Polish and British Rock Bands Unite in 1998, Album First Released on Vinyl – The Calvert Journal

Bringing together 20 artists from Poland and the UK, anti-racism rock album One race – the human race. Music Against Racism: Part 2 just released for the first time on vinyl.

Initially distributed in 1998 by the Polish independent label QQRYQ Productions, the compilation was initiated by Marcin Kornak (1968-2014): human rights activist, poet, lyricist and founder of the association Never Again, the main anti-racist organization from Poland. Kornak, who was disabled from the age of 14 following an accident, is also known for starting a permanent register of hate crimes in Poland in 1996, known as brown book, an initiative that continues to this day.

The vinyl, released by the Never Again Association with Szczecin-based production company Jimmy Jazz Records, kicks off with punk rock from 90s Polish band Blade Loki before moving on to English folk track “Nazi” by Chumbawamba. The album also features Liroy, a Polish rapper and politician, with his hip hop track based on Bertold Brecht’s anti-fascist poetry.

With elements of reggae and punk, the track “Let’s Kick Racism Out of Stadiums”, performed by Polish band WRS, is based on lyrics written by Kornak himself. “The place of fascism is in the trash, let’s drive racism out of the stadiums”, say the words in Polish.

The album cover also features a political statement from Kornak: “Racism is fostered by ignorance. It is the type of ideology that always leads to atrocity, because its main component is hatred against diversity. Humans, on the other hand, although of the same nature, differ in their culture, their religion, their beliefs, the color of their hair, their eyes, their skin… and that is wonderful, because it makes this world and this life so fascinating. This is also why racial categorization is so dangerous – it threatens the most fundamental human right, the right to exist.

If you want to support the association Never Again, you can order the vinyl by e-mail [email protected].

Virginia F. Goins