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‘If we did nothing we would be killed on the streets’ – Benjamin Zephaniah on fighting the far right Racist violence was never far away for the poet and author when he was growing up. And even when the thugs put on suits, the threat of the far right never disappeared. In this exclusive extract, he explains how he learned to fight back This is personal. It started when I was about eight years old. I was walking on Farm Street in Hockley, Birmingham, where my family lived. I was in my own little world, having poetic thoughts and wondering what the future held for me. Then, bang, I felt an almighty slap on the back of my head and I fell to the floor. A boy had hit me with a brick as he rode past on his bicycle. As I lay on the ground with blood pouring from the back of my head, he looked back and shouted: “Go home, you black <banned word filter activated>.” I had no idea what he was talking about. I was going home. Who was black? What was a <banned word filter activated>? At home my mother sat me down and explained to me that there were some people in this country that didn’t like people who were not white, and they wanted us to go back home. I spent the next few months wondering where my “real” home was – I thought it was in Birmingham – and what was so great about being white, and why would anyone want to hit someone because of the colour of their skin? I was growing up confused, but a couple of years later I felt the need to show my independence and spend some time away from my family, so I decided to visit my local youth club. The game of choice for young boys back then was table tennis, a game that I had played a few times and was quite good at. When I arrived at the centre I went straight to the table-tennis table and watched a few games; then I plucked up the courage and asked if I could play. I was quickly surrounded by a group of young boys and girls who started pushing me towards the door and telling me that black people should not come to this club. I was pushed and tripped to the floor a couple of times but I was relieved to see an adult arrive on the scene and come to my rescue. But he wasn’t much help. He did tell the mob to leave me alone, and then he took me into his office, where he told me that it would be best if I didn’t come back to the youth club because I would upset the atmosphere. He said they were like a family at the club, and I should find a family of my own. These are just two examples of the racism that I experienced as a very young boy. I understood very quickly that I had to grow up tough and that I had to always be on the lookout for strangers who hated me and anyone like me. For the next few years I suffered many racist attacks, but I became streetwise. I learned boxing and kung fu so I could look after myself. But there was not much I could do when I was surrounded by 20 of them, and there was not much I could do when the perpetrators were the police. The police brought another level of difficulty to my life, but that’s another story. In order to escape the unemployment, the “thug life” and the West Midlands police force, in 1979 I left Birmingham and headed to London. I found myself in Leyton, east London, which looked very much like the community I had left in Birmingham: working-class white people, who on the whole were enjoying the benefits of a multicultural community. The music of youth then was punk, reggae, ska and soul. Street and park festivals were popular, and (on the whole) the attitude of youth was that we had to stick together in order to overcome the miseries of unemployment, and music was a great way of bringing us together. But it didn’t take long for me to realise that there were two big issues that we had to deal with day after day, and night after night: the police, who had something called the “sus” law that they used to use against us, and the National Front. National Front members tended to have low-cut or shaved hair, rolled-up jeans and steel-capped boots, and they made no attempt to hide the fact that their main purpose was to rid the country of foreigners. They would roam the streets and viciously attack people who weren’t like them. They would often crash our clubs and cause destruction, or they would wait until we left the clubs, follow us for a while, and then attack. There were many times when I had to fight my way out of clubs, or fight my way home, but one of the most violent attacks I ever witnessed happened one night at Stratford. Stratford was a place that was proud of its multicultural makeup. I felt safe there, although I knew that not far away there were no-go areas for black people. Barking and Canning Town were places we were told never to visit. They were National Front strongholds and the racists there clearly marked their boundaries. Canning Town was adjacent to Stratford, where one hot, sticky night I was walking home as slowly as I could. I noticed a couple waiting for a bus who looked as if they were passionately in love. They hugged and kissed so much that I had to lower my gaze in embarrassment. After one long kiss the bus arrived and to my surprise the boy got on the bus, leaving the girl to walk home. I know it was sexist to assume that it was the boy walking the girl to the bus stop, but that was me back then; I was learning. As the girl began to walk away, skinheads (from Canning Town) began to emerge from every nearby shop doorway. They surrounded the girl, calling her a “nigger lover” and a “slag”; they kicked her to the ground and continued to kick her, until I and another passerby intervened. Intervened might be too strong a word; we distracted them just enough to allow the girl to get up and run away, but in the process we got quite a kicking ourselves. What really struck me about this incident was the viciousness of the attack. Strong young men, ranging in age from 16 to 30, kicking, punching and stamping on a girl who was no older than 18. She was white like them, but they hated her because of her love for a black man. Each one of them was filled with hatred for someone they had never met, and someone who could have been related to one of them. They hated us, and they hated anyone who didn’t hate us, and they had even more hatred for anyone who would dare to love us. As a young Rastafarian I was taught not to hate, and it wasn’t in my nature to hate – after all, we were listening to music that was all about peace and love and bringing people together. We wanted to be living examples of how people could live together, but we knew that if we did nothing we would be killed on the streets. We knew that the National Front was a Nazi front, so our slogan became “Self-defence is no offence”, and we meant it. To defend ourselves in local communities up and down the country, black and Asian groups organised self-defence groups. These were people who would spring into action, defending (when possible) anyone who was attacked. In London, we had a