Category Archives: Women’s History

18 November 2021 18:00 ~ Remembering Eleanor Rathbone – Mother of Child Benefit – Crossroads Women & The Remembering Eleanor Rathbone Group – Online

Oral history project – launch of publication

Seventy-five years from the first payment of family allowance (now child benefit), on 6 August 1946, mothers and other family members remember the formidable feminist campaigner who made this happen. A team of volunteers interviewed 145 women and 10 men, aged 36 to 95, from different regions and backgrounds in the UK, on what this payment meant to them and their families. The publication also includes excerpts from Rathbone’s pathbreaking The Disinherited Family and from the historical parliamentary debates which prefaced the introduction of the Family Allowances Act 1945 – the first measure of the new Welfare State. This project is a timely reminder that child poverty is not only still with us but is rising, and that the caring work of mothers and others remains undervalued.

Speakers will include:

  • BARONESS LISTER, Professor of Social Policy, Loughborough University;
  • JENNY RATHBONE, great-niece of Eleanor, Member of the Senedd for Cardiff Central;
  • SOLVEIG FRANCIS, Crossroads Women;
  • LESLEY URBACH, The Remembering Eleanor Rathbone Group, and mothers who contributed interviews.

A joint project of Crossroads Women and The Remembering Eleanor Rathbone Group.

Funded by the Eleanor Rathbone Charitable Trust and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Until 19:30 – register online at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/remembering-eleanor-rathbone-mother-of-child-benefit-tickets-194952888337

November 10, 2021

21 October 2021 19:00 ~ Do You Remember Claudia Jones? – Black Feminist Bookshop – Online

  • Until 20:30
  • Tickets: £3 / £5 / £8(*)

Join us for our Black Feminist History Month instalment of Self-Care as an Act of Warfare – a reading group for Black women, femmes and non-binary people.

This month we welcome Black Feminist historian and educator Dr Kesewa John to join us as we read and discuss the newly re-published book, Claudia Jones: A Life in Exile by Marika Sherwood with a foreword from Lola Olufemi.

We’ll look at the wider context of Black Feminist activists and 20th Century Black radicalism to ask:

Where do we place Claudia Jones in the global history of Black women activists; and how can we, as this generation’s Black women, femmes and non-binary people, build on her legacy?

You do not need to buy the book to attend this event. You can bring resources to share and discuss, such as articles, podcasts and videos.

About the book: Claudia Jones: A Life in Exile was the first book to chart the work of this visionary and pioneer, focusing on her time in Britain. The new edition of this book is the first title in the Radical Black Women series, published by Lawrence Wishart. Event attendees and Patreon members receive a 25% discount on the RRP. A code will be sent to you with instruction on how to redeem the offer once you buy your ticket.

About this month’s guest: Interested in the intersections of Black Feminist and Black radical histories of early twentieth century Caribbean activism, Kesewa John’s research focuses on the evolution and discourses of the colonial Caribbean’s radical press, and the place of Afro-Caribbean women within Caribbean historical narratives. Dr Kesewa John is an Associate Lecturer (Teaching) in Caribbean History at the Institute of the Americas, where she leads the MA in Caribbean and Latin American studies.

About the Black Feminist Bookshop: We are a collective of writers, activists, educators, creatives and healers who want to open a bookshop in London. We create healing and liberatory space for Black women, femmes, girls and non-binary people.

We run reading groups and writing workshops for Black women, femmes, girls and non-binary people, as well as a wider programme of events for everyone, with an emphasis on Black feminist theory and practice, that seeks to respect and understand the variety of our identities.

Through our popups and online, we sell Black Feminist literature, texts written by queer/LGBTQIA+ people of colour, women of colour and other historically marginalised voices – books written by under-told and underrepresented authors.

Become a patron of the Black Feminist Bookshop – here.

Ticket information:

Online event. Ticket prices are £3 (unwaged/low income), £5 (support our work), £8 (help us flourish). Pay what you can afford.(*)

We want this event to be financially accessible to everyone. If money is a barrier to participating, email us at blackfeministreading@gmail.com to be added to the attendee list. No questions asked.

Please note: this is a small event. If we have reached capacity, we may need to place you on a waiting list. If this happens, we will notify you if a space becomes available.

All registered participants will be emailed the link 24 hours before the event. Please remember to check your email the day before the event is due to happen.

Accessibility information:

This event will take place online. We will use Closed Captions to subtitle the event. Please get in touch with the Black Feminist Bookshop at blackfeministreading@gmail.com with any questions or access needs you would like us to be aware of.

(*) Register online at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/do-you-remember-claudia-jones-tickets-163414680709?aff=ebdssbeditorialcollection

October 11, 2021

25 October 2021 17:00 ~ Black History Month – A Kick in the Belly: Women, Slavery & Resistance – School of History Classics and Archaeology – Online

  • Until 19:00
  • Free(*)

A Kick in the Belly: Women, Slavery & Resistance tells the forgotten story of enslaved West Indian women and the many different ways they fought back.

It is a tale of courage and resilience that, according to its author, has been virtually air-brushed out of history. Stella Dadzie’s lecture will focus on the reasons she wrote the book and some of the challenges of research in a field that has traditionally viewed the experiences of the enslaved through a racist or misogynistic lens. She will make the case for unearthing hidden histories and explore why these invisible women deserve to be studied, remembered and placed centre stage in narratives of slavery, abolition and emancipation.

