Les Back on the New Cross Massacre, Black People's Day of Action and the George Padmore Institute

Forty years ago, the Black People's Day of Action on 2 March 1981 was the largest protest march in the history of the black community in the UK. Some 20,000 black people and their supporters protested the deaths of 13 young black people caused by a house fire on New Cross Road, London, which was suspected of being a racist arson attack. Following the fire, a number of activists, including the founder of the George Padmore Institute (GPI) John La Rose, set up the New Cross Massacre Action Committee, which organised help and support for the families of the victims and, two months later, the Black People's Day of Action. The cause of the fire remains unsolved and no one has yet been held accountable for the deaths.
Les Back teaches Sociology at Goldsmiths University. Here, he talks about his experience of the New Cross Massacre as an 18-year-old. Many years later, he came across photographs of the Black People's Day of Action taken by Vron Ware, a friend and colleague. He describes the process of curating an exhibition of the photographs in 2017 and shares how archival documents and press reports from the GPI were an integral part of the show.
The George Padmore Institute is an archive, educational research and information centre housing materials relating mainly to the black community of Caribbean, African and Asian descent in Britain and continental Europe.
For more information about the GPI and its archive collections visit the website www.georgepadmoreinstitute.org

[@omalone1169]

i remember this guy published the football book dealing with the changing face of racism

[@omalone1169]

not even sure where the institute is but I would like to access the archives

[@Mute040404]

The partygoer responsible for the fire that started inside the premises probably perished in the fire