"Is Black History also White History?"
A poem form the comments book:
KEEP HOPE ALIVE
WE MUST LEARN AND STRIVE
TRUE, HUNGRY FOR PEACE
ALL HISTORIES MUST BE RELEASED
TO HAVE PRIDE AND STAND STRONG
WE MUST KNOW WHERE WE BELONG
IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE OPEN, TALK
WITH LOVE AND PEACE WE MUST WALK
HAIL TO THE FUTURE, LEARN FROM THE PAST
LET'S TOGETHER CREATE A PRAYER THAT WILL LAST.
Anthony Downer
A comment from Dominique:
Thank you for inviting me to join the TEA-HOUSE discussion. Although late, I really enjoyed the various conversations held with newly-met people and would like to share with you + the rest of the group the following:
When Lilli mentioned the fact she came from Austria, I told her of the Austrian community and of Sigmund Freud. And I wondered Lilli if you would like to share your thoughts with the group on hearing that in the 19th century there was an Austrian community in Manchester + Sigmund Freud lived in Manchester. A key shaper of our culture, Sigmund Freud had family residing in Manchester + visited the city on several occasions. In 1875 he spent a couple of months at 12 Green St, Ardwick (Manchester). I think that his family wanted him to abandon his dreams of a scientific career + join the family business.The connection is quite interesting, as Sigmund Freud has such an impact on the way we define ourselves and his focus on memories + totems. Also interesting was the fact that he was a collector of African Art.
I left Sale wondering when we will be ready to drop the colourlabels but present History in a way relevant (+attractive) to us all? Black or White, History is ours. History is the records of our migrations + holds the clue to our respective journeys. Questions such as: Where do I come from? or words such as: origins, genealogy, emotions carry the idea of movement from one point to another. Speaking of movement, the history of the Manchester Ship Canal is absolutely amazing as it links Manchester to the rest of the world. For example, thanks to the Manchester Ship Canal, Manchester became UK's banana capital. Anyway, I will end this email by talking about green tea which was exported from Manchester to Morocco. Tea is an interesting commodity as it plays a prominent role not only in Black, White or local histories; embedded in its history are other histories. I guess my point is that in order to attract the young + the new audiences and encourage them to engage with history, we should consider using a non-racialised approach. This could be an efficient political tool. So far when it comes to diversity, the focus has been on differences, it is probably high time we ask ourselves whether we shouldn't develop alternative strategies.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Very best wishes: Dominique
1 comment:
A message from Robina:
Hello All,
Thank you to those that attended and contributed to such a lively discussion.
I personally felt that it was a huge success in that we got a dialogue going – we can't change the past but we can make sure that we help to shape a future that can ease the pains of the past and do our bit to eradicate discrimination, suppression and persecution that still exists all over the world.
It might be a good idea to have another of these discussions in December – if you have an idea about a topic or subject – let me know
Robina Sheikh
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