factory employers to send their workers home early to avoid the troubles that were coming.
With these moves they built up an already tense situation into an electric one. Shopkeepers all around the area boarded up their shops and tales of planned confrontations were two a penny.
Workers in the Southall Rights office counted up the number of skinheads reported to be assembling in neighbouring areas and came to a figure of 66,000!
In the evening groups "They don't agree with rioting especially after one of our drivers was hurt, but they're prepared to blame the kids ecause they know they're just reacting being thrown on the scrap heap. Arrests The truth about Moss Side is relatively simpie.
The black youth led the whole community onto the tunity to have their voices was to crack down blanket policing, curfews, raids, arbitrary arrests and In that context local of youth stood around Southall discussing what was going to happen. here was sion that the whole thing was bound to blow.
finally about 50 youth started marching towaras vingles, a alsco less than a mile from centra bowman wins a haunt of young racist thugs.
Within a few minutes Iney were amousnea Dy lines of cops with batons ana snielas. Ine igning which broke out was Totany contised Hundreds of youth were running to and fro, most of them just watching what was taking nice liners were nrow. ing rocks at the law and at any shop window that was handy.
But the police easily had the upper had and some of them took delight in attacking and arresting young people many of whom had done nothing.
Over 100 were arrested, many of them badly beaten up and many Asian and Engish shops were damaged.
Community reaction is confused. The events earlier in the month were seen as a victory for black selt-detence and had focussed attention on the need to fight racism unemployment and police harassment on a national level A national demonstraHon по пои banned, had been called by local groups.
As we go to press local organisations are meeting to dicuss what comes next including the rescheduling of the national demonstration. was hurriedly closed