About Green and Black Cross

Please Note: we are only able to help people with issues related to protest and political action.

Green & Black Cross (GBC) is an independent grassroots project. We are set up in the spirit of mutual aid and solidarity to support autonomous social struggles within the UK.

GBC was founded in November 2010 to provide legal support for protests against the government’s wave of massive spending cuts. We take inspiration from the Anarchist Black Cross and from the diverse skills and infrastructure built up over the last decade by elements of the environmental movement, such as The Camp for Climate Action (Climate Camp).

We have supported thousands of people from many backgrounds in their rebellions and protests – from a 24/7 Legal Support Helpline to Legal Observers on the streets, and from Action Medics at large demos to a kitchen team smuggling flapjacks to students surrounded by police. Our emphasis on support is to allow the potential for further dissent – for people to rise up, and in doing so take control of the direction of their lives.

The structure and role of GBC has changed throughout its history. Today, GBC is formed of two autonomous collectives: the Training Collective and the Resources Collective. The Training Collective creates and delivers legal trainings for protesters and protest support, whilst the Resources Collective creates, updates and maintains resources.

These collectives work alongside other independent and autonomous legal support groups: the Independent Legal Observer Network (ILON), the Phone Helpline, Activist Court Aid Brigade (ACAB) and the Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol).

GBC is mostly based in London, and there is a GBC group in Manchester.

The GBC Training and Resources Collectives are entirely run by volunteers – we do this because we are also part of the struggle, not because it is our job.