Comments on: We Are Those Lions http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2011/01/07/we_are_those_li/ All that flavorful brownness in one savory packet Sat, 30 Nov 2013 11:11:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Simon http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2011/01/07/we_are_those_li/comment-page-1/#comment-281799 Simon Fri, 04 Mar 2011 13:02:55 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=6400#comment-281799 <p>Hi -</p> <p>in case you didn't know - Brent Trades Council have organised a commemorative event for Jayaben Desai on 17 April at the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn</p> <p>http://www.kulone.com/GB/Event/1969317-Tribute-to-Jayaben-Desai-and-her-part-in-the-Grunwick-strike</p> <p>Simon Murphy /simonm65 on Flickr</p> Hi -

in case you didn’t know – Brent Trades Council have organised a commemorative event for Jayaben Desai on 17 April at the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn

http://www.kulone.com/GB/Event/1969317-Tribute-to-Jayaben-Desai-and-her-part-in-the-Grunwick-strike

Simon Murphy /simonm65 on Flickr

]]> By: Manpriya http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2011/01/07/we_are_those_li/comment-page-1/#comment-281323 Manpriya Sun, 30 Jan 2011 19:19:47 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=6400#comment-281323 <p>Maintaining and expanding labor rights is critical to all of our lives. Go Jaiben! I won't forget you and I will pledge to throw the power of my life behind labor!</p> Maintaining and expanding labor rights is critical to all of our lives. Go Jaiben! I won’t forget you and I will pledge to throw the power of my life behind labor!

]]> By: polypubs http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2011/01/07/we_are_those_li/comment-page-1/#comment-281084 polypubs Sat, 15 Jan 2011 09:37:13 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=6400#comment-281084 <p>I vividly recall the Grunwick strike. It was a great morale booster for East African Asians- especially Ugandan refugees- settled in North London. The special importance of Smt. Jayabehn Desai arises from the manner in which the Grunwick strike militated against the notion that Labor could be split on 'coloured immigration' as had previously been believed. The salient point was that 'coloured women'- that too wearing saris- were shown to have agency and commitment to the principle of no undercutting of wage rates- i.e. these 'blacks' would never accept to be 'blacklegs'. The support given by the muscular 'labor aristocracy' (miners, steel-workers etc) to the mainly female and East African Asian Grunwick workers was unprecedented and on a truly epic scale. My memory is that Shirley Temple, a Labour moderate, had originally got involved to try to get the 'secondary picketers' (i.e. workers from other Unions or parts of the country) to go home- however, she herself became radicalized (briefly!) after seeing things for herself. However, historically the tide had already turned against Jayabehn. 'Secondary picketing' would be outlawed by the incoming Thatcher Govt. Interestingly, though Thatcher initially appeared to be cashing in anti-immigrant sentiment through her perceived closeness to Enoch Powell (a rabid anti-immigration politician- who had once dreamed of being Viceroy of India and who told R.A.Butler that he was prepared to re-conquer India!), she made it a point to reach out to Asians, especially East African Asians by praising their entrepreneurial skills. The result was that the Asians tended to get co-opted and no longer saw Unionism as presenting a bulwark against the Far Right. Interestingly, Unionism was never on the cards for the sweat shop workers of East London- whose wages were lower than that of the Grunwick women. Indeed, purely from the monetary point of view, the job wasn't a bad alternative- especially for more conservative ladies or younger married women- and some women did want to keep working and have nothing to do with the strike. Still, on balance, in the widest possible sense, Jayabehn did more good than harm. That is her uniqueness.</p> I vividly recall the Grunwick strike. It was a great morale booster for East African Asians- especially Ugandan refugees- settled in North London. The special importance of Smt. Jayabehn Desai arises from the manner in which the Grunwick strike militated against the notion that Labor could be split on ‘coloured immigration’ as had previously been believed. The salient point was that ‘coloured women’- that too wearing saris- were shown to have agency and commitment to the principle of no undercutting of wage rates- i.e. these ‘blacks’ would never accept to be ‘blacklegs’. The support given by the muscular ‘labor aristocracy’ (miners, steel-workers etc) to the mainly female and East African Asian Grunwick workers was unprecedented and on a truly epic scale. My memory is that Shirley Temple, a Labour moderate, had originally got involved to try to get the ‘secondary picketers’ (i.e. workers from other Unions or parts of the country) to go home- however, she herself became radicalized (briefly!) after seeing things for herself. However, historically the tide had already turned against Jayabehn. ‘Secondary picketing’ would be outlawed by the incoming Thatcher Govt. Interestingly, though Thatcher initially appeared to be cashing in anti-immigrant sentiment through her perceived closeness to Enoch Powell (a rabid anti-immigration politician- who had once dreamed of being Viceroy of India and who told R.A.Butler that he was prepared to re-conquer India!), she made it a point to reach out to Asians, especially East African Asians by praising their entrepreneurial skills. The result was that the Asians tended to get co-opted and no longer saw Unionism as presenting a bulwark against the Far Right. Interestingly, Unionism was never on the cards for the sweat shop workers of East London- whose wages were lower than that of the Grunwick women. Indeed, purely from the monetary point of view, the job wasn’t a bad alternative- especially for more conservative ladies or younger married women- and some women did want to keep working and have nothing to do with the strike. Still, on balance, in the widest possible sense, Jayabehn did more good than harm. That is her uniqueness.

