ABSTRACT
The roots of the protest in Lewisham go back to a police campaign against street robberies. Prince Charles was visiting the Moonshot Youth Club when Kim Gordon approached him and spoke about the ill-treatment of the Lewisham defendants. The prince suggested a meeting between the police and the defence committee. News of the campaign spread beyond the borough and in June 1977, the Front announced plans for an anti-mugging march through Lewisham. The National Front (NF) saw a group of black activists campaigning in response to a grievance and assumed that there would be a backlash against them. Anti-fascists in Lewisham had to decide whether or not to call for a ban on the NF march. Lewisham was and is a mixed working-class area, with a high proportion of African and Caribbean families as well as many people from an Irish background.
