EU debate: “Exit will only act to strengthen Fortress UK”
Mikhil Karnik argues that EU law is essential in ensuring that some, including some of those from outside the EU, have the right to reside in the UK. I understand why Owen Jones seeks to seize the opportunity presented by the conduct of the EU and the leaders of its member states in relation to […]
EU debate: In, out, or shake it all about?
Adam DC puts forward a radical abstentionist point of view in the debate about what position socialists should take about the upcoming referendum on Britain’s membership to the EU The starting point for any discussion regarding the UK’s European Union (EU) referendum must be that the issue is one between different factions of capital and […]
The fear of Islamism and the terror of the state
Peter Hill on the ‘power of nightmares’ from Syria to India and the UK. The ‘war on terror’ has seen a revival since the rise of ISIS, aka Da’esh, in Iraq and Syria, and now beyond. Like the original ‘war on terror’ against al-Qaeda several years ago, it has also provided a pretext for authoritarian […]
Black leadership: New and old generations
Graham Campbell discusses the crisis of Black leadership, and the new generation that is emerging. After this year’s general election, a record number of Black Labour and Tory MPs will walk down Westminster’s corridors. Black faces have never been more visible in the establishment and in Parliament. Meanwhile Black working class people, who make up […]
The real effects of racist immigration policy
Kat Burdon-Manley lays out how the current government’s failures around the Mediterranean migrant crisis links to immigration policy at home In the first half of 2015 an unprecedented number of people were killed on the Mediterranean by decisions of our governments. The UK is complicit in the murders of approximately 1750 people travelling from north […]
One man’s terrorist…
Differing reactions to the violence perpetrated by white supremacists and Islamist jihadists reveal how racism is mobilised to advance projects of state domination, writes Duncan Thomas. “You look like a terrorist”, a woman once said to me. Of course, it was just a joke – she didn’t think I actually was a terrorist, but […]
Cartoon: Not waving but drowning
by Caliban’s Revenge, originally featured in the Summer 2015 issue of the rs21 magazine
EU debate: “Leaving the EU won’t get rid of neoliberalism”
Bettina Trabant, originally from Germany, currently living in London, continues the discussion on which side to support in the vote on EU membership. We will be continuing this debate with another article from Brian Parkin tomorrow. Socialists have been debating the upcoming EU referendum ever since the general election in May and can be […]
10 years on: Timeline of anti-terror legislation since the July bombings
There has been an almost constant ramping-up of anti-terror legislation in the UK since the 9/11 bombings in 2001. Legislation passed that year set the context for subsequent laws. In the wake of the 7/7 bombings, 10 years ago today, the New Labour government introduced a new wave of legislation. This timeline tells the story […]
EU debate: “We will have to be making strong and principled arguments against immigration controls and for open borders whichever side we end up on”
Luke Evans discusses some of the term of debates that revolutionary socialist should hold in mind when debating the EU referendum There will be a referendum on EU membership, as a consequence of the Tory majority victory in the UK general election. This referendum is going to be staged as a direct vote between choosing […]
EU debate: “The road to defending the right to migrate cannot go through restricting migration rights”
Charlie Hore kicks off debate and analysis on the rs21 site in advance of the referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, set to take place before the end of 2017. Charlie argues for support for a yes position in the referendum, and tomorrow we will be publishing an article that argues for supporting a […]
Fighting the Prevent agenda
The Prevent agenda is an Islamophobic policy framework that pushes forces racist policing into teachers’ classrooms.
After Dylann Roof: What is fascism?
