Reading black history mural campaigners apply for listed status
Campaigners wanting to preserve a mural celebrating black history have applied for it to gain listed status.
The 36m-long artwork on the side of a Reading building is now 30 years old, the minimum age for applications to be considered by Historic England. The mural was under threat three years ago when the council sold the derelict building to a private developer. Mural artist Alan Howard welcomed the move, which Historic England said it would consider. 'Proud' He called his creation a "unique cultural product of national significance" which "gave voice to Berkshire's black community". The Reading Conservation Area Advisory Committee applied for the listing following the mural's 30th anniversary on Tuesday. The artwork is painted on the side of the former Central Club in Reading, which campaigner Mary Genis described as the "spiritual home of Reading's black community", but which was shut down in 2006 following a police raid. The mural represents key figures in black history, including Harriet Tubman, Olaudah Equiano, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, Toussaint Louverture and Bob Marley. Mr Howard said: "Reading should feel proud of the fact that, in contrast to the numerous monuments in Britain that honour racist slave traders and colonialists, they have maintained and valued a monument that celebrates black struggle and resistance to oppression." The artwork was at the centre of protests in 2017 after Reading Borough Council sold the Central Club building to a private developer, leading to fears over the mural's future. Ms Genis, who led the protests, said she was "delighted" with the listing application and that it was a step "in the right direction", though she remains "concerned that the preservation of the mural is under threat". The council listed the mural as an "asset of community value" in 2017, a status that lasts for five years. Councillor Sophia James, one of Reading's first black councillors, said: "The mural deserves listed status and is a huge marker to the community here which is especially important during the Black Lives Matter era." A spokesman for Historic England said it would consider the mural "for listing as part of the Reading High Street Heritage Action Zone".