Racism

Racism

• Black Power Afterlives: The Enduring Significance of the Black Panther Party - book review

  

  Black Power Afterlives provides a range of views on the Black Panther Party, some of which hint at what a revival of the radical core of the Party could mean, argues Yonas Makoni

• Republic of Islamophobia: weaponising the tragedy in France for political ends

  

  The horrific killing of a schoolteacher is being used as an opportunity for the state to renew a racist offensive against French Muslims, argues Susan Ram

• Theatre and the struggle against apartheid

  

  Jacqueline Mulhallen on theatre and the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and Britain

• Confronting boxing's segregation history

  

  Imperialist and racist tactics were used to attempt to ensure both literal and symbolic white dominance of the sport, argues Gavin Lewis

• Justice for Joyce: Canada’s racist healthcare system

  

  The racist abuse faced by dying Indegenous woman Joyce Echaquan is symptomatic of systemic racism in Canada, writes John Clarke

• Penally camp: Pembrokeshire unites to boot the fascists out

  

  The far-right have been mobilising at Penally camp where refugees are being housed, but anti-racists have have stepped up their organisation in response, reports Jim Scott

• Racist America: forced sterilisations of refugee women

  

  Refugee women in detention being given forced hysterectomies without consent is yet another reason why Ice must be abolished, argues Eleftheria Kousta

• 'It isn’t only guns that kill': racism in Britain’s criminal justice system

  

  Attempts to minimise racism in the UK because British police aren’t armed like their US counterparts don’t stack up, argues Luna Williams

• Danièle Obono interview: racism, the movement and the virus in France

  

  Susan Ram interviews Danièle Obono, an MP with La France Insoumise on the anti-racist movement after she was racially attacked by a French magazine

•  'Greatness' In A Time Of Covid

  

  A poem by Tayo Aluko

• Serbia and the 'refugee crisis': from good Samaritan to guard of 'Fortress Europe'

  

  Obedience to European diktat and fierce competition in national politics has helped to harden Serbia's policy towards refugees and migrants, argues Anja Ilić

• No to the exam factory: what kind of education do we want? - video

  

  Lindsey German discusses the state of education and what the alternatives could look like

• Paris protest supports Black MP against racist magazine

  

  As demonstrators show solidarity with demonised Black MP Danièle Obono, the left in France should continue to step up the fight against racism, argues John Mullen

• Where does racism come from? - video

  

  As part of a series on Marxism in the Modern World, Shabbir Lakha looks at the roots of racism and what that means for the struggle against it

• Business as usual for police brutality

  

  Black Lives Matter has put racist police brutality in the spotlight, but the police continue to operate with impunity, writes John Clarke

• This country is non-functioning: Black Lives Matter resets itself after Kenosha

  

  As Trump and the far right try to capitalise on urban unrest, pro athletes take the movement to new heights, reports Kate O’Neil

• Jacob Blake and Kenosha: the chickens are still coming home to roost

  

  Kate O’Neil reflects on the US empire’s latest eruption of racism and violence

• The 'drowned and the saved': why migrant and refugee lives matter

  

  As racist politicians attempt to fan the flames of prejudice and hatred, refugees need our complete solidarity, argues Floyd Codlin.

• Why we need to defund the police and disarm the state

  

  As part of a series on what next for Black Lives Matter, we repost this article exploring the demand to defund the police

• Is a society without oppression possible? - explainer

  

  In the seventh part of a series of socialist explainers, Elaine Graham-Leigh analyses where oppression comes from and if it can be overcome

• Why the government is to blame, not the people - CounterBlast

  

  Boris Johnson’s Tory government should be held responsible for the scale of the coronavirus crisis, not ordinary people, argues Alex Snowdon

• Immigration Nation and the brutality of America’s borders

  

  Immigration Nation gives a damning overview of America’s cruel immigration system and the power of the American State, writes Lucy Nichols

• The Met Police is using software that racially profiles ethnic groups

  

  The new 'Origins' programme being implemented by the Met takes their policy of racial profiling and abuse one step further, reports Shabbir Lakha

• The Labour leadership isn’t serious about anti-racism - CounterBlast

  

  Starmer isn't fighting racism, he's fighting the left, writes Lucy Nichols

• Black Lives Matter in a time of pandemic

  

  Nearly two months on from George Floyd’s brutal killing, the struggle against racist police violence is contending with a catastrophic resurgence of Covid-19, writes Susan Ram

