Radical Black Women Series Events
Upcoming events
Past events
Book launch: Amy Ashwood Garvey and the Future of Black Feminist Archives
On 29th October 2024 we hosted the launch of Amy Ashwood Garvey and the Future of Black Feminist Archives by Nydia A Swaby. This book charts the journey of Black feminist, artist, researcher and curator Nydia A Swaby as she pieces together a biography of Amy Ashwood Garvey from her scattered archive. In turn, it offers a reflection on the future of Black feminist archival practice.
Often referred to as the first wife of Marcus Garvey, Amy Ashwood Garvey’s contributions to movements for social justice, and in particular Black women’s rights, have largely been forgotten, not least since archives about her life and work are spread across the various places she lived.
After helping Marcus Garvey set up the UNIA, one of the most influential Pan-African movements in the world, Amy moved to New York, where she thrived in the Harlem Renaissance. In the 1930s she emigrated to Britain, where she set up a boarding house and social centre called the Afro People’s Centre, and a club called the Florence Mills Social Parlour. Swaby recovers Amy’s life and work as an important political activist, cultural producer and Pan-Africanist in her own right, retracing her steps across the Caribbean, US, Britain and West Africa.
In addition to conducting traditional archival research, Swaby creates a series of ‘curatorial fabulations’, imagining into the gaps in the archive with her autoethnographic practice. Drawing on the work of contemporary Black feminist researchers, archivists, curators and artists, and her own creative practice, Swaby animates the process of creating and curating Ashwood Garvey’s archive. In doing so, she reflects on the practice of Black feminist archiving past, present and future.
This is the third book in Lawrence Wishart’s Radical Black Women Series. Nydia will present a performative reading before being joined by London-based artist, curator, educator and occasional DJ Barby Asante for a discussion about the book. Tickets available via the ICA website:
Radical Black Women Educational Resource Launch
LW launched our Radical Black Women educational resource (co-created by Young Historians Project and Lawrence Wishart) with a discussion on teaching Black History and diversifying the curriculum on 15 October 2022. You can view the resource here.
A Space to Write Your Own History: Creative Approaches to Teaching Black British History
How can educators, activists, academic and artists work together with publishers to get the Black history resources we need into our classrooms, and diversify the curriculum?
A panel and curated seminar discussion to celebrate the launch of our Radical Black Women resource – co-created by Young Historians Project and Lawrence Wishart – and to consider what actions we can take to make a positive impact on Black British history teaching.
With Kaitlene Koranteng & Amelia Francis (Young Historians Project), Nydia A. Swaby (Caird Research Fellow, Royal Museums Greenwich) and Shabna Begum (Head of Research, Runnymede Trust).
Claudia Jones: A Life in Exile launch with Housmans
LW launched the first book in the series with a discussion between Black feminist researcher Lola Olufemi and historian Jade Bentil on 2 February 2022. You can watch a recording of the event here:
Housmans is delighted to announce this special event in partnership with publishers Lawrence Wishart to celebrate the publication of Claudia Jones: A Life in Exile by Marika Sherwood. Lawrence Wishart editor Jumanah Younis will be chatting to Jade Bentil and Lola Olufemi about the life of visionary and pioneer Claudia Jones.
Series launch
LW launched the series with three online events in 2021, in partnership with the Black Cultural Archives. You can watch the events back on YouTube here:
Black History Matters:
The Black Women Radical series was born out of a desire to redress, even if in a small way, the dearth of writing on Black British history in general, and Black women’s history in particular. This panel seeks to explore why there is such a paucity of resources on Black history and looks at some of the projects that the panelists have been involved in to uplift Black history in Britain.
Featuring: Marika Sherwood Claudia Tomlinson (T: @Claudia_writes_) Deanna Lyncook (IG: thehistoryhotline) (T: @TheHistoryHL)
*Part of the Radical Black Women series online launch event by Lawrence Wishart and Black Cultural Archives.
Black and Queer in the Archive:
Archives have increasingly come under the lens of Black and queer researchers as fickle but potent sites of investigation, as important for what they contain as what they conceal. How queer history can be recorded is already contentious because of the question of visibility, which is complicated further with Black queer archives due to the intersection of racism and heteropatriarchy. This panel seeks to tease out some of these questions.
Featuring: Onyeka Igwe (IG: @dark_sugars) Rudy Loewe (IG: @rudyloewe) Lola Olufemi (IG: @lowlamichelle)
*Part of the Radical Black Women series online launch event by Lawrence Wishart and Black Cultural Archives.
Black Power Women:
The focus of the Radical Black Women series is to spotlight the specific contributions of black women to social justice movements in Britain. Black women’s diverse experiences at the intersection of race, class, and gender oppression have informed unique perspectives that have resulted in the development of a rich black feminist tradition.
Featuring: Dr. Kennetta Perry A.S Francis Zainab Abbas
*Part of the Radical Black Women series online launch event by Lawrence Wishart and Black Cultural Archives.