Brick Lane 1978: The Turning Point exhibition launched jointly by Four Corner Film, Swadhinata Trust, and Paul Trevor came to an end with a closing event on 15 September 2022.
The Brick Lane 1978 is an exhibition on the history of Bengali settlement in East London, fighting against the racist and racism to overcoming which was turning point for the Bengali community following the murder oe Altab Ali on local election day on 4 May 1978.
The two-month-long exhibition on Brick Lane 1978 ended on Thursday, 15 September 2022 were attended by over fifty people, including the funder of the Brick Lane 1978 Project, the National project lottery.
Everyone enjoyed the closing event wondering around and talked about the exhibition, including appreciating both Four Corners and Swadhinata Trust for taking the initiative for such historical events that took place during the ’70s and Bengali youths struggle against the National Front (NF). They forced the NF to move their headquarters from Hoxton East London to South London.
Where they slowly opened doors for the Bengali community due fight and continue fighting against racism in Brick Lane, East London, with help from anti-racist activists all over London and Luton, Birmingham, Before and so on.
The leadership of the 1978 anti-racist movement did appreciate their support during the war against the National Front (NF) in East London
The majority of Bengalis came from East Pakistan. It later became independent Bangladesh, where 99% of the uneducated and young generation during the ’70s only had primary or secondary education. The same people were engaged in learning English after work in the evening. The Brick Lane and Bengali community fighting against racism were a unique and historical style campaign that did not stop but continued when other ethnic minorities’ community failed. Apart from the Jews, the community’s fight against racists and racism in the ’50s, 1936’s Battle of Cable Street in East London.
On the evening of 22 April 1993, Stephen Lawrence black-British teenager from Plumsted, Southeast London, was murdered in a racially motived attack and campaign run for many years where fallout changes of attitude toward racism and the police and law and police practice were led to the partial revocation of the rule against double jeopardy.
After the initial investigation, six were arrested but not charged. Later public inquiry headed by Sir William Macpherson examined the original Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) investigation and concluded that the investigation was incompetent and that the inquiry that study was completed was that the police force was institutionally racist.
The Afro-Caribbean community protested in 1991 in Brixton, South London. Also, after the death of 29-year-old Mark Duggan, who was shot dead by police in Tottenham on 4 August 2011. The biggest riots in modern English history and lasted for five days crossed the capital.
On the Brick Lane 1978 Project closing day of the exhibition where many felt that Four Corners and Swadhinata Trust must continue with the project and also thought that the display must go to Bangladesh as well, where few individuals are already thinking and working on taking the Brick Lane Touring point project to Bangladesh end of next year.