Who shot Britain's prominent racial justice activist?

Sasha Johnson, a leading Black Lives Matter activist, is in a critical condition after being shot in the head in London. Johnson’s friends believe the shooting followed “numerous death threats as a result of her activism”.

The 27-year-old Johnson was reportedly shot at around 3 am on Sunday morning at a gathering in southeast London. 

The police have launched an investigation and have urged people to come forward if they were a witness to or heard anything about the shooting. However, while the investigation is at an early stage, the police said there is no evidence to suggest it was a targeted attack based on Johnson's activism.

An outspoken activist

The Taking the Initiative Party, to which she belonged, issued a statement saying Johnson was a “powerful voice for our people and our community” and received multiple death threats prior to Sunday's attack.

“Sasha has always been actively fighting for black people and the injustices that surround the black community, as well as being both a member of BLM and a member of Taking the Initiative Party’s Executive Leadership Committee,” it said. 

The party’s website read, “she has an immense passion for implementing change and justice and has been actively supporting the eradication of injustices in society by attending and leading protests.”

Claudia Webbe, the Labour MP, said, sending “love and solidarity to her family, friends and loved ones”, said “there are still too many guns and violent weapons damaging too many lives”. 

Wearing camouflage trousers, a black beret and a stab-proof-style vest, Johnson was an inspiration for a lot of people who stand against racism. 

 Johnson is an Oxford Brookes graduate, where she became known as the “Black Panther of Oxford”. She supported the removal of the statue of Cecil Rhodes, a racist businessman and politician who contributed to the establishment of the apartheid system in South Africa.  

However, Johnson came to prominence by playing a leading role in organising Black Lives Matter protests last summer in the UK, including the Million People March after the killing of George Floyd in the US. 

Johnson then played a part in forming The Taking the Initiative Party, which is a black-led political party working to improve the social and economic standards of black and working-class people.

Speaking exclusively to British newspaper, the Daily Mail late last year, Johnson called for a ‘race offenders’ register’, similar to the sex offenders’ register which prevents paedophiles from having professions like teaching. 

She said ‘race offenders’ register’ would discourage racist people from being prejudiced against a person of colour in the workplace. 

“If you were to be racially abusive to someone, [the register] would question whether someone is fit enough to hold a particular job where their bias could influence another person's life”, Johnson said. 

She also called for 'Holocaust-style' reparations given to black people by the British government due to the history of colonialism and slavery.

She said, instead of direct payment, reparations can be in the form of “tax-free periods, which would give time to build back up economic stability in black communities”.

But her activism raised many eyebrows among Brits when she called for the creation of black militia and the abolishment of police.