The National Front, a far-right anti-immigrant party, gained popularity during this time by blaming high unemployment and crime on Caribbean and South Asian people. Thatcher’s racist rhetoric, like that of her “swamped” speech further emboldened these white hate groups.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=aWpbc-IyGtLyWgps&v=ebcHHS8jlIQ&feature=youtu.be

Artists like playwright Rex Obano and poet Jay Bernard (above) have reflected on the impact of the New Cross Massacre in their work. Highly recommend Bernard’s book of poetry titled Surge which is “a queer exploration of the black British archive, tracing a line between two significant events in recent British history: the New Cross Massacre of 1981 in which thirteen young black people were killed in a house fire - and the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017. ”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3z4lgf0TC4&t=6s

Black Londoners, a Black radio program from BBC, first aired in November 1974, fronted by British journalist Alex Pascall. "It began once a month, then once a week and within a couple of years we were broadcasting every day." The program ran for a total of 14 years. One survey found that his show was listened to by 59% of black Londoners. Half phone-in and half news content, Black Londoners was an important vehicle for the discussion of issues affecting the black community, in particular the New Cross Fire in 1981, and provided a mouthpiece for many black musicians, artists and politicians who either lived in or passed through the capital city.