Thread by @IRR_News

🚨#IRR50 year wrap up🎁

And what a year it's been! We've produced articles on policing in schools, highlighted the treatment of asylum seekers, released reports on citizenship-stripping and police racism, PLUS all our #IRR50 activities

Here's a rundown of our major highlights🧵

In 2022, we celebrated 50 years since the IRR underwent its radical transformation: from an establishment body funded by large multinational corporations into an explicitly anti-racist thinktank oriented towards those making struggle against state racism. irr.org.uk/article/irr50/

We are living in difficult times. At the start of the year, we published a 5-part series by IRR Vice-Chair @FrancesWebber5 that mapped out the multiple threats and attacks on human rights.

Read through #ImpunityEntrenched via this thread of threads👇

https://twitter.com/IRR_News/status/1484877245508423691?s=20&t=NPtIJcAUPNxS3UVSrmhZWg

One of those attacks came in the shape of the Nationality and Borders bill, which returned to parliament in early January.

Whilst now passed into law, a wave of opposition grew against the bill and the citizenship-stripping powers contained in clause 9

https://twitter.com/IRR_News/status/1478650709147062274?s=20&t=4OYVFCbKAiG2EtdGeZsq7g

January's edition of @Race_Class, 'Beyond racial capitalism, towards eco-socialist futures' included a transcript from the launch of a new biography of Cedric Robinson, plus articles by @Michael_Kwet, Jerry Harris, John Newsinger and @ingridharvold irr.org.uk/article/beyond…

On the first day of February, we remembered the historic (and often overlooked) picket at Heathrow airport against the Home Office's shocking practice of virginity testing

https://twitter.com/IRR_News/status/1488505521128808455?s=20&t=Zor8U4FM1uzRwQFGc3N3mA

You can also watch this short clip of Southall community leaders Lakhbir Bains and Vishnu Sharma discussing the horrific testing carried out by immigration officials at Heathrow airport. The clip is taken from Colin Prescod's film, A Town Under Siege

In March, we launched our Register of Racism and Resistance - a searchable database that documents key developments in racism and community action since 2014, taken from our fortnightly calendar.

Search the RRR and watch the launch event here⬇️ irr.org.uk/article/the-re…

It was in March that revelations emerged about #ChildQ - a 15-year-old girl who was stripped searched by police in her school.

The IRR published this resource, including a solidarity statement from Hackney's former Director of Education, Gus John irr.org.uk/article/child-…

18 April 2022 was the 50th anniversary of our radical transformation! 🥳

https://twitter.com/IRR_News/status/1515987726205607938?s=20&t=pB5DOhFT-GqPQfsshqJmPg

You can learn more about the transformation and the Extraordinary General Meeting that led to it in this 1982 BBC film for Here and Now.

We also published a special edition of @Race_Class: #IRR50 and the revolutionary act' which includes an open access editorial by R&C Editor Jenny Bourne - a key actor in the EGM of '72
irr.org.uk/article/irr50-…

May saw another anniversary - 10 years since Theresa May coined the phrase 'Hostile Environment'

https://twitter.com/IRR_News/status/1529363638082908160?s=20&t=Ne-atmIjloyhZCkzzg8cUg

In June, we were delighted to launch a special Black history project on the life of Pearl Prescod - the first Black woman to perform with the @NationalTheatre company. The below thread and pamphlet tells Pearl's story

https://twitter.com/IRR_News/status/1539178584476160000?s=20&t=FFG33Y8RDZvPkvhN34thYg

Thanks to Guardian Theatre critic @Arifa_Akbar for her lovely piece on Pearl theguardian.com/stage/2022/jun…

Also in June, we collaborated with academics, activists and organisations, with this blog from @Anandimanc on the important @Nursesnarrate project irr.org.uk/article/nursin…

That same month we published a piece by @TimNaorHilton of @RefugeeAction on the Rwanda deal - a timely read after the recent High Court ruling.

Tim reminds us 'We have to recognise how rooted the asylum system is in colonialism and the ashes of Empire.'
irr.org.uk/article/the-rw…

July brought another crucial publication, with IRR Director Liz Fekete's double-length @Race_Class article 'Racism, radicalisation and Europe’s Thin Blue Line’, exploring the worrying trend in police racism and extremism across the UK and Europe

The research was covered by The Observer's @TownsendMark and you can still access the article for free via @SAGE_Publishing theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/j…

In August we took a break, which we needed because we had a manic autumn! In September, following work around clause 9 of the Nationality and Borders bill, we published an important briefing paper: 'Citizenship: from right to privilege' by @FrancesWebber5 irr.org.uk/article/citize…

The report was widely covered across numerous outlets and broadcasters, including this article by The Guardian's @Haroon_Siddique theguardian.com/world/2022/sep…

We were also proud to be event partners at this year's @TWT_NOW in Liverpool! We had a great time on our stall and you can watch our panel discussion 'IRR50: New Circuits of anti-racism' on the TWT youtube channel:

Whilst in Liverpool we launched our #IRR50 fundraiser and so far we've raised over £5000!

Find out how you can Become a Friend of the IRR👇

This #IRR50 year has not just been a retrospective. Also in September, @RedPeppermag published this piece by @LiamShrivastava reflecting on IRR50, the fundraiser and what it means for the future UK anti-racism redpepper.org.uk/new-circuits-o…

October was the big one: the #IRR50 conference!!!

On Saturday 15 October, we welcomed a fantastic range of speakers from the UK, the US and Palestine to join us for New Circuits of Anti-racism: An IRR50 conference on racism, imperialism and new lines of resistance

You can watch the live stream of the conference back here and we'll be releasing films of each session plus a podcast series with @survivesocpod in the new year!

We also launched two major projects at the conference.

The first was a new Sivanandan website: an online archive of Siva's thoughts, writings and speeches, including rare unpublished material asivanandan.com

We were also delighted to release a new film🎬'Struggling on, staying strong: reflections on #IRR50' that looked at the Institute's history and what role it can play into the future. Click the🔗 on the clip to watch the full film on YouTube

See some of the highlights from the #IRR50 conference in this moment
twitter.com/i/events/15826…

Later that month we published a piece by @DrMonishBhatia & @LucieCAudibert who chart the frightening use of Electronic Monitoring (EM) in immigration enforcement to surveil & control migrants: irr.org.uk/article/from-g…

In November, we saw yet more home office cruelty, this time with the horrendous conditions at the Manston detention centre.

@jsggvm wrote this crucial account of a politically manufactured crisis in IRR News irr.org.uk/article/mansto…

The last issue of @race_class for the year, ‘Transnational repression of black power’ featured a lead article by Ben Gowland plus pieces by @judith_teichman, @sigrid_corry, Jerry Harris, @FrancesWebber5 and an interview with @isaac_kamola & Ralph Wilson irr.org.uk/article/transn…

At the end of November we remembered the 34 people who died in the channel last year - all the more poignant following the more recent loss of four people just last week.

https://twitter.com/IRR_News/status/1595749464551337985

In December, for the last article of the year, @FrancesWebber5 looked at the current treatment of international students, showing their status as a rightless cohort has a longer history irr.org.uk/article/intern…

Phew! That's all folks. A busy but what we hope was an impactful year and all on a limited budget with just 4 to 5 full-time staff!

From all of us at the IRR, we'd like to thank our followers, funders, supporters & amazing volunteers without whom our work wouldn't be possible❤️

If you would like to support our work with a one-off or regular donation, head here irr.org.uk/donate/