TOGETHER WE ARE STRONGER!
Yesterday anti-racists reclaimed the streets reassuring diverse communities all over the country that the people will not be divided by hate. This powerful display of solidarity and community unity also took place at JC Motors’ Safe Haven on Stean Street where Guild members, neighbours and friends rallied together to support Len’s fight against displacement by TfL subsidiary Places for London.
JC Motors’ situation is one example of a much wider global problem and is intrinsically linked to the colonial culture of land ownership, a root cause of racism. To solve it we need to be resolute and demand change where we have leverage, where we are rooted in our communities.
The UK’s culture of land ownership perpetuates and deepens structural racism, sexism, exploitation and poverty. Rates of asset poverty, intergenerational poverty, access to credit, capital, and entrepreneurship opportunities as well as economic mobility are all linked and underpinned by the property sector and its established institutions designed to extract profit at any cost.
The Guild is committed to changing systemic racism through our Manifesto for the New Economy and by working to improve our own systems, processes and actions. Due to established oppressive structures that have been brutally perpetuated over millennia, this work will be ongoing and continually evolving. We won’t always get it right but we won’t be held back by fear or fragility and the Guild welcomes critique by anyone who can help us do better.
By working together across race, class, gender and religious divides we have an opportunity to rewrite the current system of land ownership that harms local people by bringing the neighbourhood together around JC Motors to own the arches that will support the local economy to thrive and retain community wealth in perpetuity.
First, we need Places for London to agree not to force Len out of his arch at the end of this month and to agree on an affordable rent level for Len’s business. This coming Monday we have a meeting with Director of Places for London – Graeme Craig. Here’s what you can do now to help make sure that meeting goes Len’s way and serves the communiy:
1. Like and share our social media now and over the coming weeks so that decision-makers can see our crucial campaign to #StandWithLen is supported:
Insta: @East_End_Trades_Guild
X: @EastEndTrades
2. Sign our updated letter to Sadiq Khan here: https://eastendtradesguild.org.uk/a-letter-to-the-mayor-of-london/
3. If you live in Hackney, email your local councillor, Mayor, London Assembly member and MP.
Ask them what they can do to make sure Len is not displaced from his arch at the end of this month. Here are the emails:
Sem Moema London Assembly Member – Sem.Moema@london.gov.uk
Meg Hillier MP – meg.hillier.mp@parliament.uk
Mayor of Hackney – mayor@hackney.gov.uk
Cllr Guy Nicolson – guy.nicholson@hackney.gov.uk
Your own words are better but you can also copy and paste the following:
“Dear ______
I am writing as a resident of Hackney to ask you how you will support the much-cherished community business JC Motors.
The owner Len Maloney has been serving the community in Hackney for decades. Not just fixing cars and keeping my family safe on the road but providing a sanctuary to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Len found this sanctuary from his own mentor and previous business owner Joe Chee who passed the garage onto Len when he retired.
Len has continued the tradition and supported hundreds of young people from Global Majority backgrounds via apprenticeships, work experience and mentorship. Sometimes these young people are misunderstood by mainstream education and need local opportunities for a sense of belonging and to develop their confidence as young adults in a safe, supportive and boundaried environment. These vital life-changing experiences must not be undervalued in these deeply divided and distressing times.
After promising a period of negotiation to find a rent that Len’s business can afford to pay, recognising the immense social value Len’s business provides Places for London has instead threatened to force Len out of his arch if he does not choose of his own volition to leave.
This is unacceptable, please can you tell me what you will do to intervene to stop Len’s displacement and demand that Places for London work with Len and the East End Trades Guild to find a rent that is genuinely affordable for JC Motors to stay where this crucial small business is needed and wanted.
Yours sincerely,”
LET’S PROVE THAT WHEN EVERYONE WORKS TOGETHER WE CAN ACHIEVE EXTRAORDINARY THINGS!
With thanks to Sarah Ainslie and Nadia Abbas for photos and filming, to Beverley Brooks, Ruriya Sittisan and Sam Olujimni for the excellent BBQ stewardship and special thanks to Bev for blessing the food with her singing and dancing to make it taste so delicious!
To Barley Massey for the Stand By Len sign, to Isobel Nicolson for the cardboard signs. And to everyone who brought food, and drink, who chipped in and who showed up to make this a genuinely beautiful event!
