CONTACT LARAG

laraginfo@yahoo.co.uk

LARAG c/o NUT, Town Hall,
London SE6 4RU

1/4/08 Last chance to Stop the Fascist BNP in London!

Little time is left to mobilise the vote to Stop the fascist BNP being elected on the Assembly.

Help urgently needed now and then up until May 1st. LARAG is prioritising all resources to stopping the BNP .

For info on local activities, or if you want to leaflet your local station, street, estate or local meeting (you can order leaflets from us), then just email laraginfo@yahoo.co.uk

Also we urge you to sign up to www.uaf.org.uk to see all events across London and be updated as new parts of the campaign are rolled out. Events are planned to commemorate the fascist bombings in Brixton , Brick lane and Soho and also to protest about the fascist BNP election broadcast. Get involved now!

15/02/08 Unite against fascism

LARAG urges people to attend the Unite Against Fascism National Conference in Central London on March 1st as the next step in the campaign to stop the fascist BNP in the May elections. More at the UAF website.

Our exhibition will be on display - see link opposite. LARAG is sending a delegation and will discuss the conference and its conclusions and what we can do locally at our next meeting in early March: email laraginfo@yahoo.co.uk for details.

15/02/08 LARAG Press Release:

Response to attack on newly opened Stephen Lawrence Centre in Deptford.

The Stephen Lawrence Centre is a fitting memorial to the racist murder of this young man and a permanent contribution following the determined efforts of his mother, Doreen Lawrence, ensuring that all members of community are given the opportunities that her son were denied.

We are therefore disgusted at the regular vandalism of the centre particularly the significant incident this week, showing the continued existence of racism, and the violence and criminal behaviour that accompanies these ignorant and hate-fuelled beliefs. These latest incidents (4 in total in the last week since the opening of the centre) remind us that the plaque commemorating Stephen on the spot where he was so brutally murdered was also repeatedly vandalised by racists over the years.

Doreen Lawrence fought an inspiring campaign over many years to get justice for her son. She changed policing in London for the better in the process. She was supported by many people and organisations in the process.

Sadly some people have not shown the same respect for her in her battle for justice.

So like the Mayor of London we condemn the vandalism and note that it also comes on the anniversary of the inquest that confirmed Stephen's death to be an unprovoked racist murder.

So racism must not be allowed to drop down the agenda. Especially with the fascist British National Party hoping to get elected on to the London Assembly in May this year. We must all use our votes to ensure racism is not given a voice and space in the forthcoming Mayoral and Assembly elections.

Mahmuda Kabir, Secretary Lewisham Anti-Racist Action Group
and Councillor Jarman Parmar, Chair LARAG

23/11/07 Free exhibition: Fighting fascism in London

New exhibition for Londoners produced by LARAG -
‘The fight goes on! 70 years of struggle against fascism in London.’

On October 27th, the Lewisham Anti-Racist Action Group launched a brand new exhibition: ‘The fight goes on! 70 years of struggle against fascism in London.’

See a slideshow of the exhibition here for more. You can also download a high-quality PDF for printing out ( please note that this is a very large 12MB file and will take a long time to download). Order the exhibition for free loan from: laraginfo@yahoo.co.uk

Using eye witness accounts and some rarely seen photos the exhibition documents three decisive occasions when Londoners have had to mobilise to defeat fascist parties threatening London, whether on the streets or through the ballot box. The exhibition covers the Battle of Cable Street 1936; the Battle for Lewisham 1977 and forthcoming the London elections 2008. Lessons from the past are accompanied by an up to date assessment of the fascist threat to London today, examining the campaign by Unite Against Fascism. There words of wisdom and inspiration from Holocaust survivors and celebrities from TV and music are used to speak out against the evil of fascist parties today and urging people to use their vote. The exhibition shows the important role the Jewish , black  and all other minority ethnic communities have played  in uniting  with all those wanting to defeat the scourge of fascism in our great city.

If you know of a local organisation that wants to exhibit it at a meeting etc email laraginfo@yahoo.co.uk.

Lewisham Anti-Racist Action Group (LARAG) is supporting:

LARAG is participating in and supporting following events:

• We meet monthly and at our next meeting will be discussing anti-fascist activity and our plans in the run-up to the May 2008 elections.

• We send regular emails to update those interested of developments: please write to laraginfo@yahoo.co.uk to get on the list
  

LARAG recent activities:

• We supported UAF campaigning in East London and also mobilising the vote against the National Front in Whitefoot ward in Lewisham: read press release.

• Love Music Hate Racism concert: Local activists and Young Mayor speak out! Love Music Hate Racism, supported by Lewisham Anti-Racist Action Group and Goldsmiths Student, put on a music event on Saturday 27 October, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the historic Battle of Lewisham - a decisive turning point in the fight against the Nazis. We also launched our exhibition, Fighting Fascism in London, (see link above).

LARAG future activities:

• Campaigning as part of Unite Against Fascism is our main priority - see uaf website forthcoming events.

• We are currently discussing initiatives to build the anti-fascist awarenesss in south east London in the coming months. We recommend the recent election briefing produced by UAF: see detailed analysis on web site. We urge all members to circulate this to local community groups, particularly union branches.

• We also recommend the new publication, 'Mythsbusters' about asylum seekers produced by NAAR and Unison.

• Book our exhibition "The fight goes on: 70 years of struggle against fascism in London".

LARAG is:

• a campaigning group of individuals from across south-east London

• working with others to campaign against racism in all its forms. We are the affiliated to the National Assembly Against Racism.

• campaigning against the fascist BNP, as part of the national campaign Unite Against Fascism.

• distributing thousands of leaflets warning people of the BNP’s fascist nature and the need for everyone to use their vote to ensure they do not get elected.

• working with others as unity in action is the most effective way to campaign for justice for all and stand up to hatred and intolerance.

So if you are in south east London join with us to speak out against racism:

• get on to our e-mail list to hear about news and local activities: email laraginfo@yahoo.co.uk

• come to our monthly meetings where we discuss the latest news and plan campaigning. Everyone welcome: we meet the first Tuesday of each month in the Town Hall, Catford. Email laraginfo@yahoo.co.uk for details.

Previous LARAG events: