Stand Firm

In this film, writer Jay Bernard reflects on the representations of Black people in the media and public spaces, and recites a poem written during a residency at the George Padmore Institute.

The Stand Firm inna Inglan display at Tate Britain brought together works from the 1960s and 1970s by eight photographers who documented Black communities in London. Their photographs document life for Black communities in the British capital, from everyday family life and political engagement to reactions against racial tension.

Jay Bernard is a writer who was poet-in-residence at the George Padmore Institute, an archive of material related to Black communities in Britain and Europe. Jay's residency focused on the 1981 New Cross Fire tragedy. The fire itself caused the death of thirteen young people, and a fourteenth later committed suicide having been traumatised by the deaths of his friends.