As part of “Reclaiming Narratives” this Black History Month, the United Families & Friends Campaign, the coalition seeking justice for loved ones lost at the hands of the state, holds its annual rally on Imani-Day (Sat) October 26th, meeting at 12 noon on Trafalgar Square:
“Every year the bereaved families, their friends and supporters will march to Downing Street to hand in their demands for justice, accountability and restorative justice for the families who have died at the hands of the state.” (1)
In an effort to expose the horrors of state extralegal killings of our community, Afrika Speaks has featured such numerous cases including Sean Rigg, Joy Gardner, Roger Sylvester, Azelle Rodney, Kingsley Burrell-Brown, Olaseni Lewis, Rashan Charles, Edson DaCosta or Chris Kaba whose killer has just been acquitted by a jury. It’s not an issue that lends itself to comparisons with each instance unique in its horrific brutality. However, the case of former paratrooper Bro. Christopher Alder whose dying moments on the floor of Queen’s Gardens Police Station, Kingston upon Hull on April 1st 1998 were captured on CCTV (twenty-two years before George Floyd) while police officers stood around joking and making monkey noises. The case plumbed the depths of protracted cruelty, cowardice, contempt and corruption. (2)
Now, the extent of state sanctioned malfeasance has been revealed in new book by Christopher’s sister Janet, Defiance: Racial Injustice, Police Brutality, A Sister’s Fight for the Truth. The first thing the book achieves is to humanise her brother with insights into his early life, his character and reminiscences from family and friends. This is necessary as character assassination is often the opening salvo from the state, aided by a willing media, following a death in custody. The book details her fight for justice from 1998 to the present:
“Part of the purpose of this book is to provide some guidance to those families who will go through this experience – to let them know what to expect, and what they are up against. You will need to ask a lot of questions, because you are not necessarily going to be told the truth – and you will need to be prepared for all your taken-for-granted assumptions about how things work to be drastically changed. Holding these institutions to account is not an easy task.” (3)
More than the account of a lone fight for justice, Defiance exemplifies a movement, striving for justice against relentless and unrepentant state viciousness, lying and spying. More than exemplifying a movement Sis. Janet, a survivor of the care system, details its institutional callousness in destroying Afrikan families.
Defiance is a monumentally important historical document, ripping the mask off the unchanging nature of institutional racism in the UK – across the board. Yet is is also a story of courage, resillience and hope. It’s a narrative that needs to be reclaimed for the collective Black consciousness.
Sis. Janet will be speaking about the book from 7.00pm to 9.00pm Thursday, 24 October 2024, Brixton Tate Library, Brixton Oval, London, SW2 1JQ (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/janet-alder-defiance-racial-injustice-and-police-brutality-tickets-1000856638147).
(1) UFFC (23/08/24) UFFC Annual Rally 2024. https://uffcampaign.org/2024/08/23/uffc-annual-rally-2024/; Afrika Speaks with Alkebu-Lan on Galaxy Radio (15/06/20) Have we done Enough to Support Death in Police Custody Families? https://www.mixcloud.com/AfrikaSpeaks/have-we-done-enough-to-support-death-in-police-custody-families-150620/
(2) Afrika Speaks with Alkebu-Lan on Galaxy Radio (01/04/19) Christopher Alder 21 years on – Proof that the police are above the law? https://www.mixcloud.com/AfrikaSpeaks/christopher-alder-21-years-on-proof-that-the-police-are-above-the-law-010419/; Vikram Dodd (21/10/24) Met police officer who shot Chris Kaba acquitted of murder. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/oct/21/martyn-blake-met-police-officer-who-shot-chris-kaba-acquitted
(3) Janet Alder (2024) Defiance: Racial Injustice, Police Brutality, A Sister’s Fight for the Truth. Dialogue Books
So tonight we ask the question:
Who is Christopher Alder?
1) Are you aware of the Christopher Alder case?
2) Are we equipped to take on the state in death in custody cases?
3) Has UK’s institutional posture changed since 1998?
4) How can books like Defiance help us “reclaim narratives”?
Our Special Guests:
Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and an Afrikan-Centred Education Consultant. Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of over 40 years standing. He is the visionary that brought forth the Mosiah Season in 1998 and prime mover behind what bacame the interim National Afrikans People’s Parliamnent. Bro. Ldr. is the author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An Afrikan-Centred Approach To Excellence.
Sis. Janet Alder: is a British campaigner, who has fought for justice and against police brutality since her brother’s death in 1998. She has written for the New Statesman, and her fight has been reported on by the BBC, the Socialist Worker and the Guardian, among others. Defiance: Racial Injustice, Police Brutality, A Sister’s Fight for the Truth, about the death in police custody of her brother Christopher Alder is her first book.
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