Based on Sankofa principles of seeking knowledge from the past to benefit the futures of generations to come. The Ubele Circles Project is an opportunity for you to explore anti-racist activism in Britain. You will be a part of a group which will come together to learn from an elder social activist and will examine their role in British social activism and the changes they have contributed to making. By the end of the process, we hope for you and your co-learners to write a blog showcasing your learning.
The first circle run from March - June 2021 led by Social Activist Cecil Gutzmore who facilitated a circle around Afrikan & Asian Post-WW2 Resistance in the UK.
In this circle we explored the following questions:
What understanding of race, class and gender oppression and of the resistance theory and practice do current generations have of existing structures and processes?
Where do younger generations now stand in terms of effectively organised practical to a situation in which key facets of oppression are intensifying?
The second circle took place between February - March 2022 and was led by social activist, artist, curator and educator Michael Mcmillan facilitating interactive sessions exploring activism through an artistic lens.
What happened during the first session of the Circle with Michael McMillan?
Michael first exhibited at The Museum of the Home then known as the Geffyre Museum in 2005 – 2006. His exhibition ‘The West Indian Front Room’ was visited by more than ‘35,000 visitors of different ages, genders and social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds’. It was the museum’s ‘most successful exhibition’ because, as he states, it ‘had cross-cultural appeal that went beyond the African-Caribbean and black British experience, in resonating with other migrant and white working-class communities’.
During the first of his Ubele Circles series, Michael explained that ‘The West Indian Front Room’ serves as an example of how non-Western forms of ‘knowledge from communities of difference and practice, which are not always literate, but always wise’ can intercede and ‘unpack the coloniality of the Museum.
