On 4 May 1978, 24-year-old Bangladeshi textile worker Altab Ali was stabbed to death on his way home by white supremacist teenagers in Whitechapel, East London. [Image by Shamsuddin Shams] (1/4) 
The murder occurred amidst an atmosphere of virulent racism, bolstered by government immigration policy, xenophobic media and nativist scaremongering from MPs like Tory opposition leader Margaret Thatcher. (2/4)
Ten days after Altab Ali's death, 7,000 people from the local Bengali community marched w his coffin to Downing St, demanding an end to racism. The East End's minorities—Bangladeshi, Jewish, Indian, Caribbean, Pakistani—would come together as a united front against fascism. (3/4)
40+ years later, the legacy of racism in the area continues with the planned redevelopment of Brick Lane, which would mean working-class communities of colour are priced out of their area in the middle of a housing crisis. Follow the work of @nijjormanush to #SaveBrickLane (4/4)
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