Summer of protest: Bengali anti-racist movement in 1978

It is said that the brutal murder of Altab Ali on 4 May 1978 was a turning point that led to the mobilisation of an anti-racist movement by the Bengali community in the East End. This period marked a political awakening amongst Bengalis who had been long suffering violent racist attacks and housing discrimination in the locality.

Join Ansar Ahmed Ullah as he explores what led to the summer of protests in East London, how the Bengali community in Hackney and Tower Hamlets forged alliances with other community and political groups, and how the movement developed in the following decade.

Ansar Ahmed Ullah is a post-doctoral student at Queen Mary University London. His research is titled The Bengali Anti-Racist Movement: Explaining Mobilisation in East London, which is a collaborative study with the Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives and the Bishopsgate Institute. He also worked with Paul Trevor on Brick Lane 1978: The Turning Point project.