Malcolm X Movement

Submitted by R Totale on June 16, 2020

Anyone know much about them? I hadn't really heard of them until a few days ago, but they seem as far as I can tell to be the main organisers of the very impressive resistance to the DFLA et al at the weekend. They've got a blog, last updated in 2017, which looks a bit "Gaddaffi-ist", and they also make a few positive references to London Black Revs, which sort of made me raise an eyebrow because I thought LBR were a bit dodgy and also hadn't existed as an actual organisation for years, but then I'm not an expert on London black politics. Anyway, anyone got any experiences, opinions, analysis, etc?

Fozzie

3 years 10 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Fozzie on June 16, 2020

Launched 2015 - here a statement from them with some background:
https://www.pambazuka.org/governance/introducing-malcolm-x-movement

One of the main spokespeople seems to be Sukant Chandan

The IWCA have predictably slated him for identity politics:
https://www.facebook.com/IndependentWorkingClassAssociation/photos/meet-sukant-chandan-purveyor-of-id-politics-and-an-enemy-of-working-class-solida/1609429082462944/

And frankly his comments on Grenfell as quoted by the IWCA seems to be proper batshit stuff.

There appears to have been a sons of malcolm blog here: http://sonsofmalcolm.blogspot.com/ which has now been removed so waybackmachine is your friend.

Nevertheless they did good things at the weekend.

R Totale

3 years 10 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by R Totale on June 16, 2020

Ah, "He appears regularly on Russia Today and Press TV" doesn't exactly fill me with confidence either. I wouldn't take a denunciation from whoever runs the IWCA's facebook page as indicating much of anything, but that Grenfell quote is pretty vile.

Fozzie

3 years 10 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Fozzie on June 16, 2020

Indeed. It's hard to know how large they are as an org and the direction of travel so I am reluctant to condemn the entire thing based on stuff on one member. But... y'know.

I mean it's not like I'm going to join or anything ;-)

They seem to be getting on well with Football Lads and Lasses Against Fascism (who are not entirely unknown to some IWCA types) so we'll see what happens I guess. The twitter account is definitely worth a follow and they have been very vocal about BLM cancelling their event on Saturday in London and leaving the city wide open for the far right.

R Totale

3 years 10 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by R Totale on June 16, 2020

Yeah, I suppose there's a temptation to want people who are doing worthwhile and useful things to be entirely virtuous, or people who one would agree with entirely, but reality is often messier than that. If I looked into it enough, I might find I had serious ideological differences with Wrexham AFC as well.

Fozzie

3 years 10 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Fozzie on June 16, 2020

I think it’s interesting to keep an eye on as they are clearly trying to position themselves as BLM “ultras” and that might lead to good or bad places depending on their politics and strategy and success.

Reddebrek

3 years 8 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Reddebrek on August 14, 2020

Just came across their twitter account, its been pushing conspiracist nonsense about the Belarus protests, and while looking up Sukant the first hit was a book he edited mourning Gaddafi. Not great signs