| Description | Correspondence and campaign material relating to the early activities of the Anti-Nazi League, supported by the Indian Workers Association. Avtar Jouhl was a member of the steering committee of this organisation.
Papers consist of:
/1 typescript report on the Anti-Nazi League National Conference held at Central London Polytechnic, 14 July 1979, including details of policy resolutions carried at the conference and a list of steering committee members elected, one of whom was Avtar Jouhl
/2 photocopy of notice of change of address of the Anti-Nazi League, signed by Jerry Fitzpatrick, organiser
/3 letter from Jerry Fitzpatrick, organiser of the Anti-Nazi League, to Avtar Jouhl, discussing action taken by the organisation after the arrest of Judit Kertesz, December 1979
/4 letter from Hackney Anti-Nazi League to Avtar Jouhl asking him to attend a co-ordinating meeting to discuss future activities for local branches of the Anti-Nazi League in his capacity as steering committee member
/5-/10 papers relating to the inquest into the death of Blair Peach who was killed at a protest against a National Front meeting in Southall in April 1979. Most of this material consists of campaign material issued by the Friends of Blair Peach Committee, but there are also some information leaflets issued by the Anti-Nazi League, and a statement issued by the Indian Workers Front, Southall including details about a memorial demonstration held for Blair Peach in April 1980.
/11 leaflet issued by the Oxford Anti-Nazi League giving information about a fund-raising event organised for the Southall Defence Campaign, to raise funds for the legal costs faced by anti-racist demonstrators arrested at a rally to protest against a National Front meeting in Southall in April 1979 |
| AdminHistory | The Anti-Nazi League was formed in 1977 in response to the increased activities of and growth in support for the National Front. It is likely to have been established by Paul Holborrow, a district organiser of the Socialist Workers Party, Ernie Roberts, a trade unionist and later Labour MP, and Peter Hain, an anti-apartheid activist and also later Labour MP, following a confrontation at which anti-fascist groups attempted to stop a National Front demonstration in Lewisham in August 1977. The League enjoyed broad support from other left-wing groups, and trade unions, and the founding statement was signed by several hundred trade unionists and community activists, as well as footballers, musicians and other celebrities. Many local Anti-Nazi League groups were set up.
The Anti-Nazi League worked together with a sister organisation, Rock Against Racism, which brought together white punk groups and black reggae bands to unite people through music and combat the threat of racism and fascism. The largest Anti-Nazi League/Rock Against Racism events were large carnivals organised from 1978, publicised in the music press as well as through left-wing networks. Local carnivals were also held.
The Anti-Nazi League was very active between 1977 and 1979 in organising anti-fascist demonstrations, including a protest march against racism in Brick Lane on 14 May 1978, following the racist murder of Altab Ali, a protest against a National Front demonstration at Southall on 23 April 1979. Here the police Special Patrol Group attacked Anti-Nazi League demonstrators, and Blair Peach, a teacher and member of the Anti-Nazi League, was killed.
Between 1977 and 1979, several million Anti-Nazi League leaflets were distributed, and thousands of badges sold. Fifty local Labour Parties affiliated, along with many branches of several trade unions. The campaigning of the Anti-Nazi League forced the National Front onto the defensive, preventing activists from putting their message across and from demonstrating. The National Front did badly in the 1979 General Election, and split into three rival factions, and support on the streets crumbled.
Following the election, there seemed to be less need for an anti-fascist movement, and many Anti-Nazi League and Rock Against Racism campaigners took up different causes, including Right to Work marches, and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament campaigns. The last Rock Against Racism Carnival took place in Leeds in 1981, while the Anti-Nazi League was officially wound down in autumn and winter 1981.
The Anti-Nazi League was re-launched in 1992 by the original founder members of the organisation, at a time when the British National Party were attempting to gain political influence, and fascist groups in France, Eastern Europe and Germany were gaining votes. The Anti-Nazi League became Unite Against Fascism in 2004, with the aim of alerting British society to the rising threat of the extreme right, in particular the British National Party (BNP), gaining an electoral foothold in this country. A connected campaign, Love Music Hate Racism, was formed in 2002, in the tradition of Rock Against Racism. This group uses the music scene to celebrate diversity and involve people in anti-racist and anti-fascist activity, as well as to urge people to vote against fascist candidates in elections.
Sources: Website of David Renton, historian of the Anti-Nazi League: http://www.dkrenton.co.uk/anl/anl.html Accessed August 2006
Anti-Nazi League website: http://www.anl.org.uk/campaigns.htm Accessed August 2006
Unite Against Fascism website: http://www.uaf.org.uk/
Love Music Hate Racism website: http://www.lovemusichateracism.com/about/ |