Olive Morris

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Olive Elaine Morris (born June 26, 1952 in Harewood , St. Catherine , Jamaica , † July 12, 1979 in Lambeth, London , England ) was an activist of the black women's movement , civil rights movement and the squatter scene in Great Britain in the 1970s.

Life

Olive Morris was born in Harewood, St Catherine, Jamaica in 1952 to Doris (nee Moseley) and Vincent Nathaniel Morris. At the age of nine, she moved to London with her family , where she lived most of her life. She left school without a degree, yet later went to Manchester University , which she left with a degree in social sciences. At the age of 17, Morris became a member of the youth division of the British Black Panther Movement (later the Black Workers Movement) under Linton Kwesi Johnson and Clovis Reid.

Clement Gomwalk Incident 1969

In 1969, she was one of the few blacks who protested the arrest of a Nigerian diplomat arrested for parking illegally. During the protest, Olive was attacked by police officers and verbally abused. Morris was arrested along with six other people involved in the protest. Morris' brother Basil Morris described the injuries they suffered as follows: "I could hardly recognize her face, they hit her so hard." Morris was fined 10 pounds and received a suspended sentence. The charges were: assaulting the police, threatening behavior and possession of dangerous weapons. While this incident did not trigger Morris's political activism, it is often cited as a key experience in her career.

Railton Road 121, Brixton

In 1973, Morris and Liz Obi occupied Railton Road 121 in Brixton. They resisted evacuation attempts several times and were arrested several times. In January 1973, Obi was arrested by while Morris was working. When Morris returned, the police tried to take her away too. Morris climbed the roof of 121 Railton Road. Pictures from that day were published in the local press. A photo showing Morris climbing onto the roof later became the cover of the Squatters' Handbook. Railton Road 121 became a hub of political activism and was home to political groups such as the Black People Against State Harassment. The house also became the location for the Sabarr Bookstore, one of the first Black Community bookstores. This was founded by a group of black men and women in Brixton, including Morris. The place subsequently became an anarchist project, the so-called 121 Center, which lasted until its evacuation in 1999.

Brixton Black Women's Group

Morris was a founding member of the Brixton Black Women's Group (BWG) in 1974. The group formed to deal with the specific problems of black women and to offer advice and support. It originally operated from the house at 65 Railton Road, which was occupied by Morris and Obi. Over the years, the BWG evolved into the Center for Black Women and relocated to Stockwell Green.

Studied in Manchester

From 1975 to 1978, Morris studied at Manchester University. Their activism did not rest in the meantime. She became part of the Manchester Black Women's Cooperative and the Black Women's Mutual Aid Group and helped set up a tutoring school together with black parents for a better education for their children. After studying in Manchester , she returned to Brixton in 1978, where she worked in the youth department of the Brixton Community Law Center and took part in the campaign to abolish the Suspected Person (Sus) laws. She and Mike McColgan wrote an article on the Anti-Nazi League. "Has the Anti-Nazi League got it right on racism?" Published in a leaflet for the ad hoc committee against police violence in Brixton in 1978 , it criticized the strategy of focusing on fighting fascism while largely ignoring the effects of institutionalized racism on the police, education system and trade unions.

Organization of Women of African and Asian Descent (OWAAD)

Morris was a founding member of the Organization of Women of African and Asian Descent (OWAAD) in London. The first OWAAD conference was held at the Abeng Center in Brixton, a center founded by, among others, Morris, Elaine Holness and other members.

death

Morris fell ill in 1978 on a trip to Spain . Back in the UK, she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma . One treatment was unsuccessful. She died on July 12, 1979 at St. Thomas Hospital in Lambeth and was buried in the Streatham Vale Cemetery. She was 27 years old.

Honors

  • In 1986 the Lambeth parish council named a building on Brixton Hill after Olive Morris.
  • In 2009 Olive Morris was voted by the public to appear on the one pound note of the Brixton £, a local currency created to help boost Brixton's economy.
  • On June 26, 2020, on her 68th birthday, Morris was honored with a Google Doodle .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Emma Allotey: "Morris, Olive Elaine". Retrieved May 19, 2020 . . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . doi: 10.1093 / ref: odnb / 100963. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  2. ↑ Remembering Olive Morris Collective: "Olive Morris" . 2009, accessed May 19, 2020
  3. ↑ Hunter, Virgillo: "Olive Elaine Morris (1952-1979)" . February 9, 2020, accessed May 19, 2020
  4. ↑ Elizabeth Ofosuah Johnson: "She was a pioneer black female activist who fought for women's rights in Britain but died at 27" . Face2face Africa . September 4, 2018, accessed May 19, 2020
  5. ^ A b Queen of the Neighborhood Collective. Revolutionary Women: Biographies and Stencils . Edition Assemblage, Münster 2011, p. 93f. ISBN 978-3-942885-05-8
  6. ↑ Lopez de la Torre: “brixton black women's group” . September 27, 2007, accessed May 19, 2020
  7. ^ Black Cultural Archives: Olive Morris Administrative / Biographical History . 2008, accessed May 19, 2020.
  8. ↑ Sheila Ruiz: "Do you remember Olive Morris?" . BBC News . October 16, 2009, accessed May 19, 2020.
  9. ↑ Olive Morris' 68th birthday. June 26, 2020, accessed on August 22, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Morris, Olive
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Morris, Olive Elain
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Activist of the black women's movement
DATE OF BIRTH June 26, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH Jamaica
DATE OF DEATH July 12, 1979
Place of death London