Cable Street call out

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street, with lots of events being planned to commemorate the day in 1936 when working people from London’s East End refused to let the fascist black shirts march through their community and stir up hatred.

On 3-4 October, Unite will be participating in major events being held in London to commemorate this important chapter in working history, and remind people that the fight against division still continues.

Over the weekend Unite are bringing together trade unionists, historians, musicians, artists and authors to make this a celebration of working class pride, but as part of the build up to October the union is calling on members to get involved in two special publications.

These will follow on from Unite’s recent General Strike centenary events in May, where a newspaper and 160-page book were published.

For the Battle of Cable Street’s 90th Anniversary commemorations there will be a tabloid newspaper that will be distributed in workplaces and communities around London before the event.

This expects to have a print run of 20,000, and Unite is seeking articles of 500 -1,000 words about current or recent strikes, industrial disputes, or community campaigns.

Unite are especially keen to receive submissions which emphasise class unity and anti-racism, and ideally they should be accompanied by 1 or 2 high-resolution photographs that illustrate the article.

There will also be a magazine or journal to be distributed on the day and afterwards, with the emphasis on working class history. This aims to provide a resource with examples for activists to counter populist narratives.

This will have an expected print run of 2,000 with high production values and design, and the union is seeking articles of 1,000-1,500 words about individuals, groups or events which tell a compelling story about union values and the fight against racism and fascism from the 1930s to the present day.

The publications won’t just be about Cable Street and the East End, and Unite is keen to hear about people and events all over the country, especially from those postindustrial areas currently targeted by the populist right and can include local stories from the around the country ranging the fight against Mosley and the BUF to more recent antifascist campaigns. 

Other ideas could be about the volunteers who travelled to Spain to fight Franco, Asian and Black youth movements or trade union victories in the workplace, particularly those overcoming racism.

Articles can include sources and footnotes, but the publication is intended for a non-academic audience, so writers are asked to keep these to a minimum, and, again photographs or images to accompany articles would be very welcome.

Unite senior organiser Joe Rollin said, “The Battle of Cable Street was an important episode in the history of working class resistance to the far right, and the commemorations will be an opportunity to pay respects to those from communities across the East End who stood firm and said “They shall not pass” to the fascists trying to spread hatred.

“But the fight against the far right still goes on today, and it up to working people to gather together in their communities to show that solidarity and compassion for fellow workers and their families, wherever they are from, is really the reality of life in Britain today, and not the lies and false promises of the far right and their leaders.”

“I would encourage anyone with a story to tell to get involved with the new Unite publications, and to also keep the 3 / 4 October free for what promises to be a fantastic weekend of events that will not only commemorate the past, but also celebrate the power of community today.”

If you are interested in writing a piece for either publication, get in touch Michael Agboh-Davison, Organiser, Unite for a Workers’ Economy, at [email protected]

The deadline for Newspaper submissions is 30th June, whilst it is 31st July for the Magazine / Journal.

It would be good to know what subject you plan to cover before you begin writing, so we can ensure there is no duplication, and if providing photographs or images which are not your own work, please provide a link or reference showing where you got the image.

Over the coming months more details will be released on developing plans for Battle of Cable Street events, and you can keep up to date by registering for more information here. 

You can also find out more at the TOGETHER on Cable Street website here.

By Keith Hatch

Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images