1985 Handsworth riots 1500 police officers drafted into the area, about 45 shops looted and burnt, and a trail of damage running into hundreds of thousands of pounds. As well as racial tension, unemployment was seen as a major factor in the riots; by the time of the riots, fewer than 5% of the black population to have left school that summer had found employment. The riots were the first of a series of similar riots across the country during the autumn of 1985, notably the Broadwater Farm riot in London which also resulted in a fatality (the murder of policeman Keith Blakelock).
The Man Who Was Almost a Man The Man Who Was Almost a Man "The Man Who Was Almost a Man" also known as "Almos' a man", is a short story by Richard Wright. It was published in 1961 as part of Wright's compilation "Eight Men". The story centers on Dave, a young African-American farm worker who is struggling to declare his identity in the atmosphere of the rural South. The story begins with the protagonist Dave Sanders walking home from work, irritated with the way he has been treated. Dave works for a farmer on a cattle farm and as he walks across the fields he