CLR James legacy project in Hackney

From Hackney Unites, a community coalition for social justice, based in east London:

Last year we won a battle with the local authority to maintain the name CLR James for the Dalston area library. Dalston is an area with a significant Black British community and the proposal to remove the name was seen as an insult to the local black community.

However, during the campaign it became clear that many people had no idea who CLR James was or what he represented. Hackney Unites is therefore keen to build on the success of the campaign by developing a CLR James legacy project. This will concentrate on a number of areas. One of which will be developing a teaching resource for Black History month based on CLR James' work. The second will be an attempt to develop a critical analysis of his life work in the context of lessons we can learn for our current struggles.

James is a revolutionary writer who has much to say to a new generation of activists looking to resolve the contradictions involved in evolving mass movements. One thing we would like to do is to create a seminar series on CLR James, as well as podcasts/webinars on his life and work. We plan these seminars on a monthly basis starting in July, and lasting to October (when we hope to launch our teaching pack). If anyone on this list would like to know more, wants to contribute, or has ideas about how to make this project a reality, please email Hackneyunites@btinternet.com.