group called Red Action, a bunch of leftwingers who operated like an alternative police force. They would come to clubs and gatherings and make sure that the event was not invaded and that people got home safely. There were no mobile phones so they would communicate with each other using walkie-talkies, and they would react to our distress calls much quicker than Her Majesty’s police force. Then there was the legendary Sari Squad. These were women, mainly of south Asian origin, who were experts in various martial arts and ready and willing to take on any racists who would try to spoil our fun. They fought with style, and would usually burst into song after seeing off any attackers. The National Front did not hide their bigotry. They chanted racist songs, they praised fascist heroes and they did Nazi salutes; but then something strange happened. A schism appeared. They had put up candidates in elections before, but now a group within the “movement” thought that they should seek more respectability and concentrate their efforts on becoming a real political party by seeking power through the ballot box. We still had to fight them on the streets. But now some of them had begun wearing suits and appearing on television programmes. They even made party political broadcasts, which some argued was a major contributor to their downfall. They were a great example of a political party with no intellectual base at all. We knew that in order to make Britain more British they planned to get rid of immigrants, but now we also knew that to cut crime they were going to get rid of immigrants, to save the National Health Service they were going to get rid of immigrants, to bring inflation down they were going to get rid of immigrants, to get the traffic moving they were going to get rid of immigrants, and to improve the British weather they were going to get rid of immigrants. It was the only idea they had. The National Front continued to argue among themselves about how racist they should be and where they should concentrate their racism, and as they did so their membership began to wane. And so Combat 18 and the British National Party (BNP) began to grow. For a while the popular face of racism was the BNP, but then they lost their thunder, and then came the UK Independence Party (Ukip) and the English Defence League (EDL). This is not a subject I studied; I was only interested in all this because I was a writer and commentator, so there were times when I would have to confront their members on TV debates, but – I’m going to repeat myself – we still had to fight them on the streets. When the racists were busy changing their names and public personas, the majority of their victims weren’t concerned with what they were calling themselves. When they were deciding whether or not they should be wearing suits or boots, we were not considering how we should dress in response; we were still fighting for our lives on the streets. At various times we were being told by the racists that their enemies were the “Pakis”, or “Jamaican yardies”, or the “Islamic fundamentalists”, but whatever they say, whatever they call themselves, they have been attacking the same people on the streets, and we (those same people) still have to fight them on the streets. Nothing much has changed. I have drawn strength and inspiration from the many people who have stood up to the racist thugs and defended our freedom to walk the streets over the years. When the police would not take attacks on black people seriously, allowing gangs of racists to roam the streets, hunting us down, and when those same police drew inspiration from a government that accused immigrants of swamping Britain, we were left to ourselves. There are many unsung heroes who really did put their lives on the line in our struggle. Some died in action, and we must always remember them. There are no monuments to them, there is no state recognition of them, but they are true martyrs. But I am saddened by some of the people who fought the racists that have now become part of the establishment; at best they tolerate racism by the establishment, at worst they become a part of it. Many became part of what was called “the race industry”. They were skilled in applying for grants and starting projects, or they were skilled at positioning themselves to get the “good” jobs in the booming “race industry”. This is not a criticism of them; I just want to make the point (again) that when they were doing all that, we were still fighting them on the streets. Blair Peach, Stephen Lawrence, Anthony Walker or the girl I saw being beaten in Stratford were not in meetings when they were attacked; they were not applying for grants or running for parliament when they were attacked; they were all walking the streets. I have to agree with those who claim that the political elite has neglected the white working class. There are poor white people living in ghettoes all over Britain, they live in terrible housing conditions, their traditional industries have been destroyed, their schools are being run down, and governments of all colours have been ignoring their cries for help for decades. It’s true. What is also true is that there are poor black people living in ghettoes all over Britain. They also live in terrible housing conditions, their traditional industries have been destroyed, their schools are being run down, and governments have been ignoring their cries for help since the creation of the slave trade and the building of the British empire. It is precisely for these reasons that I have always thought that these poor white people and these poor black people should unite and confront the people who oversee all of our miseries. It is classic divide and rule. The biggest fear of all of the mainstream politicians is that we all reach a point where we understand how much we have in common and, instead of turning on ourselves, we turn on them. In poetry and prose I have said that unity is strength, and that we should get to a point where we are not talking about black rights or white rights, Asian rights or rights for migrant workers; we are just talking about our rights. As long as people of colour and minority groups are seen as the other, as long as we are being blamed for all of society’s ills (including too many cars on our roads), we will keep trying to get our politicians to be honest, and we will continue to call on the white working classes to unite with us. But, if they don’t, we will still have to fight racists on the streets. This is personal. Extracted from the introduction to Angry White People: Coming face-to-face with the British far right, by Hsiao-Hung Pai, published by Zed Books on 15 March, £12.99. The author will be at Waterstones Trafalgar Square, 12 April, 7pm. To reserve a place, email trafalgarsq@waterstones.com http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/28/if-we-did-nothing-we-would-be-killed-on-the-streets-benjamin-zephaniah-on-fighting-the-far-right

