© Neil Libbert for the Observer - see other photos hereThe Brixton riots broke out - the worst racially motivated riots in UK history I think, a combination of severe social deprivation, including 55% unemployment among black youths in Brixton, and disproportionate stop-and-search tactics on the part of the police, which erupted violently one April weekend. Nearly 300 policemen were injured in the riots and many buildings were burned.
I remember them - or I remember hearing about them from the news and people around me talking about them, as I was only 6 years old. But they have always been something I have wanted to understand better. There was an event in Brixton yesterday to mark 30 years on from the 'Brixton Uprising' and I would have liked to have gone along, but alas I had an article to finish writing (which I sent off today - hurray!). I have been watching these excellent short films on YouTube, Battle 4 Brixton, which weirdly shows places that I know very well from living here but looking terribly run-down 30 years ago. This edition of the Radio 4 programme, The Reunion, is also very instructive.
The Brixton riots led to a change in Metropolitan police tactics but it seems to be taking a very long time for these to really change at grass roots. Linton Kwesi Johnson talked on the radio this morning about how his grandson still faces stop-and-search by the police in Brixton today. You like to think that everything is much better socially in Brixton now, but looking back on a day like today makes you think about whether that is actually the case. There is certainly still a lot of unemployment and disaffection among black youths which leads to gang activity. God, how white middle class do I sound? It makes you remember that there are two social strata in Brixton - the comparatively privileged home-owning, mainly white, middle classes and the more disadvantaged majority that live all around us in the council estates. One does well to remember.
I remember them - or I remember hearing about them from the news and people around me talking about them, as I was only 6 years old. But they have always been something I have wanted to understand better. There was an event in Brixton yesterday to mark 30 years on from the 'Brixton Uprising' and I would have liked to have gone along, but alas I had an article to finish writing (which I sent off today - hurray!). I have been watching these excellent short films on YouTube, Battle 4 Brixton, which weirdly shows places that I know very well from living here but looking terribly run-down 30 years ago. This edition of the Radio 4 programme, The Reunion, is also very instructive.
The Brixton riots led to a change in Metropolitan police tactics but it seems to be taking a very long time for these to really change at grass roots. Linton Kwesi Johnson talked on the radio this morning about how his grandson still faces stop-and-search by the police in Brixton today. You like to think that everything is much better socially in Brixton now, but looking back on a day like today makes you think about whether that is actually the case. There is certainly still a lot of unemployment and disaffection among black youths which leads to gang activity. God, how white middle class do I sound? It makes you remember that there are two social strata in Brixton - the comparatively privileged home-owning, mainly white, middle classes and the more disadvantaged majority that live all around us in the council estates. One does well to remember.
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