The second Handsworth riots took place in the Handsworth district of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, from 9 to 11 September 1985. The riots were reportedly sparked by the arrest of a man near the Acapulco Cafe,

Lozells Lozells is a loosely defined inner-city area in West Birmingham, England. It is centred on Lozells Road, and is known for its multi-racial population. It is part of the ward of Lozells and East Handsworth and lies between the districts of Handsw ...

and a police raid on the ''Villa Cross''

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

in the same area. Hundreds of people attacked police and property, looting and smashing, even setting off fire bombs. Handsworth had been the scene of a less serious riot four years earlier, when a wave of rioting hit over 30 other British towns and cities during the spring and summer of 1981. Racial tension and friction between the police and the local ethnic minority communities was seen as a major factor in the riots. Handsworth had been predominantly populated by the black and Asian communities for around 30 years by 1985. Handsworth also had one of the highest unemployment rates in Birmingham. Two brothers (Kassamali Moledina, 38, and his 44-year-old brother Amirali) were burnt to death in the

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

that they ran. Two other people were unaccounted for, 35 others injured, more than 1500 police officers drafted into the area, about 45 shops looted and burnt, and a trail of damage running into hundreds of thousands of pounds. As well as racial tension, unemployment was seen as a major factor in the riots; fewer than 5% of black pupils to have left school in the summer preceding the riot had found employment. The riots were the subject of John Akomfrah's award-winning documentary film '' Handsworth Songs.'' Filmmaker and artist

Pogus Caesar Dr Pogus Caesar (born 1953) is a British photographer, conceptual artist, archivist, author, curator, television producer and director. He was born in St Kitts, West Indies, and grew up in Birmingham, England. Early life Dr Pogus Caesar was bo ...

extensively documented the riots, his photographs have been exhibited at ICA, London, TATE Britain, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery and National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA. They were depicted in reggae artist Pato Banton's song ''Handsworth Riots''. And they were witnessed by

Goldie Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is a British music producer and DJ. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musician in th ...

and Bronx graffiti artists Brim, who documented the devastation in the documentary '' Bombin''' (1987)''.'' The riots were the first of a series of similar riots across the country during the autumn of 1985, notably the

Broadwater Farm riot The Broadwater Farm riot occurred on the Broadwater council estate in Tottenham, North London, on 6 October 1985. The events of the day were dominated by two deaths. The first was that of Cynthia Jarrett, an Afro-Caribbean woman who died the p ...

in London which also resulted in a fatality (the murder of policeman

Keith Blakelock Keith Henry Blakelock QGM, a London Metropolitan Police constable, was murdered on 6 October 1985 during rioting at the Broadwater Farm housing estate in Tottenham, north London. The riot broke out after Cynthia Jarrett died of heart failur ...

References

Sources

* '' Handsworth Songs'',

Black Audio Film Collective The Black Audio Film Collective (BAFC), founded in 1982 and active until 1998, comprised seven Black British and diaspora multimedia artists and film makers: John Akomfrah, Lina Gopaul, Avril Johnson, Reece Auguiste, Trevor Mathison, Edward Geo ...

's 1986 film examining the roots of social disorder in Britain. *" Handsworth Riots 1985" –

/ OOM Gallery Archive/Artimage/DACS Extensive collection of archive photographs taken during Handsworth riots of 1985. *" Handsworth Riot" – a song by reggae singer

Pato Banton Pato Banton (born Patrick Murray; 5 October 1961) is a reggae singer and toaster from Birmingham, England. He received the nickname "Pato Banton" from his stepfather; his first name derives from the sound of a Jamaican owl calling "patoo, patoo ...

depicting the events of the riots, with lyrics including first-person accounts from blacks and Asians.

External links

- Burning Images Exhibition 2005Digital Handsworth photographs of the 1985 uprisings in Handsworth, BirminghamBBC Birmingham - Your Community - Handsworth Riots"A Different Reality"
at Warwick University. *Gordon Weaver
"Young Blacks, Political Groups and the Police in Handsworth".
{{DEFAULTSORT:1985 Handsworth Race Riots Handsworth riots Handsworth riots Black British history Crime in Birmingham, West Midlands Handsworth riots 1985 Race riots in England Handsworth riots Riots and civil disorder in England

See also

References

Sources

External links