At the Hands of Outsiders
How Brixton’s vibrant culture is dwindling as it becomes THE place to live
Rising rent prices and gentrification are running local businesses out of Brixton. How will the district maintain their rich multicultural environment while its culture is altered?
Scents of ground provisions, Caribbean paraphernalia plastered across the walls and accents that sound foreign to the naked British ear dominate in the Brixton district of the London borough of Lambeth. Brixton is known for its vibrance and atmosphere, dubbed “Little Jamaica”.
However, the multicultural district is under threat as local businesses who have been in the area for decades, serving the district with traditional Caribbean and West African produce and goods, fear being displaced and replaced with contemporary restaurants and redevelopment. Developers are stripping Brixton of its unique culture and committing cultural homogenization.
New "Trendy" Shops inside renovated Brixton Market
In July, Brixton locals fought off Hondo Enterprises, a development management company that owns Brixton Market, from building a 22-story tower for office and multi-use accommodation on Pope Road. They protested on the high street with #NOHONDOTOWER as well as the disapproval from the Greater London Authority Officers, stating the building would “harm the character and appearance of the area” and led Hondo to have no choice but to withdraw their proposed building application.
It has never been clearer that locals in Brixton are uncomfortable with the recent changes in the district, as they extensively work to maintain the multicultural atmosphere. However, many outsiders view their actions as gatekeeping and not wanting to welcome persons to move to the district, but this could be further from the truth.
Solomon Wallace, the owner of Solquench, a start-up providing a range of health products outside of Brixton station, stated “there isn’t an issue with people coming in, there’s an issue with people going out who were here in the first place. The welcoming of the people is not the same no more, it's like the people that come in does not want to mix or integrate with locals. It's like they do not want Brixton to operate like a town but more like a city. As you can see and look around, Brixton is changing every day.”
Solomon Wallace, Owner of Solquench, with his range of organic products, including Ital fresh juices, herbal teas, and sea moss.
Solomon has been selling juices in the Brixton area since August 2022. Coming from Jamaican descent, he has seen the changes happening in the area. “Gentrification causes more segregation between the people that come inside from being outsiders and push the insiders outside.”
Many persons in Brixton have had to move out of Brixton due to rising rent prices, closing of social homes, and, particularly, businesses being shut down or evicted. Hondo Enterprises tried to evict their tenant, Nour Cash and Carry, a local grocery supermarket that supplies goods from the Caribbean and West Africa, from Brixton Market in 2020, but were unsuccessful as there were virtual protests with #SAVENOUR were being spread, London Eater reported.
Brixton locals fear losing their melting pot community, which many of their descendants built from the ground up. The area of Brixton began being heavily populated by Caribbean immigrants as the Windrush boat set sail to the UK between 1948 and 1960. These migrants, known as the Windrush Generation, particularly the men, helped to build back Britain and particularly London after being bombed during the Second World War. The land in Brixton was cheaper than the rest of London, and the jobs newly arrived Caribbean immigrants could acquire were in these areas, so they started settling in Brixton. Naturally, the area became diverse, especially with an influx of Caribbean and African goods being sold and invited an influx of people to shop there.
Windrush 75th Anniversary Mural in Brixton Market
Diverse Storefront on Coldharbour Lane in Brixton
Windrush second-generation Anita Thorpe, owner of Diverse, an independent gift shop in Brixton, has been open in the district for over 24 years and previously was in the market for four years. The changes are substantial for her, stating, “It has developed in the last 10 to 15 years from being a largely multicultural, working-class environment to increasingly middle class, wealthier, whiter”.
Data has also concluded that the ethnic population is shifting in Brixton. The Office of National Statistics reported approximately 27,737 persons of White descent in Brixton in 2021, a significant increase from 9273 in 2011. However, many people forget Brixton has always had a diverse community, including a large population of white people, Anita states. “People don’t realise that because the narrative has always been about Caribbean settlement in Brixton.”
Data of Brixton Ethnic Background between 2011 and 2021
In the future, there is hope for Brixton to embrace the technological advancements of urbanisation, but particularly, the issue being faced is trying to maintain the root culture of Brixton in these plans.
Coldharbour Lane in Brixton
