East London – Racist to the core: the police, repression and resistance
East London Counterfire’s next public meeting is on Racist to the core: the police, repression and resistance with Zahid Rahman.
Following the conviction of a Sikh man for the murder of student Henry Nowak the police have been accused of two-tier policing. Due to the police initially not believing Henry had been stabbed. The fascist and the far right have pounded on this to claim that because of ‘woke’ politics, the police are more favourable to black and Asian people than they are to white people.
At one level this allegation seems too ludicrous to even countenance. The figures show that two-tier policing operates the other way round. Black and ethnic minority people are more likely to be stopped and searched, more likely to spend time in prison if convicted. In 2024-25, 70% of children arrested in London were from minority ethnic groups.
The police aren’t neutral in society – they act on behalf of the ruling class. This can be seen very obviously in some contexts, for example the policing of strikes and the general repression of groups considered ‘problematic’, including left wing campaigners, Palestine protesters and organisers and ethnic minorities.
Join Zahid Rahman for a discussion on the police, how the repress us and how we can fightback.