source: The Cherry Groce Foundation
published: January 2021
Statement from the Foundation:
On the 28th September 1985, witnessed by her children, Cherry Groce was shot in her home by the Metropolitan Police. The shooting of an innocent mother sparked the Brixton uprising, in which a community rose up in protest to the ongoing, systemic injustice faced by Britain’s black community.
Having been paralysed by the shooting, Cherry passed away as a direct result of her injuries in 2011.
The 35 years since the shooting is a story of a family and community working together in the pursuit of truth and justice, refusing to accept that this is simply how our society works. In the face of institutional barriers and personal hardship, we persisted.
Following her passing, we finally established the full truth of the events of that night and its aftermath in 2014. Since then, we have continued to work for accountability through true restorative justice for what happened: to acknowledge it, to build understanding of the causes of it, and to ensure that it never happens again.
The injustice done unto Cherry Groce and her family on the 28th September 1985 and its aftermath catalysed a community to act together relentlessly and persistently in the pursuit of justice for more than three decades. It played a key role in securing progress in race relations in the UK and the development of the community in Brixton. Our achievements together in that effort can inspire us to continue to work together to make justice reality across our society.
We will honour those efforts with a new Memorial in Windrush Square, Brixton, which has been designed by the world-renowned architect Sir David Adjaye.
The People's Tribunal on Police Killings 