On This Day: The Broadwater Farm Riots, 6th October 1985

The recent Black Lives Matter campaign could give the impression that institutional racism is a distinctly American problem. Britain has had to deal with its own fair share of problems in this regard however, and like in Ferguson and other American cities, tension between the police and ethnic minorities has occasionally flared into violence. The Broadwater Farm Riots, on the 6th of October 1985, were one such occasion.

Overturned and burnt out cars in Broadwater Farm Estate on the day after the riots/uprising. Taken 7 October 1985 (Source: Jim Moody).

At the beginning of October 1985, tensions between police and the black community in Tottenham, north London, were running high. Longstanding grievances were exacerbated by riots in Brixton the previous week, following the shooting of a black woman, Dorothy Groce, during a police search. At lunchtime on the 5th of October Floyd Jarrett, a young black man who lived about a mile away from the Broadwater Farm estate, was arrested and charged with theft and assault- he was later acquitted of both charges. Later that day, however, the police decided to search the house of Floyd’s mother, Cynthia. During the search, 49-year-old Cynthia Jarrett collapsed and died of a heart attack. Her daughter claimed that Cynthia had been pushed by an officer called DC Randle, and the resulting fall could have contributed to her death. Randle denied it, and no police officer was charged or disciplined for what happened.

The black community in London already believed that the Metropolitan Police was institutionally racist (they were probably right!), and the treatment of Cynthia Jarrett sparked outrage. Bernie Grant, local council leader at the time, condemned the search of Cynthia’s house and called for local police chiefs to resign. A demonstration gathered outside Tottenham police station in the early hours of the next morning, the 6th of October. Violence between police and some members of the local community escalated throughout the day; centring on the Broadwater Farm estate. The rioters built barricades, set fire to cars, and threw bricks, molotov cocktails and other projectiles at police, making effective use of the raised walkways on the estate.

At about 9:30 p.m., the police and fire brigade were called to a fire on the upper level of Tangmere House, a block of flats and shops on the estate. Whilst attending the fire, the officers were attacked by rioters and forced to retreat rapidly. A police officer, Constable Keith Blakelock, tripped and fell in the confusion. He was immediately surrounded by rioters, who beat and repeatedly stabbed him in a vicious attack. PC Bl//akelock became the first police officer to be killed in a riot in Britain since 1919. n

The riot tailed off during the night as it started to rain and news of Blakelock’s death spread. The impacts of the riots, however, would last a lot longer than 24 hours. Determined to find Blakelock’s killers, the Metropolitan Police maintained a heavy presence on the Broadwater estate for several months, arresting and questioning over 300 people, many of whom were denied access to a lawyer. The riots led to changes in the police’s tactics and equipment for dealing with riots, and efforts to reengage with the local community.

Six people were eventually charged with the murder of Keith Blakelock; although the investigation and ensuing court cases were severely hampered by officers who were willing to cut corners and ignore the law. Three children had their cases dismissed after a judge ruled that they had been held and questioned inappropriately. Three adults, Winston Silcott, and Engin Raghip and Mark Braithwaite, were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment despite there being no witnesses and no forensic evidence. All three were cleared by the Court of Appeals in November 1991. In July 2013, a man named Nicholas Jacobs was charged with Blakelock’s murder, but was cleared at trial.

Neither Cynthia Jarrett nor Keith Blakelock have received justice for what happened to them. Although from different ‘sides’ of the conflict, both were victims of an institutionally racist society that was creating tension between those in authority and communities in London and across Britain. We are kidding ourselves if we think these tensions no longer exist, and the Broadwater Farm Riots are a stark reminder of the danger of overlooking such problems.

Don’t forget to check out the location of the Broadwater Farm Riots on the Turbulent London Map!

Sources and Further Reading

BBC News, “What Caused the 1985 Tottenham Broadwater Farm Riot?” Last modified 3rd March 2014, accessed 5th October 2016. Available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-26362633

Bloom, Clive. Violent London: 2000 Years of Riots, Rebels and Revolts. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010 [2003].

