Come together for Unity Parade
A broad coalition of Hastings community organisations, faith groups, trade unions, equality campaigns and political groups is calling on people across the town to join a Unity Parade on Saturday 26 September.
The parade will assemble at 12 noon in Warrior Square Gardens, before travelling along the seafront to a rally in Hastings town centre with speakers, music and entertainment.
Under the banner ‘Hastings Celebrates Multiculturalism, Diversity & Inclusion’, the event is intended to be a colourful and positive celebration of the many different communities that make up Hastings and St Leonards.
Organisers say that recent events have made the parade particularly timely. Over the weekend, hundreds of masked and black-clad anti-migrant protesters blocked roads around the Port of Dover. The following day hundreds gathered in Portsmouth after asylum seekers were brought ashore, with protesters attempting to obstruct their transportation.
A spokesperson for the Hastings Unity Parade said: “We want this to be a joyful and visible expression of the Hastings we know – a town that is stronger because of its diversity and where everyone should be able to feel that they belong.
“This parade has brought together trade unionists, faith communities, equality campaigns, political groups and local residents because there are values that we share even where we may disagree about other things.
“The scenes we have seen in Dover and Portsmouth make that especially important. When groups of masked people take to the streets in an atmosphere of hostility towards migrants and refugees, it inevitably creates fear far beyond the people immediately involved. The answer is for the much greater number of people who believe in tolerance, equality and solidarity to make themselves visible too – peacefully, positively and confidently.
“Above all, this is a parade for Hastings: for the kind of town we want our children and grandchildren to grow up in.”
Organisers are encouraging community groups, trade unions, voluntary organisations, faith groups, musicians and local residents to come along with banners, flags and drums for a parade along the seafront and rally in Hastings town centre with speakers, music and entertainment
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