March 21 is coming...

For two years in a row Anti-Racist Action (ARA) has called on their friends and the broader community to join them on March 21 to celebrate anti-racism, to commemorate the day itself, and especially to protest and prevent the Aryan Guard (AG), and later AG and Western European Bloodlines (WEB) from freely marching down our streets.

We have seen great success from these actions, efforts, and support. The AG did not march freely in 2008: they were chased down the street and the police revealed their role as guardians of this neo-Nazi gang. In 2009, the AG & WEB, in spite of police protection and the violence of members of the police against anti-racist demonstrators, were utterly blocked and prevented from reaching City Hall.

On March 21 2008 the largest, explicit anti-racist rally and march in Calgary’s history was held. This was successfully repeated in 2009 with the numbers of those attending far surpassing the previous year, to over 600 people. Now, March 21 2010 approaches.

Many people did not think that the organised neo-Nazi movement in Calgary would last so long. ARA argued that because of a multiplicity of factors, the fight would be a long one. We have requested and received help in sending out the call for aid and solidarity in this struggle. While ARA has been and will continue to be in the forefront, we feel the need to deepen our work with other individuals and groups in the activist community: greater unity, greater solidarity, and greater co-ordination.

ARA has been and continues to be in dialogue with different individuals and groups in and outside Calgary. We have heard that there is still great support for a rally and march, but that people in and out of ARA would also like to branch beyond these two forms of organising. Many want to include other activities and ARA is in support of such sentiments.

ARA has argued that even when the AG & WEB finally fall apart, that it will continue to call for and organise towards holding a rally every March 21. We want to start and continue to make a tradition of making this a day to protest and call attention to organised and systemic racism and its links to war and poverty, i.e. capitalism.

Thus, in order to truly form a tradition of open and militant anti-racism in Calgary, we need to move to include as many people as possible on a critical basis and respect for a diversity of tactics. This will also increase the co-ordination and unity among those who want an end to racism.

To this end, ARA Calgary is calling for the formation of a March 21 Committee to plan, co-ordinate, and promote a multiplicity of activities for a grass-roots celebration of March 21 and protest against all forms of discrimination.

On Saturday, February 20, 2010 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm a meeting to form the March 21 Committee will be held in the Board Room at the Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Centre, 1320 5 Avenue NW.

For more info, please email at: antiracistcalgary@gmail.com