Catalogue Number
NMLH.2024.71.3
Object Name
poster
Title
'Where would Margaret Thatcher have got to if she'd been black? Let's kick racism out of town. London Against Racism. Keep GLC Working for London.'
Place
London
People
Greater London Council (GLC), Ken Livingstone, Labour Party, Margaret Thatcher, Conservative Party
Events
Brixton Riots (1981), Brixton Riots (1985), Brixton Uprisings, abolition of the Greater London Council (1986)
Description
A white poster with blue text saying 'Where would Margaret Thatcher have got to if she'd been black?'. At the bottom in black it adds 'Lets kick racism out of town' with the London Against Racism and GLC's 'Keep GLC working for London' logos.
This poster was designed by the Greater London Council (GLC) to address racism experienced by people of colour in London in the 1980s. This particular poster asks the viewer to consider the structural racism and inequalities that might prevent young Black women from reaching the heights of their field of work, the way Margaret Thatcher, the UK's first female Prime Minister, who was then in office, had done. London experienced several periods of concentrated protest connected to experiences of racism during the 1980s, including the 1981 and 1985 Brixton uprisings which were responses to the racist over policing of Brixton's Black communities by the majority white Metropolitan Police. Councils and governments often respond to uprisings like these with campaigns against racism, as a way to attempt to demonstrate that they are responding to the community's frustrations.
The left wing administration of the GLC under the Labour Party's Ken Livingstone developed a reputation for strong policies supporting London's minority communities, including Black, Asian and other marginalised race communities. The policies and beliefs of the GLC, and funding they provided to support marginalised people, often contradicted the Conservative government's policies and priorities. The Conservative government eventually used spending on issues relating to minority groups as part of their campaign to abolish the GLC, which they successfully did in 1986. The government's plan to abolish the GLC is referenced in the 'Keep GLC working for London' logo on the poster.
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