Successful stoke carnival helps beat the bnp
Around 2,000 people attended a great first Stoke LMHR Carnival on Sunday September 7th.
Last week, on Thursday, the BNP failed to win another seat on Stoke council in the Abbey Green ward of the city. The BNP had expected to win this seat, but came a narrow second to Labour, and local anti-BNP campaigners say the Carnival was a major shot in the arm, comimg less than two weeks before the by-election.
A fantastically mixed crowd of young and old, black and white, heard top acts like Metz & Trix, Miss Black America, The Unpeople and The Mountaineers play great sets alongside local heroes like Big Cash Prizes, Friends of Ken, Magnificent and Dirty Money.
There were also rousing anti-racist speeches from the likes of Stoke mayor Mike Woolfe, NORSCARF chair and Labour councillor Chris Woods, local MP Joan Walley, and the Anti Nazi League’s Weyman Bennett.
Headline acts Spooks, all the way from Philadelphia, USA, finished off the day in style with a funky set of conscious hip-hop - and enjoyed themselves so much that they pledged to play for LMHR again on their imminent return to the UK.
Credit should go to everyone who worked hard to make the event a success; to name but a few:
Jay & everyone at North Staffs Racial Equality Council; Chris Woods & NORSCARF; Chris Woods & all at NORSCARF; Matt (”Blondie”) of Absolute Design & Magnificent Productions; Shane and the whole Clause IV event management team; Nightfire; all the ANL, NORSCARF, trade union and local individual helpers.
We will be meeting on Tuesday 21st October to discuss what happens next with LMHR in Stoke, including initial plans for the next Carnival. For more details call the ANL office on 020 7924 0333 or email us at lmhr@postmark.net
Click here for loads of Stoke Carnival photos!
Click on the small picture to get the full-size photo
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