The New Dark Age

19 August, 2010 — HopeNotHate

It seems that when I sit down to email you I’m often asking for your help. But today’s a little different.

Thanks to the support of thousands of people across the country and many, many more in Bradford we’ve been able to persuade the West Yorkshire Police to ban the English Defence League’s dangerous and violent march through the town. And I’ve just been told that the Home Secretary is prepared to sign it.

The EDL might still hold a static protest but we’ve stopped them marching through predominantly Muslim areas of the city.

This is a victory for the people of Bradford. And it’s a victory for each of us – and our movement as a whole. Once again we’ve shown that when we come together, grassroots beat jackboots.

To celebrate our victory and to thank the people of Bradford for their support, we’re planning on presenting a book to the city with messages of solidarity, hope and support. And we want you to help us write it.

So why do you believe in hope not hate? Why do you think it was right to stop the EDL? How should we keep this momentum up and community spirits high? Tell us your story here:

http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/WeAreOne

We’ll be taking the best of these stories and displaying them in Bradford city hall. So we want your words, your ideas and your inspiration – and we want to show what this movement looks like. Throughout the campaign we’ve been using the slogan “Bradford Together.” And we’d like to keep that theme going – so please send us in your story, and take a photo of you with the word “together” written on your hand.

On the streets of Bradford alone, Hope not Hate spoke to over 10,700 people – that’s almost 6% of all adults in the city – and got them signed up to the campaign. But we can’t stop here, we need to build on this community spirit and this community pride. And we all need to stand together to make that happen.

Be part of this moment – and part of our campaign’s living history – right now:

http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/WeAreOne

We were able to stop the EDL from marching thanks to real and ongoing community organising. We should all be deeply, deeply proud of what we’ve achieved today.

Please forward this email to everyone you know – and get them to join this moment.

Thank you.

Nick