Islam is a religion not a race Many bad ideas in islam as well like muhammad marrying aisha when she was 9 if people attack bad ideas in islam how would that make them a racist

Just when you thought the leftest punjabi atheist extremist sunny hundal couldn't get any lower well he does. He goes an abuses tommy robinson using racist language and then try's to defend himself and cover himself using the shield of the Sikh community. When the whole world knows by now that Sunny hundal is an anti-sikh punjabi atheist bigot who defends islam and islamo-fascism to the max but chose softer targets like our community to attack over the years.

Seems like an unjust and illegal entry denial to me. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3417484/British-businessman-denied-entry-skin-colour.html

I wanted to know if anyone else has had experiences of racist/funny reactions from blacks. Out of all the ethnicities in London, it is black people I feel I get the funniest looks from when wearing a dastar. I very nearly got into a fight with one once too because he kept looking at me (mind you I kept looking at him too). I have experienced similar looks throughout the years when wearing a dastar or patka from black men and women alike. Once a black woman was properly eyeballing me when I was younger in a patka. I saw an incident at the Nagar Kirtan after party in Southall once where a black man was being abusive to all the Sikhs. Then I heard from someone I worked with (a Sikh) that a black man randomly attacked him at the Vaisakhi celebrations another year (he bit his face for no reason). Then I remember seeing another black man during the actual day parade another year walking through the crowd like he wanted to beat someone up. Absolute chip on his shoulder. The nerve on this guy (he was surrounded by thousands of Sikhs). And then I remember someone posted something on this forum once about an incident at the Nagar Kirtan up north where a man aggressively drove through the crowd and hit or nearly hit someone with his car. Again, he turned out to be black. I am the only once who has noticed this or does there seem to be some sort of issue they have against Sikhs? Or is it all in my head? With all the recent Islamophobic attacks, funnily, a good chunk of them have been from black people. Again, todays news shows two black women beating up a muslim woman in Southwark on a bus. Mind you, all the incidents I have described happened way before the recent wave of Islamophobia. I don't know what their issues are if there are any (maybe they are jealous on some level) that we have kept our culture/heritage? Or perceive us to be weak targets (religious good boys they can bully or something like that?) I don't know. I'm perplexed.

We can only imagine this sort of hate to increase following the siege in Sydney. http://www.firstpost.com/living/racist-comments-after-facebook-video-starred-sikh-man-1850657.html The above video @ link looks quite innocuous, it's about tips for using Facebook and how likes ensure that your News Feed gets more content. And sure while some of us might not like Facebook videos on our News Feed, that doesn't mean we're going to start swearing at the person in the video who happens to be Vishavjit Singh, an Indian-American Sikh and New York-based cartoonist. Singh has a website called Sikhtoons for his cartoons. When the video was put up on Facebook's Tips page, most of the comments were racist, some calling Singh a 'rag head' or terrorist. As Singh himself noted in this post on Salon, the comments were something like this, “Get the sand niggef off my news feed. Please and thank you." "im not takeing advice from men it those kinda hats period lol” “Bombs..made by him. Lmfao” “Terrorist” “Why would you use a towel head to promote this, ur as crooked as Obama…….no wonder ur a billionaire” One comment even had a person saying, “I had rather cut my wrist than see this.” One person called him an ISIS terrorist, while another asked if they could "borrow your towel on your head I ran out of toilet paper please sir?" Screenshot from Facebook video Singh wrote in the post, "These users have taken umbrage with my countenance. A turban, mustache and a DNA spiral of a beard have provoked a range of responses, some of which I have never heard before despite being stereotyped and targeted all my life for standing out." In an interview to Huffington Post Singh said, "I don't know who these people are. I don't know their stories. If I were to judge them, then I'm a bit more like them in that moment." Racism against Sikhs and basically anyone who is not white is nothing new. Post 9/11 attacks, Sikhs have often been targeted in the America and even other Western countries, their turbans often mistaken for a sign that their were Arab Muslims. The Huffington Post piece points out that Singh had moved to India a child and survived the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom and has faced "abuse and stereotyping," in America as well. This is not the first time that a Sikh man in an ad for a prominent company had faced racist comments or backlash. Last year clothing company GAP had released posters with Sikh actor and jewelry designer Waris Ahluwalia. The posters were then vandalised with racist comments. In response, the company had then made the posters their cover photo for both their Facebook and Twitter accounts. The Facebook Tips video featuring Vishavjit Singh has been viewed close to five million times. A number of recent comments on the post though have criticised the racist comments and called them shameful.

