FILMS
WHITE RIOT In the year of Black Lives Matter, White Riot might seem an awkward title for a documentary about ’70s organisation Rock Against Racism. The point made by Clash members seen explaining the song’s title is that in the mid-’70s, black people were rioting in Britain, so why couldn’t whites? The problem, as Rubika Shah’s film shows, is that plenty of white kids were in a rioting mood, but in the wrong cause: the National Front was highly visible in Britain and commanding substantial support. The time was right for a movement that mobilised the music scene against fascism, and one that could unite black, Asian and white bands and fans. Hence RAR, with its house ’zine Temporary Hoarding and its gigs mixing punk with UK reggae talent such as Steel Pulse and Misty in Roots.
Shah offers a
