Racism

Example’s of racism in Pressure are things like at the beginning when we are introduced to Tony we find out he is unemployed and we follow him as he has another job interview, racism is shown because when Tony walks into the office for the interview, the boss is taken back by the fact he is black. Racism is also in this scene because the boss asks tony how long he has been in the country.

Racism is further in the film when they are having a gathering of people and the police burst in, they roughly handle people even a women and throw them into car’s, there is further racism from the police when Tony is being interviewed, you can hear that Tony’s brother is being beaten in the next room this shows he is not getting a fair trail or treated like a human.

Racism plays a massive part in this film as it is about how the black men and women came together

Racial Tension

The Conservative Party government elected in 1979 had given new powers to the Police under the ‘Vagrancy Act of 1824’ to stop and search people based on only a 'reasonable suspicion' that an offence had been committed, These were applied mainly to the black community, and caused widespread resentment amongst young black men.

The Asian community also felt vulnerable to racist attack. The Police were given new powers to question people about their immigration status.

On 13 January 1981, thirteen Black youths died in the New Cross Fire. The police quickly dismissed a racial motive for the arson attack and the local Black communities were dismayed by the indifference shown in the press towards the deaths. 15,000 people marched demanding action to Central London, in the largest Black issue demonstration seen in the UK

Racial tensions continued to rise in the early part of the year. On 28 March 1981, Enoch Powell who was an Ulster Unionist MP, but still an influence on the Conservative Party gave a speech in which he warned of the dangers of a "racial civil war"

Brixon

On the evening of 10 April, at around 17:15, a black youth who had been stabbed by three other black youths in an attack was being helped by a police patrol in Atlantic Road. As he was being helped, a large crowd gathered. As they tried to take him to a waiting car on Railton Road, the crowd intervened.

The police were attacked and the struggle only ended when more police officers arrived; the youth was taken to a hospital. The crowd is reported to have believed that the police stopped and questioned the stabbed youth, rather than help him.

Rumours spread that the youth had been left to die by the police or that the police looked on as the stabbed youth was lying on the street. Over 200 youths reportedly turned on the police. In response the police decided to increase the number of police in Railton Road, despite the tensions, and continue "Operation Swamp 81" throughout the night of Friday the 10th and into the following day, Saturday the 11th of April.

During the disturbances, 299 police were injured, and at least 65 civilians. 61 vehicles and 56 police vehicles were damaged or destroyed. 28 buildings were burned and another 117 damaged and looted. 82 arrests were made

Handsworth

The first riot in Handsworth took place on 10 July 1981. The second larger riot took place between 9 and 11 September 1985. The riots were reportedly sparked by the arrest of a man near the Acapulco Cafe, Lozells and a police raid on the Villa Cross public house in the same area. Hundreds of people attacked police and property, looting and smashing, even setting off firebombs.

Chapeltown

The exact trigger for the riots is unclear, although much speculation took place in the local and national press. By 1981, Chapeltown was experiencing a high level of violent crime, tensions were high, particularly amongst the area's Caribbean majority. The high crime brought about a police purge and the riots took place in July 1981.

Toxteth

The Merseyside police force had a poor reputation within the black community for stopping and searching young black men in the area, and the perceived heavy-handed arrest of Leroy Alphonse Cooper on Friday 3 July, watched by an angry crowd, led to a disturbance in which three policemen were injured.

The Sheffield riot occurred on 9 July in and around Sheffield Town Hall. The exact cause is unclear. 14 policemen and 5 civilians were injured, 20 arrests were made, and several offices inside the Town Hall were badly damaged with several trees being set alight outside

Black British Culture

Listening to the radio show on about black British culture I have learnt a lot about how black people feel about their nationality and how they feel their culture has changed Britain. Some of the key elements that black people felt they have changed are food, clothes, language and music.

They have changed the way chicken is tasted and enjoyed, and the way it is seasoned with different herbs and Black people are often stereotyped when it comes to chicken. 

Black people feel they have brought different and new ways to wear clothes and the new trends to Britain. Including baggy jeans. Often wearing puffy jackets lose cut jeans and baseball cap’s is called ‘acting black’ a phrased used often. But they still wear their best clothes every Sunday to church.

When the great British Empire faded this is when people started the mass immigration to the UK, they came to fill in labor shortness and had very high expectations of Britain but they were forced into crowded accommodation. Black people know that when their parents first came to Britain, the white people were very racist and made it clear that they black community weren’t welcome. But laws and supporters made it easy for black and white people to live peacefully eventually.

The people in the radio extract believe that black people have a way of talking that people have heard and copied earning its way into the slang and swear words category. ‘You know what I mean’

I also learn that from the radio extract that when black people first came to Britain, they weren’t aloud in certain places so like clubs and bars so they formed their own, and had their own youth center and house parties. Music was something else that black people brought to Britain and they have a passion for music and dancing and bands like the Jackson 5 became popular and Reggie become a well known ‘black music’ but now everyone listens to this type of music. 

Sapphire

In the film Sapphire, black people are represented in an odd and old-fashioned way. For example when a black man appears on the screen dramatic music is played as if to say ‘wow a black man.’ Black people in this film are also seen as the party people and are always out, they are also seen in poorer parts of London.

Furthermore they are seen as the criminals of the crimes in the film and for a long time in this film the audience feels as if it was one of the black men involved with sapphire.

Also white people are very prejudice towards the black people in this film and this is emphasized when we find out who actually killed sapphire is a white women and she did it because Sapphire was teasing her about having ‘yellow baby’

task 5

Listening to the radio extract from 1958, I can straight away tell that there was a racial problem in Britain, and the fact that black and white people battled with each other, no one really won. 

The man speaking talks about an 'invasion' by the black people and about the fights and riots that are breaking out because of the feelings black and white people had of each other. This speaker is representing the black people as if they were causing all the violence when really it was the white people being prejudice against the black people.

The speaker also believes that violence is the only way to solve the 'problem' of black people, this is representing the white people as very strong willed to want to get rid of black people by exterminating them. In 1958 violence between white and black people was very common and this extract only emphasise  the problems that black people faced when wanting to find refuge in a country like this.

Task 3

Collective identity

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