• London demands justice for Breonna Taylor in seventh week of BLM protests

  

  Saturday's march for Breonna Taylor underlines the continuing determination of the movement seven weeks on, reports Jamal Elaheebocus

• UK police: racist to the core - CounterBlast

  

  Institutional racism is not just a concept that applies to the US but a very real fact for people of colour in the UK, argues Shabbir Lakha

• Far-right nationalism in Poland: persecution and resistance

  

  Poland's right-wing populists owe their success to liberal capitalism's failure, writes Reece Goscinski

• Five films on the black struggle

  

  As Black Lives Matter continues to make gains, Counterfire writers discuss a personal selection of films concerning race and class in the US and UK

• Olive Morris: British Black Panther, squatter and radical activist

  

  In the week Olive Morris would have turned 68, Julie Al-Hinai remembers the radical black activist and her contribution to the movement

• London marches for Shukri Abdi

  

  A march for justice for Shukri Abdi advances another important campaign in the battle against systemic racism, reports Lucy Nichols

• The UK is systemically racist: the fight has just begun

  

  Luna Williams, a political correspondent for the Immigration Advice Service, writes for Counterfire on racism in the UK

• Erasing empire has to end: why schools need to decolonise the curriculum

  

  Decolonising the curriculum and supporting BAME children at school is a critical step towards tackling systemic racism, argues Jamal Elaheebocus

• Reconstruction in the USA: Black freedom denied - part 2

  

  In the second of a two-part analysis, John Westmoreland explores the successes of Reconstruction, and the subsequent attempt to airbrush them from history

• Racism is systemic, so why are we still talking about privilege?

  

  Locating racism as rooted in capitalism is key to building the kind of movement that can end it, argues Shabbir Lakha

• Staying in the streets: Black Lives Matter protests continue across the UK

  

  Black Lives Matter protests continued in cities and towns all over the country for a fourth week 

• Reconstruction in the USA: Black freedom denied - part 1

  

  In the first of a two-part analysis, John Westmoreland examines the contradictions of American society which laid the basis for black oppression to persist after the Civil War

• Blowing open the past: Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods reviewed

  

  Spike Lee's latest is a powerful and deeply political triumph, finds Chris Nineham

• I Am Not Your Negro - film of the week

  

  I Am Not Your Negro is an unforgettably powerful film that you must not miss, writes Dragan Plavšić.

• Don’t let the dust settle on Cecil Rhodes

  

  The agreement to remove Cecil Rhodes’s statue is a big win for the movement and shows that protest works, argues David Jordan

• Black history you can’t be without: Nine books on the struggle

  

  A reading list of nine essential books on black history and the struggle against racism

• When Alabama revolutionaries took on the KKK

  

  Despite powerful and brutal opposition, black and white communist workers battled bravely against injustice in Alabama, writes Sean Ledwith

• The coming culture war - CounterBlast 15 June

  

  No amount of Westminster window-dressing can dampen this global revolt against racism, writes Lucy Nichols

• The good, the bad and the ugly – weekly briefing

  

  Lindsey German on the Black Lives Matter movement and its impact

• Black Lives Matter protest marches through South London

  

  Hundreds marched from Burgess Park demanding justice for George Floyd and justice for Grenfell, reports Cici Washburn

• Reclaiming our history

  

  Behind the symbolism of statues lies a more fundamental battle over the reality of British racism, past and present, argues John Westmoreland

• Black Lives Matter protests continue to spread across the UK

  

  Around the country, thousands of people marched, knelt and shouted against racism on Saturday. We report on some of the local Black Lives Matter protests

• London: BLM protesters keep up the pressure

  

  Protesters march to Trafalgar Square after inspiring rally in Hyde Park to continue the renewed fight against systemic racism, reports Harry Welch

• Boris Johnson, statues and staying in the streets

  

  As Johnson launches lazy attacks on the movement, now is no time to retreat, argues Lindsey German

• The uprising on Trump's doorstep: Black Lives Matter in DC

  

  The Black Lives Matter protests in Washington DC are taking the fight straight to Trump, reports Shabbir Lakha based on an interview with Sarah Govan

• Prestwich takes the knee for George Floyd

  

  Activists in North Manchester gathered for a local socially-distanced Black Lives Matter protest, reports Penny Hicks

• Statues come tumbling down - CounterBlast 10 June

  

  The growing campaign to remove racist iconography takes us nearer a progressive and decolonised curriculum for future generations argues Sean Ledwith

