Over 10,000 people turned up to the 'Unity Carnival in Hackney, East London on 8 September. Organised by Anti-Fascist Action (AFA) and Cable Street Beat (an anti-fascist music fanzine), the event was a great success with live music from bands like Five-Thirty, Soho and The Indestructible Beat.
In contrast to recent antiracist/fascist actions in London, the organisers put considerable ef fort into mobilising the local community. This was rewarded by an impressive turn-out from Hackney residents, ensuring a much wider audience than the usual far-left and their periphery.
The camival was sponsored by the National Union of Students, the Communist Party of Britain, a numPage 4 Sept. 28, 1991 No. 8 ber of trades councils and - con trasting with the usual stereotype of the racist cockney cabbie - the Cab Section of the Transport and General Workers' Union. The SWP did not sponsor the event nor, surprisingly, were they much in evidence.
AFA would certainly not have been able to organise such an event a year or two ago. But whilst everyone can agree with the carnival's programme statement that "we have organised today's event to draw attention to the growing number of racist attacks, espe cially in East London", the question still remains: how do we "isolate the fascists and kick them out"?
AFA are organising a Rally Against Fascism plus workshops, 'The Lessons of Cable Street, on Saturday 12 October at the Davenant Centre, Whitechapel Rd., London, E1.
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