On Tuesday, straight after the close of conference business, I went to this meeting which was sponsored jointly by UNISON and the National Assembly Against Racism (NAAR). This was probably the best event that I attended all week.The breadth of speakers was very impressive. Doreen Lawrence (Stephen Lawrence Trust), Sadiq Khan MP, Claude Moraes MEP, Edie Friedman (Jewish Council for Equality), Prof Tariq Modood (Bristol University) Dr Mohammed Abdul Bari (Muslim Council of Britain), Mohammed Azam (NAAR), Chaired by UNISON national black members' committee chair, Bev Miller. The point was well made that Britain has always been a diverse nation. In the first place a coalition of different nationalities (English, Scots, Welsh and Irish who have celebrated their cultural traditions) and religions. Which also has throughout its history received constant flows of new citizens.
Personally, I think it is an imperative for a democratic society to embrace diversity and multiculturalism. This was also dealt with very well at the Euston Manifesto conference in June.
The one problem with the fringe meeting is that there was so many speakers that there was not enough time to ask questions or for them to respond. I did manage to bring up that in Newham, we have an Ultra Left (Respect) and a Far right fundamentalist Christian party (Christian Peoples Alliance) represented on the Council, elements of which both try to racially and religiously divide our communities and promote hatred. However, the meeting had to close before the panel could back with some advice on how to deal with them.
