Partying in Brixton on Thatcher's Death

They were partying in Brixton last night, along with Bristol and Glasgow.  And I don't blame them.  Former UK Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher is dead at last.  

This is the same Maggie Thatcher who: 

- closed the mines, the steel works and the shipyards; 
- put more than three million people out of work; 
- devastated communities - in some families; no one has had a job for nearly 30 years; 
- created the current housing crisis by not allowing local councils to replace housing stock  
   they sold off under "Right to Buy" legislation; 
- introduced the Poll Tax; 
- deregulated the financial services industry,  which contributed to the current economic 
   collapse;
- abolished the GLC and the other Metropolitan County Councils;
- created a culture governed by greed, selfishness and the "me-first" mentality.  

And lest we forget, the 1981 Brixton riots happened on her watch. 

I could go on.  I feel for her family members, but I mostly feel for the rest of Britain, the majority of whom are still suffering under the legacy of Thatcher.  

Brixton people know how to party, and the Ritzy Cinema joined in the fun.  Watch the video below for more.  

Shame it came 30 years too late. 

Black Film: Blood Ah Go Run

I saw this film when I first came to the UK, nearly 30 years ago.

I saw it again recently, with a Q & A with the director, Menelik Shabazz, when it was screened at the BFI as part of the African Odysseys programme.

Blood Ah Go Run (Blood Will Flow/Be Shed) documents events that took place in London in 1981 including the New Cross fire, the subsequent Black People’s Day of Action, and the Brixton riot.

The film records how the Metropolitan Police attacked and attempted to subvert the peaceful march on the Black People’s Day of Action, the first time Black people in the UK had demonstrated publicly in such numbers.

White British people and institutions must have been shocked when they realised the potential power of Black people in this country.

The Brixton riot followed two months later, sparked by the “Sus” laws and the police’s “Operation Swamp” in Brixton. To read more about this, click here for my blog about Mavis Best. See also my interview with Alex Wheatle.

In retrospect, I wonder what the authorities expected to happen – the actions of the police seemed calculated to provoke riot and unrest.

In the Q & A, Shabazz described what he called “guerilla filmmaking”. Film stock was expensive, so he had to beg and borrow partial reels of film on which to record this film. The footage of the riot was taken directly from TV coverage.

Shabazz also described how he went into the BBC studios after hours so that a colleague could edit the film.

Blood Ah Go Run documents a crucial point in British history and, as such, should be shown in every school.

See also: Next Black History Events.

Africa and Africans on Film.

Remembering the Brixton Riot of 1981

Watching footage of the 1981 Brixton riot evokes thoughts of the uprisings which have been happening across North African countries for the past several months.

To view these videos, see: 30th Anniversary of the Brixton Riot.

These videos also bring to mind the riots which have erupted in London and other UK cities over the past few months, including those which followed the recent peaceful anti-cuts demo and several recent student demos.

Now white people are feeling the pressure, it's mostly white people who are demonstrating and white youngsters who are rioting. Having said that, however, white youths stood alongside Black youths during the Brixton uprising of 1981.

30th Anniversary of the Brixton Riot

Click here to watch videos about the Brixton riot of 1981.

See also: Black People's Day of Action.

Click here to read my interview with Alex Wheatle about his experience of the Brixton riots.

Black People's Day of Action Tomorrow (2nd March 2011)

London Black History Walks and Black History Studies are among the organisers of the 30th anniversary of the Black People's Day of Action tomorrow. They say:

A collective of community groups will mark 30 years of Black resistance in the UK with events throughout 2011 to recognise the significant civil rights events of 1981 ( New Cross Fire: 13 Dead and Nothing Said , "Black Peoples Day of Action", Brixton Uprisings ). This is the first of a series of events.

Black Peoples Day of Action: 30 Years On
Wednesday 2 March 7pm-10.00pm
Lewisham Civic Suite, Catford SE6 4RU.
Entry: Free. First Come, First Served

This event will be broadcast live on U STREAM:
http://www.ustream.tv/user/lcptv.com

To read more about the Brixton uprisings, click here for my interview with Alex Wheatle, the Brixton Bard.

See also: London Black History Walks, African Superheroes

Mark Simpson of Black History Studies was our guest recently on What U Need to Know. Click here to listen.

What Are the Police Up To?

I watched several recent shows on the BBC about Detroit and Motown during the '60s.

One thing that struck me was how similar the story of the riot of 1967 was to other riot stories.

In 1967, the all-white Detroit police force put the local Black community under heavy pressure with threats and brutality. Eventually, the community erupted under the pressure and five days of riots ensued. 43 people were killed, 33 of them African American.

What does this remind me of?

Lama Rangdrol's film, Festival Cancelled on Account of Rain, describes his experience as a young Black man growing up in Oakland, CA, being hunted by the police. Meanwhile, other young African American males were being killed on the front line in Vietnam.

The Brixton riot of 1981 - young Black men were being put under a lot of pressure by the police under the Sus laws. The police would harass Black youth whenever they went into central London and beat them up either in the back of the police van or in the prison cells, or both. To read more, see this interview with Alex Wheatle.

Anybody else see a pattern here?

Of course, I was aware of police brutality from a very early age. I just wonder - have the police learned their lesson yet? Or did they deliberately provoke Black communities to explode, over and over again?

Just a thought.

I am sure there are people in the Metropolitan Police and other police forces who are working to bring about positive change. What are people's experiences of this?

What's going to happen this summer if it's a hot summer and if there are still high levels of unemployment?

I watched the film "Babylon" recently. More about this soon.

Obama: The View from Brixton

Obama Signs Order to Close Guanatanamo - brilliant news to wake up to. Our new President appears to be a man of action who is starting as he means to go on.

Obama's Inauguration Day: I have added a link to a video made in Brixton, on "Obama, the new American Zeitgeist?" Please read my article and add your comments.