• Black Lives Matter, the sixties and socialist organisation - video

  

  Lindsey German interviews Tariq Ali on the Black Lives Matter protests, their significance and the struggles ahead

• Black people protesting racism are not thugs - CounterBlast 8 June

  

  Johnson’s attempt to demonise protesters in Bristol reveals his true colours, argues Lucy Nichols

• #BLM: Doncaster steps up

  

  This weekend's protest in Doncaster was an important action in the battle against those who would misrepresent the town, argues Mick Wattam

• A turning point against racism – weekly briefing

  

  Lindsey German on fighting oppression and the continuing Covid crisis

• #BLM: reports from a day of protest

  

  Thousands take to streets across the country in uncompromising stand against systemic racism

• The message from London is clear: Black Lives Matter

  

  For the third time this week, tens of thousands of people gathered in London to demand an end to police racism, reports Lucy Nichols

• Même police, memo racisme! (Same police, same racism!)

  

  In Paris and across France, thousands of protestors are defying bans to express their outrage at police racism and violence, reports Susan Ram

• Why I'm angry: People's Assembly Youth Takeover

  

  Shabbir Lakha speaks on a People's Assembly platform on Black Lives Matter protests, racism and the pandemic in Britain and how we fight back

• Ten days that shook America

  

  The brave defiance of the protesters in America has the ruling class in retreat, argues Chris Nineham

• Noughts + Crosses: a reverse reality that illustrates systemic racism - review

  

  Despite some dubious changes, this BBC adaptation of Malorie Blackman's exploration of race and class is well worth watching, says Shabbir Lakha

• London on the march: Black Lives Matter

  

  At a second mass demonstration in London, thousands of protesters gathered in Hyde Park to racist police violence in the US and here, reports Jamal Elaheebocus

• White supremacist in the White House: Trump’s rotten record of racism

  

  Trump’s predictably divisive response to the killing of George Floyd has only served to fan the flames of US anti-racist resistance

• Coronavirus: death rate higher if you’re poor and BAME

  

  The report into disproportionate BAME deaths from Covid-19 confirms that structural racism is at the heart of the problem, writes Lucy Nichols

• Justice for George Floyd: model resolution and window poster

  

  Counterfire has produced a model resolution you can pass in your organisation and a poster you can download to put on your window or in your area

• Where are the US protests going? - interview with Chris Smalls

  

  Counterfire's Shabbir Lakha interviewed Chris Smalls, former Amazon employee and now an organiser, about the protests sweeping across the US against racist police violence

• The Battle of the Beanfield: an important anniversary in the history of state brutality

  

  Cathy Augustine, Co-vice Chair of the Labour Representation Committee, remembers the Battle of the Beanfield, 35 years after the largest mass arrest of civilians in English legal history 

• Black lives matter: Brixton takes to the streets

  

  A young angry crowd marched to oppose the murder of George Floyd and highlight racism and police brutality in the UK, reports Dave Randall

• This government wants to follow the money, not the science – weekly briefing

  

  Lindsey German on the Covid-19 lockdown, Tory mendacity and the US revolts  

• Minneapolis: a popular revolt against racism

  

  The current unrest in Minneapolis is an explosive response to endemic police racism, writes Sean Ledwith

• London demands justice for George Floyd

  

  "No justice, no peace" rang out on the streets of London as protesters marched in solidarity with Minneapolis, reports Lucy Nichols

• It’s a big deal that the outrage expressed over George Floyd’s death was massive and multiracial

  

  Class struggle doesn’t go away in a pandemic, writes August Nimtz

• Justice for George Floyd: Minneapolis rebels against racist police

  

  Mass protests in Minneapolis continue for a third day in active defiance to the police after the racist murder of George Floyd, writes Shabbir Lakha

• The revolutionary life and legacy of Malcolm X

  

  On the 95th anniversary of Malcolm X’s birth, Alyssa Cassata looks at his radical life and ideas which continues to inspire millions today

• Why are the police racist? 

