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The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain

Stand up to racism!

Loyalist mobs are rampaging through Belfast, spreading terror amongst the black and immigrant population in the run-up to Orangemen’s Day on the “Glorious Twelfth” of July. But attempts to spread hate in England have, so far, failed, despite the best efforts of Tommy Robinson, Elon Musk and the Faragists to trigger racist pogroms in the wake of the Southampton riots.

The firm response of the anti-racist movements on the street, together with that of the local communities as a whole, has made sure that there’s been no repetition of the violence in Southampton that was triggered by far-right extremists exploiting the death of a student to advance their own fascist agendas and kick off the “race war” that they believe will propel them to power in the future.

Don’t let the far-right divide us. That’s what the national Stand Up to Racism campaign says.

Racists are still attempting to organise and groups linked to Tommy Robinson continue to seek opportunities to build on local grievances. But organised resistance can deny them the space they need to grow.

The racists and fascists are on the march again and communists must be in the forefront of the resistance. There is no substitute for blocking their path with massive numbers, even if the police do not like this.

So it goes without saying that on the streets and facing the fascists there must be maximum unity between anti-fascists of all political shades. We must remember that the biggest and most successful anti-fascist alliance of all time was led by Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt, and that they managed to work together despite having very little else in common, until the threat of Nazism was smashed. If they can work with each other then we can also work with everyone on the left and anyone else ready to stand up to racism and fascism.

As communists, working with other anti-fascists of all kinds also gives opportunities for friendly dialogue as we stand shoulder-to-shoulder against racism and fascism, and it in no way implies our support for the political views on other matters of the people we are standing next to. Those are matters for peaceful argument during the lulls in fighting the fascists. This is the only way to achieve the mass turn-outs necessary to stop the fascists. And it happens naturally on the streets. Anti-fascists of all shades will defend one another regardless where there is a threat of attack by fascists or by police.

The traditional tactics of the mainstream anti-racist movements and the more robust tactics of those up for confronting the fascists on their own terms are both needed and should be co-ordinated for maximum effect.

Communists are great ones for meetings, conferences, debates and committees – work that is usually done sitting down. This is all essential work but it is only half the struggle. If all those great resolutions and clarifications of the line are just left hanging then we might as well not bother. We must stand up, get out and about, and be at the forefront of implementation – on the streets, in the workplaces, in the communities, on the housing estates, putting our line into practice and communicating directly with workers and raising levels of political awareness and class consciousness.

We must ensure that the hardship and suffering caused by the austerity regime and attacks on working-class living standards turn into anger and not into despair and resignation. To do that we need some successes in struggle, we need to set at first mod est, achievable goals to build morale and awareness. Defeating fascist and racist activity is a crucial starting point.