The “Mangrove” trailer debut is a timely one, as Sunday marks the 50th anniversary of the event in which the film is based on. On August 9, 1970, 150 protesters of West Indian, African, and South Asian heritage in Notting Hill marched to local police stations in protest of police harassment in their communities. Nine protest leaders were arrested and charged with incitement to riot: Frank Crichlow, Darcus Howe, Altheia Jones-LeCointe, Barbara Beese, Rupert Boyce, Rhodan Gordon, Anthony Innis, Rothwell Kentish, and Godfrey Millett. “Sunday, August 9, is 50 years since the Mangrove March, which led to nine innocent Black women and men being arrested,” McQueen said in a statement accompanying the trailer debut. “It was a march necessitated by relentless police brutality in Notting Hill. To commemorate the bravery of these community activists and the nine who went on to be acquitted of incitement to riot with the judge citing ‘evidence of racial hatred,’ I am sharing the trailer of ‘Mangrove,’ one of five films to be released under the banner ‘Small Axe.’”
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