The video above shows what Dalston and Hackney looked liked in the late 70s and early 80s before gentrification came. I found the video from reddit user PalestraPilgrim who commented that:
As you can tell from the video, the area was really deprived but at the same time I think people were also a lot more united and organised in their communities. It was a place that celebrated diversity as something to defend and be proud of. This attracted a lot of the left-wing radicals that eventually settled and formed communities in Hackney as well, such as the crusties, anarchists, activists, socialists, squatters, etc.
I enjoyed seeing my manor as it was, back in the day. It honestly didn’t seem as bad as the images depict. I felt and still feel proud to call Hackney my home town. Thank you.
It was a poor spot. I was a Student Midwife in those days and went in and out of homes in Dalson, where the residents only had a mattress on the floor and a huge TV. But nothing else.
Remember in those years, one in 3 people in Hackney were unemployed & there were families where no one had ever had a job – so parents encouraged their kids not to bother with school because they would never get a job. Hackney has had a lot to overcome.