Resource for History KS3 / GCSE: Small Axe - Alex Wheatle and the Brixton Uprising.
This is the story of Alex Wheatle MBE, an award-winning writer for children and young adults who overcame a challenging start in life. Growing up in a children's home, Alex never knew his family, who were part of the Windrush generation that migrated to Britain after World War II in search of a better life, though it didn’t turn out that way for them.

When Alex left the children's home and moved to Brixton, South London, he initially struggled to find his identity, having had little interaction with other Black people. In the 1980s, Brixton was rife with racial tension, worsened by events like the New Cross fire of January 1981, in which 13 young Black people died. The fire, believed by many to be a racist attack, was treated dismissively by the police.

Tensions escalated with the police's controversial operation, Swamp 81, which targeted young Black men with widespread stop-and-search tactics. This led to the Brixton uprising on 10 April 1981, when the area descended into violent unrest.

Alex was arrested during this time and served a prison sentence. In prison, he discovered his love for literature through the works of authors such as Chester Himes, Richard Wright, and John Steinbeck. This newfound passion set him on the path to becoming the acclaimed writer he is today.