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 […]
This year is seeing a veritable frenzy of spectaculars encouraging the sad old supremecist idea that Being British is something to be jolly well/fucking proud of, what with all our institutions and history and achievements. Our diversity in particular has been cited as a significant reason we got lumbered with the Olympics and the French didn't. Anybody wishing to read something that presents a less uncritical evaluation of these ideas and an unsanitised history of some of the "achievements" […]
The history of radical 'White' activism in the 1960s and 70s in the USA is dominated by the the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), a large organisation which was very influential in the creation of what is known as the 'New Left'. Much has been written about their activities in the Universities particularly around resistance to the Vietnam War and their eventual split which led to urban armed groups such as the Weather Underground. However, this interesting book uncovers the hidden history […]
Do you remember Olive Morris? was a community art project seeking to bring to wider public attention the history of Brixton-based activist Olive Morris (1952-1979). In her short life, Olive Morris co-founded the Brixton Black Women’s Group and the Organisation of Women of Asian and African Descent (OWAAD) and was part of the British Black Panther Movement. She campaigned for access to education, decent living conditions for Black communities and fought against state and police repression. […]
USA 2011
With Carlos (Charlie) Guarita, Marvin Surkin, General Baker and members of BRHG - open to public. In December 2011 Bristol Radical History Group were invited to participate in a 'history' meeting in Detroit, USA. This gathering included ex-members (such as the late General Baker) of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers, arguably one of the most radical working class organisations in the US in the 20th century. Also present was Marvin Surkin, one of the authors of Detroit: I Do Mind Dying: A […]
The League of Revolutionary Black Workers was formed in 1969 in Detroit, Michigan. The organisation united a number of different Revolutionary Union Movements (RUMs) that were growing rapidly across the auto industry and other industrial sectors. The formation of the League was an attempt to create a more cohesive political organ guided by the principles of Black liberation and Marxism-Leninism in order to gain political power and articulate the specific concerns of Black workers through […]
In the mid 1970s, a new generation of South Asian youth were growing up in Britain. They emerged less prepared to tolerate the racism in British society, which their parents had had to suffer. This period also saw heightened fascist and racist activity, increasing police violence and the institutionalisation of racism through discriminatory immigration laws. A racist murder in Southall was the spark for the formation of a new organisation: the Southall Youth Movement. This organisation made up […]
The West Indies Cricket Tour to England in 1976 came at a time of mounting attacks and provocations on black communities both by fascist groups such as the National Front and by the institutionally racist police forces. The situation was inflamed by the comments of England Captain and native South African Tony Greig, who before the tour claimed "I intend to make them grovel", a comment which came amid the controversy about apartheid and sporting boycotts. Includes a showing of the BBC […]
Namibia: Genocide And The Second Reich "The ghosts of the Namibian genocide have been reawakened. They return to haunt liberal post-war Germany, and in doing so they force Germany to wake-up to a very uncomfortable fact that the dark racial theories that helped inspire the Nazis run much deeper into German and European history than most people want to acknowledge." The powerful documentary by David Olusoga (BBC) is the story of Germany's forgotten genocide. It takes a sensitive and […]
Rasicm: A History: Part 1 The first part of Racism: A History was screened in March this year on BBC4. Partly filmed at Bristol Radical History week last year, the first of this excellent three part documentary deals with the rise of transatlantic slavery. Bristol Radical History Group think this is one of the best documentary series we have ever seen on the BBC. What did other viewers think on the BBC website? Here is a selection: "This should be shown in every secondary school in the country. […]