After Dylann Roof’s racist massacre in Charleston, we republish an article by Anindya Bhattacharyya written in response to Anders Behring Breivik’s massacre on 22 July 2011. The following article was originally a contribution to the ebook On Utøya edited by Elizabeth Humphrys, Guy Rundle and Tad Tietze. The reporting of Anders Behring Breivik’s massacre on […]
It IS racist to worry about “foreign” nurses – a reply to Dr Max Pemberton
The problem isn’t nurses from abroad – it’s understaffing, pay reductions and bureaucracy, writes Mark Boothroyd, himself a nurse. Max Pemberton’s Daily Mail comment piece “It’s NOT racist to worry about foreign nurses” is a truly shameful article of writing. Using the deranged actions of a single individual who happens to be Filipino as an […]
Nationalism and anti-racist strategy after the 2015 general election
With UKIP on the rise and the collapse of the Union seeming imminent, it’s time to take racism and racialisation seriously, argues Brendan McGeever. For too long leftists have been convincing themselves that UKIP is essentially a middle-class phenomenon. But the party has support among sections of the working class, and this has now been empirically […]
Report: They Don’t Represent Us
Lois JC reports from rs21’s participatory day event last Saturday. Videos from various sessions will appear on the site soon. Many woke up on the Friday morning after the 2015 election with a sinking feeling in their stomach, 5 more years of Tory austerity and seemingly with a bigger mandate than the past 5 years. Nobody […]
The shape of Baltimore’s segregation
In an article from the Chicago-based red wedge website, Alexander Billet sees racism and capitalism combine in Baltimore’s history When it was announced some months ago that the city of Baltimore would start cutting off the water of poor residents, the comparison became inevitable: Baltimore is the next Detroit. It was, and is, still a prescient […]
Video: Postcards From Thanet
Thanet Stand Up To Ukip have been waging a relentless campaign against Nigel Farage over the last few months
Migrant solidarity protest in Manchester
Mikhil Karnik reports About 100-150 protesters gathered and laid flowers outside the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal in Manchester on Friday evening. They were there in solidarity with those asylum seekers and migrants who have perished in the Mediterranean Sea, and to protest against the complete indifference of European Governments, who bear real responsibility for the […]
I wish there was a secret army of fish
by Miriyam Aouragh I wish there was a secret army of fish with magical powers near Lampedusa that saved our brothers and sisters when drowning. I wish there were ghosts springing from these dead-underwater bodies that first fly to EU politicians and border police to sprinkle horrific pain on them and then past Katie Hopkins […]
Video: Protesting Katie Hopkins’ hate
Health activist Mark Boothroyd speaking at the Drown (Out) Katie Hopkins protest on Sunday against her hosting a 2 hour show on LBC. On Saturday the Sun published a column where she used terms such as ‘cockroaches’, ‘festering sores’ and ‘norovirus’ to describe immigrants. Mark calls for open borders and safe passage for refugees. Hundreds of […]
EDL prevented from breaking through in Oxford
Anti-fascist demonstrators significantly outnumbered the fascist English Defence League in Oxford on Saturday, and prevented them from marching through the centre of the city.
“Police killed Henry Hicks” – Islington community marches for justice
More than a thousand people protested in London today, against the killing of a young Arsenal fan, Henry Hicks.
Doing politics differently: Beyond UKIP
In a country pub in Kent, “an occasion of pure love” celebrating diversity and unity sent a message to Nigel Farage that we will not take his hatred quietly. Sophie W spoke to a few of the Beyond UKIP Cabaret members about the event, and their thoughts on UKIP and political activism more generally. Why […]
On decolonizing education and the perils of speaking good english
Racism is both material and ideological, reaching even into the heart of language, thought and memory. Annie Teriba asks how education and minds can be decolonized. This piece was originally published on blackgirlspeak.wordpress.com When asked about the legacy of colonialism, I point out that we must still speak a colonial language in order to be […]
The secret of its weakness: racism and the working class movement in Britain
Colin Barker reviews Satnam Virdee’s book Racism, Class and the Racialized Outsider, which is an important contribution to the debates around race and class.
Trevor Phillips and the ideological battle over racism
Anindya Bhattacharyya discusses anti-racist responses to Trevor Phillips. “Trevor Phillips needs to shut up right about now,” read the Facebook update of a friend of mine on Thursday night. The former head of the Commission for Racial Equality was presenting a heavily trailed programme on Channel 4 that purported to state certain “truths” about race […]
Gang abuse in Oxford
Nancy Lindisfarne and Jonathan Neale argue we need to prevent racists from exploiting the suffering of victims of abuse but we also need to go on the offensive against the cover-ups. The article includes distressing descriptions of sexual abuse. It was originally posted on their Sexism Class Violence website. Last year seven men from Oxford were […]
EDL outnumbered by anti-fascists in Manchester
About 200 to 300 supporters of the racist English Defence League (EDL) were bussed in to Manchester’s Albert Square today (Saturday). They held a rally inside a police kettle. Meanwhile around 500 anti-fascists gathered in Piccadilly Gardens for a rally organised by Unite Against Fascism (UAF) and other groups. This was followed by a brief march around the city centre. […]
Thanet demonstration against UKIP
Colin Revolting reports on a demonstration in Thanet rejecting UKIP in its supposed heartland. A grassroots campaign against UKIP is being built across Thanet in Kent and today saw a buoyant march of between 750 and 1000 people flowing along the Margate seafront from the train station to the Winter Gardens. The Thanet Stand Up […]