  

  Racism is an indispensable tool in the police’s mission to protect a deliberately exploitative system, argues Lucy Nichols

• The Jackson State massacre: the savagery of state-led racist violence

  

  50 years on from the massacre of black students at Jackson State College, systemic racism and police brutality remain prevalent in the United States, writes Alyssa Cassata

• Coronavirus statistics lay bare the dire racial inequalities of our society

  

  We don't need another review of evidence, covid-19 has showed we need concrete action to tackle racial health inequality, argues Mona Kamal

• Winston Churchill: he fought for his class, never ours

  

  We repost Dominic Alexander's 2019 article documenting Churchill’s record which tells a very different story to the heroic legacy of popular myth

• Keir Starmer, don’t pander to Modi's fascist regime and its allies in Britain - SASG statement

  

  A statement from Indians for Labour and South Asia Solidarity Group

• White Riot - film review

  

  Rubika Shah's White Riot excellently documents the building of a movement, finds David Randall

• The history of May Day: an unfinished struggle

  

  Out of the Chartist movement, the struggle against slavery and for international socialism, why the demands of May Day remain as vital as ever today

• Disproportionate BAME coronavirus deaths highlight Britain's systemic racism

  

  The impact of Covid-19 on BAME groups is magnifying the pre-existing structural inequalities in society, argues Alyssa Cassata

• (B)ordering Britain: Law, Race and Empire - book review

  

  (B)ordering Britain presents a powerful case that immigration law is rooted in the racism of Empire, and that migrant solidarity must be anti-imperialist, finds Alyssa Cassata

• Coronavirus and anti-racism: no scapegoating, no excuses

  

  This UN Anti-Racism Day, we must make sure that Coronavirus doesn't make any space for racism, writes Lucy Nichols

• Budget blues – weekly briefing

  

  Alex Snowdon on Tory weaknesses, challenging racism and the Sanders campaign   

• Modi is driving Islamophobia in India, the world is watching

  

  Protesters gathered in London to oppose the horrific violence perpetrated against Muslims in Delhi, reports Ben Tunstall

• Modi, Trump and the defilement of Delhi

  

  Hope for Delhi's ravaged communities lies in practical solidarity irrespective of faith, writes Susan Ram

• Notes on the political economy of the imminent Covid-19 pandemic: Conspiracies

  

  Dr Yannis Gourtsoyannis addresses the conspiracies surrounding China's response to the spread of Covid-19

• Dear Extinction Rebellion, the police are not your friends

  

  The police are an institutionally racist, anti-working class organisation and no amount of love-bombing will change that, argues Shabbir Lakha

• Chinese are not a virus; racism is

  

  Solidarity, not stigma or division, is the key to beating this coronavirus, argues Lawrence Wong

• France: Macron stokes up Islamophobia to deflect from the movement to defend pensions

  

  Strikes and elections are redrawing the political landscape, argues John Mullen

• Patel's new immigration system: racist and anti-working class

  

  The government's attacks on immigration and the public sector are an attack on us all, writes Alia Butt

• The socialist argument against the Tory anti-immigrant offensive

  

  The labour movement cannot give any credence to the Tories' arguments and must ferociously oppose this anti-immigration clampdown says Kevin Ovenden

• James Baldwin: Living in Fire - book review

  

  Living in Fire is a pithy yet powerful introduction to James Baldwin’s political life as a street fighting intellectual, raging against the world’s racist and reactionary forces, finds Adam Tomes

• Windrush all over again: Johnson's racist society takes shape

  

  Boris Johnson's hard-right government have shown their authoritarian hand in defying the courts to deport dozens of British-Jamaicans with spurious justifications, reports Mona Kamal

• Coronavirus: an effect of global agribusiness

  

  Growing profit first and food second is the reason for the virus. Look to modern industrial farming for the culprit, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• The Tories and the directions of travel

  

  Martin Hall assesses which way Boris Johnson's government is heading and the contradictions he faces

• Ten books to shake 2020

  

  Want to turn the world upside down in 2020? Philosophy Football’sMark Perrymanhas found ten books to help us on the way

• The Canary and The Crow at Arcola Theatre - review

  

  Alia Butt reviews The Canary and The Crow, on at the Arcola Theatre until 8 February

• Meghan and Harry: the royal descent of an archaic institution

  

  The monarchy serves only to normalise inequality, so let Harry and Meghan go forth and shake it up, writes Sofie Mason

• 1860s: the red thread of working class internationalism

  

  Rebecca Long-Bailey’s appeal to ‘progressive patriotism’ is misguided but the working class internationalism of the 1860s is inspiring, argues Alex Snowdon

• Black British History: New Perspectives - book review

  

  Black British History reveals neglected and hidden histories of the African diaspora in Britain from the Romans to the twentieth century, finds Paul Fredericks

• Jewish activists speak out: why we’re campaigning for Corbyn

  

