‘My first ever anti-racism protest inspired me to get more involved’

Susan blogs about being inspired by attending her first anti-racism rally, which has empowered her to become more active on anti-racism and equality issues.

Where I live is across the water from Newcastle. Although Newcastle sees itself as a multicultural community, there has been a big increase in demonstrations against immigrants.

Social media has got people ramped up. I've even seen things on my own social media where people are posting about the need to only look after their own.

Working in a Job Centre, you hear rumblings about refugee centres; things like 'why are they here' and 'send them back'.

I thought the recent racist riots were absolutely horrific. I've got two lads - one is 23 and the other 24. I've been a single parent for 14 years, and I've worked all my life. My 23-year-old is autistic and is bisexual, and has experienced a lot of bullying.

What affected me while watching the footage of the riots were the images of the young men my son's age who were hurling abuse at refugees - smashing things and kicking doors in to intimidate them. To me, it's about whether you do right or wrong - no matter what colour you are or where you came from."

We began talking about the riots with other PCS members. At first there was a demonstration during the week in Newcastle to support a mosque. I didn't end up going because my son was scared for my safety.

But on the Saturday morning in Newcastle, I went to my first ever anti-racism demonstration. When you see speakers on TV, I don't think you fully get the emotion of it unless you're standing there listening to them in person. You can feel the anger, you can feel the pride, you can feel the hurt. It was pure raw emotion but also very controlled.

Maybe it was my ignorance but I looked around and was surprised to see the range of different age groups, from very young people and university students right up to people my age and older. People of all ages and different nationalities standing together - it was really powerful.

I've arthritis in my knees and hips so I thought that there was no way I'd stand for two hours. And you know what: I was in a bit pain but I couldn't take myself away. I wanted to hear what everybody had to say and I wanted to hear what the message was.

I am now very keen to get more involved in anti-racism and go to more protests. Because of my son's experiences of bullying, I'm very against people singling out a person for whatever reason. I’m now looking to go to more rallies about things that I support and believe in. And next time, I'll be trying to take people with me if I can.

When I was younger, I remember visiting some friends in London. This was the 1980s and one of my friends, who was black, was screamed at to go back to his own country. He turned around said, 'I was born in this country, I've been raised in this country, and I've got the right to live in this country'. That's always stuck in my mind because I wish now I had done more.

Much has changed for the better but some people's views are still like this. PCS activists should challenge racism as I know I will. I have definitely challenged people on inappropriate comments and on neurodiversity - and I'd expect people to challenge me if I said the same.

If you really care about an issue, you need to get involved. Things won't change without us pressuring the government. We can't change things overnight but there is always a chance to change things for the better.

As a disabled woman, I had signed up to the PCS Pan-Equality seminar in Leeds. But now I'm going excited to meet and talk to LGBTQ+ and black members about their issues. I am more empowered to do that kind of thing after going to the recent anti-racism rally. I had been thinking 'will I do or won't I do it' for a while - but now I'm looking for more things that the union is doing on equality issues and will be sharing union communications about these topics with my members to get even more people on board.