Black Cultural Archives

The African and Caribbean War Memorial in Brixton, London, is the United Kingdom's national memorial to African and Caribbean service personnel who fought in the First and Second World Wars. It originated with a project for a memorial to Caribbean Royal Air Force veterans of World War II who arrived in Britain in 1948 on the MV Empire Windrush; this was an extension of the commemorative plaque and sculpture scheme run by the Nubian Jak Community Trust to highlight the historic contributions of Black and minority ethnic people in Britain. The memorial was originally to have been placed at Tilbury Docks, as part of the commemoration for the centenary of the outbreak of World War I. However, as the project began to evolve into a larger tribute that included both World Wars and commemorated servicemen and women from both Africa and the Caribbean, it was agreed by the memorial recipient – the Port of Tilbury – and the project organisers that a new, more accessible location needed to found. The memorial was ultimately permanently installed and unveiled on 22 June 2017 in Windrush Square, Brixton.

Raleigh Hall is a building in Windrush Square, Brixton. It is now home to the Black Cultural Archives, after being derelict for many years.The building was originally two houses built in 1824, and is a Grade II listed building.The hall had been used by the Cinema Museum in the mid 1980s. It had also been home to Klitsa Fashions, Omegas Fashion Dress Manufacturers, Arkwrights Ltd and the Raleigh Workshop.It was placed on the English Heritage Register of Historic Buildings at Risk in 1992.

Windrush Square is an open public space in the centre of Brixton, South London, occupying an area in front of the Brixton Tate Library that was originally known as the Brixton Oval, and then Tate Gardens. In 1998, the square was renamed to recognise the important contribution of the African Caribbean community to the area, marking the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush. It was the Windrush that in 1948 brought to the United Kingdom from Jamaica the first large group of post-war West Indian migrants (almost 500), who on arrival were temporarily housed less than a mile away from Coldharbour Lane in Brixton.The organization Black Cultural Archives is now housed at 1 Windrush Square in a Grade II-listed Georgian building, the former Raleigh Hall.On 22 June 2017, the African and Caribbean War Memorial – devised by the Nubian Jak Community Trust as the United Kingdom's first national memorial to African and Caribbean service personnel who fought in the First and Second World Wars – was unveiled in Windrush Square.Windrush Square is a pedestrianised open space. The land is protected from development as it was formerly part of Rush Common.

The Brixton Library (also known as the Brixton Tate Library) is a public library in the London Borough of Lambeth in Brixton, South West London. It was built in the 1890s by the sugar magnate Sir Henry Tate and is a Grade II listed building.

The Cherry Groce Memorial Pavilion is a memorial to Dorothy "Cherry" Groce in Windrush Square, Brixton. It was designed by David Adjaye and unveiled in 2021. The memorial was unveiled at Windrush Square on 25 April 2021. Due to COVID-19 restrictions the unveiling was broadcast online with 15 official guests. Groce was shot by a police officer in a raid in September 1985 which left her paralysed from the waist down. Police had been looking for her son in connection with an armed robbery but he was never subsequently charged. Groce's shooting led to the 1985 Brixton riot. She died in 2011. The Metropolitan Police apologised for her wrongful shooting in 2014 with a previous inquest jury concluding that eight police failures had directly led to her death. It was designed by David Adjaye of Adjaye Associates. It was funded by Lambeth Council who worked in partnership with Adjaye Associates and Groce's family. The structural engineering firm of the memorial was AKTII. The memorial is in the form of a pavilion with a single column that supports a triangular roof. Flowers are planted upon the roof. The column is intended to be symbolic of Groce's strength and the support of her local community. The memorial has benches and is intended to be a gathering place. Adjaye was inspired by the angular forms of the landscaping of Windrush Square and the nearby Memorial to African and Caribbean Soldiers. Groce's son, Lee Lawrence, described the memorial as "... a fitting tribute to my mother and to our community. The injustice done to my mother on 28 September 1985 and its aftermath, catalysed our community to act together relentlessly and persistently in the pursuit of justice for more than three decades. Our achievements together in that effort can inspire us to continue to work together to make justice a reality across our society".