Wikipedia, “Broadwater Farm Riot.” Last modified 26th September 2016, accessed 5th October 2016. Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadwater_Farm_riot

Wikipedia, “Death of Keith Blakelock.” Last modified 4th October 2016, accessed 5th October 2016. Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Keith_Blakelock

We are the Angry Mob: the Politics of the Kaiser Chiefs

The Kaiser Chiefs perfoming at the O2 arena in February 2014 (Photo by author).

Last week I saw the Kaiser Chiefs live at the O2. It was a fantastic concert, and nostalgic for me, because I last saw them live back in 2007 when I was a teenager in Brighton. But it also brought home to me the political nature of many of the Kaiser Chief lyrics.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with them, the Kaiser Chiefs are an indie rock band from Leeds that formed in 2003. They are named after a South African football club, the first club of an ex-Leeds United Captain. The band consists of Ricky Wilson, Andrew White, Nick Baines, Simon Rix, and Vijay Mistry, who replaced the previous drummer in 2012. The band has had a successful decade, releasing 5 studio albums, 2 of which reached number 1 in the UK. They have also done several memorable live performances, including opening the Live-8 festival in Philadelphia in 2005, and performing at the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. They have also been one of my favourite bands since I was 13.

We are the angry mob
We read the papers every day
We like who we like
We hate who we hate
But we’re all so easily swayed
The Angry Mob, 2007

The Kaiser Chiefs have always had critical lyrics in their songs, and they haven’t been very subtle about it. With songs such as I Predict a Riot from the 2005 album Employment and The Angry Mob and Everything is Average Nowadays from 2007’s Yours Truly, Angry Mob, a sense a resentment is obvious. It doesn’t seem obvious to me exactly who, or what, this anger is directed at though, except perhaps modern society in general.

They tell you day after day
To make your way through the factory gates
‘Til they can’t break your will anymore
You are contractually tied to death’s door
The Factory Gates, 2014

The Kaiser Chief's most recent album, 'Education, Education, Education and War.' — The Kaiser Chief’s most recent album, ‘Education, Education, Education and War.’

More recently however, their critique has become more directed. The title of their most recent album Education, Education, Education and War (2014) is a clear critique of Tony Blair, British Prime Minister between 1997 and 2007. It is well known that Blair’s priorities for his time in office were “education, education, education,” and he is blamed by many for the UK’s involvement in the Iraq war. The album also includes the poem The Occupation, written by Ricky Wilson and narrated by Bill Nighy. It is a modern anti-war poem inspired by the centenary of the first world war. It tells the story of an assault by a superpower on Hell, but could be applied to almost any recent conflict, and the result is a damning critique of war and imperial attitudes.

The Occupation
The occupation of Damnation Eternal
Decreed by Commander in Chief
Won by the infantry, led by the Colonel
Came at costs that would beggar belief
As they marched upon the inferno
And the inﬁdels dropped to their knees
Millions of civilians crammed in pavilions
Came to watch it on big screen TVs
The population of Damnation Eternal
Went from millions to thousands to one
The survivor then wrote in his journal
“Why on Earth did it take them so long?”
Within weeks we constructed a pipeline
Within years we’ll have run the place dry
It’ll just about last us our lifetime
So it’s hip hip hoorays and high ﬁves
On the factory ﬂoor there’s a whisper
We built cannons before it began
But the engines still pumping its piston
And the turbine still whirring its fan
The assembly line spits out the surplus
Into purpose built lead lined white vans
Rockets stockpile as ministry workers
Fill their pockets with all that they can
Secret meetings are held in the senate
What to do with this excess supply
There’s a plan to abandon the planet
One V.I.P at a time
So we get up each day and have breakfast
Read the news and the weather forecast
As we sit and we open our letters
And we pray that it won’t be our last.
Words by Ricky Wilson, narrated by Bill Nighy, 2014.

