Introduction
Over the last week horrific Islamophobic and racist violence has broken out across England and also in Belfast – crowds destroying libraries and advice centres, attempting to set fire to hotels housing people seeking asylum in the UK, and attacking Muslims and people of colour in the street. It’s deeply disturbing for folks of colour across the country wondering if they and their loved ones are safe, and what safety precautions they might need to take to just go about living their lives. For everyone who has experienced racism, it is triggering painful memories and racial trauma on top of these latest threats. No-one should feel under threat simply for existing.
Now is the time for white allies to step up and put our actions where our rhetoric has been
We know many more people oppose this violence, racism and hatred than support it. We can take action by coming together to defend our communities from the torrent of hate pouring onto the streets from the right. Like many of you I’ve been watching the news unfold with horror, so I wanted to write something pulling together the thoughts and suggestions I’ve seen shared over the last few days, to give people some practical advice on what they can do.
This isn’t aimed at people of the global majority – as a white woman you certainly don’t need my advice! But in case it is useful I have seen that the Radical Therapist Network are holding two online community support circles on August 8th & 12th open to all people of the global majority, Muslims, people who have migrated and asylum seekers, and on Thursday 8th The Three Hijabis are hosting an emergency Rahma safe space for Muslim women online. Healing Justice London also have their weekly breath circle tonight.
This writing won’t be perfect. I’m coming to the end of a sabbatical (living on an old sailboat) and haven’t had time or internet bandwidth to try and speak with people to get a range of views beyond what I’ve seen shared online. But I hope though imperfect it might help people make sense of what is happening and how you can respond, bringing more of us into active solidarity. I welcome critique and further suggestions in the comments below.
This outpouring of Islamophobia and racism has been brewing for a long time
Of course the roots of all of this are in colonialism, empire and the white supremacy paradigm propagated by elites to introduce racialisation, making possible extraction of resources and domination of people they were taken from (as well as making it possible for people themselves to be taken and enslaved). That is why we have so many people with global majority roots here, and continuing to come here – because we were there.
We are here because you were there – A Sivanandan
New Labour first used the term “hostile environment”. Theresa May ran with it. Although apparently targeted at people who had migrated without documents, the policies and rhetoric it pushed encouraged distrust and suspicion of anyone who does not appear to be ‘white British’. For decades we’ve seen how the mainstream media has normalised and amplified Islamophobic, racist language… othering and de-humanising people desperate enough to brave small boat crossings to apply for asylum in the UK, describing peaceful pro-Palestinian and anti-racist protests in a violent and hostile way and so on. The language of hate has been mainstreamed by the media and political parties – not just the Daily Mail. Even today I’m seeing Labour MPs defending the ‘legitimate’ concerns of their far right constituents.
Every time the media uses the language of the far right, or gives Nigel Farage yet another platform to speak from (40 appearances on BBC Question Time and counting), it strengthens and legitimises their cause. Young men are not being radicalised by Andrew Tate in a vacuum. The right have also been organising around low traffic neighbourhoods and low emissions zones in cities – and of course transphobia. As this recent tweet from internet crusading Trans Erasing Radical Feminist Graham Linehan shows, the bigotry transphobia is another gateway to the far right.
We need to ask whose interests does this racist scapegoating serve?
The entire establishment is responsible, and they benefit. I’ve talked about hegemony on here often – meaning the ‘common sense’ and power structures that hold the status quo together. The racism and migration blaming is slight of hand like a magic trick – we’re being encouraged to ‘look over there’ and blame Muslims and global majority folks for the poverty people are struggling through, the need for food bank parcels, the lack of medical care. Instead of seeing that the infrastructure of this country has been cut up and sold to the highest bidder to line the pockets of the elites, that the welfare state has been steadily destroyed, that the rich get richer while the energy companies continue to pollute and to charge us well over the odds for doing so. I could go on. We need to organise to build something better, and we can start by defending those we love.
So what might this look like?