]]> By: Phillygrrl http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2011/01/07/we_are_those_li/comment-page-1/#comment-280882 Phillygrrl Tue, 11 Jan 2011 01:16:18 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=6400#comment-280882 <p>Thanks for sharing, Pavani. I'd never heard about her before. What a gal. Inspiring.</p> Thanks for sharing, Pavani. I’d never heard about her before. What a gal. Inspiring.

]]> By: Milominderbiner http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2011/01/07/we_are_those_li/comment-page-1/#comment-280874 Milominderbiner Sun, 09 Jan 2011 23:04:44 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=6400#comment-280874 <p>Great woman, immigrant trade union leaders are always interesting.</p> <p>On an unrelated note, if there was nothing seen on the page instead of "Anonymous comment", would be better going through a comments thread is tedious and annoying having to constantly see that message, it's putting me off Sepia. Can deleted comments just be deleted without that message showing up?</p> Great woman, immigrant trade union leaders are always interesting.

On an unrelated note, if there was nothing seen on the page instead of “Anonymous comment”, would be better going through a comments thread is tedious and annoying having to constantly see that message, it’s putting me off Sepia. Can deleted comments just be deleted without that message showing up?

]]> By: Hate Crimes http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2011/01/07/we_are_those_li/comment-page-1/#comment-280872 Hate Crimes Sat, 08 Jan 2011 21:58:08 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=6400#comment-280872 <p>''shattering stereotypes of South Asian women workers as silent or docile.''</p> <hr /> <p>''The level of DV (much of it tolerated) in the South Asian community sadly makes me question whether this stereotype isn't warranted, in spite of exemplars like J. Desai.''</p> <p>SEEMA, ARE YOU SAYING that South Asian women are lions on the street but lambs in the home?</p> ”shattering stereotypes of South Asian women workers as silent or docile.”

”The level of DV (much of it tolerated) in the South Asian community sadly makes me question whether this stereotype isn’t warranted, in spite of exemplars like J. Desai.”

SEEMA, ARE YOU SAYING that South Asian women are lions on the street but lambs in the home?

]]> By: Fuerza Dulce http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2011/01/07/we_are_those_li/comment-page-1/#comment-280870 Fuerza Dulce Sat, 08 Jan 2011 13:58:25 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=6400#comment-280870 <p>Pavani: Thanks for a great article!</p> Pavani: Thanks for a great article!

]]> By: Homer Sykes http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2011/01/07/we_are_those_li/comment-page-1/#comment-280869 Homer Sykes Sat, 08 Jan 2011 12:54:58 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=6400#comment-280869 <p>Hello,</p> <p>I see you are using my photographs of Grunwick and have given me a credit. Can you make contact with me please. Many thanks.</p> <p>Homer Sykes</p> Hello,

I see you are using my photographs of Grunwick and have given me a credit. Can you make contact with me please. Many thanks.

Homer Sykes

]]> By: Kalon http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2011/01/07/we_are_those_li/comment-page-1/#comment-280866 Kalon Sat, 08 Jan 2011 10:15:20 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=6400#comment-280866 <p>Thanks for this!</p> Thanks for this!

]]> By: sadaiyappan http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2011/01/07/we_are_those_li/comment-page-1/#comment-280865 sadaiyappan Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:49:23 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=6400#comment-280865 <p>This site continues to get worse.</p> This site continues to get worse.

]]>