Current Affairs

The summer of discontent in the English Midlands - still smouldering in Bradford in July - is a major challenge for New Labour's second-term government. Now is the time for remedies to discrimination against Britain's ethnic minorities, in urban renewal as well as health, education and the workplace.

And, while civil rights issues gain prominence in Britain, we show how the island homelands of many Black Britons are increasingly menaced by man-made environmental factors. The coral reefs that harbour and sustain family relatives and island economies are under threat. Tourism, industry and development are among the culprits. Drastic solutions are needed to protect both the habitat and heritage of Caribbean peoples.

Lastly, on the occasion of the American Independence Day, we offer a salute to the remarkable antislavery orator, statesman and African American leader Frederick Douglass. In this excerpt from his memorable speech "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" in 1852 he remarks on the unfinished promise of liberty and justice for all - sentiments that resonate today.

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• Riot Cities: Chaos or Community?
• Rape of the sea forest
• Frederick Douglass on the Fourth of July 1852