England: Mariah Justice (A New Experience)

A New Experience

While this experience wasn’t entirely new, I did approach it through a new lens. I have visited on my own and taken different tours of the Bixton neighborhood. One tour centered around food, while the other was a life and culture tour. However, neither of these focused on the current and historical social environment of this neighborhood or the challenges they have faced. This latest tour through my Diversity In Britain course helped to close the gap in my understanding of Brixton.

Our tour guide (Kelly) brought us to the town hall and told us the history of Base Culture in London. A Jamaican immigrant (Vincent Corp) who arrived in the 1950s found that he could not enter many establishments due to the Color Bar. So he opened his own club and in doing so introduced London to amplified sound systems also known as Base Culture. She then passed around photos from these parties, one of which was hosted at the town hall.

Our next stop was the Black Cultural Archives, In Windrush Square. Before this tour I have had conversations in classes, surrounding how British schools center more on their history lessons on the U.S’s racial injustices. As opposed to emphasizing a focus on the historical racial injustices in the UK that have continued to this day. However, I was never informed that there was an organization such as the Black Cultural Archives that has taken the initiative to counteract this deep-rooted issue. This was exciting for me to learn about. As it was working to solve an issue I had discussed in class. Additionally, it also meant this organization was a resource I could use to further educate myself on racial injustices and life experiences of Black people in Europe.

From an academic and personal stance, I walked away from this experience with far more than I entered with despite this not being my first visit to Brixton. And I feel that while I’m sure there is much more to learn I have a broad understanding of this neighborhood from a multitude of approaches.

Mariah Justice

Major: Undecided

Hometown: Madison, Wisconsin