SARAH REED JUSTICE CAMPAIGN UPDATE.
On February 23rd the Blaksox led Sarah
Reed Justice Campaign (SRJC) with the Reed family’s support, organised a
peaceful protest outside of Holloway prison in London.
It was to show solidarity with prisoners
who know what happened before Sarah Reed ‘s tragic death on January 11thwhilst
she was being held there on remand.
Blaksox had been informed that
prisoners’ rights were not being respected, protected or promoted to give
evidence to the Prison and Probation Ombudsman set up to investigate all deaths
in custody.
“Thanks to everybody for showing solidarity and support by
coming here tonight. Women in this prison are being harassed. We say, enough is
enough. We say to the women inside this prison, we are with you, we are with
your families and loved ones. Disclose
what is going on inside this prison and what happened to my daughter. We are with you.”
Other protesters who made their
contribution included young women from Sisters Uncut, Amrit Wilson, the long
standing Gender and Race writer and activist and Lee Jasper, whose blog first broke Sarah Reed’s story to
the world.
Temi Mwale one of the leading Blak
sox members said
“We know we are in it for the long run. We know that there are too many authorities
to hold to account. We are going to need
mass mobilisation of the public to say No it is not OK for Black women to be
treated in this way. That Black lives do
matter and that the lives of women in custody do matter. “
Patricia Lamour Chair of the SRJC and
co-founder of GEEDA an international women’s network, wrote asking for a paradigm shift in how Black women are
treated.
“We believe much of what has happened to Sarah in her short
life and untimely death is down to the fact that she was a woman and she was
Black. Mental institutions need to safeguard all women from sexual violence and
no mentally ill woman should be put in prison”
At the end of the protest, Blaksox
delivered a series of letters to Julia Killick, the Governor of Holloway
Prison, Nigel Newcomen, HM Inspectorate of Prisons and Shami Chakrabarti, the
Director of Liberty.
If you know of any prisoners in
Holloway who want to give evidence or want to support the SRJC please contact
NB. #BlackLivesMatter Bloc On the National Demo; Refugees Welcome Here - Stand Up To Racism Organised
by Blaksox Black Activists Rising Against Cuts (BARAC) UK, and the NUS Black
Students Campaign .
Deaths at the hands of the State
including the catalogue of failures by public authorities experienced by #sarahreed
#sayhername
, institutional racism, race discrimination in education and employment, the
disproportionate impact of austerity and much more are all contributing to deepening
racism faced by Black Workers, Students, Service Users and Communities.
Join the Black Lives Matter Bloc On the
demo, wear red clothing, bring home made placards, whistles, drums.
Meet Sat 19th March 2016 11.30am at the
foot of the stairs of All Souls Church, 2 All Souls Place, London, W1B 3DA
which is right next to the main assembly point for a march to Trafalgar Square
where there is a rally. Speakers at the demo will include Marilyn Reed, mother
of Sarah Reed,
