Social Justice
Birmingham activists plant tree to remember the city’s contribution to global debt justice
Local activists will plant a gingko tree in Birmingham’s City Centre Gardens to mark the location of the largest human chain to have taken place in the UK in the last 30 years. 70,000 people took part in the chain during the G8 meeting in the city in May 1998, influencing G8 leaders to initiate…
Birmingham students in Gaza Ceasefire walkout as part of national protest action
Hundreds of Birmingham students walked out of classes today, demanding a ceasefire in Israel’s military bombardment of Gaza, which has killed over 10,000 people in the Palestinian territory, including around 4,000 children in under a month. Students at the University of Birmingham took part in a mass walkout before congregating for an impromptu rally on…
Thousands expected to join mass rally in London marking global UN anti-racism day
Hundreds of Birmingham residents are today joining thousands of people in London for a rally to mark international UN Anti Racism Day. As protests take place in cities around the world under the slogan ‘World Against Racism & Fascism’, the annual awareness day is being observed with a mass march through central London this afternoon.
Birmingham only UK city selected to join global women’s campaign for gender equality
Birmingham is the only British city selected to join a global women’s campaign for the promotion of international gender equality. Chosen by the Carter Center as 1 of 12 international cities to participate in its Inform Women, Transform Lives campaign, which aims to ensure women can access information.
Protestors march through Birmingham city centre in solidarity with Palestinians
Over a thousand people gathered in Birmingham this afternoon to protest in solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing Israeli military bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Passions were running high as between 1,500 and 2,000 people turned out in Victoria Square to show solidarity with Palestine before marching through the city centre, waving banners and chanting slogans.
Shock as dead geese found in filthy lake at Small Heath Park
There has been shock and growing anger from Birmingham residents after dead geese were discovered floating in a “filthy” lake inside Small Heath Park over the weekend. A visitor to the park was so disturbed by the scene, she photographed the dead geese which were floating in the once famous boating lake on Sunday afternoon, and posted…
Hundreds gather in Birmingham for ‘Women’s Strike’ against abortion legislation in Poland
A rally of around 500 women has taken place in Birmingham, campaigning in defence of abortion rights in Poland. The pro-choice protest was held in response to Poland’s constitutional tribunal declaring that abortions in instances where a foetus is diagnosed with a serious and irreversible birth defect were unconstitutional.
Birmingham street artist joins forces with social enterprise cafe to support young people
A Midlands-based social enterprise cafe has teamed up with satire artist Foka Wolf to call on Birmingham corporations to support its young people. The region’s infamous satirical visual artist has joined forces with Evolve – a cafe run by Midlands-based charity Aquarius – to launch limited edition t-shirts, with proceeds from sales going towards funding the cafe’s work-placement schemes for 16…
Coventry asylum seeker with disability launches crowdfunder to raise fees for his PhD study
The struggle of a Coventry-based, disabled and wheelchair-bound asylum seeker to raise tuition fees for his PhD in the UK is continuing with no end in sight. After applying for admission to five UK universities, asylum seeker Dickson Tarnongo was offered a place by a Midlands-based university. The university gave him an offer with a…
West Midlands MP John Spellar backs campaign to keep local Sikh woman in the UK
Smethwick MP John Spellar has taken up the case of a 75-year-old woman living in the West Midlands, who has been threatened with deportation by UK immigration services. The Member of Parliament for Warley revealed he is working with campaigners to secure Gurmit Kaur the right to stay in the country under exceptional circumstances.