Hull: Standing Against Hate

After the chaos of the racist rally-turned-riot on Saturday 3^rd August, further action had to be organised. Us anti-fascists were heavily outnumbered and had to flee, leaving the rioters to terrorise the city into the night.

The following week passed as a fever. As in other cities, leaked screenshots from a group chat showed plans for another Far Right demo on Wednesday 7^th, targeting an immigration service. Then there seemed to be plans for Tuesday evening as well, with youth services nearby being evacuated during the day, but the intel that caused this decision was unknown. Social media meant rumours spread fast and it was impossible to know what was an actual plan of the Far Right and what was a mistake. Who was reacting to an harmless group of people, who had seen posts making plans and who was seeing actual rioters? Twice I walked to areas where activity was reported to see for myself and in both instances there was nothing but eerily empty streets. With this atmosphere of fear and uncertainty affecting me, I can only imagine what this week was like for Muslims, refugees and migrants. Thankfully, no riots or Far Right activities appeared to materialise.

Meanwhile, the SWP / Stand Up to Racism reached out to many of us who had been to Saturday’s counter-demo. They called for a zoom call on Wednesday 7^th to communicate with the various groups and individuals who had expressed a desire to organise, including myself. This included other anti-fascist individuals, Co-operation Hull, a representative from the local mosques, the leader of the Black Heritage Collective, people who work with refugees, as well as Stand Up to Racism. Out of the meeting, a demonstration at 10:00 on Saturday 10^th was decided, for unity in the face of the racist/fascist activity. Patriotic Alternative (PA) were due to be holding a rally outside Hull Prison on this day (an action planned before the Southport murders), potentially drawing more of the Far Right protesters out again as well as PA’s own followers.

To put a name to the organisers, ‘Hull Against Hate’ was chosen and a logo was designed – impressively quickly. Facebook and Instagram pages were made by Co-operation Hull to publicise the newly formed group and rally, with all of us then sharing.

The representatives of targeted communities in the call let us know that they would be advising their communities not to attend, for safety. At first, we communicated their advice on the promo for the rally, but then feedback was received that it wasn’t fair to advise people of colour not to attend, so then it was altered to signpost to the advice of the Black Heritage Collective while explicitly stating that Muslims and minoritised communities were welcome.

Over the next three days, we made banners and placards, as well as cards for people to write messages in to then give, with gifts, to groups affected, like immigration services, the mosque and the refugees in hotels. On Thursday evening, the Trades Council voted unanimously to back the Hull Against Hate rally. Reporters, including from al Jazeera, got in contact and a few people volunteered to liaise with them. The police also contacted requesting to call and, after deliberation, it was decided we would speak to them. We didn’t know if the Far Right would hold another demo against us, whether PA would have a notable presence, and felt communicating with the police should be done to try and ensure safety of all attendees, especially since families could be coming.

On Saturday morning, I arrived with comrades at 9:30 to Queen Victoria Square. Hull Against Hate set up on the platform where the Far Right had been speaking from the week before. Numbers were building quickly. With a speaker for music and a megaphone for speeches, we were ready to begin at 10:00.

Despite the short notice, the event drew 200-300 people. Generally, everything went smoothly, with great speeches, including from my friend who’d been threatened at the counter-protest last week, who spoke about what a strong community they’d felt in Hull since moving here this year. Music flowed across the square, with singing and dancing in the sunshine. It was a stark contrast to being in this Square last week facing off against the Far Right’s aggression. “We are not the problem; we are part of the solution” a speaker, a refugee herself, said and cheers rang out.

I’d brought my umbrella this time, in case I had to fend off more eggs, but it went unused. There was no Far Right presence against us thankfully. We had been told they might be gathering at the cenotaph, but we saw no sign of them there nor heard of them anywhere else in town.

At one point, there was an incident in the crowd. I only became aware as a comrade started a chant “Out of the crowd” and as this was taken up by others around him. I dashed over, at this point not knowing what was happening. Someone else started a chant of “Whose streets? Our streets” and, surrounded by people standing against him, the aggressor left the crowd. It turned out that this man, himself part of the rally, started harassing protesters who were wearing masks. He became increasingly aggressive over the masks, then threw a punch at a friend of mine, then shoved and grabbed others. He later rejoined the rally, making me concerned about safety. This incident raised questions for us on how to deal with situations like this in the future – how best to end the altercation – with others concerned about the aggression with which it was handled.

People started drifting away from the crowd around 11:30-12:00. There was a Radical Bookfair that afternoon and this was where I headed when the Square had emptied out and we had helped pack down.

This event helped highlight what our cause looks like. Queen Vic Square was host to music, solidarity, colourful banners, writing cards and giving gifts. To the people of Hull who happened to be walking past or who later read about it on news sites, it will show that there is community and love in this city, an alternative to fires, vandalism and violence. I hope this helps heal and assuage the fear caused by the fascists of the week before.

Going forward, there are questions about where to take Hull Against Hate – even questions about whether this name will be kept. I think it is a great step to have a centralised organising group for anti-fascist action, better allowing us to communicate and work together compared to messaging different groups separately as with the counter-protest on 3^rd August. This will be essential to countering future Far Right rallies. Possibly this will be put to the test on 5^th October, with the Far Right appearing to be mobilising for another round.

I’m impressed with everyone in Hull Against Hate who put in so much work to arrange everything on such short notice and with the pressure on during that week. I love this city and I’m happy to be involved in a small way with organising. We have so much to do to improve conditions here, for everyone, to counter the pull of the Far Right. The urgency of that broader activism is made clear by how many people have been willing to mobilise across the country on the call of a racist lie, cooked up by power-hungry agitators. We have to forge a better way. ■

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