Sun 11 Apr 2021 10.00 EDT
Last modified on Mon 12 Apr 2021 10.58 EDT
Itâs been 40 years since Ros Griffiths watched her neighbourhood burn to the ground. Then 15, she wandered the streets through one of the most devastating civil disturbances England has seen, in a state of shock. âAs I got into the area, you could see the fighting. It looked like war.â
But even amid the smoke, fire and police cars that tore through the streets, Griffiths still remembers the reggae music that played softly into the night.
Brixton was then the centre of the UKâs black community, Griffiths said, with young people from across the country coming down for the weekend to enjoy its cultural vibrance. From the protests and literature to the sound systems, the street corners reverberated a simple yet powerful political message: black is beautiful.