Racial Adjustment Action Society Explained

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 described as 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]

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

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]

Notes and References

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

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