Register now for this free all-day online workshop on 4 December hosted by the Searchlight Archive at the University of Northampton. Details below.
EDL founder pulls out of Iceland lecture
The English Defence League’s co-founder Tommy Robinson, who was scheduled to give a lecture today in Iceland, will not be coming after all, Reykjavic Grapevine reports. The organisers have therefore cancelled the event. Vakur, a self-described “organisation of European culture”, had invited British far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, to Iceland to […]
International Roma Day concert in northeast London
Sindy and Bejamin, two young Romani activists and musicians from Poland, have organised a Festival of Music to celebrate International Roma Day. It is going to be fantastic. Several bands from all over Eastern Europe, traditional Roma food, wine, dance and more. Please come and support this brave initiative, help to challenge prejudice and join […]
‘Freital Group’ members found guilty of terror-related crimes
Eight people have been found guilty of numerous crimes including deliberate attacks on refugee shelters in Germany, DW reports. After a yearlong trial, the legal points hinged on the very nature of the group’s structure and intent. The Dresden Higher Regional Court on Wednesday found seven men and one woman who formed the “Freital Group” […]
Britain First leaders convicted of religiously aggravated harassment
Searchlight joins Unite Against Fascism (UAF) in welcoming the guilty verdicts on the notorious leaders of the fascist group, Britain First. Leader Paul Golding and deputy leader Jayda Fransen have been found guilty of religiously aggravated harassment. Both were arrested in May last year for distributing leaflets and posting online videos during a trial at […]
Remembering Sivanandan: social justice activist and thinker
Ekklesia posted the following commentary by Savi Hensman on 13 January. Ambalavaner Sivanandan, an activist, thinker and novelist, died on 3 January 2018, aged 94. What he said and wrote on class, race, oppression and resistance influenced many people internationally. For several reasons, he is an important figure for people of all faiths and none. […]
A Sivanandan, veteran of the anti-racist movement, has died aged 94
Ambalavaner Sivanandan, almost always known as A Sivanandan, founding editor of Race & Class and long-time director of the Institute of Race Relations, died on Wednesday 3 January. The Hindu posted the following obituary written by Meera Srinivasan. A. Sivanandan (1923-2018): A ‘Black intellectual’ from Sri Lanka A writer who focussed on ‘racism that kills’ […]
Report of the anti-fascist protest against Saturday’s London march by the Football Lads Alliance
Nice one all on Stand Up To Racism attempt at leafleting today, at Downing St, Paul Sillett writes. Some good people have reservations about what we did but i think it was right, albeit a tough call. Moreover, the Football Lads Alliance (FLA) said they might get 40,000. About 10 000 is perhaps correct. Not […]
Controversy over Forza Nuova’s “March on Rome”
Alfio Bernabei writes: In an unprecedented move Italy’s Forza Nuova has announced plans to march on Rome on 28 October, the same date as Mussolini’s march on Rome in 1922. Enthusiastic members of the organisation, described as Nazi-fascist by Italy’s Supreme Court, have flooded its Facebook page with fascist slogans and offers of support in […]
Former BNP candidate takes college to court for firing him
Richard Barnbrook has managed to get himself in the news again as the report below from the Bournemouth Echo reveals. The writer has overlooked some of Barnbrook’s political activities. As well as being a BNP parliamentary candidate and leader of the BNP group on Barking and Dagenham council until the party lost all its seats […]
Never Again! 50 years since the Greek military coup
The Greek Solidarity Campaign has sent us this report of its commemorative event. On Friday 28 April almost 100 activists and veterans gathered at the Unite the Union London headquarters to remember the events 50 years ago when Greek democracy was again overturned by a ruthless military junta. The colonels brought tanks on to the […]
Four more in court over clash between neo-nazis and anti-fascists
This report appeared in the Liverpool Echo on 2 May. Go to the original report for pictures of the accused. FOUR more people have appeared in court today charged over violent clashes between far-right activists and anti-fascist protesters. Troubled flared between neo-nazi North West Infidels group and counter demonstrators at St George’s Plateau, Liverpool city […]
Remembering the Greek military coup 50 years on
Diana Shelley writes: On the evening of 28 April 1967 a removal van pulled up outside the Greek Embassy in London’s Upper Brook Street. Two women carrying daffodils knocked; the door opened. From the back of the van 50 demonstrators jumped out and ran inside. We were mainly supporters of the Committee of 100, the […]
Hate in the online gaming community
Tell MAMA UK (Monitoring Anti-Muslim Attacks) are publishing engaging new content as part of their social media campaign to bring awareness to the issue of hate in the online gaming community and request your support. They write: This is a phenomenon that particularly impacts young people with diverse identities. By the end of 2016 we […]
Oxford students disinvite former EDL leader after protests
Oxford Unite Against Fascism reports that an invitation to the fascist activist Tommy Robinson, former leader of the English Defence League, to speak to Oxford Brookes students has been withdrawn following the launch of a UAF open letter and planned protest. Oxford UAF writes further that students from a number of campuses, including Cambridge and […]
Dead members keep BNP alive
Strange goings on in Pendle where the British National Party’s only district councillor in the UK announced on 23 November that he was going to sit as an independent and on the following day told the BBC he was back with the fascist party. Brian Parker first won his seat, in Marsden ward, in 2006, […]
Thuringia to check potential neo-Nazi connection in second child murder
The discovery of a neo-Nazi’s DNA near the body of a murdered girl has authorities re-examining other crimes from the past. The state of Thuringia says it will be taking another look at a second unsolved child murder, writes DW. Thuringia state premier Bodo Ramelow has said criminal investigations will be expanded after DNA from […]
Outcry after ‘neo-Nazi’ music festival held on Swiss soil
Police in the canton of St Gallen are under fire for allowing a music festival for right-wing extremists to take place on Saturday night, The Local ch writes. More than 5,000 people turned out to the festival in the usually tranquil commune of Unterwasser in eastern Switzerland for what is thought to be the largest […]
Join the rally for Aleppo’s children
Aleppo’s children have been bombed relentlessly by Syrian and Russian warplanes for weeks. Over 1.6 million of us have called for our leaders to step up and protect these terrified children and their families, and now it’s time to take our call to the streets. This Saturday from 12pm we’re gathering outside Downing Street to […]
Day the East End united to fight against the Blackshirts
The following article by Colin Shindler appeared in The JC on 29 September 2016. Oswald Mosley instituted antisemitism as the official policy of the British Union of Fascists only in 1934, some two years after its formation. The annual report of the Board of Deputies for 1932 stated that Mosley had informed the Board that […]