  Counterfire’s Kate O’Neil caught up with three Jewish activists campaigning for Jeremy Corbyn this week to hear what they had to say

• Why we will not be silent on Palestine

  

  The fight for a free Palestine will not stop until there is justice and equality for all, writes Gabriel Polley

• Who knew: 52% of the population matter? - election briefing 29 November

  

  Lindsey German on Labour’s privileging of Remain, Trump’s arrival, and double-standards

• Antisemitism: real news, old news and fake news - election briefing 27 November

  

  Lindsey German on racism and witch-hunting

• Oxford Union violently ejects blind, black student from debate

  

  The Oxford Union demonstrates that it remains at heart a racist, conservative institution, argues Josh Newman

• Immigration: it’s not about statistics, it’s about racism – election briefing 15 November

  

  Lindsey German on the manipulation of social division and Boris’ common touch

• At last a large-scale fightback against Islamophobia in France?

  

  John Mullen reports from Paris on a major breakthrough for Muslims fighting oppression in France

• Lessons from the remarkable life of Paul Robeson – part 2

  

  Paul Robeson's extraordinary life is a lesson to us today, writes Tayo Aluko

• 7 black heroes that changed the world

  

  For Black History Month, Counterfire asked activists today to tell us about their black hero and how they provide inspiration in our struggles today

• The hostile environment and Fortress Europe are responsible for the 39 dead

  

  The shameful Tory and EU policies stopping safe passage for refugees are the cause of the tragic deaths of 39 people in the back of a lorry, argues Mona Kamal

• Lessons from the remarkable life of Paul Robeson - part 1 

  

  Paul Robeson's extraordinary life holds many lessons for the present day, writes Tayo Aluko

• Navigating the Zeitgeist: A Story of the Cold War, the New Left, Irish Republicanism, and International Communism - book review

  

  The story of an active life during momentous times from the Cold War to the 1980s turns out to be more personal than resonating with the political, finds Jacqueline Mulhallen

• Why join Counterfire?

  

  We need a bigger, stronger extra-parliamentary left.

• The Centenary of the 1919 Race Riots

  

  For Black History Month, we are reposting Madeline Heneghan's piece on the race riots of 1919 

• Ibsen in Calcutta: A Doll's House reimagined through the lens of British colonialism

  

  Tanika Gupta's reimagined Ibsen shines a light on the class-based oppression inherent to colonialism, finds Ellen Graubart

• Blackface scandal threatens Trudeau's progressive act

  

  The blackface scandal Justin Trudeau is embroiled in threatens to tear apart his thin veneer of progressivism, argues John Clarke

• Israel vs human rights: IDF raids Ramallah NGO

  

  Attacking a human rights organisation is a brazen attempt to hide the brutal reality of the occupation, writes Richard Pratt

• Border chaos: why Priti Patel's plans can be stopped

  

  Boris Johnson and Priti Patel want to create a new hostile environment, but they can be stopped, argues Eleftheria Kousta

• The poisonous politics of Priti Patel

  

  The disgraced former minister Priti Patel is back in government with her own brand of toxic politics that must be opposed by the left, argues David McAllister

• How far will he go? Trump and the limits of populism - book review

  

  Chris Nineham assesses the varied interpretations of Trump in this year’s Socialist Register, pointing out the opportunities for the left

• Britain's Trump: why we must bring down Boris Johnson's alt-right government

  

  Boris Johnson is 'turbo-charging' racism and inequality in Britain with his alt-right cabinet committed to austerity, argues Sean Ledwith

• The Centenary of the 1919 Race Riots

  

  One hundred years after the race riots of 1919, author, activist and co-director of Writing on the Wall, Madeline Heneghan reflects on racism then and now

• Attack on Palestine solidarity turned back in Vancouver

  

  When the left steps up and organises against the attacks, it can win, as shown in Vancouver, reports John Clarke

• Trump hates the Squad’s politics as much as their colour

  

  Trump's appalling racist attacks on the four Congresswomen is just as much about their radical left wing politics, argues Kate O'Neil

• Nasty but vulnerable: why we can get rid of Boris

  

  Boris Johnson is dangerous and it is imperative we build a movement to stop him, argues Katherine Connelly

• Boris Johnson is a racist, sexist, warmonger who must be stopped - video

  

  "If you try to have a war with Iran... you will create a mass movement against war in this country of the sort that you haven’t seen in more than a decade"

• Not my Prime Minister - People's Assembly kicks off week of protest

  

  On the eve of Boris Johnson's coronation as Prime Minister, Londoners gathered outside Downing Street to show their opposition, reports Chrissy Brand

• The Storming of the Panthéon!

