Railton Road Radical Histories Mural

The 'wall of respect for the radical histories of Railton Road' was painted  in 2021 by the RAD Mural Collective on a wall at  the 198 art space at 198 Railton Road. Designed by Jacob V Joyce and Monique Jackson, it packs in a lot of local historical detail, referencing black, queer and other radical spaces and scenes associated with the area. These are  mostly from the 1970s to 1990s, though there is a nod to more recent events with local firefighters shown taking the knee during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2021. 

According to the mural#s designers, 'Railton Road was once known as ‘The Front Line’ due to the sheer amount of anti-racist and counter hegemonic activisms which erupted on this street. A commemorative blue plaque which reads ‘The Front Line’ is painted into the top right corner of the mural. Beneath it local artist and often forgotten hero of black British LGBT history Pearl Alcock leans out of a window. Framing the scene on the left an art work by Rotimi Fani-Kayode, another LGBT icon and member of the Brixton Artist Collective, looms over a sleepy eyed Rasta opening his door in fluffy slippers. References to local organizations include the CLR James Supplementary School, radical squatted book shop 121 Books and a banner which reads ‘Black People Against State Harassment, B.A.S.H, a self defence campaign group also based on Railton Road. The Black Panthers, The Gay Liberation Front, Race Today Collective, and many other anti-racist, queer and feminist groups have been founded or run on this radical South London road'. The Front Line was the centre of the 1981 uprising, also referenced in the mural which was commissioned to mark its 40th anniversary.

I lived in Brixton for best part of ten years in some of these times so was taken aback (in a good way) walking past the mural recently to see all this so boldy and brightly represented, including the 121 Centre where I spent many a happy hour and maybe a few not so happy ones too! You could do another mural, or several, about just the things that happened there, as I summarised elseswhere:

'The 121 Centre in Brixton, variously known as an ‘anarchist centre’, ‘social centre’ and ‘squatted centre’, was a hub of international radical activity and much else throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The house at 121 Railton Road, SE24 was squatted by a group of local anarchists in 1981  (though it had previously been squatted by radical black activists) and was finally evicted in 1999. It is now private flats. Its four storeys included a bookshop, office space, printing equipment, kitchen and meeting area, and a basement for gigs and parties.

Over 18+ years it was the launchpad for numerous radical initiatives, some short-lived, others having a more lasting impact. Many groups used 121 for meetings and events, including Brixton Squatters Aid, Brixton Hunt Saboteurs, Food not Bombs, Community Resistance Against the Poll Tax, Anarchist Black Cross, the Direct Action Movement, London Socialist Film Co-op and the Troops Out Movement. Publications associated with 121 included Shocking Pink, Bad Attitude, Crowbar, Contraflow, Black Flag and Underground.

There was a regular Friday night cafe and many gigs and club nights, including the legendary mid-1990s Dead by Dawn. 121 was a venue for major events including Queeruption, the Anarchy in the UK festival and an International Infoshop Conference. It was, in short, a space where hundreds of people met, argued, danced, found places to live, fell in and out of love, ate and drank'.