Stella Dadzie is a published writer and feminist historian, best known for The Heart of the Race: Black Women’s lives in Britain which won the 1985 Martin Luther King Award for Literature, and was re-published by Verso in 2018 as a Feminist Classic. Her latest book A Kick in the Belly: Women, Slavery & Resistance was published by Verso in October 2020 to critical acclaim.

She is a founder member of OWAAD (Organisation of Women of African and Asian Descent), a national umbrella group for Black women that emerged in the late 1970s as part of the British Civil Rights movement. She was recently described as one of the “grandmothers “of Black Feminism in the UK, and her personal archive in Brixton‘s Black Cultural Archives is one of the most visited by researchers and scholars. Her career as a writer, artist and education activist spans over 40 years.

She has written numerous publications and resources aimed at promoting good practice with black learners and other minorities, including resources to decolonise and diversify the UK national curriculum in schools and colleges.

A link to join the session via Zoom will follow.

(*) Register online at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/black-history-month-a-kick-in-the-belly-women-slavery-resistance-tickets-169826807553?aff=ebdssbeditorialcollection

 

October 11, 2021

30 October 2021 19:00 ~ Coming Together, Growing Together – Black British Women in Theatre – Lambeth Libraries – London

  • Until 9:00pm
  • @ Clapham Library, Mary Seacole Centre, 91 Clapham High Street, London SW4 7DB
  • Free(*)

A celebration of Black British Women in Theatre during the 80s and 90s featuring Munirah Theatre Company and writer Nicola Abram.

November 2020 saw the publication of Black British Women’s Theatre – Intersectionality, Archives, Aesthetics written by Nicola Abram, lecturer in Literatures in English at University of Reading. Ms. Abram’s ground-breaking exploration of the role, practices and creative responses of Black female performance artists to the racism and sexism of Britain in the 1980s resulted in the publication of this award-winning book which documented, for the first time, the impact and reach of these women.

The book focuses on the work of three all-female theatre groups (Theatre of Black Women, Munirah Theatre Company and Black Mime Theatre Women’s Troup) and two artists: Zindika and SuAndi.

The evening will feature a showing of Polishing Black Diamonds (1988), a short documentary by Susannah Lopez which interweaves the choreopoetry of Munirah Theatre Company with the political and social thinking of group members at the time.

A presentation on Black British Women’s Theatre by Nicola Abram will be followed by Still Coming Together, Still Growing Together – an interactive conversation sharing how the magic of Munirah has sustained a near 40 year SisStarhood, the current pursuits of Munirah members and their encouragement for the younger generation of Black people living in Britain.

Get inspired, join the discussion and enjoy the evening of theatre and sounds.

Film showing courtesy of Director/Producer Susannah Lopez and The Arts Council of Great Britain (now ACE).

(*) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/coming-together-growing-together-black-british-women-in-theatre-tickets-170016980365

 

October 11, 2021

3 November 2021 18:30 ~ British Black Power: Leila Hassan-Howe in conversation – Black History Walks – Online

  • Until 20:15 GMT
  • Free(*)

Black British Civil Rights activist, leader, writer, history maker and co-founder of the 1970s ‘Race Today Collective’ tells her story

  • This event is organised by Black History Walks in conjunction with the Sarah Parker Remond Centre at U.C.L

Leila Hassan-Howe has fought against state and street racism since the 1970s. She was strategist and activist in her own right quite apart from being the wife of the legendary Black Power activist Darcus Howe.

In this illustrated talk Ms Hassan Howe will take us through her story: from working class London to upper class Africa and back, life as one of only three black girls in a racist grammar school, taking over a colonialist institution, publishing a newspaper Race Today, organising cultural events in the 70’s and 80’s, liberating properties, challenging police brutality,20,000 marchers on the Black Peoples Day of Action 1981, documenting the 1981 uprisings, the parallels with Black Lives Matter in 2020 and much more.

This is an online talk at 6.30pm UK time and will be delivered via Zoom. Please check your JUNK MAIL for the confirmation and reminder emails

This event is part of the Darcus Howe Weekender. From the 3rd November we will be hosting 4 nights of films and talks on his life and work. Half of the events will be virtual and the other half will be in real life.

Details at www.blackhistorywalks.co.uk

Other coming events

  • African Women Resistance Leaders: Political and Spiritual course Part 1
  • Top 20 Banned Black films you must see
  • Black Success Stories in London
  • Darcus Howe Weekender
  • The Sterilisation of Black women and what can be done
  • 1958, Remembering the riots, Black resistance in Notting Hill
  • The economic impact of African hair, local and global
  • 19th century superheroine Sarah Parker Remond
  • 1958 Notting Hill remembering the ‘riots’ and Black resistance
  • Britain’s First Black movie star, season of films at the BFI Southbank
  • Black history bus tour and river cruise
  • Black British Civil Rights and Darcus Howe day
  • Elephant and Castle Black History Walk
  • Hackney Black History Walk

About the Sarah Parker Remond Centre at UCL

The University College London Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of Racism and Racialisation explores the impact of racism – scientific, metaphysical and cultural. Part of the UCL Institute of Advanced Studies, they work closely with many partners on-site to provide a focal point for scholarship, teaching and public engagement activities that are addressed to various problems of racial inequality and hierarchy

(*) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/british-black-power-leila-hassan-howe-in-conversation-tickets-163090210209?aff=ebdssbeditorialcollection

 

October 11, 2021