This is not the first time that I have written about the ability of music to make a political statement. Music, songs and chants have always been an important part of protest, and the popularity of modern musicians means they have quite a lot of power to publicise their point of view and influence people. The Kaiser Chiefs’ music has evolved over the last 10 years, but they have never been afraid to use it to express their opinions, which I think only adds to their appeal.

Sources and Further Reading

Adam Sherwin. ‘Kaiser Chiefs and Bill Nighy write modern day anti-war poem for the World War One centenary’ The Independent. Last modified 6th march 2014, accessed 16th February 2015. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/kaiser-chiefs-and-bill-nighy-write-modern-day-antiwar-poem-for-the-world-war-one-centenary-9174405.html

Cantankerous Campania

Whenever I travel I keep an eye out for evidence or histories of contention, protest and dissent, and I frequently come across interesting stories. I recently got back from a family holiday in Sorrento, a mid-sized city in the Italian province of Campania. As well as the city of Naples, Campania is home to some of Italy’s most popular tourist attractions, including Vesuvius, Pompei and the Amalfi Coast. During my holiday, I came across several examples of protest and contentious politics, both historic and contemporary.

Some Light-hearted Graffiti in Sorrento. — Some Light-hearted Graffiti in Sorrento (Photo: Hannah Awcock).

Pompei is perhaps the most famous tourist attraction in Campania, a Roman city buried during an eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, and remarkably well preserved as a result. The city has 2 amphitheatres that are open to the public, one of which was the site of a riot in 59AD, between the local Pompeians and the residents of a nearby town called Nuceria. What started as an exchange of taunts and insults at a gladiatorial competition escalated to the throwing of stones, and finally the drawing of weapons. Casualties were suffered on both sides, although the Nucerians apparently came off decidedly worse. It seems likely that the riot was the culmination of long-term resentments between the citizens of the two towns. As punishment, the Pompeians were banned from holding events in the amphitheatre for 10 years. This story helped me to repopulate the ghostly archeological site, and imagine what Pompei was like before its tragic and sudden destruction.

The Amphitheatre in Pompei that Played Host to a Bloody Riot in AD 59. — The Amphitheatre in Pompei that Played Host to a Bloody Riot in AD 59 (Photo: Hannah Awcock).

Of course Campania is not just a tourist destination, it is also a region where millions of people live, and express dissent. Although I don’t pretend to be familiar with Italian politics, or the Italian language, there were quite obvious signs of contemporary contention as we travelled around. I found several stickers for a Naples anti-fascist group (see image below). The first one I noticed was on a train station platform. The local train network seemed to be a focus point of graffiti and stickers, so the anti-facism sticker did not seem out of place. The second time I spotted the sticker was in a much more incongruous location. At the top of Vesuvius there is scientific equipment to monitor the volcano, and provide advance warning for any future eruptions. One such monitoring station was covered in stickers, including the same Naples anti-fascism one I had seen at the station.

A Sticker of a Naples Anti-Fascism Group on a Train Station Platform. — A Sticker of a Naples Anti-Fascism Group on a Train Station Platform (Photo: Hannah Awcock).

The Measuring Equipment Covered in Stickers at the Top of Vesuvius. — The Measuring Equipment Covered in Stickers at the Top of Vesuvius (Photo: Hannah Awcock).

The other example of contemporary contention I noticed was the acronym A.C.A.B. Standing for All Cops Are Bastards, it is something I have become quite familiar with in England in recent years. I was surprised to find it in Italy though, as I assumed that the phrase would be different in Italian. I noticed it several times however, graffitied on a wall near my hotel, and written in black marker on a train window. I was intrigued by the international quality of this radical sentiment.

Some Graffiti in Sorrento Expressing Anti-Police Sentiment. — Some Graffiti in Sorrento Expressing Anti-Police Sentiment (Photo: Hannah Awcock).

The history of protest in London, let alone the rest of the world, is vast, and I will never be able to learn about all of it. However trying to find out the contentious histories of new place that I visit helps me feel like I am getting to know that place slightly better, as well as providing some interesting anecdotes when for when I get home!