Rock Against Racism
Almost 30 years ago a group of political activists got together with a group of musicians to form Rock Against Racism. It was a movement formed in reaction to rising xenophobia and racism fuelled by Nazi organisations like the National Front.
Bands like The Clash, Steel Pulse and the Tom Robinson Band, to name but a few, helped create a political movement among music fans. The most memorable event was the April 1978 “Carnival against the Nazis”. A huge rally of 100,000 people marched the six miles from Trafalgar Square through London’s East End – the heart of National Front territory – to a Rock Against Racism concert in Victoria Park. The concert and march spelled the beginning of the end for the NF in the face of a young and diverse mass movement.
