Together Alliance march: We're marching against far-right to fight for climate and racial justice

More than 100,000 people are expected to take part in a historic celebration of love, unity and hope in London today (28 March).  

Ordinary people, families, young and old, nurses, midwives, teachers, musicians, activists and politicians – you name it – will be turning out in force as part of a diverse coalition of people coming together to stand against hate and division. There will be world-class DJs performing in Trafalgar Square including Jessie Ware, ShyGirl and Ben UFO – it will be a truly joyous occasion.  

As a founding member of the Together Alliance, which is organising the demo, Friends of the Earth is proud to be part of mobilising the largest number of people on London’s streets in recent history to celebrate what binds our diverse communities together and to reject the hatred of the far-right.  

I know what a pivotal moment this is because I know what we’re up against. I have stood face to face with the far-right. And I know that we win by standing together.  

As a young Pakistani immigrant growing up in Lancashire in the 1970s, I quickly came to learn what it means when communities live in fear due to racism.  

School was a place of terror. At lunchtime, Black and Brown students would barricade ourselves in classrooms just to stay safe. Our teachers did nothing.  

We had to take matters into our own hands and collectively boycott our school.  

I’m still proud of us, the bravery of frightened schoolchildren — but we should never have had to do it alone. 

It was this foundation on which I started my community organising, first working with communities in East London and organising against the far right who were trying to divide us in the 1980s. It’s where I learnt that be it Black, White, or Asian, we all faced the same problems – poor housing, poverty and neglected communities – and that by organising together we could change the places we live for the better. 

I’m often asked how I ended up as the head of an environmental organisation, when my background is rooted in anti-racism and global rights campaigning. But to me, the links are clear.  

We’re facing an interconnected crisis of climate, of nature, of inequality, of economic systems that have been rigged against ordinary people. It’s ultimately a crisis of justice. 

Globally, those least responsible for climate change are suffering the greatest impacts, with cyclones, floods, droughts and heatwaves wreaking havoc in communities. 

And in the UK, its ordinary working people, those on the lowest incomes and people of colour who experience the highest levels of air pollution, live in the most poorly insulated homes and, therefore, face higher energy bills, and have least access to the health and wellbeing benefits of green spaces. 

Friends of the Earth has a long legacy of campaigning against injustice and fighting for solutions to tackle the climate and nature crises that protect people and our planet.  

We should be proud of the anti-racist movement in Britain which has pushed back the far-right time and time again. Now more than ever, we need to come together across movements and call upon these strengths yet again.  

Alongside the recent surges in racism and anti-immigration rhetoric, we’re seeing ramped up attacks on climate action.  

The people spreading hate and division in our communities, are often the same as those promoting climate delay and denial. And it’s no surprise they’re funded by the billionaires and fossil fuel interests driving the climate crisis and profiting as energy bills soar and inequality deepens. Our local Friends of the Earth groups have seen first-hand how some local politicians are dividing their communities and trying to unravel progress on climate action.  

Racism is a weapon of mass distraction. Distraction from the flooding, the extreme weather and record-breaking profits of big polluters. Distraction from how it’s ordinary people being forced to pay the price for the climate and nature emergencies, escalating global conflict and the skyrocketing cost of living. 

Today, as too many people are struggling to make ends meet, are struggling to feed their families or heat their homes, whilst the billionaires get richer and richer, we’re coming together to say we’ve had enough. Hatred and fear won’t help reduce our energy bills, stop homes being flooded or create secure, green job opportunities.  

We’re standing together to show that we are the majority. The majority of people who want a safer, greener, fairer future, who are proud of the diverse places they live, are showing strength and unity against the few who seek to divide us.  

The fight for racial justice, for climate justice and for economic justice are one and the same. And we stand strong when we stand together. 

Asad Rehman is chief executive of Friends of the Earth  

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