1) Reach out to those you love
I hope this is already happening across the country, but start by acknowledging what is happening by checking in with the global majority folks you know. Send them love. See what they need – offer to help. If you work with them, raise what is going on at work and ask what they need. Folks might want work from home if they can and don’t feel safe travelling, or to take time off. You could share the suggestions above for community support circles online, or support colleagues to develop such circles at work.
It’s important as white people speaking to folks with global majority roots not to centre ourselves, our own emotions or reactions. We need to be self aware and make space for people of colour to express themselves and to centre their emotions, whatever they are – anger for example is totally legitimate and understandable. This guide for allies to talk to friends and colleagues about racial injustice in the news might be helpful.
2) Think about how to describe and frame what is happening
The mainstream media continues to be complicit in this racial violence by describing these hate fueled riots as “protests”; as opposed to recent coverage of peaceful gatherings objecting to genocide in Gaza which have been described as “violent mobs”. Its easy to see this pattern. We need to call out Islamophobia and racism for what it is, and be careful not to draw any equivalence between those taking to the streets to perpetuate violence and hate, and those responding to defend communities. The New Economy Organisers Network have produced this excellent guide to explain what framing and language is helpful.
3) Support and amplify the voices of those directly affected
Now is the time to support the organisations doing great work opposing islamophobia, racism, racist borders, immigration raids and more systemic change focused long term work to build a better world. Sign up to their mailing lists, donate money, share their content, respond to their calls.
For example, Black Lives Matter UK has released a statement explaining why the current response of increasing the powers of police is not the answer, and that community support is key to the defeat of the right.
Below are some other organisations and networks that I rate but the list isn’t exhaustive and is in no particular order – please share the many other projects I have missed that you rate and support in the comments below.
Migrants Organise is a platform for migrants and refugees to organise for justice with dignity – you can read their statement on organising against the far right here with links to various resources.
These Walls Must Fall is a network of refugee and migrant campaigners working with allies and supporters for radical change, fighting against the hostile environment to build a better society.
Right to Remain works with communities, groups and organisations across the UK, providing information, resources, training and assistance to help people to establish their right to remain, and to challenge injustice in the immigration and asylum system.
No More Exclusions is a Black-led and community-based abolitionist grassroots coalition movement. Their organising centres the voices and experiences of children and young people who have experienced oppressive education and exclusion.
The Muslim Charities Forum hosts a growing list of Muslim led charities across the UK, including charities working with women and young people.
Voices that Shake brings together young people (prioritising those with global majority roots), artists and organisers to develop creative responses to social injustice.
The Advocacy Academy supports young people in south London with lived experience of injustice to achieve long term change in their communities.
The Northern Police Monitoring Project is an independent grassroots organisation working to build community resistance against police violence, harassment and racism.
Land In Our Names is a BPOC grassroots collective whose work addresses the inequalities in access to land and food, and reimagines land stewardship towards climate and racial justice.
The Racial Justice Network brings together over thirty organisations and individuals from across the West Yorkshire region to proactively promote racial justice.
The Anti Raids Network is a a loose network of groups and individuals working to build the resistance to immigration raids since 2012.
4) Organise
Talk to your friends, family, colleagues, neighbours. Discuss what is happening. Short term there is plenty to be done in resistance and support, but we need long term organising to turn things around. I’ve written plenty about organising in the past on this blog so I won’t go into what it means too much here, but if you’d like an introduction thinking about how you can connect with and motivate others to step into leadership and take action together, Act Build Change have an excellent free membership option that offers organising resources and events.
If you’d like to join any of the advertised calls for community opposition, read the section below. If you don’t feel able, safe or resourced enough to do that, there are plenty of other ways to respond. Contact your local Mosque on immigration centre to offer solidarity and ask how you can support them, show them some love with flowers, cards, tell them they’re welcome in your community, donate to support their community work. Run a community fundraiser for one of the organisations above. Get together with your faith community to host an event or vigil for those suffering. Get creative with your response according to your connections, skills and energy.
