12.4.11

Metro In Focus: Brixton Riots (or Uprising)

So here's a feature I wrote for Metro newspaper recounting the Brixton Riots of 1981 by three eye witnesses. It came out on Wednesday April 6, so apologies for the lateness in posting this.

It's a story that's close to my heart, as I've lived in Brixton since 1999 and remember when I was first looking to move to Brixton in 1998 after a hungover Saturday morning of flat viewings, my sister and I stopped off at a cafe just off the Brixton Road by the tube station and a Reclaim The Streets party kicked off - total mayhem, with soundsystems parked in the middle of Brixton Road and dancing galore, ensued. I remember being seduced by its counter culture, anti-establishment spirit. Thank god my sister and I couldn't afford Clapham, where we had originally intended on living.

One of the best decisions of my life, to be honest - Brixton's where I live and work (with young people from the local community as part of LIVE magazine), and feels like home, whether it's the Afghanistanis and Pakistanis bantering and haggling in the market, or the characters that come out to peacock when the sun's shining, I feel more at home here than anywhere I've lived including where I grew up.