The East End is full of extraordinary stories. Join us for short and informal talks covering Black History in Tower Hamlets, courageous Bengali-led women’s activism and 1970s working-class creativity.

Line up includes:
Activist and Campaigner, Julie Begum on founding, Women Unite Against Racism (WUAR) an anti-racist group established in 1993 following the election of a far-right candidate in Tower Hamlets. WUAR campaigned to ensure local women, especially from the Bangladeshi community registered to vote and supported women in engaging in anti-fascist campaigns within their communities.

Activist, writer and teacher, Chris Searle on 1970s anti-racist poetry in East London.

While in his early 20s Chris Searle was the teacher at the centre of the Stepney School Strike of 1971. This event saw hundreds of Chris’s students strike in solidarity after he was sacked for publishing a book of their poetry. He went on to found the Basement Writers, a group for working-class writers to come together during the 1970s. Chris will be discussing the impact of anti-racist poetry during this turbulent period.

Further speaker details to be released shortly.

This event forms part of our History House programme – a special project celebrating Oxford House’s 140th anniversary and East London’s extraordinary history.