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Brixton riot 30 years on: Windrush Square/library event, Sun 10th April 2011

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To mark the 30th anniversary of the 1981 Brixton Uprising there will be a special event held at Windrush Square and Brixton Tate library on Sunday 10th April, 2011. Here’s the press release:

Starting at 12 noon in Windrush Square and then from 1pm inside Brixton Tate library, the event will hear first hand witness accounts from members of the public on the Uprising, performances from special guests including LINTON KWESI JOHNSON, moving images and sound clips from radio and news archives, photographic stills on display and an opportunity for the public to relate their own testimonies of the Uprising to be recorded and archived by the Black Cultural Archive.

We will also debate on how Brixton has recovered from 1981 and look ahead to its future.
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Loads of old video footage of the riot here: http://www.urban75.org/blog/brixton-riot-30-years-on-windrush-square-event-sun-10th-april-2011/
 
Belushi said:
Hang on! It clashes with Streatham Common Kite Day, maybe I wont definitely be going after all :D
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They should have realised that 30 years ago that the date would have been inconvenient for Kite Day. Silly rioters.
 
"Operation Swamp" was the lead up to the riots. It meant that the Police literally "swamped" Brixton the week before. Stopping people. I was stopped in Rushcroft road. I had black bag full of clothes I had taken to laundry. Obviously they thought I must be up to no good. Ha Ha.

This operation caused rising tension in the area leading to the riot.

The Police were unprepared for the riot. They had no riot gear then unlike now. The Riots and the Miners strike lead to police developing riot control techniques and better intelligence.

The 81 riots ( or uprising) were genuinely popular. I remember a few days later when the Home Secretary came down to tour the area he was booed.

Even the older more traditional Afro Carribean people thought the Police had it coming.

This was not a race riot.It was directed at the Police. Im white had had no trouble at all.

The Police lost control of central Brixton. In the end the riot petered out rather than the Police gaining the upper hand.

It was a different era then. The Tories had been in power for a short time and were disliked. Unemployment was just beginning to bite The Police were not seen as on the side of the people.

There were other long term reason such as the response the the Deptford fire.
 
The Reunion on Radio 4 is coming up later on today and will be available on i-Player for 7 days.....it's about the events of April 1981 and features our very own Brian Paddick, plus Alex Wheatle, Ted Knight, Darcus Howe and Peter Bleksley.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zl4dq

BBC said:
In this edition of The Reunion, Sue MacGregor reunites five people who lived through the dramatic events which stunned the nation when simmering tensions erupted into an all out battle between police and youths in Brixton in April 1981.
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big_flame-front-page2.jpg

Front page of Big Flame newspaper , with message of solidarity from Derry Youth to Brixton Youth. The first day of the uprising was the day after over 30.000 people in Fermanagh & South Tyrone had elected Bobby Sands their MP , who was then on hunger strike against Britains policy of criminalising Irish republicans and died on 5th of May , followed by nine of his comrades
 
ajdown said:
They should have realised that 30 years ago that the date would have been inconvenient for Kite Day. Silly rioters.
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yeh cos people REALLY think at the time that in 30 years time their actions will be the subject of a one-day event at the local library :rolleyes:
 
I knew about the event in Windrush Square but I wanted to mark the day (that I arrived in Brixton 30 years ago) by having a lovely day at home with my family and a big celebratory meal with people I love. Sadly neither of my daughters can make it but they are happy in their own homes, which is brilliant in itself. I had no idea 30 years ago I'd have six fabulous grandchildren :) Life is good.
 
I'd like to see the debate. Fella on local news was saying, at the time, the local literature always referred to it as an 'uprising' against sus, etc. I can't remember back in that kind of detail.
 
I think that generally outside of Brixton it was "riots" and in Brixton it was "uprising".

And anyone outside Brixton who had ties to or connections or sympathies with what happened said "uprising" and anyone in Brixton who didn't, said "riot".

That's my memory of it anyway.
 
Story - By "outside", might you mean 'media influenced'?

The term 'riot' would play as very loaded to many audiences.
 
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