Anti-Nazi League

I guess the other stories that I think are quite neglected when we think about the history is the self-organizing.

You know, we will read the literature about the Anti-Nazi League and Rock Against Racism, but there was lots of informal organizing in our communities, and there were people who never went under banners.

They never had organizational names.

They were just trying to defend their communities.

The idea sprang from young activists who wanted to channel punk's aggression into an anti-fascist campaign.

They teamed up with the anti-Nazi League that had already been organizing squats, block parties, and street marches across the UK.

The Alliance promised that wherever music played, whether a reggae rhythm or a guitar riff, it could become a rallying cry for people of all skins.

That promise set the stage for what would be one of punk's most iconic moments.

In 79, the RAR model demonstrated that large audiences could be mobilized for causes beyond a single protest.

It spawned annual festivals that toured Britain and later Europe.

Even punk groups like The Fall and the Sex Pistols used their tours to support the anti-Nazi League's campaigns.

And some of them wrote songs directly referencing the experience.

How have I not heard about this? K-E-R-E-N-H-A-Y-E-S-O-D.

In 1933, he founded the non-sectarian anti-Nazi League.

In 1933.

Oh, I wonder what the...

The non-sectarian anti-Nazi League changed its mission to directly investigate right-wing propaganda groups.

Amongst them were the Christian Front of Father Coughlin.

Non-sectarian anti-Nazi League.

Its mission was to directly investigate right-wing propaganda groups.

We had a lovely, almost parallel moment with my own daughter.

So when I came up to London from Ipswich in 1993, one of the first gigs I went to was the Anti-Nazi League rally at Brockwell Park.

And recently I checked the dates of this, and Rage Against the Machine were playing, and it was the first time I'd seen them.

And...