On 16 November 1913, the Bristol Trades Council held a public meeting at the Empire Music Hall in support of the workers locked out by their employers in Dublin. Some 2,000 people turned up to hear William Partridge of the Dublin Trades Council condemn the attempt to destroy the militant Irish Transport and General Workers Union and starve 25,000 workers, men and women into surrender. The Dublin employers had the full backing of the Liberal government with Bristol MP, Augustine Birrell, Chief […]
With Mat Callahan, Clayton Blizzard and Commander McNeil. Singer/songwriter Matt Callahan performs Songs of Freedom, a celebration of the life and work of James Connolly, the Irish revolutionary socialist who participated in the Dublin Lockout of 1913 and was martyred by the British government for his role in the Easter Rising of 1916. Connolly's role in both events was of crucial importance making it especially important that his collection Songs of Freedom, originally published in 1907 and […]
Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative, a network of artists from the U.S., Canada and Mexico, has been producing print and design work reflecting radical social, environmental and political movements or more than fifteen years. You may have come across one project of theirs at BRHG events the excellent ‘Celebrate People’s History’ poster series, which popularises hidden histories and figures of radical social movements. Interference Archive organizer and member of the Justseeds Artists' Cooperative, […]
To celebrate the recent release of Asia's Unknown Uprisings Volume 2 (PM Press) George Katsiaficas and Geronimo will be speaking at several events in the UK. They will discuss the Asian Wave from 1986-1992 which overthrew 8 dictatorships in 6 years, the 1980's German autonomous scene and discuss what links can be made to current uprisings, rebellions and revolutions. About Asia's Unknown Uprising – Vol. 2 Ten years in the making, this magisterial work provides a unique perspective on uprisings […]
On Wednesday the 16th October, Bristol will be hosting Jonina Abron-Ervin and Lorenzo Ervin as they give talks on their involvement in the US Black Power Movement and struggles that continue to this day. Jonina is the author of Driven by the Movement: Activists of the Black Power Era and will speak about her interviews with some 20 Black Power Activists as well as her own activity in the Black Panthers, where she became editor of the Black Panther Newspaper. She will detail the experiences of […]
Next year is the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War. The British government plans to spend £55 million marking this occasion (and the centenary of other stages of the war). Comments from David Cameron calling for a 'truly national commemoration' stressing our 'national spirit' suggest what he has in mind. He has even compared the government's plans with last year's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. For the majority of people in Europe, whether directly involved or not, the war was […]
Using everyone’s favourite bank manager Captain Mainwaring of Dad’s Army fame, Alan explains where all the bailout money went in the 2008 meltdown and current economic crisis. Neoliberal myths, lies and statistics about the public deficit such as the commodity theory of money, supply and demand, ‘rational’ consumer choices and ‘alternatives within capitalism’ are de-bunked using sources from the Guardian to the President of the EU Central Bank.
In 1834, six Dorset farm labourers were condemned to transportation to Australia for forming an early trade union. These 'Tolpuddle Martyrs' have become an iconic part of modern British history. But three years before the events in Tolpuddle, rural England was rocked with a massive upr1sing of farm labourers known as the 'Swing Riots'. Dr. Ball analyses why 'Tolpuddle' has lodged in popular memory and the far more significant events of 'Swing' have been distorted and forgotten. W.l. Hall, North […]
We face the greatest crisis in the history of humanity. Economic depression, imperialist war, climate catastrophe, and grotesque social inequalities threaten to tear the world apart. What is to be done? The lesson of history is that human beings make their own history. Launching his new book, A Marxist History of the World: from Neanderthals to Neoliberals, archaeologist and historian Neil Faulkner argues that history is open and contested. It is an active process of creation in which different […]
