Awate: Political organising and direct democracy can be done by anyone and can take any form



I first saw Jeremy Corbyn’s face in a picture frame that sat in my living room. My parents were in the photo with him. I’m from Maiden Lane Estate in Camden. It’s not in Corbyn’s Islington North constituency, but around here a lot of people can tell you stories of how Jeremy helped them – as he helped with my various problems with police harassment and malicious prosecution.

The reason why so many of us organised and mobilised others – through social media, knocking on doors or organising events – was because we knew the strength of his character; that he wouldn’t renege on promises, unlike Nick Clegg, whose party went from losing four-fifths of their MPs to him losing his own seat. Corbyn answers questions with thoughtfulness and without contempt for those who are suffering and want answers.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Awate - Cure (official video)

This election also showed us that young people are against war – that Britain’s racist and murderous foreign policy of the last 500 years should be discontinued and the wounds that the rest of the world have suffered need to heal. For immigrants to this country and their children, Corbyn and John McDonnell’s history on these points is an important change of tone. Also, wanting your own citizens to live without poverty and rewarding them by taking crumbs from those at a bottomless banquet is the most patriotic thing you can do. Why is socialism seen as so dangerous by the older generation? Caring shouldn’t be so controversial.

By choice, I’ve never voted before. But Jeremy Corbyn has changed my mind | Akala Read more

The most amazing thing was seeing the grassroots campaigns such as #Grime4Corbyn and Rize Up UK have an effect after considerable effort from incredible, normal people. The #Grime4Corbyn events were set up by a group of young people in London and Brighton. The London event was organised primarily by women who work in events, media and charities, hopefully setting an example that political organising and direct democracy can be done by anyone and can take any form.

Now that young people have flexed their political muscles for the first time, the media need to take us seriously as citizens who have well-thought out ideas and agency. We need our own television and radio shows, columns and respect. Either that or the politicians will carry on being surprised whenever we leave our own platforms and show the strength of our voices, as the country saw last week.

Maxsta: Corbyn closed the gap between Westminster and the East End

Growing up in East Ham in east London, voting always seemed pointless. Up until this election, I had never voted before, or even thought it necessary. Like me, a lot of people have grown up without belief in the system and feeling that no matter what we did, even if we voted, the issues that affected us would never be represented in parliament. Our lives were completely disconnected from local councillors or MPs – music was how we told our stories. As grime got more popular, it left the basements and council-flat roofs, and eventually went mainstream. But rather than losing its critical voice to get wider appeal, grime still speaks truth to the powerful, giving a rare platform for young working-class kids, especially from black communities, to challenge the forces that shape our lives.

'Stop saying he’s unelectable!' Grime4Corbyn movement moshes for Jeremy Read more

When one of the organisers of #Grime4Corbyn approached me through a mutual friend, I knew immediately that I wanted to get involved with the campaign. Given how dire things have been looking, it was a case of all hands on deck as a community. A day of discussion, music and energy brought together hundreds of young people in two events in north London and Brighton. Grime veterans I grew up listening to, such as Sharky Major, shared a platform with teenage grime collectives such as New Grime Order. The politically/lyrically challenging Brotherhood and MIC Righteous showcased the diversity of styles and views that enable the culture to speak to so many people across Britain.

The agenda brought a crowd who were not necessarily familiar with all aspects of grime, but by providing a platform to talk to each other I’m sure many people’s perception of grime culture was changed. Building understanding from the ground up, from the people who walk the streets, take the trains and experience everyday life as Britons, is another step closer to a better place for all of us.

'Stay involved': grime stars hail young voters turning out for Labour Read more

I grew up only knowing New Labour: war, tuition fees and asbos, followed by more of the same from the Tories. Our elders would use the word “Thatcher” loaded like she was the bogeyman, a myth. But we didn’t ever appreciate how bad she was, because until this election, Thatcherism is all we’ve known; our “normal”. The idea that government spending on social welfare can be how society looks after its citizens, rather than shaming them, has never featured in mainstream politics in my lifetime. We’ve been at war with the Middle East since I was 11, so a leader who doesn’t champion bombing people into “freedom” is weirdly refreshing. Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign pushed back against mainstream beliefs that have been presented as the truth all my life, closing the gap between Westminster and the East End.

