Brixton Gays Welcome Anti-Fascists, 1978
click the arrows to scroll through the images
Mary Evans Young and Colm Clifford cheering on the procession as it made its way along Railton Road to Brockwell Park for a Rock Against Racism festival
Truck loads of punks and skinheads were bemused by the presence of radical drag Queens as they passed by the gay community squats
Micheal Kerrigan astonished by the size of the demonstration
Fascist parties and movements were especially active in the 1970s. Notably the National Front and the British Movement. To counter the rise of these violent racist movements for white supremacy the Anti Nazi League was established and was active into the early 1980s. The ANL inspired the creation of Rock Against Racism to capture and engage a more youthful audience. Gay venues such as the Vauxhall Tavern were attacked by the NF and their 1976 election meeting at a primary school on the Angell Town estate in Brixton was picketed and disrupted by demonstrators. South London Gay Liberationists joined the picket line with their banner and ‘Fairies Against Fascism’ placard. In 1977 The NF organised a provocative march through Lewisham in an area with a large black population. The march was disrupted and defeated by opposition from the left but importantly also from black and white youths many of whom were joined by local residents from neighbouring housing estates. A large lesbian and gay solidarity contingent was there including people from the Brixton Gay Community.