Dear Student officers,

We are writing to you concerning the decision of the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to drop the anti-racism theme of the 'Rise' festival in the capital. Rise was Europe's largest anti-racist festival and has received tremendous support from students across London including the efforts made by students' unions in combating racism and fascism in London through the 'Student Rise' initiative, supported by the previous Mayor Ken Livingstone.

Thanks to the agenda pursued by the previous Mayor alongside progressive campaigning organisations and coalitions our capital has seen a dramatic fall in racism, bucking the national trend where the rest of Britain has seen an overall increase. The election of a BNP member to the Greater London Assembly and the ongoing prevalence of racist incidents ought to be a reminder, however, that there can be no room for complacency. It is particularly worrying that the BNP has claimed credit for Boris Johnson's decision to drop the anti-racist message from 'Rise' describing it as a 'timely slap down' to anti-racist campaigners.

We are writing to Mayor Johnson to condemn the decision to drop the anti-racist message from 'Rise' and would encourage you to do the same. You may also want to highlight the ongoing challenges faced by your institutions in combating racism and the progress you have made through 'Student Rise'.

Do copy your responses to NUS so that we can keep track of correspondence (alex.jones@nus.org.uk Alex Jones, NUS, 2nd Floor, Centro 3, 19 Mandela Street, London, NW1 0DU).

Finally, can we also remind you of the National March and Rally taking place in London this weekend. It would be great to see as many students and students' union banners there as possible! Visit www.uaf.org.uk for more information.

In unity,

Wes Streeting - National President

Ruqayyah Collector - Black Students' Officer

Bellavia Ribeiro-Addy - Black Students' Officer (elect)

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