Two of the “sheroes” of Brixton were honoured and remembered with a ceremony in Angell Town.
As people living on the estate celebrated with their 14th annual Community Big Lunch, new benches, a book exchange and plaques honouring Dr Dora Boatemah MBE “the Mother of Angell Town” and Margarette “Madge” Davids were unveiled.
Dora Boatemah founded the Angell Town Community Project (ATCP) in 1983 and was responsible for starting the long and continuing campaign for regeneration and community facilities in Angell Town.
Born in Ghana in 1957, she was sent to Britain in 1959 where she lived until she passed in 2001.
Madge Davids was a sheltered housing manager who worked tirelessly at the old people’s home in Angell Town.
Michelle Killington, a member of Angell Town Residents Group, won a Lambeth council competition – Your Streets Your Way – to fund her plans for the two benches, the children’s book-swap library and a way-finding pavement mural that is due to join the benches later this week.
She said Dora Boatemah had set about transforming what had become a notorious Brixton housing estate.
“Central to her work was the right of tenants to vote on their future of their own estates. Dora played a leading role in the national campaign for the right to vote, forcing the government to concede ballot rights for council tenants. It was her own experience of living on the estate that drove her.”
Michelle said that Dora helped create ATCP to campaign for community-controlled redevelopment. In her fight for the people, she developed a distrust for the politicians, contractors, and consultants who had built and managed the estate.
They knew her as “Difficult Dora”. But ATCP received £8m in grants and sponsorship for the estate.
Adrian Carradice-Davids, a member of Big Local North Brixton, recalled that he and his older sister Margarette – Madge – felt the cold terribly when they arrived in London.
She held his hand as they walked through the streets. As he started to cry, the words she said in that moment were words that were constantly repeated during their time together: “Don’t worry, Adrian. It’s going to be OK”.
Adrian said Madge had decided that she was what he called “a reluctant activist”. She wanted to do good for the people of community, he said.
And what they wanted was a community centre. “She fought, she cajoled, she influenced, and she harassed councillors,” said Adrian.
“We now sit at a point where we are back here again, 10 years on, having that conversation,” he said.
“But the reason why we’re having it is because Madge set a light burning.”
Adrian concluded with the words of Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl, who said: “Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose”.
“If we can just focus our attention on having meaning and purpose, we can see changes in these things.
“I don’t care what the influences are. I don’t care what the comments are about what goes on at the estate.
“The crucial thing is we have got to come together as a community. So I want to leave you with her words: ‘Let’s come together’,” said Adrian.
Local MP Helen Hayes and Lambeth councillor Nanda Manley-Browne joined the celebration.
As well as the benches with their plaques, a book-swap library was opened and stocked with books – including gifts from previously Stockwell-based children’s author O A Clement – Clem. Other books will come from Lambeth libraries, that will support the project by providing books each quarter.
Members of the reggae band Kush AbaKush were on hand to mark the opening of the library bearing their name.
The Big Lunch celebration included a football tournament organised by The Streetz Football.
Nikky Catto of Lambeth Tour Guides, an Angell Town resident, led a local history tour of the estate.
