Anti-Fascist Action - Citizendia

This article is about the UK organisation Anti-Fascist Action. For other organisations with similar names in other languages, see Anti-Fascist Action (disambiguation).

Anti-Fascist Action (AFA) was a militant anti-fascist organisation founded by Red Action and other left-wing groups in the United Kingdom in 1985. Militant anti-fascism is a form of Anti-fascism that advocates the use of Violence against Fascism. Red Action is a small London -based leftist group The organization was formed following the expulsion of several Activists from the Socialist Workers The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located ^[1]

It was active in fighting organisations it claimed were fascist or racist, such as the National Front and British National Party. Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that The British National Front (most commonly called the National Front, and often known as the NF) is a British Political party whose major political The British National Party (BNP is a Far-right and whites only political party in the United Kingdom. AFA had what they called a "twin-track" strategy: physical confrontation of fascists on the streets and ideological struggle against fascism in working class communities. Working class is a term used in academic Sociology and in ordinary conversation to describe depending on context and speaker those employed in specific fields or types While mainstream liberal anti-racist groups often focus their attention on black people and other racial minorities as the victims of discrimination, AFA focused its efforts on the white working class, which it saw as the fascist movement's main recruiting ground. Liberalism is a broad array of related ideas and theories of Government that consider individual Liberty to be the most important political goal Anti-racism includes beliefs actions movements and policies adopted or developed to oppose Racism. The term black people usually refers to a racial group of Humans with dark Skin color, but the term has also been used to categorise a number of diverse White People is the second album by Handsome Boy Modeling School. AFA's physical confrontation approach was more visible than their ideological work, and their tactics were criticised for their squadism and use of violence. Squadism was a militant movement within the Anti-Nazi League in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early 1980s

Ireland's Anti-Fascist Action appears to be modelled on the British group, but its website implies that it has a greater emphasis on Irish Republicanism. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Irish republicanism (Poblachtánachas is an ideology based on the Irish nationalist belief that all of Ireland should be a single independent Republic ^[2]

1 History
- 1.1 1990s
2 See also
3 Notes
4 Further reading
5 External links

History

AFA was launched in London in 1985 by members of Red Action and the Direct Action Movement. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Red Action is a small London -based leftist group The organization was formed following the expulsion of several Activists from the Socialist Workers The Solidarity Federation (SolFed is a federation of Class struggle anarchists active in Britain. It was partly a reaction to the perceived inadequacies of the original Anti-Nazi League (ANL), which at the time had wound up its operations. The Anti-Nazi League (ANL was an organisation set up in 1977 on the initiative of the Socialist Workers Party with some sponsorship (and a few small financial donations from AFA members accused ANL of failing to directly confront fascists, of allying with moderates who were complicit in racism, and of being a vanguardist front for the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). In the context of Revolutionary struggle vanguardism is a strategy whereby an organization (usually a Vanguard party) attempts to place itself at the center of the The Socialist Workers Party ( SWP) is the largest political party of the Far left in Britain that stands in the revolutionary socialist tradition Although many Trotskyist groups, independent socialists, anarchists and members of the Labour Party were active in AFA in the 1980s, the main members were always from Red Action, a group founded by disillusioned miltant anti-fascist SWP members who had criticised perceived populist or popular front politics of the ANL. Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the Red Action is a small London -based leftist group The organization was formed following the expulsion of several Activists from the Socialist Workers Militant anti-fascism is a form of Anti-fascism that advocates the use of Violence against Fascism. Populism is a discourse which supports "the people" versus "the Elites " Populism may involve either a political philosophy urging social and political A popular front is a broad Coalition of different political groupings often made up of leftists and centrists who are united by opposition to another group Affiliated organisations in the early history of AFA included Newham Monitoring Project and Searchlight magazine. Searchlight is a British Anti-fascist Magazine, founded in 1975 which publishes exposés about Racism, Antisemitism

Thousands of people took part in AFA mobilisations such as the Remembrance Day demonstrations in 1986 and 1987, and a mobilisation against Blood and Honour in May 1987. Remembrance Day also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day (the event it commemorates or Veterans Day is a day to commemorate the Blood & Honour is a neo-Nazi music promotion network founded in 1987 that is comprised of White power skinheads and other white nationalists. In 1988, AFA formed a musical arm, Cable Street Beat, on similar principles to the Anti-Nazi League’s Rock Against Racism. Rock Against Racism ( RAR) was a campaign set up in the United Kingdom by Red Saunders, Roger Huddle and others in winter 1976 In 1989, there was a split in AFA between militant anti-fascists and members whose views were closer to liberal anti-fascism. Liberal anti-fascism is a form of Anti-fascism that is distinguished by its use of Non-violent, Legal and Democratic methods in fighting The militant groups relaunched AFA that year, with the affiliates Direct Action Movement and Workers' Power, as well as several trade unions. Workers Power is an Trotskyist group which is the British section of the League for the Fifth International. A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming

1990s

In 1990, three AFA members were jailed for attacking a fascist. In 1991, AFA held a Unity Carnival in East London, with 10,000 participants, and a demonstration in Bethnal Green, with 4,000 participants (under the slogan “Beating the Fascists: An old East End tradition”). East London is the name commonly given to the north eastern part of London, England on the north side of the River Thames. Bethnal Green is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. A long street battle between AFA and Blood and Honour supporters in October 1992 was dubbed the Battle of Waterloo because it was centred around Waterloo Station. ^[3]^[4] In 1993, Derek Beackon, a candidate from the British National Party (BNP), won a council seat on the Isle of Dogs in Tower Hamlets, East London; under the slogan of "Rights for Whites. Derek William Beackon is a former UK school bus driver who achieved nationwide notoriety after winning a Millwall council seat for the Far-right British National The Isle of Dogs is a former island in the East End of London that is surrounded on three sides (east south and west by one of the largest Meanders in The London Borough of Tower Hamlets ( is a London borough to the east of the City of London, England and north of the River Thames in East " This signalled a turn in the BNP's policy from confrontation on the streets to a bid for electoral respectability. AFA responded with its Filling the Vacuum strategy, which involved offering a positive political alternative in these communities instead of concentrating on challenging the fascist presence on the streets.

After 1995, some anti-fascist mobilisations still occurred, such as ones against the National Front in Dover in 1997 and 1998. Dover is a town and major ferry port in the county of Kent, England. A new AFA National Coordinating Committee was set up, and in 1997, an official AFA statement forbid members from associating with Searchlight. In 1998 the committee expelled Leeds and Huddersfield AFA for ignoring this policy. Leeds ( is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England Huddersfield ( is a large Market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, 190 miles (306km north There were some local relaunches of AFA groups, such as in Liverpool in 2000. Liverpool ( is a City and Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary By 2001, AFA barely existed as a national organisation. Most AFA and Red Action activists have consequently devoted their energies to the Independent Working Class Association. The Independent Working Class Association (IWCA is a small Working class Political party in Britain with the avowed aim of promoting the political ^[5]^[6]

Notes

External links

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Contents

History

1990s

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links