7th June by Samuel
Began to photograph items for the article from the archive. This was followed up by categorising internal and external documents as well as items which did not fit into any specific category, attempting to document them and define what they were about to file more efficiently.
24th May 2023 by Jodie
I started today by going through the spare Lalkar’s we have and making sure there were none in there that we don’t already have 2 copies of in the archive. This didn’t take long and I didn’t find any we had missed.
I then began cataloguing the Lalkar’s that Peter had filed into the shelves. Most of the Lalkar’s have already been added to the catalog but there were a few missing so I went through each year fro 1979 to 2022 and added those in. Priya also showed me her interface for using the catalog in the future which was very impressive. A productive day!
Wednesday 24th April 2023 by Priya
Short summary again, I wish I had managed to get through the first stage of sorting:
Taking all the files in the Women’s Liberation section, started to sort through the material to identify the different group and issues contained. Ordering by group a bit difficult with sub groups, but issues are clearly identifiable. Chunks of the papers were already sorted quite well, with very interesting materials on protests, correspondence, notices and statements, but there is a whole folder of purchase orders, receipts and reading lists that should be considered for removal/disposal.
I have a stack of material to still sort into the folders I have created, then will need to sort by date/organisation/issue – will discuss that with you beforehand. Enjoyed being given a whole section as was easier to understand the scope and context with all materials in front of me and being able to plan next steps, feel more involved and engaged.
24 May by Samuel
Work on organising Mailchimp for sending out emails to the friends of the BPA. After finishing using mailchimp, went and started to write the magazine articles for the BPA on Moa’s PRC and its use of visual media, looking at items from the nation we have collected in the archive such as calendars, posters, and comic books.
Wednesday 19th April 2023 by Priya
Up the ladder to fetch down all the posters. Sorted them into categories, which I think were:
- China – promotional calendars and propaganda posters
- UK-based groups – protest, meeting and election notices (IWF Criticism of IWA, Immigration Bill, Anti-NF, Palestine, Working Mothers);
- African liberation – copies of lino-prints produced by various artists for Danish group Against Imperialism;
- Misc – Dudley tourism map, Queen’s coronation map. Am sure there is another category but I blanking, it will be on the temporary drawer labels.
Wednesday 19th April 2023 by Jodie
Started today by helping Samuel finish classifying some internal and external IWA documents. Then was informed about the upcoming projects. These involved reviewing certain documents revolving around key topics in the archive. My focus was IWA content and 5 key areas within it; pre-WWII Foundation of IWA, first edition of Punjab Lalkar, the struggle against the National Front, the struggle against Sikh nationalism, and Avtar Singh Jouhl.
I started going through the chronologically ordered external IWA documents first and have decided to focus on the struggle with the National Front initially as this cropped up first. I went through each year starting from 1971 and tried to find relevant information, taking pictures, and writing them up. I got to about 1978 before Peter decided it was time to go to the pub.
Wednesday 19th April 2023 by Samuel
Worked through separating documents into categorisation based on left-wing groups or international nations, such as the Indian Workers Association, Ethiopian independence or the issues regarding Palestine and Israel. Scanned book information for research, on the creation of left-wing syndicalism in Birmingham and the Black Country. Worked through chronologising information regarding the people’s republic of China and preparing research for written analysis on the topic of information distributed by the PRC and its distribution and influence on British citizens consuming information regarding the PRC and Maoist ideas.
Heritage Weekend 2022
More than 50 people came to our archive as part of the heritage weekend events at the BMI. Our stall in the main hall was also popular.
Birmingham People's History Archive 