A Southampton anti-racist organisation is inviting people to take part in a unity march and rally in Portswood on Sunday (30th November).
The move comes after an anti-asylum seeker rally, which has been held on almost every Friday evening since early summer, has been moved to Sunday afternoon.
A group known as ‘Southampton Patriots’ announced on social media that they would be moving their protest outside a hotel housing asylum seekers, from Friday evening to 3pm on Sunday, with the hope of increasing their numbers.
One of their social media posts about the event notes: “let’s see if the light and weekend make any difference to our numbers.”
Southampton Stand Up To Racism (SSUTR) have responded by announcing a unity march and counter demonstration.
This will be the third week in a row that SSUTR have marched up Portswood high street, in an effort to push back against anti-asylum seeker demonstrators, who themselves had, for several weeks prior, marched along the same route.
SSUTR invite counter-protesters to gather from 2.45pm outside Waitrose in Portswood before marching up the high street to the hotel in Highfield Lane, where the anti-asylum seeker demonstration will be taking place.
Their advert for the event says: “No to racism. No to intimidation. Yes to unity.”
One of the event organisers, Jayanti Shah, MBE, SSUTR Secretary, said that protesters would march “with dignity and solidarity,” adding that Portswood will not be intimidated.
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