Two MPs, Nadia Whittome and Alex Norris, plus most of the city’s African Asian and Caribbean councillors, were at the hugely successful launch of the Nottingham chapter of The Liberation Movement (TLM). The meeting room at the Indian Community Centre was packed for the event on Saturday July 24. It was the first of several launches that will take place around the country. Cllr Hassan Ahmed, the meeting’s organiser, and Deborah Hobson co-chaired. Ahmed said: “This much-needed grassroots movement is led by people of colour because they are the victims of the different forms of racism, including Islamophobia. Of course, we welcome white allies to fight side by side with us. We also recognise there are existing anti-racist organisations and we will be complementary to, not in competition with them.”
Hobson, co-chair with Ahmed of Grassroots Black Left and secretary of a Unite national branch, stressed the importance of trade unions being at the heart of TLM, and young people, who did such a great job with Black Lives Matter, would be an important part of the movement too.
