In April 1981 protest against racist policing spilled into violence. For three days, from Friday 10th April 1981 the area of Brixton in South London became the scene of an uprising which left at least 45 people injured, 279 police officers injured, over 100 cars – including 56 police vehicles - damaged and 82 people arrested.
The spontaneous revolt saw violent clashes between the predominantly Black youth of Brixton and the Metropolitan police force, and homophobic businesses were also attacked. Over-policing of multicultural communities and the use of police powers, and particularly as stop and search, known as the ‘Sus Laws’ had become a major point of contention for many of Britain’s black youth.
SUS or 'suspected person laws' were resurrected nineteenth century vagrancy laws, which gave police the power to stop and search anyone they suspected of intending to commit a crime. These powers were abused by the Metropolitan Police, the police force responsible for policing in London’s 32 boroughs. They were used not only to harass Black people, but also to commit violence against anyone who was considered to be ‘loitering with intent’ without any evidence.
Today marks 40 years on from that weekend and in this video we discuss the events leading up and surrounding what would be known as The Brixton Uprising.
Commissioned by the UK Black Cultural Archives. We had the pleasure of working with their team on this one.
#BlackHistoryMonth #BlackHistory #BrixtonUprising #April1981
