Thanks to Eric and Jessica Huntley for their incredible legacies for the generations here, now and in the future. This year marks two significant milestones: 20 years since the creation of the radical Black-led Huntley Archives, and, in November, 50 years since the founding of the Bogle-L’Ouverture / Walter Rodney Bookshop in Ealing. It’s no surprise, then, that this year’s Huntley Conference has grown into a one-day festival—celebrating the influence of Black-led and community-curated archives, and the transformative power they hold for education, culture, memory, and resistance.
The Power of Black African Caribbean Archives brings together artists, archivists, publishers, scholars, and activists to examine archives as instruments of resistance, cultural memory, and collective self-representation. Highlights include the panel “Archives – The Source for Radical Cultures” featuring curators of Black archives, and a keynote address by Olu Alake, CEO of The Africa Centre.
Attendees will reflect on questions of identity, ownership, voice, and discuss radical archival methodologies. Speakers include Connie Bell and Dr Etienne Joseph (Decolonising the Archive), with contributions from our research volunteers.
The festival will exchange community memories from 'back in the day' exploring some of the other Black British collections held at The London Archives, for example, the Black Ink Collective, BEAT, the works of Andrew Salkey, Petronella Breinburg, Mollie Hunte, and more. Archive tours, creative workshops for young people, and curated bookstalls will be available throughout the day.
We are thankful for the ongoing and generous support we receive from the London Archives and pur partners. We could not stage these events without the in-kind support, the skills and help from the amazing team of FHALMA volunteers and the generosity of our speakers and contributors.
