The violent far-Right protests in London shocked many commentators and the public. But they weren’t such a shock to those of us who are on the receiving end of daily racist abuse online and on the streets. For years black and brown people have been trying to tell the rest of Britain how bad things are, and that the hardcore doing Nazi salutes are just the tip of the iceberg. The truth is these racists do represent a part of this country, and they didn’t just appear out of the blue. They were moulded by our political narrative and the tabloid press.
So rather than sweeping Saturday’s scenes under the carpet, we must face the uncomfortable truth. In London, one of the most multicultural cities in the world, we just had the biggest counter-demonstration against anti-racism and Black Lives Matter in the world. My fellow Brits, there is a serious racism problem.
Faiza Shaheen, Director, Class think tank
Editor's reply
Dear Faiza
The weekend’s far-Right acts of violence were deeply upsetting. As a woman of colour from a Muslim background, I’ve experienced more racism over the last few years and hate crime is rising. We need the police and political leaders to take the rise of the far-Right far more seriously than they do, especially after the murder of Jo Cox. I also believe the majority of the UK abhors this behaviour; we must not let racist thugs spread division and hate.
Ayesha Hazarika, Columnist
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