A Mile in My Shoes: ’81 Uprisings

In 1981, Black communities in Brixton rose up in bloody confrontation with the Met Police against a backdrop of racism, severe economic recession and high unemployment. A Mile in My Shoes: ’81 Uprisings builds on Empathy Museum’s critically acclaimed series of participatory public art begun in 2015. For this new iteration, the organisation worked with Brixton-based 81 Acts of Exuberant Defiance and The Ubele Initiative to produce a bespoke version of A Mile in My Shoes that would commemorate and reclaim the events of 1981 through the voices of those who were there. They invited 35 people from Brixton, Handsworth, Moss Side, Toxteth and St Pauls to share their tender, surprising, and nuanced stories of how the happenings of the 1980s reverberated throughout homes, streets, and communities across the country. Among the collection are tales of childhood, love, art-making, coming-of-age, sexuality, family, activism, conflict, community, music, dancing, and much more. The result is an expansive and intimate portrait of a Black British generation who shaped Britain in ways we all still live with today.

This event takes place at Windrush Square, London SW2 1EF