MORE THAN 300 anti racist and labour move ment ctivists, around a quarter of whom were black, packed the ARA's first convention on 13 June. Ken Livingstone MP and Manning Marable, a leading black Us academic, were amons a host of speakers.
Anti-racist activists from Germany and Belgium gave the event a strongly European character, describing alarming increase state racism and the growth of the far right in their countries.
Manning Marable drew on US experience to stress the necessity for a democratic antiracist novement with is base and real links with ti community.
Pointing to Jessie Jackson's Rainbow Coalition', he warned against the top-heavy model, relying solely on national figures in the public eye.
Drawing out clear links between race and class in the antiMSF delegation to ARA convention racist struggle, Marable pointed to the recent Los Angeles riots as an example.
The convention was billed as an opportunity for anti-racists to exchange ideas and exseriences and discuss the way forward for the movement. But nti-Racist AL there was in fact little time for discussion.
Important issues were nonetheless raised in a workshop on racist attacks.
Concern was expressed by a number of militants, including representatives of the Newham Monitoring Project and the Southall Monitoring Group, about the direction that the ARA was taking.
Delegates stressed the need scratic structure through which local groups can participate on a national level.
And that the ARA should lend active support to existing black and anti-racist groups, One of the most positive points to emerge trom the con vention was the overwhelming interest and support shown for the Siddik Dada/ Mohammed Sarwar Memorial Committee in Manchester (see SO 23).
Demonstration
A clear indication was given by members of the ARA committee that the demonstration called by the Memorial Committee for 22 August would be made a national priority for the ARA in the coming months.
The convention was a postbeing the first black-led anti- forward, but despite racist movement, ARA still has many tests to pass. It must not fall into thé trap of selfProciamation The ARA neither represents the black community as a whole, nor the entire labour movement. It will have to earn the respect of the coalition on which it is based.
this can be achieved without