  

  Through their occupation of an iconic Paris monument, the Gilets Noirs have placed before the world the atrocious situation of France’s vast hidden ranks of undocumented workers, writes Susan Ram

• Football as resistance: women kicking back against bigotry

  

  Shadia Edwards-Dashti, journalist and Actonians football player, highlights the significance of women's football beyond the pitch

• BBC Panorama hatchet job on Labour antisemitism is a farce

  

  The BBC's Panorama on antisemitism in the Labour Party provides no real evidence and shows how cynical the smear campaign is, argues David McAllister

• Adopting the IHRA definition didn't end the attacks, it accelerated them

  

  Apologising for an epidemic of antisemitism in Labour that isn't there and giving in to the right's demands has only accelerated the attacks, argues Lindsey German

• Canada joins campaign to stifle criticism of Israel

  

  Canada becomes the next major player in the international drive to weaponise false allegations of antisemitism to protect Israel, writes John Clarke

• A Canadian genocide

  

  Challenging Canadian colonialism means challenging Canadian capitalism, argues John Clarke

• The Common Wind charts the black resistance movement that won - book review

  

  Scott’s classic The Common Wind shows the world-historic impact of the Haitian Revolution of 1791, the first successful slave revolt in history, finds Dominic Alexander

• Trump and Farage: gruesome twosome of the resurgent right

  

  Trump is feeding a toxic resurgence of the pinstriped populist right, argues Sean Ledwith

• Britain refuses to withdraw from the Chagos Islands

  

  Despite a decisive UN vote, Britain still has no intention of giving up the Chagos Islands, reports Jacqueline Mulhallen

• Milkshakes, moralism, and the rationalist error

  

  Some on the left are crying when they should be laughing, argues John Rees

• Sri Lanka: manipulating a terrorist outrage

  

  From draconian emergency powers to a ban on Muslim women’s face coverings, a delinquent government seeks to mask its own catastrophic failures, writes Susan Ram

• City of Segregation, One Hundred Years of Struggle for Housing in Los Angeles - book review

  

  Andrea Gibbons’ history of the battle for equal housing in LA uncovers the intensity and injustice of segregation, which remains a highly visible aspect of US cities, finds Adam Tomes

• Israeli elections: apartheid or apartheid-lite

  

  Israelis have voted for their preferred version of apartheid - we must stand with the Palestians, writes Sybil Cock

• What's to blame for knife crime?

  

  As more young lives are being tragically lost to knife crime, we must demand an end to austerity and investment in our communities, the very opposite of the Tories response of racism and repression, argues Julie Al-Hinai

• Brexit chaos and the far right: the racists must be stopped in their tracks

  

  Broad anti-fascist mobilisation is needed to smash the racists empowered by the government's Brexit mess, writes Chris Nineham

• Keep fighting for Corbyn: Stop the attacks - Counterfire freesheet March 2019

  

  The soft coup against Corbyn and the weaponisation of antisemitism, Tory Brexit crisis, Winston Churchill, Venezuela, climate change, Palestine and more in this month's Counterfire Freesheet

• Who's to blame for the rise of Islamophobic terrorist attacks?

  

  After the terrorist attack in Christchurch and now the attacks on Birmingham mosques, Shabbir Lakha finds that it's leading politicians and the media fuelling Islamophobia

• We must stand up to Islamophobia - video

  

  Speaking at the Stand up to Racism march in London, Chris Nineham says we need a campaign that takes on Islamophobia and the politicians and media that fuel it

• Christchurch terrorist attack: Stop the War statement

  

  Islamophobia has been fuelled by the 'War on Terror' - Stop the War Coalition's statement on the terrorist attack in New Zealand

• The Making of a Two Tone Nation

  

  40 years on, Mark Perryman celebrates the debut release from The Specials

• Islamophobia is the dominant form of racism: why is it being ignored?

  

  Attacks on Islam and Muslims are the central organising principles of far-right movements across Europe, argues Chris Nineham

• Is Sajid Javid's deprivation of Shamima Begum's citizenship legal?

