2 Black women killed in a fortnight, sickle cell nurse honoured, far-right exposed & more stories from Black, Asian & Arab communities you shouldn't have missed this week - curated by Melissa Sigodo
OPINION ON ELON MUSK: "Seeing people deny what their eyes see is painful... cowards in the face of power", writes Nels Abbey for The Source.
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Opinion: The Read - Nels Abbey
Nels Abbey is an author, broadcaster and the founder of Uppity: the Intellectual Playground. He is a regular columnist for the Guardian and the author of Think Like a White Man. His latest book is The Hip-Hop MBA: Lessons in Cut-Throat Capitalism From The Moguls of Rap. You can follow Nels on X formerly Twitter @nelsabbey
“Musk has done us an inadvertent favour. He has helped us reveal who will stand up to fascism and who will be fascism's comfort providers. A revelation we cannot afford to forget”, writes Nels Abbey.
Nels Abbey - Saturday January 25, 2025 - The Source
It was the Nazi salute from a US presidential seal, nonetheless. Or was it?
Well, if he hadn’t said that “civil war is inevitable in the UK” at the height of racist riots during the summer, it could be believed that this was just a tragic mishap - that happened twice.
If he didn’t spend much of his time tweeting and retweeting ardent racists, it could be believed that this was simply a regrettable wave - that happened twice.
If he wasn’t openly supporting the AfD, a suspected far-right extremist organisation in Germany, it could be believed that this was an innocent heartfelt gesture to the crowd that went tragically wrong - twice.
If neo-Nazi accounts weren’t allowed to flourish on X, it could be believed that was just the world’s most unfortunate arm thrust - that happened twice.
At this stage, anyone believing that extending the right arm from the shoulder into the air with a straightened hand and palm down could be anything but a Nazi salute - is pretty much, as the saying goes, floating face down in a river in Africa, specifically Egypt. And on that front, there is hardly a short supply of people.
What it reveals is that when fascism flashes us from the safe boundary of inconveniently appealing garb, it is hard to resist for many. Furthermore, it’s even harder to identify when your job, your access or even your standing in society, depends on not recognising it for what it is.
“It is crucial to humanity that we stand tall and together at this time.”
Harking back to the tragic Neville Chamberlain in World War II, appeasement has a bad reputation in the United Kingdom. A reputation that has often provided a convenient cover for waging wars of aggression against largely defenceless populations, almost always populated by Black and Brown people. But worse than appeasement is denialism. Seeing people deny what their eyes see is painful. They will be the collaborators and deserters and live as they do right now, as cowards in the face of power. In this regard, Musk has done us an inadvertent favour. He has helped us reveal who will stand up to fascism and who will be fascism's comfort providers. A revelation we cannot afford to forget.
The often derided, persecuted and principled anti-racists and anti-fascists of today are the true heirs to the defeat of Nazism. For whenever Nazism rears its head today, we are the ones who stand up to it. We learned the lessons of history and lived by them. We remind people of these lessons, even when it is not convenient. Hence, patriotism, if it truly exists as a genuine force as opposed to a performance of jingoism, is a concept that today’s anti-racists and anti-fascists must redefine and reclaim as our own. For we are the genuine flagbearers of the often claimed yet rarely demonstrated 'Western' values. It is crucial to humanity that we stand tall and together at this time.
*This opinion piece was made possible through paid subscribers who support The Source. If you would also like to read more opinion pieces like this, please consider upgrading your subscription starting at £5 a month. If you are interested in collaborations, sponsorship etc, please send me a message.
Now, the important stories that went under the radar.
Violence Against Women and Girls
A 43-year-old woman found dead at a flat in Woolwich, London, last Friday has been named as Marianne Kilonzi. A murder investigation has been launched and police say they believe the suspect was known to her. No arrests have been made. Full story.
A man has been charged with the murder of 31-year-old Jamelatu Tsiwah in Croydon who was found dead at an address on Monday. Police say Larry Nimoh, 21, who has been charged was known to her. Full story.
