the formation of Operation Trafalgar to handle non-African British crime, we want to see the two merged into a single public facing 'Trident' gun crime body. Following on from our story about the overt video taping by police in Hackney during stop and search operations, Ligali now has serious concerns about current Police tactics involving the maintenance of ‘a distinctive image database’ of innocent bystanders on occasions when such people are not involved in the suspected offence. Chief Inspector Don Smith has issued a letter outlining the police rationale.
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There has been much talk and occasional speculation about the educational aspirations and achievement of our community. Consequently, we felt it necessary to source the facts and stats to help challenge the rhetoric and confront the realities. We have also provided links to publications with commendable solutions and suggestions on educational practices that parents must read and ensure their children’s schools are adhering to. Visit the Ligali education page for further information on this and other stories. |
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In Hackney Mayor Jules Pipe, declared Louis Farrakhan ‘wasn’t welcome here – in person, or by satellite’ and our nanny state used political pressure to censor his satellite broadcast at the Ocean in Hackney. Meanwhile, the creators behind the Every Generation website have launched their new initiative ‘Recognition’. Visit the Ligali me2we pages for further information on this and other stories. |
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Visit the Ligali spirit page for further information on this and other stories. |
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| Terminology | ||||||||||||
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Visit the Ligali terminology page for further information and stats and facts. |
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| RIO (Racially Insensitive Offender) | ||||||||||||
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Casper Llewellyn Smith, Editor of the monthly publication asserted that it was a hobby of OutKast’s to pose with naked models, in this case in what he described as a ‘knowing pastiche of an old Jimi Hendrix sleeve’. Presumably Llewellyn Smith felt this was sufficient justification for publishing an offensive cover that denigrated African women and perpetuated the image of African American men as pimps for the entertainment, gratification and no doubt amusement of the Observer’s Sunday readers. Visit the Ligali RIO page to read about more racially insensitive offenders
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