Handsworth disturbances 1985

Reports; press statements; flyers; correspondence; and press cuttings relating to activities organised or supported by the Indian Workers Association following disturbances in the Handsworth and Lozells area of Birmingham in September 1985. Papers reflect the determination of the Indian Workers Association to achieve unity of the African Caribbean and Asian communities in the area to campaign together for better employment and housing opportunities and to address issues around policing in Handsworth, but also provide evidence of the different opinions that existed within different groups in the Handsworth area over community responses to the disturbances.

/1 press release issued by the Indian Workers Association following a meeting of Asian, African Caribbean and 'indigenous' organisations held at the Shaheed Udham Singh Welfare Centre, Soho Road, Handsworth 14 September 1985. The press release reports decisions taken at the meeting to work for the unity of the whole community in Handsworth, to campaign for compensation to all those who suffered loss during the disturbances, to end the heavy presence of police in Handsworth, and to support the defence campaign. All those who attended the meeting expressed their sympathy for the family of two Asian brothers who lost their lives during the disturbances

/2 handwritten list giving the names and addresses of people who attended the meeting organised by the Indian Workers Association 14 September 1985, following the disturbances in Handsworth. The list also gives details of the organisations that individuals represented. This list is closed under the terms of the Data Protection Act until 2036 because it contains personal information about individuals

/3-/4 letter to Avtar Jouhl from West Midlands County Council informing him that the Race Relations and Equal Opportunities Committee have approved a grant to the Indian Workers Association towards the costs of purchasing materials resulting from the disturbances on Lozells Road, and enclosing a document setting out the conditions of acceptance of grant aid issued by West Midlands County Council, 16 September 1985

/5 flyer issued by Sachkhand Nanak Dham warning that politicians, councillors and the media are attempting to split the community in Handsworth according to ethnicity, and urging people to remain calms and show unity and solidarity to campaign on the real issues in the area, 16 September 1985

/6 copy letter from Birmingham Trades Council to Bini Brown, secretary of the Handsworth Defence Campaign, containing an account of a meeting convened by the Trades Council 16 September 1985 due to concern at the government response to the disturbances. The Birmingham Trades Council took the decision at this meeting to support a demonstration organised by the Handsworth Defence Campaign on the issue of youth unemployment

/7 statement issued by the Spartacist League on the violence of police against black and Asian people in Handsworth during the disturbances, giving information about an emergency protest meeting at Gerrard Street Church Centre, Lozells,Birmingham 18 September 1985, with speakers from the Spartacist League, Pakistani Workers Association, Lea Hall National Union of Mineworkers (in a personal capacity}, and other community and trade union speakers

/8 newspaper article published in 'The Guardian' 18 September 1985 on tensions between African Caribbean and Asian community leaders in Birmingham, and the effects that the disturbances in Handsworth have had on community relations

/9 press statement issued by the Indian Workers Association and other local organisations presenting demands put to the Home Secretary Douglas Hurd on his visit to Birmingham 28 February 1986 following the disturbances in Lozells and Handsworth the previous year. The intention of the demands was to alleviate unemployment and social deprivation in the local area

/10 letter to Avtar Jouhl from Douglas Hurd, Home Secretary, following his visit to Handsworth in February 1986 and his meeting with representatives from the Indian Workers Association and Bangladeshi Workers Association. The letter contains a summary of the points that Hurd tried to make at the meeting and attempts to deal with other issues which the organisations wanted addressed, concerning policing, the effects of immigration legislation and youth unemployment, 7 March 1986

/11 copy of a 'Summary Report and Responses to Handsworth Riots' containing summaries of the reports of the West Midlands Police, West Midlands County Council, and Birmingham City Council in 1986 on the causes, events and results of the disturbances in the Handsworth and Lozells areas of Birmingham in September 1985

Part of this file is closed under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1988 until 2036 because it contains personal information about individuals. Remove marked 'closed' files before serving.