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	Among its more notable mobilisations were violent confrontations such as the "Battle of Waterloo" in 1992 and non-violent events such as the Unity Carnivals of the early 1990s.		Among its more notable mobilisations were violent confrontations such as the "Battle of Waterloo" in 1992 and non-violent events such as the Unity Carnivals of the early 1990s.

	==History==
	AFA was launched in ] in 1985 at a large public meeting representing a wide range of anti-fascist and ] organisations and individuals, including ] and the ], ], the ], and the ].<ref name="libcom.org"/> It was partly a reaction to the perceived inadequacies of the original ] (ANL), which had recently wound up its operations. AFA members accused ANL of failing to directly confront fascists, of allying with moderates who were complicit in racism, and of being a ] front for the ] (SWP). Although many ] groups, independent ], ]s and members of the ] were active in AFA in the 1980s, the main members were always from ], a group founded by disillusioned ] ex-SWP members who had criticised perceived ] or ] politics of the ANL.{{Cn\|date=September 2015}}

			We just like to hurt people, don't no matter who they are. We decide which side they are on.
	Thousands of people took part in AFA mobilisations such as the ] demonstrations in 1986 and 1987, and a mobilisation against a ] gig, "the Main Event", in May 1989.<ref> ''Fighting Talk''</ref> In 1988, AFA formed a musical arm, Cable Street Beat (named after the ], a 1936 confrontation between fascists and anti-fascists), on similar principles to the Anti-Nazi League’s ].<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://antifascistarchive.com/2012/03/01/cable-street-beat/\|title=Ant-Fascist Archive\|publisher=}}</ref> Cable Street Beat launched a magazine, ''Cable Street Beat Review'', in early 1989.<ref>.</ref> Among the artists who performed for early Cable Street Beat events were ], ], ], ], ] and ].<ref>.</ref>

	In 1989, there was a split in AFA between militant anti-fascists and other members, such as the Newham Monitoring Group, whose views were closer to ]. The militant groups relaunched AFA that year, with the affiliates Direct Action Movement and ], as well as several ]s.

	===Early 1990s===
	In the early 1990s, AFA continued the pattern of twin-track physical and ideological confrontations with fascism. Examples of the former include the first Unity Carnival in east London in 1991, with 10,000 participants, and a demonstration in ], with 4,000 participants (under the slogan “Beating the Fascists: An old ] tradition”). In September 1991, AFA launched its magazine ''Fighting Talk'', of which 25 issues were published between 1991 and April 1999; the magazine incorporated ''Cable Street Beat Review''.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://libcom.org/library/anti-fascist-action-magazine-fighting-talk\|title=Fighting Talk magazine - Anti Fascist Action\|website=libcom.org}}</ref> The first issue reported the recent launch of a Dublin branch and a Glasgow branch, the latter with the support of Red Action, Class War, Direct Action Movement, ], ] and the ].<ref>, p.6</ref>

	Cable Street Beat continued in the early 1990s, with the involvement of bands including the reformed ],<ref>, p.13</ref> ] and ].

	Physical resistance to fascism also continued. In 1990, three AFA members were jailed for a total of 11 years following an attack on a neo-Nazi activist.<ref>Birchall, Sean, ''Beating The Fascists: The Untold Story of Anti-Fascist Action'' (London: Freedom Press, 2010) p. 195</ref> AFA's militant approach to anti-fascism was given media airing in May 1992, when the ] screened a documentary, ''Fighting Talk'', as part of its Open Space series.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://beatingthefascists.org/fighting-talk-part-1/\|title=Beating the Fascists » Fighting Talk – Part 1\|website=beatingthefascists.org}}</ref>

	A long street battle between AFA and ] supporters in October 1992 was dubbed the Battle of Waterloo because it was centred on ]. This event was pivotal in defeating the street presence of the far right in Britain.<ref>Birchall, Sean, ''Beating The Fascists: The Untold Story of Anti-Fascist Action'' (London: Freedom Press, 2010) pp.291-302; ''Red Action'' Vol 3, Issue 6, April/May 1999</ref>

	By this time, there were 21 branches of AFA listed in ''Fighting Talk'', in locations including ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ].<ref> no.3], p.19</ref>

