I am very excited to be speaking about Sylvia Pankhurst at Matchwomen's Festival 2022 today. This annual event it organised by the legendary Louise Raw, a historian whose pathbreaking book on the matchwomen's strike of 1888 was inspirational to me.
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| Join the comrades at Matchwomen's Festival 2022! |
There's always a great line-up of speakers and I am very honoured to be among them. This year speakers include Shami Chakrabarti, Michael Rosen, Caroline Bressey and disability campaigners Dan and Emily White. There's also going to be music, a bookstall and a bar. Coming days after Boris Johnson was forced to resign, there's sure to be a great atmosphere!
This year's event is going to be taking place at the Bow Arts Trust on Bow Road, right opposite where Sylvia Pankhurst opened a headquarters of the WSPU in 1912 - the beginning of a process that would eventually lead to the creation of the independent, socialist organisation the East London Federation of Suffragettes. It is going to be very special talking about that history in that space.
I am particularly looking forward to hearing Dr Caroline Bressey talk about Catherine Impey and am delighted that we are sharing a platform. Like Sylvia Pankhurst, Catherine Impey was an anti-racist campaigner and travelled to the United States. I'm intrigued by what we can learn about the past through discussing their lives together - and excited to think through the implications for campaigning today.
You can book to attend Matchwomen's here. See you there!
