How time flies in the midst of the multiple global crisis of capitalism! A week ago our 4th Bristol Radical History Festival was just beginning, and we at BRHG were pretty pleased with how it all went, especially as we put it on at fairly short notice after the event was postponed due to covid in 2020 and 2021. A big thank you to all the excellent speakers, to the radical history walk guides, the stallholders who came from near and far, the singing of Red Notes socialist choir, and the films we […]
Subject Index: Modern History (Post World War II)
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You are invited: to the 4th Bristol Radical History Festival on 14th May
We are delighted to welcome people back to M Shed this Saturday, 14th May, for our 4th Bristol Radical History Festival. It's been a frustrating two years of delays and postponements due to covid since this was first planned, but now all systems are go! All are welcome - this is a free event, you do not need to buy a ticket. Here's the Directions to M Shed. We have organised a full programme of events for our 2022 Radical History Festival, in collaboration with our hosts at M Shed. The Festival […]
Everyone’s Wally
Biographical documentary on Wally Hope of the tribe of Wallies who founded the Stonehenge Free Festivals in the 1970s. His is a tale of mystical visions, pharmaceutically induced nightmares, high court high jinx, pitch battles with the police and of possible conspiracy and intrigue. Narrated by Mark Savage and featuring Mark Stevenson, James Joel Dann, and Christopher Terry (62 mins). Followed by Q&A with Wally Dean. Watch the trailer below:
‘A Black life lived large’ – Pearl Prescod, 1920-1966, Caribbean/British actor, singer, activist
The arrival of the Empire Windrush, which docked in Tilbury in June 1948, bringing 492 migrants from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and other islands was part of the large scale migration of British Commonwealth citizens from the Caribbean that lasted until the 1962 Commonwealth Immigration Act instituted racist controls on their entry to the UK. The Empire Windrush and the 'Windrush generation', as they have been labelled, particularly since the scandal exposed in 2018, are now becoming part of […]
Why didn’t the reforming Labour government of 1945-51 abolish the death penalty?
Individual Labour MPs such as Sidney Silverman were significant to campaigning for abolition of the death penalty in Britain and the Labour Party was more hospitable to the idea of abolition than the Conservatives. Nevertheless, despite passing the reformist Criminal Justice Act in 1948 the Labour Government was opposed to abolishing the death penalty, which did not happen in Britain until 1965. This talk will explore why the death penalty was not abolished in 1948. It will also examine how […]
Politics and Protest: Posters from the Women’s Liberation Movement 1970-2000
We are pleased to host this exhibition at the BRHFestival 2022 on 14th May at Mshed. You can view the exhibition from 10am to 4pm, at the Level 2 foyer, inside Mshed. Talk - 2pm at the Level 2 Foyer, Sue Tate, a trustee from the Feminist Archive South, will give a talk about the exhibition, and answer any questions. About the exhibition: Politics and Protest is a dynamic, colourful and inspiring exhibition of 70+ posters selected from Feminist Archive South's collection of over 1000. It was […]
The Spycops scandal from 1968 to present
the long road to hold those responsible to account
Our panel of speakers will address the scandal of the Spycops, the hitherto secret operations of undercover cops spying inside labour and social movements since 1968. Since the scandal became public knowledge in late 2010 with the exposure of Mark Kennedy, activists have traced and identified numerous #spycops along with their true and false identities. They have exposed some of their law-breaking activities; internal cover-ups; and coercion of numerous innocent, mainly women activists, into […]
‘How Labour Governed’ – 1945-1951
1945: The war in Europe has just ended and the Labour Party wins a resounding general election victory. What follows is celebrated on much of the left as a period of progressive government which should inspire us to build a fairer society. However, at the time, critics pointed out that every socialist principle had been betrayed by politicians. In fact this was really a period much like any other, marked by continued militarism, colonialist suppression, racism, austerity and reactionary […]
Sabotage
The Story of the Hunt Saboteurs Association
Book Review: Dazza Scott, Sabotage: The Story of the Hunt Saboteurs Association (Hunt Saboteurs Association, 2021). In 2023 the Hunt Saboteurs Association will mark its 60th anniversary. Sabotage shows that it has plenty to celebrate. For all the horrors, joys, tears, and moments of farce brought to life in this book, the hold of bloodsports is much diminished since the organisation was founded in 1963. There is a long tradition of opposition to fox hunting and other cruel sports, an expression […]
Mapping Squatting Memories
Were you ever involved in Bristol's squatters' movement? Join us on Sunday 6th March 2-4pm at BASE (14 Robertson Road, Easton) for tea, cake and a chat around a map to capture memories of squatting in Bristol. So much of what we love about Bristol was made possible by squatting. Bristol Squatted is a new project aiming to give squatting the space it deserves in the city's history and ask what the role is for squatting in Bristol today. For more information see here and bristolsquatted.org