from a special correspondent
The Campaign Against Racial Discrimination he Founding Convention on the weekend of July 24/25 at Savy malt See GEE pie 30 organisation sent around 100 delegates and observers and over 50 individual members attended the Convention, A substantial part of the agenda was devoted to the. discussion on and acceptance of a permanent mimiagamech <<. The seen wear of the agreed constitution are:
- 4 representative National C in between annual delegate iene, —
- An Executive Committee elected by the National Council,
- Authority for the National Council to designate areas in Britain where C.A.R.D, will carry out special activities,
The Convention endorsed the recommendation that membership fees be reduced from £1 to 5/= for individual members, so as to assist C.A.R.D. to build up a broad-based immigrant membership.
The Aims and Objects agreed on for the organisation were:
(1) To struggle for the elimination of all racial discrimination against coloured people in the United Kingdom.
(2) To struggle for the elimination of forms of discrimination against minority groups in the United Kingdom,
: To use all means in our power to combat racial prejudice,
4) To oppose all forms of discrimination on the entry of Commonwealth citizens into the United Kingdom.
(5) To oppose all legislation that is racially discriminatory or inspired by racial prejudice,
(6) To seek to co-ordinate the work of organisations already in the field and to act as a clearing house for information about the fight against discrimination in Britain and to maintain aiutt with organisations outside the United Kingdom having aims and objects/t8 thidse of C.AsReDs
Overwhelming majorities approved the main four resolutions. The first condemning the deterioration of the racial climate, as encouraged by both the Government and the Opposition. The second denowmcing the racialism of the Commomwealth Immigrants Act and demanding its complete repeal. The third deploring the Government's Race Relations! Bill as “ineffective tokenisme" The fourth calling for a campaign to stamp out the growing cancer of racialism in British life,
In addition, the Convention unanimously adopted an emergency resolution condemning the Department of Education circular on the education of "Immigrant" children as being a further manifestation of racial discrimination in Britain and demanding that the Ministry of State withdraw the circular.
At the core of the week-end debate was the conviction that for the organisation to succeed it must root itself firmly in the coloured community, A number of steps were agreed upon to facilitate this, These include: the publication of a basic pamphlet on the background to race relations in Britain; the prompt publication of accurate information about any significant development in race relations; the regular publication of a news letter; that organisation of meetings throughout the country to discuss thecampaign locally and nationally; and other steps to build up the organisatione Mr. David Pitt was elected unopposed as Chairman of C.AeRsD. for the coming years