The Ritzy is a cinema in Brixton, London, England. It is a Grade II listed building. It is managed by Picturehouse Cinemas, who were bought by Cineworld in 2012. The cinema opened on 11 March 1911 as "the Electric Pavilion". It was built by E.C. Homer and Lucas for Israel Davis, one of a noted family of cinema developers, and was one of England's earliest purpose-built cinemas, seating over 750 seats in the single auditorium. Like many cinemas of the period, it was fitted with an organ. It was seen as a 'scruffy relation' to the nearby Palladium, and was known as the 'flea pit'. Sound films began showing in 1929.The neighbouring Brixton Theatre was completely destroyed by bombing in 1940, which allowed the Ritzy to expand into the vacant space.In 1954, it was renovated by noted cinema architect George Coles, who installed CinemaScope: the cinema was renamed "the Pullman" and the organ was removed. It was later renamed "the Classic", before closure in 1976. After this, it was re-invented as "The Little Bit Ritzy", run in collaboration with London Cinema Collective. A collaboration between Lambeth Council and the management of the time ensured the cinema's survival, with the facade being rebuilt and restored to near-original condition.During the 1980s, the cinema developed a reputation as having a left-wing agenda, so much so that the incumbent manager was motivated to place an advert in the local press advising potential patrons that not every film that the cinema screened was "left-wing or gay".Today, the cinema is owned by Picturehouse Cinemas, and operates as a multi-screen complex with bar and café facilities. Its official name is now "Ritzy Picturehouse" although it is still commonly known as the Ritzy Cinema. In 1999, Albion Ventures invested £8million in Picturehouse to help fund the development of several of their cinemas, including the Ritzy. In 2009, the decor and colour scheme was restored from its original style and a live music venue was added, called Upstairs.

St Matthew's Church is a Church of England church in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade II* listed building which occupies a prominent position at the junction of Brixton Road, Brixton Hill and Effra Road. The church was constructed following the Church Building Act 1818 and was consecrated in 1824.

Brixton Market comprises a street market in the centre of Brixton, south London, and the adjacent covered market areas in nearby arcades Reliance Arcade, Market Row and Granville Arcade (recently rebranded as 'Brixton Village'). The market sells a wide range of foods and goods but is best known for its African and Caribbean produce, which reflect the diverse community of Brixton and surrounding areas of Lambeth. The Street Market is managed by the London Borough of Lambeth. The covered arcades have always been in private ownership, although substantial public funding was provided for their refurbishment under the Brixton Challenge grant scheme.

Lambeth Town Hall, also known as Brixton Town Hall, is a municipal building at the corner of Brixton Hill and Acre Lane, Brixton, London. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Lambeth London Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.

Lambeth was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in south London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 and became part of the County of London in 1889. The parish of Lambeth became a metropolitan borough in 1900, following the London Government Act 1899, with the parish vestry replaced by a borough council.

Electric Avenue is a street in Brixton, London. Built in the 1880s, it was the first market street to be lit by electric lights (The first street to be lit by an incandescent lightbulb was Mosley Street, in Newcastle upon Tyne). Today, Electric Avenue contains various food and domestic provisions retailers, and hosts a part of Brixton Market which specialises in selling a mix of African, Caribbean, South American and Asian products. It is located just around the corner from Brixton Underground station (1972). The street originally had elegant cast iron Victorian canopies over the pavements which were removed and destroyed in the 1980s.

The Fridge was a nightclub in the Brixton area of South London, England, founded, in 1981, by Andrew Czezowski and Susan Carrington, who had run the Roxy during punk music's heyday in 1977. The Fridge closed on 17 March 2010 and has no link with Electric Brixton which opened in September 2011 and now occupies the building.