Olive Morris plaque

Olive Morris was born in 1952 in Harewood, St Catherine, Jamaica, to forklift driver Vincent Nathaniel Morris and Doris Lowena (née Moseley), who built radios and televisions at a factory and cleaned offices.[2] As part of the Windrush generation, the family emigrated to England when she was nine.[1] She had three brothers and two sisters, and lived in South London for most of her life,[3] attending Heathbrook Primary School, Lavender Hill Girls' Secondary School, and Tulse Hill Secondary School.[1] Leaving school without qualifications, she later studied at the London College of Printing (now named the London College of Communication).[1]

Adult life and activism

On 15 November 1969, Nigerian diplomat Clement Gomwalk was confronted by police while parked outside "Desmond's Hip City",[4] the first Black record shop in Brixton.[5] The Mercedes car he was driving bore a different number on the licence plate to that on the Road Fund licence disc; suspected of stealing his car under the "sus law" (suspected person), as the police questioned him a crowd formed around them and a physical altercation took place.[2][6] Local journalist Aymo Martin Tajo later stated that Morris "broke through the crowd to the scuffle" and "tried to physically stop the police from beating the Nigerian", the police reaction being to beat her also.[4] However, Morris's account was that she did not arrive until after the diplomat had been taken away by the police. She was then 17 years old.

The situation with the police escalated after the crowd began to confront them about their brutal treatment of Gomwalk. Morris recalled her friend being dragged by police into the record store, shouting "I've done nothing". She did not state how she got involved but does state that she was brutally beaten. As she was dressed in men’s clothes, and had very short hair, the police at that point believed she was a young man, one of them saying when challenged, "She ain’t no girl".[7] Morris’s account goes on to describe her treatment in prison. She said she was forced to strip and was threatened with rape in police custody: "They all made me take off my jumper and my bra in front of them to show I was a girl. A male cop holding a billy club said, ‘Now prove you're a real woman.’" Referencing his billy club (or baton) he stated: "Look it's the right colour and the right size for you. Black cunt!"[4]

Morris's brother Basil described her injuries from the incident, saying that he "could hardly recognize her face, they beat her so badly." She was arrested, fined £10 and given a suspended sentence. The charges were: assault on the police, threatening behaviour, and possession of dangerous weapons.[1][4]

Black Panther Movement

In the early 1970s, Morris became a member of the youth section of the British Black Panther Movement (later the Black Workers movement), alongside Linton Kwesi Johnson and Clovis Reid.[1] This movement was inspired by the Black Panther Movement in the United States, but was unaffiliated with them. In August 1972 she and a friend, Liz Obi, planned to visit the American Black Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver, who was living in Algeria on the run from an attempted murder charge,[8] but they became stranded in Morocco.[1]

Brixton Black Women's Group

Morris co-founded the Brixton Black Women's Group in 1974.[1][9] Within this group, she and other members rallied to critically explore the experience of women in the Black Panther Party.[10] The overall purpose of the group was to raise consciousness so the women could communicate with each other and talk about their daily lives, putting this understanding into a political framework. The Brixton Black Women's Group pushed for more transparency and unity in their community. Eventually, the group dissolved and transformed into numerous specific groups that were focused on increasing the awareness of the Black struggle.

Squatting in Brixton

Morris participated in other activities, such as squatting buildings to establish self-help community spaces.[1] She squatted at 121 Railton Road, Brixton, with her friend Liz Obi in 1973. This squat became a hub of political activism and hosted community groups such as Black People against State Harassment. The building was also the site of the Sabarr Bookshop, one of the first Black community bookshops.[1] It was set up by a group of Black men and women in Brixton that included Morris.[11] The site subsequently became an anarchist project, known as the 121 Centre, which existed until its eviction in 1999.[1] During the 1970s she worked alongside Leila Hassan running Race Today's "Basement Sessions" at 165 Railton Road, where art, culture and politics were discussed.[12][13][14]

Manchester

Morris studied at Manchester University between 1975 and 1978. Her activism did not halt while she was away from London. She co-founded the Manchester Black Women's Co-operative and the Black Women's Mutual Aid Group with activists in Manchester such as Kath Locke and Elouise Edwards.[1][15][16] She also helped to establish a supplementary school after campaigning with local Black parents for better education provision for their children.[17]

Organisation of Women of African and Asian Descent

She was a founding member of the Organisation of Women of African and Asian Descent (OWAAD) in London. OWAAD held its first conference at the Abeng Centre on Gresham Road in Brixton, a centre that Morris had helped to establish along with Elaine Holness and other members of the community.[1][11][17] Along with the Brixton Black Women's Group it was the first organisation for black women in the United Kingdom.[2]

Death

Morris became ill during a trip to Spain in 1978. When she returned to London, she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. She underwent treatment, which was unsuccessful. She died on 12 July 1979 at St Thomas' Hospital, Lambeth, and was buried in Streatham Vale Cemetery. She was 27 years old.[1]