From Sylhet to Spitalfields by Shabna Begum

From Sylhet to Spitalfields by Shabna Begum

Regular price
Checking stock...
Regular price
Checking stock...
Summary

This book explores the hidden history of the Bengali squatters’ movement. Faced with institutional discrimination in council housing and the existential threat of the National Front, hundreds of Bengali families in 1970s East London decided to squat, taking over entire streets and estates.

The feel-good place to buy books
  • Free US shipping over $15
  • Buying preloved emits 41% less CO2 than new
  • Millions of affordable books
  • Give your books a new home - sell them back to us!

From Sylhet to Spitalfields by Shabna Begum

With the support of the Race Today collective, squatters formed the Bengali Housing Action Group (BHAG), which organised support and vigilante groups to keep the community safe. Using oral history interviews and archival research, this book looks at the Bengali community’s contribution to this little-known episode of East End history, and how it can inform present-day housing struggles.
'This exploration of the Bengali squatting movement in 1970s Spitalfields does justice to its importance and also reveals its subtleties and complexities', Seán Carey, On London; 'a must for anyone interested in squatting, housing, racism, migration, oral history, London', Myk, Freedom News; 'an outstanding historical testimony laced with family autobiography', Chris Searle, Race & Class
Shabna Begum is interim CEO of the Runnymede Trust, the UK’s leading race equality think tank. In her work she has worked on numerous projects including on income inequality, housing and problem debt. She is also Honorary Research Fellow at Queen Mary University London in the School of Geography, where she conducted her doctoral research. Prior to this, Shabna was a teacher for over two decades in London secondary schools.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9781913546748
ISBN 10 1913546748
Title From Sylhet to Spitalfields
Author Shabna Begum
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher Lawrence & Wishart Ltd
Year published 2023-03-10
Number of pages 232
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.