Leading Legends

Who should we feature in our 'Leading Legends' series where we highlight the social and political contributions of Britain's black leaders, past and present.

Our last issue featured these two great activists whose legacy is still important today.

Leading legend Darkus Howe:

Daurkus Howe became notorious as a leader of

the Mangrove nine and organiser of the “Black People’s Day of Action.” He was a writer, journalist and political activist who dedicated his career to raising the voices of Black people in Britain.

Leading legend Olive Elaine Morris

Born in 1952 Olive was a British community leader and activist, she was a black nationalist, best known for leading the squatters' rights campaigns of the 1970s in the United Kingdom.

Prior to her student years in Manchester, Olive squatted at 121 Railton Road, Brixton with her friend Liz Obi in 1973. This squat became a hub of political activism and hosted community groups such as Black People against State Harassment. The sit remained a social centre and a centre for the squatting movement until its closure in 1999.

121 Railton Road was also the site of the Sabarr Bookshop, one of the first black community bookshops. It was set up by Olive Morris and a group of black men and women in Brixton.

She was a founding member of the Organisation of Women of African and Asian Descent (OWAAD) in London. OWAAD held its first conference at the Abeng centre on Gresham Road in Brixton, a centre that Morris had helped to establish along with Elaine Holness and other members of the community.

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