How can knowledge held within archives and community memory support action to contest racial injustice in post-colonial Britain?
AIU RACE Centre is excited to be collaborating with Burning Work to deliver this special day of conversations, connections, image and sound. The Archive Component is a free event exploring archive and community memory as ammunition in anti-racist struggle.
The day will be broken down into three sessions including contributions from First Cut Media, Windrush Defenders, The Stuart Hall Library and from ourselves here at the AIU RACE Centre. Audio will be provided throughout the day by Manchester’s legendary Megatone Sound Foundation. We will also be live broadcasting this event for those of you who are unable to join us in person.
Burning Work is an intergenerational project between Windrush Defenders Legal C.I.C, Channels Research Group and multiple collaborators within, and in relation to, post-colonial Britain. Burning Work creates spaces to interpret and contest the post-colonial architecture of British immigration law enforcement, the racialised enclosure of the Criminal Justice System, and disparities recursively evidenced in the data infrastructure of socio-economic formations.
Over the last eighteen months, AIU RACE Centre has been working on its Covid-19 Collecting project as a way of documenting the Black, Asian and migrant community response to the pandemic. The material we have collected so far shows just some of the many challenges of this period. Black-, Asian- and migrant community-led groups and organisations have been working throughout to fight racial inequality on so many fronts. This has not been easy and yet we have still found space for joy. We will be sharing and celebrating some of this work as part of The Archive Component.
On the same day, we will be having a drop-off day in our library space on the Lower Ground Floor of Manchester Central library. This is for people from Black, Asian and migrant communities who wish to donate their pandemic and lockdown stories to our covid-19 collection. It could be a photograph, a document, a social media post, a letter, a poem or even a recipe. We will take copies so that you can keep your originals. No need to book, just turn up.
Finally, we will be having an early evening social with food and music as a chance to reforge those vital connections. More details coming soon. Email Heena if you will be attending this part so we have an idea of numbers.
The Archive Component, see our Eventbrite page.
Please note:
We are aware that the Covid-19 pandemic is not over, so we are taking the following measures to make things safer.
We will be spacing out seating to help with social distancing.
We will be keeping the venue doors open for increased ventilation.
We will be providing hand sanitiser and face masks
We will be livestreaming and live broadcasting the event for people who cannot attend physically.
If there is a significant rise in cases, we will transfer the event to online-only and will let you know as soon as possible about this.
Please help us to keep this event safer by doing the following: Wear a mask or face covering unless you’re exempt, especially if you are moving around the space.
Socially distance wherever possible.
Do not attend if you have covid symptoms or if you are feeling unwell.
Take a lateral flow test before the event. If you test positive, do not attend. You can get test kits for free by ordering online or from local pharmacies.