At a time of grinding economic pressure, rising racism and collapsing trust in public institutions, Brixton’s Black communities are coming together to do what too often politics refuses to do: tell the truth, take responsibility and act collectively.

Brixton’s Black People’s Assembly, a major community gathering led by Operation Black Vote in partnership with the Humanity Project, will take place this February as part of a wider two-year programme to rebuild democratic assembly culture within Black communities across England and Wales.

The Assembly responds directly to the reality that Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities have been living with a permanent cost-of-living crisis for decades — driven by structural racism, economic exclusion and institutional failure — now intensified by inflation, public spending cuts and the erosion of local services.

This is not politics as usual. It is not a consultation exercise, a listening event or a platform for speeches. It is a community-led democratic assembly designed to confront three hard questions:

• What must the Council do differently in how it governs, allocates resources and tackles racism
• What must the voluntary sector do differently after years of depoliticisation, fragmentation and dependency
• What must the community itself do differently in a time of shrinking public funding and rising need

Alongside facilitated deliberation, the Assembly will host a Community Help Hub, bringing together trusted organisations offering support around employment, income, health, wellbeing, housing and debt — recognising that survival and democracy must be built together.

Crucially, the Assembly will centre joy, culture and solidarity as acts of resistance in a time of crisis — with food, music, shared space and collective care woven into the day. In conditions of hardship, joy is not escapism; it is a political and liberatory act.

A borough with a history — and a responsibility

Brixton has long been a centre of radical Black politics, culture and self-organisation. Yet that tradition has been steadily eroded by the decimation of the Black voluntary sector, deep cuts to arts and culture funding, and patterns of selective disinvestment that have weakened independent, challenging voices.

The Assembly takes place against a backdrop of profound concern about local governance, financial mismanagement and the absence of a clear, credible race equality strategy in Lambeth — at a moment when racism and religiously motivated attacks are rising nationally, and when democratic confidence is dangerously low.

This initiative is not party political. It is about democratic renewal, accountability and the urgent need for innovation in how power is shared locally.

David Weaver, Chair of Operation Black Vote, said:

“For decades, Black communities have been told to wait, consult, and be patient — while inequality deepens and services disappear.
This Assembly is about reclaiming our democratic voice and asking hard questions of everyone, including ourselves. If democracy is going to mean anything in the years ahead, it has to be built from the ground up, rooted in lived experience and collective action.”

Lee Jasper, Co-Founder of the Humanity Project, said:

“Black communities have been living through a historic cost-of-living crisis caused by racism and exclusion long before it made the headlines.
What we are facing now is an amplification of that injustice. This Assembly is a space to think clearly together, to rebuild trust, and to rediscover traditions of self-help, mutual aid and solidarity.
It is a democratic experiment — a laboratory for how we survive and rebuild together in hard times.”

A wider democratic experiment

Brixton’s Black People’s Assembly forms part of a national programme of local assemblies delivered by Operation Black Vote and the Humanity Project, exploring new models of community-led democracy, co-production and shared responsibility at a time of systemic crisis.

The central question is simple — and urgent: What can we do better together?

Brixton’s first Black People’s Assembly
Monday 16th February: 12.30-16.30
Brixton Advocacy Academy
The Liberation Centre
2 Beehive Place
London SW9 7QR

Click here to register