Handsworth Riots - Twenty Summers On

"Handsworth Riots - Twenty Summers On" is the name of an exhibition of photographs taken by Birmingham film maker and photographer Pogus Caesar during and in the wake of the Handsworth Riots, 9th - 11 September 1985.

September 1985: The days are warm and sunny, thousands of dancing revellers many in brightly coloured costumes are pouring into the streets of Handsworth, an area of Birmingham, Great Britain well known for its rich and vibrant cultural mix. Most people who attend the annual Handsworth Carnival on the Saturday and Sunday say it has been an overwhelming success.

At approximately 5pm on Monday 9th September an African Caribbean man is arrested near the Acapulco Cafe, Lozells Road for a traffic offence.

Soon a crowd consisting of African Caribbean, Asian and British people ask the police to let the man go - the police refuse the request and the situation escalates into a riot. By 7.30pm the Villa Cross Bingo Hall and Social Club is on fire, firemen try and control the flames but the crowd say "let it burn".

Between 8pm and midnight cars are set alight, shops are looted and residents are forced to leave their homes. 11.30pm police take back control of the Lozells Road area after hours of looting and burning.

What is now known as the Handsworth Riots lasted for two days. In the aftermath well over 1500 police officers were drafted into the area and 50 shops were either burnt or looted. Damage to property was estimated at hundreds of thousands of pounds. 35 people were either injured or hospitalised, two people unaccounted for and two people lost their lives.

This year 2005 is the 20th anniversary of the events that exploded onto the streets of Lozells and Handsworth. Even today people still ask the question "how could a tiny spark turn into such a gigantic flame"?

An online exhibition from the Pogus Caesar / OOM Gallery Archives as part of British Black History Month 2005

External Ref:
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/articles/2005/09/05/handsworth_riots_20years_feature.shtml]
* [http://www.oomgallery.net/gallery.asp?location=6&c=251]

* [http://www.oomgallery.net / location photos of Black Audio Film Collective filming Hansdworth Songs 1985]