Some people might think that grime’s influence on the election shows that it is expanding as genre. But I think it is our democracy that is developing, through politicians such as Corbyn having meaningful conversations with people who have never felt like they had a voice within politics before. We know that a huge number of 18- to 25-year-olds chose this election to vote for the first time, and they won’t wait until the next election to be heard. Thursday night showed us that our political future is wide open – and I, along with thousands of others like me, will grab this opportunity with both hands. The question is, is Westminster ready?

Krucial: Young people mustn’t think the election is a one-off viral trend

Jme is a colossal figure in popular culture. Him meeting Jeremy gave Labour legitimacy in the eyes of young people. Once that link was made, Jeremy built the connection by personally, publicly and genuinely acknowledging grime music and the supporters of grime. Now we had young people wanting to read manifestos to see what the general election was really about. And it’s easy to know what you want, once you’ve seen it: funding for education and hospitals, and lower taxes for people not on a high salary. As young people may be thinking about their future and if they want to go to university, straight away they are going to be hooked because it benefits us directly, not having to pay tuition fees. Young people should be able to make a difference to the future for themselves.

A hung parliament is as good as a win to me, because it’s a start … it is a change! The increase in seats for Labour all over the country was very positive and special, knowing our youth played a big role. A huge bridge has been built between Labour and our young people through grime music and we can now develop the relationship further by working towards Labour being voted in next time.

It is crucial we continue to educate our young voters, so they don’t think the general election was a new type of one-off, viral trend like the Ice Bucket or Mannequin Challenge. Jeremy Corbyn, please keep supporting and believing in the next generation and we’ll keep believing in and supporting you.

Slix: This is bigger than politics – this is about social change

I started paying attention to the general election mainly because of the #Grime4Corbyn campaign. As soon as I heard the word “grime” I became interested. Grime culture is extremely relevant to the youth work I do, so it was instantly culturally relevant to me.

As a teen, I was a member of Ruff Sqwad, a collective many consider as pioneers of grime. For me, grime is a scene for the younger generation. A lot of musicians tend to focus solely on their own careers, but not enough is done to empower our communities, especially as many young people from those communities where grime originates face many additional barriers to succeeding in life.

How grime originators Ruff Sqwad finally got their due Read more

After watching JME interview Jeremy Corbyn, I started doing my research and realised that this is bigger than politics – this is about social change. Politicians usually come across as scripted but Jeremy’s approach seems different.

Four years ago, I was on the phone to my cousin when we were interrupted by a man knocking on his front door. “Hi, my name is Jeremy,” he said, “I am your local MP.” My cousin, who lives in Finsbury Park, and I both know people who Corbyn has personally intervened to help, writing supporting letters to help with housing, immigration and other legal matters. Recently, I was talking to my cousin about the general election, after the #Grime4Corbyn hype, and he told me that he would definitely be voting Labour because he for once believed in a candidate and he’d personally met him. We laughed when we realised it was the same man; he has been putting in a lot of work at a community level for many, many years.

There are many tangible connections between #Grime4Corbyn and my work with young people in east London: empowerment, diversification and social change. The work I do is not just about getting young people engaged for a few hours in a youth club, our aim is to empower young people via the arts so they’re able to gain equitable access to mainstream resources. We want our youth to believe they can attain influential roles in industries that currently limit these opportunities for people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The#Grime4Corbyn campaign has successfully engaged and empowered young people in an unprecedented way. The young people I directly work with have gone from feeling like there is no point in engaging in politics because nothing will ever change, to them now feeling like they can actually make a change. I know now that so many young people feel for the first time in their lives like their vote actually counted and made a difference.