Racial Adjustment Action Society

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The Racial Adjustment Action Society (or Raas, which in Jamaican connotes buttocks or arse) [1] [2] was a Black Power movement formed in 1965, [3] following visits of Malcolm X in 1964 and 1965. [4] [5] Its founders were Michael de Freitas (Abdul Malik) who had emigrated to London in 1957 from Trinidad and had re-named himself Michael X, and Roy Sawh. [6] [7] [8] It has been considered to have been the forerunning Black Power organization in Britain of the time. [9] RAAS was considered to be 'stridently militant', and in 1967 Michael X was jailed for incitement to racial hatred. [10] Roy Sawh was also jailed for incitement to racial hatred. [3]

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The Black House

Early in 1969 RAAS bought premises at 95–101 Holloway Road for use as a cultural centre, shopping complex, hostel and headquarters, to be called "The Black House"; [10] on 15 January 1970 it was damaged by a fire. [11] The police suspected that the fire had been the result of arson (which Michael X asserted was untrue [11] ), and in April 1970, Michael X and seven other RAAS members were arrested after allegations by businessman Mervin Brown that he had been robbed and assaulted. [10] In autumn 1970 the Black House was closed down following a police raid, and RAAS fragmented. [12] [13] [14]

Other related groups included the Co-ordinating Committee Against Racial Discrimination (CCARD) in Birmingham, the Indian Workers Association, the Movement for Colonial Freedom, and the Indian Youth League; [13] the Conference of Afro-Asian-Caribbean Organisations (CAACO) in London, the latter founded by Claudia Jones in 1962, and the Universal Coloured People's Association, formed by Obi Egbuna in 1967. [3]

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References

  1. ↑ Brown, Mick (25 March 2021). "Michael X, the gangster who seduced liberal London and hijacked the Black Panthers". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  2. ↑ "Grassroots Black literature". The National Archives. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 "The 'rebel' history of the Grove". Institute of Race Relations. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  4. ↑ Hall, Stuart; Back, Les (July 2009). "AT HOME AND NOT AT HOME: STUART HALL IN CONVERSATION WITH LES BACK (July 2009)". Cultural Studies. 23 (4): 658–687. doi:10.1080/09502380902950963 . Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  5. ↑ "Black British history: Remembering Malcolm's visit to Smethwick". Institute of Race Relations. 20 May 2005. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  6. ↑ "Catalogue description: Malik, MA, alias Michael X, of the Racial Adjustment Action Society: complaints of... 1970-1971". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  7. ↑ "The National Archives - Roy Sawh: From Where I Stand". The National Archives blog. 14 August 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  8. ↑ "Roy Sawh - The Guinean rebel". British Brown History. 4 January 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  9. ↑ "Legislating against Hatred: Meaning and Motive in Section Six of the Race Relations Act of 1965". academic.oup.com. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 "Black Power – 2. Main groups". Special Branch Files Project. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  11. 1 2 "Catalogue description: The 'Black House', headquarters of the Racial Adjustment Awareness Society, at 95-101..." discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  12. ↑ "Black liberation organisations in Britain: the 1970s and 1980s | libcom.org". libcom.org. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  13. 1 2 "From Resistance to Rebellion: Asian and Afro-Caribbean struggles in Britain - A Sivanandan". asivanandan.com. 2 October 1981. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  14. ↑ Richard Graves. "The Black House". The Swinging Sixties. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
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