On this day, 4 May 1978, Bangladeshi garment worker Altab Ali was murdered in a racially motivated attack while walking home from work in East London. 10 days later, thousands of anti-racists marched across London, taking the coffin of Altab Ali to Downing Street. Rest in power. 
This was not an isolated incident. In June 1978, just a month after the murder, Ishaque Ali was killed in a racially motivated attack in Hackney. 2 years earlier, Gurdip Singh Chaggar was killed in Southall. Racist violence was commonplace.
The experience of having to fend for yourself in the absence of any institutional support would come to shape the activism of many South Asians. There was a clear necessity for South Asians to organise politically to challenge racism and defend their communities.
I was looking at some old issues of CARF Magazine and came across these truly heartbreaking stories. 11-year-old Tasleem Akhtar from Birmingham and 14-year-old Tahir Akram from Oldham murdered in 1989.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
