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The New Cross fire

The story of our times told by the people who were there.

In the early hours of Sunday the 18th of January, 1981, a fire swept through a house full of young people at a birthday celebration being held at 439 New Cross Road in Deptford, south-east London. The fire killed 13 people on the night and was believed by some to be a racist attack.

Amidst frustration at the political and media indifference shown towards the loss of 13 young black lives, political activist Leila Hassan Howe helped organise The Black People鈥檚 Day of Action - marking a significant point in Black British history. She talks to May Cameron.

Photo: Firefighters at 439 New Cross Road, the day after the fire on 19th January, 1981. Credit: Keystone/Stringer/Getty Images

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