As we mourn the departure of Neil Jameson, we cherish his legacy graciously

 

Many people dream of doing good as in doing good is much satisfaction and fulfilment. Few are lucky enough to do good through out their lives and see their wishes, aspirations and dreams come true. Neil Jameson was undoubtedly one of the very few who achieved a lot, yet who remained in the shadows of doing good as he didn’t enjoy the spotlight.

The unexpected death of Neil Jameson,  a husband, a father, a grandfather, a great friend to many, and more than any thing else one of the finest community organisers in the world, is deeply shocking and heart-breaking.  Today we mourn the death of  one of the towering figures of Community Organising in the UK, who had the audacity to challenge the state and the market through civic activism using community organising. For Neil, there should be a place for civil society around the table. For Neil, civil society need to organise intentionally and build its power to sit around the table. For Neil, power is what it takes to make a difference. For Neil, civil society has to organise around self interest and win together. Yes for Neil, celebrating small wins whilst keeping organising for bigger wins was more than important.

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Heartbroken and devastated to hear the death of @NeilJamesonUK the founder of @CitizensUK

Neil was my mentor, my boss, my friend, family and father figure who has delivered a lot for many people across the UK and beyond.

Thank you Neil. You'll be in our hearts forever.
💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/CsLE1x3uHl

— 𝘽𝙚𝙠𝙚𝙡𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙖 (@BekeleWoyecha) April 25, 2023

My encounter with Neil goes back to 2007. Then I was still stuck in the immigration system and life in a limbo. London Citizens was leading a  campaign called ‘Strangers into Citizens’; and Neil was at the helm of that campaign. That campaign was more than important for me and 1000s of others. I remember talking to Neil about the campaign and how long it could take to see the fruits. Neil said, “It could take a while to win this campaign, but it is worth going for”. That brought hopes and better feelings. When I joined my first community organising training in March 2008, there was a lot for me and my cohort to process. Lots of new ideas. All based on building relationship and consequently building relational power.

Following the training, I joined the ‘Strangers into citizens’ campaign both in London and Cardiff and the campaign paid off, as most of those stuck in the system got their Indefinite Leave to Remain and became citizens afterwards. They started to contribute to society, as they also started to rebuild their lives. I still remember the words of Neil, “It could take a while, but it is worth fighting”.

After I joined Citizens UK as a fully time community organiser, there was a lot to learn from Neil and colleagues. For Neil, each and everyone of us had important duties in shaping the role of civil society. For Neil, we had something to contribute whilst working in the ‘world as it is’ and trying our best to take the ‘world to as it should be’.

As good as a seasoned and well-informed community organiser Neil was, he also took time to invest in us and many others in many sessions he led. One of my favourite sessions, especially during our residential training was ‘ the scheduling’ session, where Neil would talk about how best we should use our time whilst we are still able. He would also raise about death and the uncomfortable truth.

For Neil, action is what matters. He wants us to be in action. He would be there to support, to teach,  to evaluate and reorganise and come back. With Neils leadership and dedication, we are blessed to have a great community organising in Citizens UK. With Neil’s unwavering organising for fair and decent pay, we have the Living Wage Foundation, which has its seed in the Citizens UK. With Neil’s tireless campaign and organising to build a more welcoming United Kingdom, we have Safe Passage, Sponsor Refugees and UK Welcome Refugees.

Although Neil has departed, his legacies live with us. In every action we take, be it for a better pay, better social care, refugees welcome or stronger and organised civil society, we have Neil in our thoughts.

As we say goodbye to a gentle giant, we send our love and gratitude to Neil’s family and all those affected by this tragic news.

Neil, May you Rest In Peace and Rise in Glory!

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Neil Jameson was tireless in campaigning for social justice and his commitment and passion improved the lives of thousands of Londoners across our city.

He will be much missed, but his legacy will live on. My thoughts are with his family and friends today. https://t.co/iG12EWljNH

— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) April 25, 2023

Nonviolence is the only better option, as violence invites violence

 

“I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and equality and justice and prosperity for all people”- Rosa Parks

We have had numerous nonviolent struggles around the world that not only were successful, but also avoided cycle of violence. Hence nonviolence is the only better option, no matter what the challenge might be. It may take time to get what we want, but worth the wait than to resort to violence. All needed is patience, perseverance, clear strategy and visionary leadership.

When we resort to nonviolence, every life matters for us. Even the lives of those we do not agree with. That is the bottom line and a great benchmark for organising ourselves to wage nonviolent struggles. As we design our strategy for our nonviolent struggles, the first and most important question that comes is, ‘would our struggle put the lives of others at risk?’ If so, we need to rethink and rethink again to avoid endangering the lives of others.

When we hear stories like that of Rosa Perks, who had the courage to refuse giving up her seat to a white passenger on the bus she was travelling on 1st December 1955, we would ask what happened next? Why did she do it and what was the outcome? We know that despite her action and subsequent arrest, it took coordinated actions and nonviolent struggles to stop the segregation. It took 13 months of bus boycott and sacrifice until the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses is unconstitutional

If we take the suffragette movements, they took a great deal of organising and nonviolent struggles to succeed. Despite the resistance these movements faced, those who led the movements did not resort to violence and didn’t endanger lives of others. We did in fact see some direct actions, including actions on properties, but that didn’t put lives of others at risk.

In the 21st century, however, we have seen more and more violence; and groups with differing views resorting to force and violence to fulfill their demands. The violence we have seen around the world have been very deadly, costly and have brought cycle of violence and mistrust. We cannot afford to be in such a cycle of violence; and hence have to reorganise ourselves in a nonviolent way as the only option for achieving what we want to achieve. We need to learn from our successes, work on our shortcomings and mistakes, and revisit our strategies to make our struggles fit for purpose, inclusive and contemporary. Tribalism, ethnic politics, the attitude of ‘I and my group are better’ would not take us any where; as it is an outdated thinking. It would not also help us to achieve our objectives as collective humans with unique personalities that are interdependent. Equally if we are stuck in the victimhood mentality, it is vital to have a rethink. After all, we are only once in this world and have a lot to work together as collective humans, with a world big enough for all of us to live in unanimity. If we are still in the thinking of ‘I and my’ instead of ‘we and us’ attitude, we need to rework on our paradigm without delay.

In nonviolent movements, we need to see who can be with us and strengthen our allies’ base. We need to be clear be on why our allies should be with us as we wage our struggles in a nonviolent way. What does it mean for them and consequently for all of us? Thinking about humanity in general, where everyone of us have a part and contributions to make. In our nonviolent struggles, the winners should be all of us; nothing less. Hence as we sit down to strategize, we have to think on ‘Why’ our nonviolent struggles are important. It should be noticeably clear on where we want to go together and how we would go there.

As we can see from Marin Luther King’s six principles for nonviolent struggles, we get even more enlightened on why we should resort to this form of struggles today more than ever. Here are MLK’s 6 principles on nonviolence:-

“Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people; nonviolence seeks to win friendships and understanding; nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice or evil, not people; nonviolence holds that unearned, voluntary suffering for a just cause can educate and transform people and societies; nonviolence chooses love instead of hate; and nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice.”

Powerful message from MLK. Nonviolence is the only option to win and thrive together.