Our Memories of the Uprisings: The 1980s Revisited

Thirty years after the violent disturbances in St Paul's (Bristol) marked the beginning of the broader unrest of the 1980s, 'Our Memories of the Uprisings' provided a forum in which to discuss how these events developed, the social tensions involved and their legacies. This unrest, focused on Brixton, Liverpool 8 (now Toxteth), St Paul's and a number of other sites, was and is frequently characterized as 'racial rioting', a term still erroneously used, as the 2001 troubles in Bradford, Burnley and Oldham showed. The forum placed particular emphasis on memory as a way of developing a more complex sense of an over-simplified history. This was articulated by Gail Lewis (Reader in the Faculty of Social Sciences, Open University), event advisor and the evening's Chair, who noted in her introduction that, 'memory is not just a moment of romance and nostalgia, memory is a moment of learning and planning for the future'.

With this in the foreground the evening brought together a panel of individuals with experiences from different sites of unrest and various perspectives. As well as Dr Lewis, it comprised Linda Bellos (OBE, former leader of Lambeth Council, 1986, and now Director of Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Solutions), Wally Brown (CBE, Chair of the Merseyside Anti-Racist Alliance during the Liverpool 8 unrest and later Principal of Liverpool Community College), Sean Creighton (formerly with Solon Housing Association and now a freelance social action and heritage development consultant), Professor Lou Kushnick (OBE, founding Director of the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Educational Trust), Kunle Olulode (consultant for Camden Council and coordinator of Camden's Black History Forum) and Dr Anandi Ramamurthy (Lecturer in Journalism, Media and Communications, University of Central Lancashire).

An essential ingredient of the night was the audience, who were invited to ask questions and contribute to the evening after a series of short reflections by the Chair and panellists. The engagement of the audience was a key allowing the development of a complex analysis through the sharing of multiple memories. Attached to this were two significant aims. First, to open up the British Library as a space for the discussion of significant societal issues where all social, ethnic, political and religious groups could feel a sense of entitlement to engage in the debate. Secondly, the event was also intended to record these memories and contributions as a resource for future research use which would include the voices of many who were previously denied such an opportunity. This aspect of the evening will be discussed in more detail later in the report.

'Our Memories of the Uprisings' began with an opportunity for the panellists to offer a short statement about their experience of unrest in the 1980s as well as their thoughts on the significance and legacy of the events. Linda Bellos, Sean Creighton and Kunle Olulode offered their memories of the unrest in Brixton and London more generally, reflecting the experience of political activists, social workers and young people caught up in these events. Wally Brown reflected upon being involved in the Toxteth unrest from the point of view of someone embedded in the structures of the community, while Lou Kushnick considered the uprisings more generally and in a global context of social unrest. Finally, Anandi Ramamurthy offered thoughts about the significance of the memory of the uprisings for younger people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who have grown up with the unrest of the 1980s as part of their family history and cultural memory.

The memories and thoughts of the five speakers showed connections across key areas, including a strong focus on the political and social causes of the unrest. A significant commonality in the approach taken by the individual contributors was the blending of memory, experience and current events to provide salient points for the discussion of today's issues. Moving backwards and forwards though time, the speakers touched on issues such as the use of stop and search by the police; social housing; the relationship...