The causes of the urban unrest that broke out in a number of English cities in the early 1980s - Case Study Example

"What were the causes of the urban unrest that broke out in a number of English cities in the early 1980s" Introduction There has been many times in the history when the citizens of the country has revolted against the actions of the government or has fought for their right. These unrests could be due to the political differences, race discrimination, hunger for power, fight for injustice, and fight for believing that the citizens are right. There has been unrest or violence by people who want to create their fear among the hearts of the citizens and a leader such as Hitler has done that. He has used terror and force to make the people obey him; to worship him and carry out his command as any mistake would lead to a severe punishment. There has been a case of black Americans who were thought to be a group belonging to a lower class. They had been discriminated in all possible ways; they were thought to be unequal and were mistreated. The schools were segregated; they were not given a better facility to teach the children. They could not possibly travel in the same transport as the white American. The black children and adults were caught and abused, injured, and many times publicly hanged. It was not at all safe for the blacks to live like respected citizen of the country. They wanted their rights back; they did not believe that they should be treated in such a way hence they fought back. At first they also stooped to violence later they adopted a more peaceful means but this war had lead to urban unrest as well. One of the main leaders of the blacks was Martin Luther King who has fought a great deal to help the blacks get back their rights and his was killed in this process and his house burned. The unrest and the struggle have led the blacks to gain their right and they are not at all discriminated any more. Similarly the unrest of 1980s must have had some significance which is needed to be studied and its cause has to be found out. [1] [2] Similarly the unrest of 1980s had a lot of significance as it was also a fight by the black against the injustice faced by them in United Kingdom which is needed to be studied and its cause has to be found out. Urban Unrest in 1980s and the Causes This riot had taken place in Brixton at the area of Lambeth, in the south of London in 1981. It was a great shock for the whole nation and world wide. The twenty-five percent area of the Lambeth consisted ethnic minority group. The tension of the riot started to build up and on April 11, 1981 it was on its extreme. It was mainly caused by the black men who had been facing the injustice of the people and could take it no longer. They were unemployed, racially discriminated, deprived, and had poor relations with the police. The riot had been the most unexpected as black seemed to be well adjusted to the UK society but that was not the case and it caused a damage of about of 7.5 million along with 300 injured people. [4] The 'Sus' law The main cause of the riot was the sus law; this law came from the 1924 Vagrancy Act, which was passed for the destitute soldiers begging on the streets after the Napoleonic wars. This law was mainly used as a way for physical and verbal harassment. It was an amended Race Relation Act that became law in 1976 and the police forces got an extra power and were granted exemption from its condition. They were to stop and search people suspected for planning to carry out crime and ask for their whereabouts and due to this many black men were stopped and caught. It was an extension of the Section 44 currently in force as a part of Labour's "anti-terror" legislation in whole of London. In 1977 at an Operation Police Nigger Hunt about 14000 people were stopped and searched in Lewisham, south London only and over two hundred Special Patrol Group police armed with pick-axe handles and Alsatian dogs and had raided 60 black homes in the area. In April during the Operation Swamp had policemen dressed in plain clothes, which was to cut street crimes in Brixton used sus law and more than 1000 people were stopped and one hundred and eighteen arrested within four days which increased the tension amongst black people. This arrest and the brutality faced at the hands of the police by the black people caused angry crowd to gather to confront the officers on the evening on April 10. A nineteen year old, Michael Bailey was bundled in a police bleeding from a stab wound, the ambulance was not called and the car did not move so the people gathered freed him. Following was the attack on and arrest of the people in the gathering led to the riot to its intensity and it took about 7000 officers to get back control. [3] Was it Black and White against each other It was not a fight of the white against the black or vice versa. On April 11 the plainclothes and uniformed policemen were stooped to cruelty and arrested a twenty-eight year old black man for waving at a friend. Both white and black went over to help but the policemen threw him over a van. A rioter told the Socialist that they were all together and fighting against the police. [7] Action by the Government It only after the people fought back the police that the government of Tory headed an inquiry by the Lord Justice Scarman. This inquiry was the major move that took him to the peak of his career. Many people resisted the inquiry but he had won them by going on the streets, meeting people and accepting their conditions and behavior in that area was appropriate. His methods received much disapproval from the lawyers, but he was praised for his way of dealing with the public. His report said that the racial discrimination was a fact of their nation and both police and the local community were to be blamed for it. He recommended that there should be more black police and the policing methods should be changed, and independent complaint should be made against the police. [6] The Report of Macpherson After eighteen years Lord Scarman gave way to Macpherson in 1999 and he drew attention to 'institutional racism' in the police due to which the stop and search resulted in a sudden decline. The riots were mainly due to unemployment and deprivation and had spread to Manchester and Liverpool. Today it is not the black who are facing the problem if the 1981 but it is the Asian. It is the name which has changed the color remains the same. The Muslim parents of the rioters of 2001 came in 1970 to work in the factories of Britain. The unemployment is the major factor and the unemployment still exists among the young black but it is twice the general rate among the ethnic minority communities. The dreaded stop and search started again due to anti-terrorism. Under this law the police does not need to have a suspicion on the person and the black people are six times mostly likely to be stopped as compared to the general public even now and the Asian are twice as likely as the black to be stopped. His report says that the task of the government has still remained the same that is preventing racial discrimination, eliminating unemployment, and improving the social conditions of the inner cities. This problem had been identified by the Government's Social Exclusion Unit but does not have any impact. [5] Conclusion There had been numerous cases of violence in the history of any country and if these outbreaks are from the people due to the injustice experienced by them. This injustice could be experienced by the minorities living in that country, or the people are being unfairly ruled by the government. In order to prevent all this injustice people seem to have no other mean after waiting patiently then to seek the help of violence to gain something they were not able to get through peaceful means. Similarly the injustice faced by the blacks and the ethnic groups have been past the endurance and the government is constantly try to bring things in order yet there is no order received b the people and no justice offered. The government stands at the same place and the minorities are discriminated, deprived, and unemployed. The people wish to receive their rights some day. Work cited: 1) "A CHRONOLOGY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MILITARY SERVICE From WWI through WWII" [Internet], Available at , Accessed on July 22, 2007 2) "African Americans" [Internet], Available at , Accessed on July 22, 2007 3) "Brixton Riots, 1981" [Internet], Available at , Accessed on July 27, 2007 4) Cindi John . "The legacy of the Brixton riots" [Internet], Available at , Accessed on July 26, 2007 5) "Editorial & Opinion: Questions posed by riots of 1981 are still" [Internet], Available at , Accessed on July 27, 2007 6) "Obituary: Lord Scarman" [Internet], Available at , Accessed on July 27, 2007 7) "Stop and search - racist, then and now" [Internet], Available at , Accessed on July 26, 2007 Read More