5) Get out on the streets – doing all you can to stay safe
This week further terror marches have been called targeting places housing people applying for asylum, the offices of migration advisors and more. It’s likely these call outs will continue, and the best way to prevent escalation and to stop the fascists in their tracks is by coming together to protect communities in the many counter initiatives planned by anti-fascist and anti-racist organisers. Stand Up to Racism is calling for people to stop the far right’s planned riots in locations across England today – I don’t know who is behind this organising but it appears they have branches across England & one in Wales. You can also sign up to Black Lives Matter UK’s telepgram group where they are sharing call outs, or search on social media for things happening in your area.
Please go if you can, but do all you can to keep you and your friends attending safe
If you’re a white ally who is well enough resourced, mobile and healthy enough and you want to oppose the far right, you’re needed. And if enough of us turn out, we’ll be much safer – often these events have vastly outnumbered the far right. But be careful.
I’m not saying the below to put you off – it’s advice pulled together from folks with a wealth of experience dealing with the increasingly harsh policing of protest and from opposing fascists before. Much of it comes from the Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol)’s advice for staying safer during anti-facist organising. You’ll want to protect your identity and use secure communication channels to do any organising to minimise risk from the police and also from the far right themselves, who have a history of “doxing” anti fascist campaigners by publishing pictures and personal information online as well as posing a threat in person. This might include things like:
- Coordinating group chats on a secure platform, through an anonymous account, from the start.
- Meeting friends collectively away from the location and travelling there together – only getting out banners and placards when you arrive.
- Having a dedicated ‘buddy’ so that you know someone is looking out for you and vice versa.
- Taking time to build trust with the group you’re attending with and being clear about the level of risk you’re willing to take.
- Wearing clothes designed to blend in rather than stand out (often called ‘grey block’), covid masks (well before you arrive), and covering identifying features like prominent tattoos.
- Leaving your phone and ID at home.
- Making sure you know your rights. Remember Green and Black Cross’s five key messages when dealing with police and make yourself aware of the kinds of powers police may use against you. Take a bust card with you so you have handy advice on what do do if arrested / good solicitors numbers to call.
- Preparing in case the police “kettle” you (meaning surround you and hold you for hours, letting people out very slowly). Ensure you’ve got any medication you might need, lots of snacks, water and waterproofs/suncream/ an extra jumper – whatever you might need for changes in weather.
- Debriefing afterwards to check in with everyone.
Taking these kinds of actions won’t be for everyone – if you’re just not in a place where you can do this, that’s ok. There are plenty of other ways (like those I suggest above) you can support this struggle. But if you can go, do. Muslims and people of colour are at much greater risk if they take part in this resistance – our friends, family, neighbours, lovers, colleagues and comrades of colour need us white folks who have been reading anti-racist books to step up and do this where we can.
We can turn the tide on the rise of the far right
In England, the UK and around the world, the right has risen and been defeated before. We can do this again. Right now we can show the love we have for our communities by stepping in to protect them, growing the antiracist movement to show that hate is socially unacceptable, ultimately making the far right too fearful of being hugely outnumbered to show up and taking away their power. But this is just the start – by coming together we can organise for a better future, taking care of ourselves and each other, embodying the world we want to see if how we live and relate to each other.
I hope these thoughts and links have been helpful. Please tell me if I’ve got things wrong or missed anything important, and share your thoughts in the comments on the original article.
Explore Further
- Read Natasha Adam’s earlier articles on movement moments: Reflections on Uncertain Times and Movement Moments and Love, community and campaigning in the time of Covid-19
- Far Right Violence: A Messaging Guide
- A Community Guide for Opposing Hate
- Pt’chang’s Nonviolent Community Safety and Peacebuilding Handbook and Nonviolent Community Safety and Peacekeeping Trainers’ Manual
- Block, Bridge and Build: Playbook for an Inclusive Multi-Racial Democracy
- Golden Dawn: Lessons From Greece in Tackling Extremism
