Hundreds of people gathered in Carlisle city centre on Saturday afternoon, making a stand against the racist protestors that have plagued the UK in recent weeks.
More than 100 people attended a peaceful event at the city's Market Square, carrying an array of banners and placards, showing their support for the different cultures and communities in the city.
Cumberland councillor Helen Davison of the Green Party said: "I'm really delighted to see so many people come together in Carlisle. I think it is utterly awful that people of colour have been feeling scared as a result of the riots that have happened elsewhere.
"It's been heartening today that we've shown that Carlisle is bigger than that and the people of Carlisle won't tolerate that kind of aggression in our city."
A dispersal order was issued for Saturday, but protestors said they worked closely with police to ensure that there were no issues.
Abdur Rashid, Iman of the Carlisle mosque, said: "It's great that people are genuinely concerned about how minorities and isolated people are feeling."
He said the recent riots in the country have created a sense of anxiety, and led to parents cancelling classes for their children, additional security near mosques, and advice for people to walk home in groups for safety.
But he made a plea for honest dialogue as a way forward.
"We should engage positively and be willing to have brave conversations. We should speak to each other on a personal level. Let's not speak about people, let's speak to people," he said.
"The majority of people have genuine concerns. Whatever side of the spectrum they're on - right, left, middle, whatever. We all have genuine concerns... we want good schools, we want good work, a decent livelihood, peace on our streets. We do not want crime.
"Some people on the other side of the spectrum may feel that when they share their concerns about work availability, employment etc, they may be labelled a racist. Now that's also not fair. We should not shut down the conversation by just labelling a genuine concern [as racist]. We can distinguish between a genuine concern and just disorder.
"On social media we stop being ourselves. We're pleasing a crowd or appeasing a person. But if you have those personal conversations, most people let down their barriers and people come away understanding each other, rather than being isolated further."
Earlier in the week, in the aftermath of riots across the UK, CEO of Anti-Racist Cumbria Janett Walker spoke about bringing 'long-term change' to Cumbria.
She said: "Whilst the team and volunteers at Anti Racist Cumbria have been deeply unsettled and frightened by recent events, we were not shocked. The violence and overt racism we have seen is just the tip of the iceberg.
"The work that ARC does is a consistent process of long term change that chips away at racism in its many forms. Anti-racism is not only about being ‘against’ the racist violence we have seen, it is in depth, and should be building the foundations for individuals, organisations and systems to embed anti-racism to make Cumbria safe for everyone. Now and for future generations."
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