Black History Month - Olive Morris

Black History Month: 16 October 2020

 

Olive Morris was a community activist in South London during the 1970s. She led protests and demonstrations, while also helping to create the Brixton Black Women's Group in 1973, one of Britain's first official networks for black women. When she was only 16, she became involved in an incident where police tried to arrest a Nigerian diplomat, who had parked his Mercedes in Brixton to purchase some records. Olive came forward and physically tried to stop the police from attacking the diplomat, causing the police to instead arrest her and assault her. This was only an early incident of Olive's commitment to challenging oppression.

 

In the late 1960s, Olive became involved in the British Black Panther Movement, whose mission was to promote self-determination and challenge the British state. During her years studying at Manchester University, she also became involved in the community struggles in Moss Side, contributing to the formation of the Black Women's Mutual Aid and the Manchester Black Women's Co-op. At the age of 27, she died, and was buried in Streatham Vale Cemetery. However, her legacy still lives on as in 2011, the Olive Morris Memorial Award was launched to give bursaries to young black women.

 

Want to find out more about Olive Morris? Click here for more information, or here for more about the Memorial Award.