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As we start 2022 there is an urgent need to build resistance to racism. The government is bringing forward two major pieces of legislation that will stoke up racism, especially against refugees, but also againsy Black and GRT communities, and also attempt to limit opposition to racism. It is a calculated strategy to divide and rule and it is vital we unite and fight back against this racist strategy.
Stand Up To Racism, with the support of the TUC, has called national demonstrations on weekend of March 19 in London, Glasgow, and Cardiff to help strengthen opposition to Johnson and Patel's plans. In the run up to these national demonstrations there will be national and local events to help build the momentum towards the national demonstrations. We have booked our first coach to London (see below for how to book) and now want to win support from other organisatons to mobilise. Already the CWU postal workers have agreed to back the transport, and Oxfordshire UNISON Health branch is voting on a motion of support later this week. Attendees at the organising meeting agreed to approach other organisations to support the march and transport, and agreed to hold a public rally with local councillors.
We hope supporters of Oxford Stand Up To Racism will get involved in building a huge turnout on March 19th. If you would like to help build support in an organisation you are involved in or join in local activities please email contact@oxfordstanduptoracism.org.uk
Protest to defend the right to protest
Assemble: 12-2PM Saturday 15th January, Cornmarket, central oxford.
Called by Oxford Extinction Rebellion as part of a national day of action against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
The PCSC bill is an attempt to suppress anti-racist and protests over the climate and environmental crisis. It will give police more powers to harass Black and minority groups, specifically targets Gipsy, Roma and Traveller communities, and will restrict peoples' democratic rights to protests, giving police new powers to arrest organisers, and to constrain and suppress protests to make them small and silent.
Holocaust Memorial Day online event: 24th January
On January 24th at 6.30PM January Stand Up To Racism has organised a national online event marking Holocaust Memorial Day, to unite against antisemitism and fascism and to say loudly and clearly "Never Again".
The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust announced that the theme for 2022 is “One Day” - when we will all come together in our communities, to learn about the Holocaust and resolve to work for a better future.
"One Day" also means remembering defining moments in history - such as 18 April 1943, when the Jewish inhabitants of the Warsaw Ghetto fought back against the Nazi Regime.
This years HMD comes against the backdrop of the international rise of racism and antisemitism and the growth of the Far Right.
We are also seeing moves by governments, including the British government, to rip up the rights of refugees established in the wake of the Nazi Holocaust.
It is now more important than ever to reflect and bear witness the atrocities that resulted in the murder of over 6 Million Jewish people and millions of others, and to educate a new generation about the genocidal horror that fascism represents.
SUTR & TUC TRADE UNION CONFERENCE SAT 5 FEB 2022: FIGHTING FOR ANTI RACIST WORKPLACES
Join, share and invite to the Facebook event here
On Saturday 5 February trade unionists and workplace activists from across Britain will come together at the ‘Fighting for anti racist workplaces’ conference – hosted by the TUC and Stand Up To Racism – to talk about how we oppose the government’s racist offensive.
Boris Johnson and Priti Patel’s Nationality and Borders bill is attempting to effectively remove the right to seek asylum in Britain while the scapegoating of refugees and migrants continues.
The government’s CRED report denied the reality of institutional racism exposed by the Black Lives Matter movement, despite the massively disproportionate death rate amongst black front line workers and communities.
The government’s new police bill targets BLM activists and the GRT community and strengthens police powers despite the ongoing reality of black communities facing disproportionate use of stop and search and deaths in police contact.
The government is playing the game of divide and rule, attempting to fool working people that ‘others’ – migrants, refugees and Muslims – are to blame for the problems in our society.
This ‘divide and rule’ strategy legitimises racism and risks opening the door to the racist and fascist right.
We need to take up these arguments in our workplaces and build the unity we need to oppose racism and austerity.
The conference will discuss how we do this and how to maximise the trade union turnout at UN antiracism day events initiated by Stand Up To Racism and also supported by the TUC.
Oppose the racist offensive - join UN Anti Racism Day national March Against Racism in London on 19th March
Book your seat on the Oxford coaches to the march here
19 March 2022 - will see events and actions around the world for UN Anti-Racism day.
We are at a crucial moment in the struggle against racism.
In Britain we have an increasingly racist government introducing ever more vicious legislation against refugees & migrants, denying the existence of institutional racism and cracking down on protest.
The government is out to roll back the gains made by the Black Lives Matter movement. It is denying the existence of institutional racism in the CRED report and the on-going reality of racist policing. It is opposing the decolonisation of education—and even defending the “right” of racists to boo footballers who Take The Knee.
Internationally, we see the disproportionate impact of climate change on the Global South and refugees losing their lives in the face of “Fortress Europe”. And Islamophobia, antisemitism and racist and fascist organisations are on the rise across Europe.
On Saturday 19 March 2022, there will be a wave of international events to mark UN anti-racism day—an event to mark resistance to apartheid in South Africa in the wake of the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre.
These #WorldAgainstRacism protests will be held in dozens of countries and cities. Get involved to say #BlackLivesMatter #RefugeesWelcome