  

  Looking at the law, it's clear that the Home Office decision to strip Shamima Begum of her citizenship is incorrect, argues Attiq Malik

• Deportation flights: Tories have learned nothing from Windrush

  

  Despite the furore over the Windrush scandal last year the Tories show no signs of scaling back their racist deportation policies, argues Sean Ledwith

• No to hate in our beautiful city

  

  An Islamophobic attack on a school in Newcastle has been met with a 'human chain' anti-racist protest and community meeting addressed by MP Chi Onwurah, reports David McAllister

• The Rhyming Guide to the Stansted 15

  

  From error to terror, Potent Whisper rhymes in solidarity with the Stansted 15

• Saying never again means resisting in the present

  

  Remembering the Holocaust means remembering the horrific slaughter of Jewish people, but also the resistance and solidarity, and resolving to put 'never again' into practice, writes Dana Mills

• Explo Nani-Kofi: fighting back against the hostile environment

  

  A leading anti-war activist and UK resident of 29 years speaks about the machinations of the Home Office and the campaign to reinstate his indefinite leave to remain

• Why I won't speak at the Oxford Union

  

  I was recently asked to debate at the Oxford Union. Here is my letter to the officers of the Oxford Union refusing to do so.

• Why does the Oxford Union insist on inviting fascist speakers?

  

  As Marion Maréchal-Le Pen speaks at the Oxford Union, the latest far-right figure to be invited, Dana Mills argues that it is an abuse of free speech and minorities pay the price

• Question Time's attacks on Diane Abbott are part of a pattern

  

  The vile treatment of Diane Abbott on the BBC's Question Time fits a theme of undermining left wing voices and pandering to the right, argues Des Freedman

• US Shutdown: Trump’s racism hits the wall

  

  As the shutdown becomes the longest in US history, Sean Ledwith reports on the consequences of Trump's racist antics

• There's no refugee crisis in Britain, only a hostile environment and racist scapegoating

  

  The current Tory-manufactured “refugee crisis” is part of the same hostile environment that this government has created for its own citizens, argues Cathy Augustine

• Our ten most popular articles of 2018

  

  The most popular articles on Counterfire this year

• The streets belong to us: Tommy Robinson supporters outnumbered

  

  Thousands of antifascists on a united demonstration marched in London, outnumbering Tommy Robinson and his supporters, reports Julie Al-Hinai

• Counterfire's books of the year - part one

  

  We asked a few leading campaigners and performers from the left what books have inspired them over the last twelve months

• Migrant Caravan attacked: new leaders, same racism

  

  As Central American asylum seekers are met with tear gas and rubber bullets, Amy O'Donoghue reminds us that state racism is nothing new

• The Apocolypse of Settler Colonialism - book review

  

  Gerald Horne exposes how the Three Horseman of the Apocalypse - Slavery, Capitalism and White Supremacy gave birth to the rise of the West, finds Adam Tomes

• Deport, Deprive, Extradite: 21st Century State Extremism - book review

  

  Deport, Deprive, Extradite exposes the systematic racism lurking behind our supposedly liberal system of civil rights, finds Sean Ledwith

• Trump loses Congress, but the Democrats are not the winners

  

  Last night's results show increasing polarisation in US politics, with establishment politics the loser, argues Shabbir Lakha

• From stop and search to 'hands up, don't shoot'

  

  Stop and search powers continue to be used disproportionately against black and minority ethnic people. Floyd Codlin investigates this ongoing problem

• Migrant Caravan: Trump sends 5000 troops to stop refugees

  

  Thousands of troops have been sent to the US border as Trump vows to stop the Migrant Caravan, reports John Clarke

• Stop Tommy Robinson, All out for 17 November - Counterfire Freesheet November 2018

  

  Opposing the far right, people's vote, police racism, precarious workers, climate chaos, universal credit and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

• Brazil election: Bolsonaro's victory and the struggle ahead

  

  The victory for far-right Bolsonaro is a dangerous development and it is now a critical moment for the left to unite and win the streets, argues Orlando Hill

• Philip Green: an embodiment of the system not an anomaly

  

  Philip Green is a particularly odious example of the exploitation endemic to capitalism, and our response needs to confront the system that enables him, argues Mona Kamal

• Tommy Robinson and the far right must be driven out of mainstream politics now

  

  We mustn't allow fascists the space or time to strengthen their organisation before we act: the threat is real

• Stop Tommy Robinson: leaflets for National Unity Demonstration Against Fascism and Racism

  

  On 17 November, we will be out marching against racism and the fascist thug that is Tommy Robinson - we provide leaflets for you to print and distribute

• Be clear: Tommy Robinson is a violent, fascist thug

  

