The Radical History of Hackney

A new archival site featuring radical publications from this corner of North East London.

Items added so far include

• A “Hackney Against The Cuts” newsletter from 1991, which is obviously quite topical right now as well.
• The first issue of the original “Hackney Heckler” newsletter, also from 1991, which includes an account of a Tory minister getting flour-bombed mid-speech at the town hall. (The all new revamped 21st Century Heckler is available for download here).
• An introduction to Hackney Community Defence Association – the police monitoring group I mentioned here previously.
• “Up Against The Lawmen” – an account of HCDA’s investigations into corruption and drug dealing by officers at Stoke Newington police station. This includes some disturbing first person accounts of shitty behaviour by the cops, but the calm and resourceful work of HCDA is very inspiring.

I think it’s a site worth keeping an eye on – the material here is useful for politicos but also more generally to Hackney residents who have an interest in the social history of where they live.