After years hidden away, Oldham’s memorial to six local volunteers who died fighting fascism in the Spanish civil war has been restored to public view, marking both a victory for campaigners and a renewed tribute to the town’s proud International Brigade heritage, says ROB HARGREAVES
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The cold war, desegregation and affirmative action
Anti-racism in the US has long been subverted by the elevation of a few role models rather than meaningful equality for all – and the latest fad for policing manners and language won’t save it, writes ZOLTAN ZIGEDY
THEN AND NOW: Civil rights marchers in Washington call for integrated schools, 1963; and (right) students rally outside the Supreme Court during the hearing on affirmative action in college admissions, October 2022
While pretending to seek peace, Europe is heading toward a collision course with Russia – using security guarantees, troop deployments, expropriation and censorship as tools, writes SEVIM DAGDELEN
Alba party leader KENNY MacASKILL makes some suggestions on how to save our pubs and reduce irresponsible drinking
The catastrophe unfolding in Gaza – where Palestinians are freezing to death in tents – is not a natural disaster but a calculated outcome of Israel’s ongoing blockade, aid restrictions and continued violence, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
Opinion polls point to electoral collapse, parliamentary rebellion and a looming leadership challenge as Starmer’s Labour haemorrhages working-class support and the far right exploits the vacuum left by a hollowed-out party, says NICK WRIGHT
The long-term effects of chemical weapons such as Agent Orange mean that the impact of war lasts well beyond a ceasefire
AS the US Supreme Court aspires to drive a nail into the coffin of affirmative action, it is important to recognise how the cold war helped to shape the mid-20th century civil rights people’s victories and the consequent policy of affirmative action in education.
Some may find that connecting the conflict between the US and the USSR to the formal establishment of African-American citizen rights is far-fetched.
But the facts speak otherwise.
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