I have just started a new job. I havent had many to begin with so dont have much experience about the different work places and enviroments. I got the job after going through the application process. And the person who chose me for the job is nice. However the main boss who is a whiye man. Doesnt seem to come across welcoming. Infact ive only been there twice so far ad its a part time job. But I get the feeling this guy is a racist old msn type that doesmt want me there. Ive been polite and triendly to eveyone but the vibes im getting from the senior white guys seems like racism. Maybe they are like this because im new I dont know. Everytime I speak to a girl I am also trestef with suspicion. Ive only been there two days and I hate the racist looks.

WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH ADMIN ji, benti, can we please put a ban on racist language. Terms such as "p*ki" etc which seem to be used on the regular on this forum. In the same other profane terms are banned, can a ban be applied to these racist terms please? * P*ki: Chiefly British Offensive Slang. Used as a disparaging term for a person of Pakistani or South Asian birth or descent. The term may be used amongst people of Pakistani decent, however, what right does that give us to use the term? And those who do use it in a derogatory manner, are only associating themselves with those people. As a Sikh forum, one of very few, this platform for healthy discussion attracts people from all walks of life. Sikhs wanting to further their knowledge of Sikhi and non-Sikhs wanting to gain an understanding of Sikhs and Sikhi, respectively. Currently, there are two discussions where profane language is being used. Is this the image we want to create of Sikhs and Sikhi alike? There are children using this site. Yes, this is a forum and therefore discussions can not always be restricted. However, in the same way that other profanity is banned, words such as the "F" word etc, racist terms should also be banned. In the end, it comes down to us, the users of this amazing platform, to watch what we say. In an ideal world, Admin would not need to ban any words. We must ask ourselves, is this what we have been taught by our Guru Sahib? And is this the image we want to create of ourselves? We are Sikhs. Children of our father, Dasam Pita, Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaaj. Pul chuk muaf ji WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH

