Anti-Racism Activist Network

Background

The Anti-Racism Taskforce committed to convening an anti-racism activist network. We held two roundtables to explore the framework of the network with a group of organisations. As a follow-up to these roundtables, we organised the launch of the network in London.

Activist Anti-Racism Network

The launch was attended by over 50 trade unionists, representatives from organisations, campaigning and community groups.

The structure of the day was divided into two main segments:

1. A panel discussion with a group of civil society/race organisations and workplace organisers to explore ideas and share insights. This included the immediate challenges the movement faces in fighting racism, the cross-over in various sectors, our unifying calls and the future for building an anti-racist coalition.

2. Break out groups where participants explored a set of questions related to the potential structure of the network. The questions covered themes of working better together, identifying campaigning issues, creating supportive environments, and immediate actions to be taken forward.

Group feedback included:

• Working better together
  • Having foresight on what groups are working on so that we can amplify together.
  • Carving out spaces to have these conversations is an important way of working together and learning from each other. Combining our skills, experiences and influence.
  • Finding commonalities between us and using these to bridge perceived gaps to strategies together
  • Resource distribution – space, money, facilitation. Need to focus on who is the most resourced rather than who is the most oppressed.
  • Smaller unions are not even mentioning antiracism, it’s a given and inherent in their work. While some sectors you would expect to be doing better are not.
     
• Campaign issues
  • Migrant workers' rights - rights of asylum seekers to work – no recourse to public funds and precarious work. Challenging racist and anti-migrant language at work and in trade unions.
  • Structural racism in relation to the cost of living crisis. Failure to link negative outcomes to core economic issues.
  • The criminalisation of solidarity – awareness of rights and to feel supported. Empowering the grassroots, people are rightfully scared.
  • Global green justice – we want to prioritise a just transition and a global anti-racist new deal.
  • Connecting with the international struggle and need to recognise the range of racism, nationally and globally
     
• Support and help
  • The need to build political power and inserting anti-racism into every space. Building racial literacy covering the economy, intersectionality and how to run campaigns
  • How do we bring in allies? How do we speak for, with and on the behalf of? The hierarchy of racism which often comes up when discussing this work- it is easy to get sucked into hierarchy and we need help to oppose that.
  • Exploring how to deal with power and what strategies do we need
     
• Moving forward
  • Peer to peer training for trade unionists around abolitionist thinking and community organising. What is the best way we make a point collectively?
  • Aspirations to grow the network and provide constant follow ups for people to come back to.
  • Have concrete asks for things for people to do. Create a sign-up process for levels of engagement.

The framework going forward

1. The aim of this network is to agitate, educate and organise anti-racist activists, nationally. Building alliances and sustaining a network demands constant renewal and must be based on simple demands

2. The TUC’s role is to organise an in-person conference bi-annually, and other meetings to be held online during the year.

3. The next in-person network meeting will be announced soon.