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Peoples Unite! How Southall changed the country

How Music and Activism United to Combat Racism

Southall is a place where an incredible mixture of philosophies, traditions, and art forms have flourished. For three generations it has produced people who have helped carry this country forward in new and positive directions. Its activists, musicians, artists, and writers have battled discrimination in all its forms. They have rejected hate and division, and shown what can be achieved when we support, listen to, and learn from each other.


Sound of Southall & Southall Resists Galleries

 

 

In Southall, each generation has carved out its own musical space while honouring and learning from what came before. In this room, we explore how music has been used as an instrument of change, and the role it has played in the fight against hatred.

 

 

Southall has been home to three generations of activists. Each, in its own way, has fought to make the UK a safer, fairer, and more tolerant place. For the pioneer generation the challenge was to make a living in the face of discrimination.  


An exhibition full of activities, information, history and community

Travel through time from the 1970s up to the present day and discover the local heroes who confronted racism through their music and activism. Hear from the people who pioneered new music genres and who led the way in fighting for a more inclusive, tolerant society.

 

In our exhibition, you can:

 

  • Hear firsthand from people who’ve lived in Southall over the past 60 years.

 

  • Experience the creative work of multiple generations.

 

  • Relax and play in our Calling this Home room.

 

  • Make a protest sign about what matters to you.

  • Sit back in a Southall living room from 1979.

 

  • Have fun listing to our special Southall music selection on our tape deck.

 

  • Enjoy our community sound system’s life-giving base.

 

  • Watch videos made by Southall’s filmmakers.

Free entry, open Tuesday - Sunday 10am - 4:30pm