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 […]
Not In An Event Series
The fall of the Colston statue on 7th June 2020 can be seen as the culmination of 100yrs of campaigning against his city centre presence, which had intensified in the last decade, and intersected on that famous day. Whilst many individuals & institutions suddenly rushed to disown him, and the impact of the toppling rippled much further away than just in Bristol, that wasn’t the end of it! Tory ministers, right-wing media, Labour politicians, the CPS and the police launched a campaign of […]
Not A BRHG Event
It's taken the vindictive British state and it's imperfect judicial system 18 months, but on Monday 13 December 2021 they will finally start the prosecution of just four, of the hundreds of protesters, who allegedly participated in the toppling of the Colston Statue way back on 7 June 2020. That statue toppling happened in the midst of Bristol's huge Black Lives Matter protest, as once again angry Bristolians made history and kicked over the statues. Now it's time to stand again in support of […]
Calls for ‘an international memorial to the victims of enslavement’[1] sound reasonable, but my own experience this year uncovered a strong tendency to keep slavery history hidden. I was ambivalent last year when Colston was toppled. Of course, black lives matter, but so does history. I was apprehensive about other groups damaging historical objects. The protest, however, set me thinking, recognising my limited understanding, and eventually investigating slavery issues. Last year, I began to […]
Not A BRHG Event
As the Trial of just four of the many hundreds of Colston Statue Topplers draws near, Bristolians are mobilising in their support. This Fundraiser at Trinity Center on 11th November is in support of the defendants and their Topplers Defence Fund, has been organised by Countering Colston and Glad Colston's Gone, and has the full backing of BRHG - we, Countering Colston and others will have stalls at the event. As the organisers state in their FB event: Let's show our support for those who have […]
On the weekend of 7-9 June 2020 the Brecon plaque to a slave trading captain was stripped from the wall on which it was erected in 2010. Poet Marvin Thompson was inspired to write the following poem: On the Anniversary of the death of George Floyd: Dear Brecon Town Council, A mouth drying to mud, tightening lungs and eyes on the edge of tears: that was the reaction of my Black British body when, on this wind-lash of a lockdown morning, I read who you class as a role model for my Welsh, Mixed […]
Note: This online event is hosted by The Cube and requires booking. Details here. Join BAFTA-nominated documentary film-maker George Amponsah (The Hard Stop) in conversation with historian Rosie Wild about his latest work, Black Power: a British Story of Resistance. This will be followed by a Q&A session. The recent highly acclaimed history documentary Black Power: a British Story of Resistance (Rogan Productions, 2021) tells the story of Britain’s homegrown Black Power movement from […]
Not A BRHG Event
Note: this an online event organised by Bristol Copwatch. Advance booking is required, please pre-register here in order to attend this meeting. Bristol Copwatch with Institute of Race Relations invite you to join them to hear stories from the work of Community Monitoring Groups who have been on the frontline challenging police abuses of power and racism for decades. Learn more about the police use of force in the UK, taser usage, and the controversial new Violence Suppression Units, and learn […]
Not A BRHG Event
Lilleith Morrison and Richard Jones, co-author and publisher of Dr Paul Stephenson’s autobiography Memoirs Of A Black Englishman (Tangent Books) ask, along with artists and activists, Ros Martin and Rob Mitchell ‘Who will inherit the legacy of the Bristol Bus Boycott?’. The successful Bus Boycott campaign of 1963 was one of the greatest victories of the UK Civil Rights movement as the Black community and progressive thinkers in Bristol united to overthrow the ‘colour bar’ operated by Bristol […]
Not A BRHG Event
On the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis by the police, a Lantern Vigil of Remembrance will be held on College Green, Bristol BS1. Floyd's killing re-ignited the Black Lives Matter movement, first in the USA, then around the world, as people demanded an end to police brutality and systemic racism. This Lantern Vigil will respect and remember all those who have suffered, died, and resisted – this year, last year, and over the centuries. At 8.00pm there will be a nine minute […]
