10 Tartan inclusivity or workers’ internationalism? The St Andrew’s Day Anti-Racism March and Rally in Scotland
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Talat Ahmed
Abstract
Scotland prides itself on welcoming immigrants and refugees. Such a narrative has contributed to a form of civic nationalism that is inclusive and internationalist. Ostensibly laudable for its pluralism, this civil agenda frames a kind of exceptionalism on matters of race in Scotland, whereby racism is viewed as peripheral, if not non-existent. The Scottish Trades Union Council’s annual St Andrew’s Day Anti-Racism March and Rally in November is taken as evidence of such an inclusive Scotland. Organised and celebrated for almost four decades by trade unions and the wider labour movement, and supported by every major Scottish political party, the event has become a beacon of anti-racism on a Scottish public holiday. However, the context and origins of this annual commemoration suggest a different picture, whereby not only is racism present, but a conscious effort was required to build an anti-racist movement from below. In this, Scotland’s Black communities were at the forefront of forging unity and solidarity with trade unionists and anti-racist activists. The Scottish Asian Action Committee was pivotal in challenging the growth of far-right violence in Scotland, and their role as epitomising Black self-organisation will be critical to demonstrating the agency of Black communities.
Abstract
Scotland prides itself on welcoming immigrants and refugees. Such a narrative has contributed to a form of civic nationalism that is inclusive and internationalist. Ostensibly laudable for its pluralism, this civil agenda frames a kind of exceptionalism on matters of race in Scotland, whereby racism is viewed as peripheral, if not non-existent. The Scottish Trades Union Council’s annual St Andrew’s Day Anti-Racism March and Rally in November is taken as evidence of such an inclusive Scotland. Organised and celebrated for almost four decades by trade unions and the wider labour movement, and supported by every major Scottish political party, the event has become a beacon of anti-racism on a Scottish public holiday. However, the context and origins of this annual commemoration suggest a different picture, whereby not only is racism present, but a conscious effort was required to build an anti-racist movement from below. In this, Scotland’s Black communities were at the forefront of forging unity and solidarity with trade unionists and anti-racist activists. The Scottish Asian Action Committee was pivotal in challenging the growth of far-right violence in Scotland, and their role as epitomising Black self-organisation will be critical to demonstrating the agency of Black communities.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Series editors’ foreword vii
- List of abbreviations viii
- Introduction – Anti- racism in Britain 1
- I Domestic, imperial and global anti-racist alliances and encounters 23
- 1 Countering racial discrimination in Britain, 1880s–1913 25
- 2 From racist humanitarianism to colonial human rights 44
- 3 George Orwell, pan-Africanism and reconciling antiimperialism with ‘Britishness’ 64
- 4 British anti-racism in Australia 79
- II Anti- racism and the making of post imperial Britain 101
- 5 Celebrating African culture in the north- east of England, 1930s–40s 103
- 6 British Jews and the Race Relations Acts 124
- 7 South Asian political Blackness in Britain 143
- 8 ‘Unfinished activisms’ 164
- III Anti-racism, memory and identity 185
- 9 Memory, multiculturalism and anti- racism in east London, 1990–2006 187
- 10 Tartan inclusivity or workers’ internationalism? The St Andrew’s Day Anti-Racism March and Rally in Scotland 207
- 11 ‘Martin Luther King fought for a colour-blind society’ 228
- Afterword 247
- Index 254
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Series editors’ foreword vii
- List of abbreviations viii
- Introduction – Anti- racism in Britain 1
- I Domestic, imperial and global anti-racist alliances and encounters 23
- 1 Countering racial discrimination in Britain, 1880s–1913 25
- 2 From racist humanitarianism to colonial human rights 44
- 3 George Orwell, pan-Africanism and reconciling antiimperialism with ‘Britishness’ 64
- 4 British anti-racism in Australia 79
- II Anti- racism and the making of post imperial Britain 101
- 5 Celebrating African culture in the north- east of England, 1930s–40s 103
- 6 British Jews and the Race Relations Acts 124
- 7 South Asian political Blackness in Britain 143
- 8 ‘Unfinished activisms’ 164
- III Anti-racism, memory and identity 185
- 9 Memory, multiculturalism and anti- racism in east London, 1990–2006 187
- 10 Tartan inclusivity or workers’ internationalism? The St Andrew’s Day Anti-Racism March and Rally in Scotland 207
- 11 ‘Martin Luther King fought for a colour-blind society’ 228
- Afterword 247
- Index 254