News
Members of the far-right organisation One Patriotic Alternative were secretly filmed by the BBC saying that migrants should be shot while another said they believed “a race war was inevitable” and that Nazi strategies should be used to “gain power”. Full story.
Health
The NHS's first sickle cell specialist nurse counsellor, Professor Dame Elizabeth Anionwu, has been honoured with a plaque unveiled at the newly opened Brixton Blood Donor Centre. Sickle cell disease disproportionately affects Black people. Full story.
A girl who denied herself food was told by a GP to ‘just eat a muffin’ before being diagnosed with anorexia. Eating disorders are ‘often misunderstood and seen as a lifestyle choice affecting only white teenage girls’, a report has found. Full story.
A maternal health campaigner who says that pregnancy delayed her cervical cancer screening then narrowly escaped abnormal cells developing into the potentially fatal disease. Tinuke Awe, 33, added that it was important for women of colour to take control of their health. Full story.
The first-ever UK operation to remove head cancer through a corner of an eye socket was performed on a woman diagnosed with a tumour in 2023. Ruvimbo Kaviya agreed to be the first patient for the procedure which left her with minimal side effects. Full story.
A three-year-old Palestinian girl had a bullet lodged in her neck after it passed through her family’s makeshift tent and ricocheted through her mother's body. They were both saved by a nurse who said, ‘it was a miracle they survived.’ Full story.
Policing
The Metropolitan Police has been removed from special measures after more than two years as “good progress” has been made, the watchdog said. It had put under monitoring after Sarah Everard was abducted and murdered by serving Metropolitan officer Wayne Couzens. Full story.
Metropolitan Police officers who denied hearing a restrained man say he could not breathe before he died in custody have been cleared of gross misconduct. The family of Kevin Clarke, 35, who had schizophrenia say they were “extremely angry” and "extremely disappointed" by the outcome. Full story.
Immigration
Foreign nationals have faced challenges when boarding flights back to the UK after their digital visas stopped working. Ministers had told people to use expired IDs after ‘IT issues’ last year but some travellers say their documents had been rejected by airlines. Full story.
Legal
An aspiring law student falsely identified in a rap music video has had his conviction for conspiracy to commit grevious bodily harm quashed and been released from prison after three years. Full story.
Evidence is set to be given by 32 people in support of the Guardian’s defence against a libel case brought by Kidulthood and Dr Who actor Noel Clarke. The 49-year-old is suing after the Guardian published articles reporting on allegations from 20 women which included complaints of sexually inappropriate behaviour. Full story.
Missing people
A vulnerable pensioner Anthony known as Reggie has been missing for over two months from Ladbroke Grove in London. The 70-year-old has dementia and has not been in contact with family or friends which is extremely out of character, police say. Full story.
Communities
The new national body, the British Muslim Network is set to challenge the Muslim Council of Britain’s leadership credentials in speaking for British Muslims. Full story.
Over £10,000 has been raised for an “extraordinary” Tesco checkout worker of 30 years, Hasina Karolia who was just 52 when she died of cancer. A mosque is set to be built in Indonesia in her memory. Full story.
Staff working for a youth team preventing gang grooming and crime were left ‘in tears’ after being told the service would shut down. Croydon East MP Natasha Irons said the council was “relying” on people not realising “what’s being cut." Full story.
World News
At least half a dozen children were kept in secret jails with their mothers and used as leverage during interrogations, including starving a baby of their mother's milk "as a form of psychological torture”, a commission investigating disappearances under Bangladesh’s deposed premier Sheikh Hasina has revealed. Full story.
Racist Ku Klux Klan flyers telling immigrants to “leave now” were dispensed across the state of Kentucky on President Trump’s inauguration day. The leaflets also included a phone number and calls to join the group. Full story.
Zimbabwe's president Emmerson Mnangagwa has made a bid to extend his term in office by two years until 2030 before his second and final term ends in 2028, a party spokesman said on Tuesday. Zimbabwe's constitution limits the presidency to two five-year terms. Full story.