  Don't be fooled by Tommy Robinson's attempts to come across as a man of the people. He is the very opposite of that

• The far right, grooming gangs and racist lies

  

  New far right movements claim that Muslim men are a threat to white girls but this old racist trick should not fool us, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• Mistaken Identity: Race and Class in the Age of Trump - book review

  

  Mistaken Identity reveals identity politics as the strategy of defeat, but solidarities are built through engagement in existing movements, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• Brexit breaking point: it May be the end of this government - weekly briefing

  

  The crisis for Theresa May and the Tories continues to deepen, their only lifeline would be a second referendum, argues Lindsey German

• The Bolsonaro effect: what now for Brazil?

  

  As Brazil's elections progress to the second round, Orlando Hill examines the prospects for the left in defeating the presidential candidacy of the far right Jair Bolsonaro

• Tommy Robinson and the British army: time to fight back

  

  As the far right continues to mobilise, it's crucial the left pushes them back, writes David McAllister

• North West London come out in voice against police violence in Harlesden and racism in wider society

  

  Protestors came out in support of a man who was violently attacked by police in Harlesden, and called for a fightback against racism in society

• An African in Imperial London - book review

  

  Danell Jones’ biography of an African man living in Edwardian London reveals a remarkable life amid the racism and imperialism of the time, finds Jacqueline Mulhallen

• The 'Heart of Darkness' does not 'smell of victory'

  

  Conrad's portrait of imperialism in turn-of-the-century Congo has much resonance for the contemporary reader, argues Floyd Codlin

• Orange is the new black - analysis

  

  Beyond the sly humour and emotive character interactions lies a story of deep institutional repression and desire for radical new approaches to justice, argues Jago Corry

• Corbyn makes defiant speech as thousands welcome him to Liverpool

  

  At a Labour rally at Liverpool's pier on the eve of Conference, Jeremy Corbyn gave a radical speech to rapturous applause and loud chanting

• Cricklewood attack: it’s not terrorism if it’s Islamophobic

  

  Media reports and the police response to the Islamophobic attack in Cricklewood shows that it's only terrorism if the perpetrators are Muslim argues Shabbir Lakha

• Is Israel a racist endeavour?

  

  Supporting Palestine is an anti-racist, anti-colonial struggle; Israel is and always has been a racist state, argues Shabbir Lakha

• What Frank Field's resignation tells us about the Labour right's slow coup

  

  Destined for deselection, yet citing antisemitism, the nationalist Leaver's parting shot has been supported by Blairites whose only principle is to smash the left, writes Kevin Ovenden

• National Unity Demonstration against Racism and Fascism: unite against the right

  

  With the far right gaining strength at home and across the continent, this demonstration provides the left with a crucial opportunity to fight back, writes David McAllister 

• When the lying has to stop – weekly briefing

  

  Calling out the smear merchants for what they are is step one in ending this appalling and unprecedented witch-hunt,  argues Lindsey German

• Why Israel is an apartheid state

  

  Israel’s history, from its origins in 1948's Nakba, is characterised by racism, violence and apartheid policies towards Palestinians, explains Sybil Cock

• The fightback is on: hundreds rally behind Corbyn in London

  

  Hundreds of Londoners rallied against the attacks on Jeremy Corbyn and Palestine on Tuesday, Shabbir Lakha reports

• Beyond the veil: some context in the controversy over the burqa

  

  The right instrumentalise Islamophobia but use the liberal trope of universal values to cover up a variety of political contexts, argues Floyd Codlin

• Victory for campaigners as Serco evictions postponed

  

  Glasgow campaigners have halted the attempted eviction of hundreds of asylum seekers, reports Mark Porciani

• Boris and the burqa: taking a cue from the EU

  

  Islamophobic dress decrees have become as much a feature of contemporary Europe as fine wines, ancient patrimony and al fresco dining, writes Susan Ram

• Solidarity with Bookmarks shows a united left can take on the far right

  

  The huge show of solidarity with Bookmarks bookshop on Saturday shows that the left can unite to defeat the far right argues Isabel Carr

• Boris Robinson and Tommy Johnson: two sides of the same racist coin – weekly briefing

  

  When the mainstream starts playing with fire like this it means action stations for our side, writes Lindsey German

• Antisemitism: what the left should say – weekly briefing

  

  We should not apologise for things we haven’t done and we do not shut down a witch-hunt by agreeing with it, argues Lindsey German