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Revision as of 11:19, 7 July 2017 by Jonerama (talk | contribs) (→History)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) This article is about the UK organisation Anti-Fascist Action. For other organisations with similar names in other languages, see Anti-Fascist Action (disambiguation). | This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Anti-Fascist Action" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
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| Formation | 1985 (1985) |
|---|---|
| Type | Militant anti-fascism |
| Location | |
| 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.
See also
- Antifaschistische Aktion
- Anti-Racist Action
- Direct Action Movement
- Redskin (subculture)
- Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice
- Squadism
- United Front
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
Further reading
- Birchall, Sean, Beating The Fascists: The Untold Story of Anti-Fascist Action (London: Freedom Press, 2010) ISBN 978-1-904491-12-5
- Bullstreet, K. Bash the Fash: Anti-Fascist Recollections 1984-1993. ISBN 1-873605-87-0.
- Anti-Fascist Action: an Anarchist Perspective (Kate Sharpley Library, 2006) ISBN 978-1-873605-49-3
- Hann, Dave and Steve Tilzey, No Retreat (Milo Books, 2003) ISBN 1-903854-22-9
- Interview with author of No Retreat in Spike Magazine
- Hann, Dave, A Hundred Years of Anti Fascism (Zero Books, 2013) ISBN 978-1780991771
- Mark Hayes and Paul Aylward Radical resistance or rent-a-mob? soundings issue 14 Spring 2000
External links
- Anti-Fascist Archive
- 1985-2001: A short history of Anti-Fascist Action (AFA) on Libcom.org
- Beating The Fascists: The Untold Story of Anti-Fascist Action
- Beating The Fascists Video on YouTube
- Bullstreet, K. Bash the Fash: Anti-Fascist Recollections 1984-1993 (Kate Sharpley Library, 2001)
- AFA Ireland (archived)
- Nicky Crane: The secret double life of a gay neo-Nazi
