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Weeping Window & Black
Poppies
THE Writing on the Wall present a fascinating
archive of letters and documents highlighting the plight of black soldiers,
seafarers, and workers in Liverpool following demobilisation in 1919. This
archive contains testimony from men from the Caribbean, West Africa and
other colonial territories, who had fought for England on land and at sea
during the Great War and were then left stranded, destitute and subject to
racial violence on the streets of Liverpool.
As part of the Weeping Window experience, Writing on the Wall invites you to
join internationally renowned poet Levi Tafari in exploring the lives of
these men and their families and to respond creatively through story-telling
and poetry. These creative writing workshops will be include a guided tour
of the archive. Join the team for all four workshops or simply drop in for
one.
Writing on the Wall have been presented with a number of significant,
original documents covering the period 1919 to 1921, by community member and
activist Joe Farrag. This archive relates to the position of Black
ex-servicemen, seamen and factory workers stranded or left destitute in
Liverpool after the 1st World War.
This archive includes letters and
testimony from soldiers and merchant seamen from the West Indies and the
Caribbean, who had fought for England on land and at sea during the Great
War of 1914, or had worked in factories in Liverpool, and had wives and
children here.
They were then subjected to verbal,
physical and institutional racial abuse on the streets of Liverpool. They
reveal their plight of daily racism and loss of jobs because of the boycott
by white workers, a boycott often supported by the trades unions, and of
being stranded in a country that no longer wanted them, even though they had
fought for England during WW1.
This tension led to the race riots of
1919, resulting in many serious assaults and attacks, and the death of
Charles Wootton, a Black seaman murdered by a White mob. The unique nature
of this material is that it contains the written word of those
ex-servicemen, sailors and workers who were being confronted with abuse and
assault, while facing destitution.
WoW's Co-Director, Madeline Heneghan says:- "This is a highly
significant archive in terms of Black and British History. With support from
the Heritage Lottery Fund, we are delighted to be able to share this
fascinating and moving collection with the people of Liverpool in a creative
and stimulating way."
Check out the new 'From Great War to Race Riots'
website which also includes a digitalised version of the
archive.
For more information contact WoW on:- 0151 703 0020 or via
email. This event will take place Every Saturday,
throughout November (7 November, 14 November, 21 November and 28 November
2015) at the Liverpool Central Library. If you want to attend it is
reminded that this event is free, but booking is strongly recommended.
The event starts at 1pm, meeting at 'The Great War to Race Riots'
exhibition on the 3rd Floor and runs until 3pm. |
