Syd Shelton, British photographer and graphic designer exhibits his series of works retracing the powerful movement Rock Against Racism (RAR) accompanied by a book, published by Autograph ABP, at the Rivington Place Gallery.

Shelton did not simply position himself as an observer; he was also an active member of RAR. His engagement started in August 1977, a year after the movement had begun. Shelton participated in a counter demonstration regarding an ‘anti-mugging’ march that was arranged by the National Front in Lewisham. During this event, he photographed a number of activists that were attending; fighting for their rights and for a much needed government change. One of the shots that Shelton took during this march was of Darcus Howe, the civil liberties activist who stood speaking through a megaphone to the crowd, standing on a toilet block in New Cross. The black and white photograph depicts the tall, greyish council flats in the background and Howe amongst others standing strong above an ocean of people, some lifting their hands in the air.

This was the start of a four-year collaboration between Shelton and the RAR, where he became one of the photographers that withheld the largest archive of the movement. Syd Shelton describes himself as being ‘…a subjective witness of the period which could, hopefully, contribute to a social change’.

Rock Against Racism started in 1976, in opposition to Eric Clapton’s radical, pro Enoch Powell speech given during his Birmingham concert (1976). In response to this, co-founder of RAR, Red Saunders wrote a letter of outrage to the U.K. music press. The issue was made public and the movement gained participants rapidly. The vast social and economic instability of the time, with groups like the National Front rising in popularity, created an accepted heinous racial propaganda throughout the United Kingdom. Signs like ‘No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs’ were overtly displayed on the streets and anti-immigrant demonstrations that quickly escalated into riots were consternating the non-white communities.

The RAR’s aim was to promote racial and human equality through the creative engagement of music and the arts. Performers, musicians, artists, writers and designers ranging from all ethnic backgrounds came together to act and contend for an end to this discrimination.

The movement organised around five hundred gigs, concerts and events all throughout England until the early 1980s. Shelton was always present, photographing and capturing these moments. He seized key flashes in the performances of artists like Elvis Costello, Misty in Roots, The Specials, Matumbi, The Clash or Buzzcocks whilst on stage, the RAR slogan was symbolically brandished, ‘Black & White, Unite & Fight’.

One of the biggest RAR concerts was held in April 1978. RAR Carnival 1 regrouped all the influential reggae and punk rock bands that were part of the movement; mixing the two music genres as a symbol of unity. On the day, around one hundred thousand participants walked from Trafalgar Square to Victoria Park, where the performances were happening. Misty In Roots, standing at the back of a truck, led the march. Amongst the series of Shelton’s images documenting the event, Paul Simonon, standing, legs apart, looking down at his guitar and facing his microphone, the perspective dipping into the boundless and engaged faces of individuals. In front of him, a horizon of heads and trees blend together, the crowd is endless. We can practically grasp the power of this united moment, we feel like we belong to it.

But Shelton didn’t just retrace RAR’s concerts; he and his camera were daily witnesses being surrounded by the political tensions of the late 1970s. His work therefore incorporates compelling shots of activists, skinheads, punks, policemen and landscapes of the city at the time: a testimony of the nation’s pivotal moments embedded in our 20th century culture.