"David Oluwale's death in 1969 helped 'reshape Leeds'"

[GarveyLives]

In belated commemoration of Stephen Lawrence Day:

David Oluwale's death in 1969 helped 'reshape Leeds'

 

[Orang Utan]

There's been a lot of events to commentate this in Leeds. My sister had a poem published in the anthology Remembering David Oluwale and read it out in a ceremony last week in Killingbeck cemetery. He was buried in a pauper's mass grave
Songs, sadness and inspiration at Killingbeck Cemetery as Leeds remembers David Oluwale

 

[GarveyLives]

Good news:

"A new sculpture is planned in Leeds as a permanent memorial to a man who died more than 50 years ago after suffering a campaign of police harassment and brutality ..."

New sculpture planned as memorial to David Oluwale for Leeds 2023

 

[GarveyLives]

"Two police officers stood trial in 1971 accused of the manslaughter of Nigerian vagrant David Oluwale. Few questions were asked about the circumstances of his death, until a whistleblowing young police cadet implicated two senior policemen. The trial shook and shamed Leeds ..."

Remember Oluwale, BBC Radio 4, 16 October 2021

 

[weltweit]

Remember Oluwale, BBC Radio 4, 16 October 2021

Listening to it now. Grim.

 

[hitmouse]

There's been a lot of events to commentate this in Leeds. My sister had a poem published in the anthology Remembering David Oluwale and read it out in a ceremony last week in Killingbeck cemetery.

Oh, definitely want to get around to reading that one some day.

 

[GarveyLives]

From Leeds City Council:

Key milestone as stunning David Oluwale tribute bridges the gap

 

[GarveyLives]

25 April 2022: First black person to die after contact with police honoured with blue plaque

(Source: BBC)​

26 April 2022: Outrage after "cowardly" theft and removal of David Oluwale's blue plaque in Leeds overnight

 

[bluescreen]

It is depressing and disgusting but the ignorant racist fuckwits who did it clearly never heard of the Streisand effect.

 

[GarveyLives]

25 April 2022: First black person to die after contact with police honoured with blue plaque

(Source: BBC)​

26 April 2022: Outrage after "cowardly" theft and removal of David Oluwale's blue plaque in Leeds overnight

... not everyone in Leeds is happy with David Oluwale's story being remembered?

(Source: Twitter)​

"Just popped down to Leeds Bridge with @abigailmashall and we’ve fixed a temporary plaque for David Oluwale while we work to get another permanent one back in place. David was persecuted in life, and his story won’t be silenced now."

- Jonathan Pryor, Headingley & Hyde Park Councillor & Deputy Leader of Leeds City Council, 27 April 2022.

(Source: Twitter)​

"We’ve been back to replace the temporary plaque for David Oluwale that was ripped down. (and we have plenty more where that came from.)

CCTV is now overlooking the spot & in response to this removal we’re going to put the plaque on the screens on @millsqleeds and @LeedsMarkets"

- Jonathan Pryor, Headingley & Hyde Park Councillor & Deputy Leader of Leeds City Council, 28 April 2022.

 

[GarveyLives]

... not everyone in Leeds is happy with David Oluwale's story being remembered?

(Source: Twitter)​

"Just popped down to Leeds Bridge with @abigailmashall and we’ve fixed a temporary plaque for David Oluwale while we work to get another permanent one back in place. David was persecuted in life, and his story won’t be silenced now."

- Jonathan Pryor, Headingley & Hyde Park Councillor & Deputy Leader of Leeds City Council, 27 April 2022.

(Source: Twitter)​

"We’ve been back to replace the temporary plaque for David Oluwale that was ripped down. (and we have plenty more where that came from.)

CCTV is now overlooking the spot & in response to this removal we’re going to put the plaque on the screens on @millsqleeds and @LeedsMarkets"

- Jonathan Pryor, Headingley & Hyde Park Councillor & Deputy Leader of Leeds City Council, 28 April 2022.

Leeds fights back:

Leeds citizens shame thieves who stole plaque to victim of police racism

Meanwhile:

David Oluwale memorial plaque: Arrests over theft

Hundreds of images of the British Nigerian man who died in Leeds in 1969 are on display across the city in defiance of thieves​

 

[editor]

The council agreed to display an image of the plaque on its digital screens in prominent locations around the city, and the advertising company JCDecaux also volunteered its billboards. Other people and organisations began to run with the idea too, including Leeds Playhouse, which displayed the image on a 2-metre-tall billboard at the front of the theatre, and Hyde Park Picture House, a historic cinema, which will show the plaque before its films.

Other efforts include a skateboard shop making skateboard stickers and a printing company producing full-scale plaque stickers

Zobel Marshall said: “It’s been a real rollercoaster of emotions. The theft shows that things have not changed as much as they need to have changed.”

She added: “But wherever the people who took the plaque look, now they will see plaques all over Leeds.”

Well, that backfired nicely for the racist scumbags

 

[hitmouse]

This makes me think of stuff I've heard about Holocaust memorials in Germany. Without wanting to give any credit to the racist scumbag who stole the plaque, they have made the memorial much more powerful - even if they aren't particularly happy about it, I imagine WYP can probably accept Oluwale being memorialised as long as everything's seen to be safely in the past, that was then and this is now and all that. But the plaque getting torn down makes it so much more real, it makes it undeniable that the past isn't over and didn't go anywhere, the Leeds of 2022 isn't as safely distant from the Leeds of 1969 as some people might like to pretend.

 

[redsquirrel]

New David Oluwale bridge open

David Oluwale: Leeds bridge remembering race harassment victim opened

The bridge in Leeds was named after David Oluwale who died after being chased by police in 1969.

www.bbc.co.uk

Not had chance to see it in person yet. Hopefully tomorrow.

 

[Pickman's model]

It is depressing and disgusting but the ignorant racist fuckwits who did it clearly never heard of the Streisand effect.

Don't think I've ever heard of the Streisand effect

 

[GarveyLives]

White supremacist repeat offender, Gregory Palmer of St Peters Court, Bramley, has been given a 12-month community order, and ordered to pay £264 costs after admitting a second racist attack on the David Oluwale plaque:

Racist yob who vandalised David Oluwale plaque then threw into the River Aire handed community order.

(Source: BBC)

White supremacist Gregory Palmer was seen on CCTV ripping the blue plaque off Leeds Bridge and throwing it into the River Aire​

A further memorial is to be unveiled in memory of David Oluwale:

Date set for David Oluwale memorial sculpture unveiling

 

[ouirdeaux]

Don't think I've ever heard of the Streisand effect

Obviously.

 

[Pickman's model]

Obviously.

You're ten months late

 

[ouirdeaux]

You're ten months late

You've worked it out since? I'd congratulate you, but you appear to have forgotten it earlier today. Never mind, we can't all remember everything.

 

[Pickman's model]

You've worked it out since? I'd congratulate you, but you appear to have forgotten it earlier today. Never mind, we can't all remember everything.

You've forgotten the bit about cross-thread beefs for example.

 

[GarveyLives]

(Source: David Lindsay)​

David Oluwale flower sculpture unveiled in city centre