Organising Against Fascism: How to Unite Communities in the Face of Rising Far-Right Activity in the UK
As far-right movements continue to grow across the UK, the need for collective resistance has never been more urgent. This panel brings together organisers, activists, cultural workers, and political voices to explore how communities can respond to fascism through solidarity, political action, and grassroots organising.
Speaking from a national political perspective, Zack Polanski will reflect on the broader social and political conditions enabling the rise of the far right, and the importance of building inclusive movements capable of resisting authoritarianism while offering real alternatives rooted in justice and democracy.
Ashley Joiner of Queercircle will offer an institutional perspective, exploring how cultural and community organisations can create spaces of belonging, challenge exclusionary narratives, and support marginalised communities in times of increasing hostility and division.
Shanice McBean — feminist, Marxist activist, writer, and co-author of Abolition Revolution — will speak from a grassroots perspective, drawing on traditions of community organising, abolitionist politics, and mutual aid to examine how local networks of care and resistance can confront fascism at its roots.
The discussion will be chaired by André Jahnoi, a Liverpool-born hip-hop artist, community organiser, and decolonial thinker whose work is grounded in his Afro-Jamaican heritage and commitment to cultural resistance, liberation, and community empowerment.
Together, the panel will explore how political engagement, cultural organising, and grassroots action can work in tandem to build resilient communities capable of resisting fear, division, and authoritarianism. At its core, resisting fascism means creating a society rooted in equality, care, dignity, and collective liberation.