	==="Filling the Vacuum" strategy===
	In 1993, ], a candidate from the ] (BNP), won a council seat on the ] in ], East London, under the slogan of "Rights for Whites".<ref name="auto">N. Copsey, ''Contemporary British Fascism: The British National Party and the Quest for Legitimacy'', Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004, pp. 53-54</ref><ref>Diane Taylor "https://www.theguardian.com/education/2001/nov/20/raceineducation.schools Isle of prejudice]" Guardian Tuesday 20 November 2001 02.41 GMT</ref> This signalled a turn in the BNP's policy from confrontation on the streets to a bid for electoral respectability, partly as a response to their defeat on the streets by AFA.<ref name="auto"/> In 1994, BNP activist ] announced this turn in tactics with a statement to the press that there would be "no more meetings, marches, punch-ups".<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.redactionarchive.org/2012/03/new-leader-new-danger.html\|title=New Leader : New Danger\|website=www.redactionarchive.org}}</ref><ref>Jon Kelly "", ''BBC News Magazine'' 6 December 2013</ref> In 1995 London AFA responded with its ''Filling the Vacuum'' strategy,<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://libcom.org/library/filling-vacuum-london-afa\|title=Filling The vacuum - London AFA\|website=libcom.org}}</ref> which involved offering a political alternative in these communities instead of concentrating on challenging the fascist presence on the streets. Red Action and its allies campaigned within the AFA Network after 1995 for AFA as an organisation to adopt the "Filling the Vacuum" strategy. However, given that AFA contained a number of political groups, with differing political programmes, this, and the decline of street action by the BNP as it embraced "respectable electoralism", contributed to the breakup of much of the AFA network, with much internal recrimination.<ref>''Physical Resistance''. 2013 by Dave Hann</ref>

	Anti-fascist mobilisations still occurred after 1995, such as ones against the National Front in ] in 1997 and 1998. The number of AFA branches across the UK peaked at 38 in the mid-1990s, with regular national conferences and an active Northern Network. A new AFA National Coordinating Committee was set up, and in 1997, an official AFA statement forbade members from associating with Searchlight.{{citation needed\|date=March 2013}} In 1998 the committee expelled ] and ] AFA for ignoring this policy.{{dubious\|date=March 2013}} There were some local relaunches of AFA groups, such as in ] in 2000, but by 2001, AFA barely existed as a national organisation.

	Red Action and other AFA activists followed the logic of providing a political alternative to fascism in setting up the ] (IWCA) in 1995, which became the sole focus of Red Action activity after 2001. Others formerly involved in AFA, predominantly ]s, have maintained militant, street-focused tactics, initially in the group No Platform, then Antifa UK.<ref name="libcom.org"/> Some of these groups re-formed in the Anti-Fascist Network in 2011, which aims to recreate the "two-track" approach of AFA.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://antifascistnetwork.wordpress.com/about/\|title=About us\|date=8 August 2013\|publisher=}}</ref>

	==Politics==		==Politics==

Revision as of 11:19, 7 July 2017

This article is about the UK organisation Anti-Fascist Action. For other organisations with similar names in other languages, see Anti-Fascist Action (disambiguation).

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Anti-Fascist Action

Formation	1985 (1985)
Type	Militant anti-fascism
Location	London, England, U.K.
Affiliations	Red Action and Direct Action Movement

Anti-Fascist Action (AFA) was a militant anti-fascist organization founded in the UK in 1985, by a wide range of anti-racist and anti-fascist organisations.

It was active in fighting far-right organisations, particularly the National Front and British National Party. It was notable in significantly reducing fascist street activity in Britain in the 1990s. AFA had what they called a "twin-track" strategy: physical confrontation of fascists on the streets and ideological struggle against fascism in working class communities.

Among its more notable mobilisations were violent confrontations such as the "Battle of Waterloo" in 1992 and non-violent events such as the Unity Carnivals of the early 1990s.

We just like to hurt people, don't no matter who they are. We decide which side they are on.

Politics

Critics argue that AFA's physical confrontation approach was often more visible than their ideological work, and their tactics were criticised for their squadism and use of violence. However, supporters of AFA's approach cite its involvement in the youth music scene and successful propaganda events like the 1986 and 1987 Remembrance Day "Remember the victims of Fascism" marches, as evidence of this wider agenda.

Notes

^ <Birchall, Sean, Beating The Fascists: The Untold Story of Anti-Fascist Action (London: Freedom Press, 2010).
"1985-2001: A short history of Anti-Fascist Action (AFA)". libcom.org.
Steve Greenfield and Guy Osborn When the Whites Go Marching In? Racism and Resistances in English Football in Marquette Sports Law Review 1996
Dave Hann "Physical Resistance" Zero Books, 2013

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