Devout Sikh sues his former bank for more than £50,000 'after colleagues interfered with his turban and asked if it flashed red in an emergency' A devout Sikh is suing his former bank for over £50,000 after colleagues allegedly interfered with his turban and asked him whether it 'flashed red in an emergency'. Harminder Dhanota, 42, claims he was verbally and physically abused by work colleagues at the London office of Saudi Arabia-based bank Samba Financial Services. He claims that workmates would dislodge his turban and put a sticky note saying ‘Sign here’ on the back of it when he was not looking. Mr Dhanota told a tribunal that his boss Jack Tanna also insulted his religion by showing him porn on a mobile phone and boasted about organising prostitutes for his 'dirty Arab' business associates. Married father-of-three Mr Dhanota said that Mr Tanna also offended him by asking him whether he was 'shagging' female colleagues. Mr Tanna would also allegedly punch his arm, twist his fingers and whack him on the hand with a ruler, making him cry out in pain. Mr Dhanota says that after he began to complain about his mistreatment, he was axed from his £37,500-a-year job in October last year on grounds of poor performance. The IT manager of Chadwell Heath, Essex, is suing the bank for race and religious discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation. He is seeking £56,825 for loss of earnings and injury to feelings. Giving evidence today at Central London Employment Tribunal, Mr Dhanota told how he joined the bank in July 2011 after working in IT for 15 years. Mr Dhanota, who is British but of Indian origin, said: 'I have always taken pride in my religion and culture and find it upsetting and distressing when people mock, ridicule or disrespect my personal beliefs.' Mr Dhanota said that in January 2012, he 'politely reminded' Mr Tanna that he was a Sikh and found his constant abuse offensive and reported him in confidence to HR. He said that his objections only spurred Mr Tanna on to humiliate him further in front of colleagues. In April 2012, Mr Tanna began to launch unprovoked physical attacks, Mr Dhanota told the tribunal. He said: 'The violent conduct was more or less continuous. This included punching, wrestling and finger twisting.' 'At times, the physical assaults would be so aggressive as to cause my turban to loosen, which was the cause of significant distress to me.' Mr Dhanota, who is now deputy head of IT for an NHS Trust, added: 'On one occasion, Jack Tanna showed me explicit pornographic images on his mobile phone, which he knew to be offensive to me by virtue of my religious beliefs and it was clear he found it amusing when I was shocked and offended. 'He would often boast about organising prostitutes and sexual gatherings for his Saudi counterparts, referring to them as ‘dirty Arabs’, which I also found very offensive.' In October 2012, another manager, Prakash Kale, allegedly asked Mr Dhanota ‘Will your turban flash red in the event of an emergency?’ The same month, a third senior manager, Bhupendra Bharakda, left Mr Dhanota 'mortified' by placing a sticky note saying ‘Sign here’ on the back of his turban. Mr Dhanota's solicitor Jay Joshi, of law firm Judge Sykes Frixou, said: 'It is both shocking and ironic that such an ethnically diverse bank appears to condone such outrageous acts of bullying, harassment and discrimination.' Samba Financial Group strongly denies all Mr Dhanota’s allegations and is vigorously contesting his claim. The case continues. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2439488/Sikh-Harminder-Dhanota-sues-bank-Samba-Financial-Services.html UK politician refers Sikh journalist as 'ethnic extraction' A UK politician had reportedly referred to a British-born Sikh journalist as 'some form of ethnic extraction', sparking a row over racism allegations. Gawain Towler, who is the PR manager for UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage, used the phrase in a text referring to journalist Kiran Randhawa, who works in a London-based newspaper. According to The Independent, the news came to light after Towler, who will be a UKIP candidate in next year's European elections, mistakenly sent the text to a photographer instead of a party colleague. Condemning Towler's remarks, Conservative Party MP Nadhim Zahawi said that no one in this age should use such language especially if they want to be seen as fit to run the country. However, Towler, who had later apologised to Randhawa, strongly denied that he had made the comment in a racist context, saying that his partner is an Indian. http://www.hindustantimes.com/Punjab/PunjabAbroadBritain/UK-politician-refers-Sikh-journalist-as-ethnic-extraction/SP-Article1-1129563.aspx

I got into a fight at school with a kid who trying to be funny by taking the mic out of my phag, I got into a right with with him and gave him a bloody nose and a bruise under his eye, I got called into student services and had to talk with several teachers, I thought I did the writing because tbh he deserved it, I gave him a chance to apologise he didn't so I took maters serious, but now I really don't know if it was write, the way I think is, I'm the son of Sri guru gobind Singh ji, I've had countless racial abuse over my life and thats the reason I trained kick boxing and got stronger, so I could fight these ignorant people, but when I had a chat with one of the teachers she wa telling me all this stuff about how you can't solve everything with ur fists and stuff, this teacher was black and she wa talking about how she just ignores people when they're racist to her and suggested I do the same but it's not that easy, then I had a chat with another teacher, I told her I wanted to serve justice, isn't it justice if I stand up for my religion and beliefs when they are vein treatened? But then she told me allthia stuff about Sikhs having to be humble and what u did wasn't it (this teacher was Sikh btw that why he said that) and then she said who am I to serve justice and that I can't fight the whole world when they're racist what she said kinda made sense. I thought my mentality was right but after hearing all those lectures I don't know what to think anymore, I wanted to know ur views was what I did right and should I carry on trying to serve justice how I am or is this just a teenage phase or an erge for fighting that I have ? Was what I did childish coz at the time I didn't feel that way, if I compare all the physical pain I've indured over my life to all the mental pain which came from society being racist then I have to say the mental pain wa way worse, sorry for writing so much just felt like I ha to get this all of my chest asap! Please help !!! Thankyou Wjkk wjkf

SSA, Hi everyone. Well I have been unemployed for quite a while now. Which is bad enough on its own. But my last 2 interviews have left me feeling quite bad. on both occasions i got the feeling that the interviewers where racist. I got quite a few snidely looks ect. is this due to the current climate. ie with 'Asians' all over the papers for bad stuff . and white people reading the papers everyday about how bad Asians are? ive never felt this amount of hatred before. ie i have many white friends in the past. but now i just feel totally different about white people and how racist they can be.