D&I on Portsmouth Point: Stand Up to Racism Rally

“Racism is not just an abstract concept or an uncomfortable topic. It is the lived experience of countless individuals, a daily injustice that robs people of dignity, opportunity, and occasionally life itself.” Human rights activist Steph Richards is speaking during the Stand Up To Racism unity rally on Saturday. Hundreds of people are gathered on Guildhall Square to stand up against a rally organised by UKIP supporters, in favour of mass deportation. I was there with my mum, chanting and cheering with the crowd for equal rights and equal justice for all.

It was surreal standing there, looking out over a sea of people, then across the line of police and further onto the “other side”. They waved the Union Jack and carried crosses, while yelling insults at us. One of our speakers had something to say about that. Reverend Wendy-May Jacobs, a local parish priest, gave a wonderful speech against the use of religion - of Christianity - to justify hatred. She said, “As a Christian, I find it very painful and genuinely bewildering to see the name and the cross of Jesus Christ being used to justify inhospitably to people in any kind of need.” It was interesting to count the crosses before and after her talk, and to notice the difference.

Immigrant is an interesting word. My mum is an immigrant from China, my dad is an immigrant from America, but only my mum has ever been verbally attacked on the street, called an “immigrant” with malice and hatred. A speaker remarked on this: “The refugees they say aren’t welcome are anyone with dark skin. The refugees they don’t want coming over in boats are not the Ukrainians, who came on planes and Eurostars, but black and brown people.” I wondered how much the people in the rally opposite us were thinking about race when they talked about immigrants - and whether or not it really mattered if the policies they advocated for would hurt mostly non-white immigrants anyway.

It’d be easy to leave disheartened if you were to believe the goal of the rally was to change the other demonstrator’s minds. Yelling rarely does that, it seems. But that wasn’t why we were all there. The aim of the unity rally was to be present, to stand up to racism and to show our support. The aim of the rally was to show to anyone passing by, to any immigrant or refugee or asylum seeker, that we support them, we believe in their right to exist, and we outnumber those who do not.

Beyond that, it was an amazing experience. I met some really great people. I recommend that everyone who is passionate about human rights, about the wonderful diversity that exists in our country, and about a just and inclusive society to attend peaceful protests in support of causes you care about. Bring your friends! Meet new ones. You don’t need to stand at the front, you don’t need to speak into a megaphone, but everybody in that crowd will mean the world to so many people in this city.

Maya, in Year 11 was there too. She wrote and performed a poem for everyone at the rally, and with her permission, I’d like to share it with you to end this article.

They say this land is vast and free,

Yet shadows stretch relentlessly.

A knock at dawn, a fractured fate,

A life erased, left desolate.

I walk through streets that hum with pain,

Where whispers curl like autumn rain.

Eyes that linger, hands that shove,

Mark me as “less” instead of “love.”

They call this land a place for all,

Yet build up borders, raise a wall

But look around- see, hear, and know

It’s migrants who have helped it grow.

They teach their children quiet scorn,

With veiled remarks and smiles worn.

A poisoned tongue, a seed is sown,

Yet truth can bloom where light has shone.

To hate the hands that help us rise

To turn from truth, believe in lies,

It teaches children hearts of stone

And leaves them lost, afraid, alone.

But we are rising, hearts alight,

A tide that surges through the night.

We walk as one, no chains, no fear

Our voices are thunder, strong and clear.

Through walls they build, we carve a way,

Through storm and doubt, we shape the day.

Hand in hand, our hope still burns,

The world will change, the wheel will turn.