Workers Against Racism (WAR) was set up by the Revolutionary Communist Tendency (RCT) in 1979. It sought to attract Black and Asian communities to revolutionary politics.
WAR began as the East London Workers Against Racism (ELWAR), principally in response to a series of racist murders in east London. It later expanded ELWAR into a broader campaign, making it a branch of WAR. ELWAR was infiltrated by HN106 ‘Barry Tompkins’ between 1980 and 1983.
WAR agitated against community relations with the police, considering any cooperation with the police to be an act that subverted working-class consciousness, removing its revolutionary potential. It used direct action and picketing to draw attention to racist policing, while physically protecting Black and Asian families from organisations such as the National Front.
WAR organised workers’ defence against racist attacks, organised patrols to prevent racist attacks and campaigned against immigration controls.
In 1982, after a local Asian family became a target for racist threats and violence, members of ELWAR set themselves up as guard for the family, organising shifts to protect their house and confront the racists when they approached.
A further branch, the South London Workers Against Racism (SLWAR), was founded by the RCT in late 1981 in response to the Brixton uprising. Other branches included Coventry (COVWAR), Manchester (MANWAR) and Wycombe (WWAR).
WAR stopped functioning as the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) changed political tack in the early to mid-1990s.
Sources
Michael Fitzpatrick: ‘The point is to change it': A short account of the Revolutionary Communist Party.
Keith Thompson: Under Siege: Racism and Violence in Britain Today.