Monday 27 May 2019

London Socialist Historians Group seminars summer 2019

LSHG SEMINARS Summer 2019

We support the ongoing IWGB action at Senate House over outsourcing of support staff. Because of this the seminars will not be held at Senate House until the dispute is resolved.  We have two seminars lined up however:


Monday 10 June 2019 - 'Kwame Nkrumah and the Dawn of the Cold War'
 Book launch with author Marika Sherwood - 6.30pm at Bookmarks, 1 Bloomsbury Street, London WC1B 3QE

About the book
The West African National Secretariat (WANS) has almost been forgotten by history. A pan-Africanist movement founded in 1945 by Kwame Nkrumah and colleagues in London and France, WANS campaigned for independence and unity. Nkrumah returned to the Gold Coast in late 1947. The colonial government accused him of being a communist and fomenting the riots of early 1948. He was jailed. This led to the beginning of the Cold War in West Africa.
Drawing on archival research including the newly released MI5 files, Marika Sherwood reports on the work of WANS, on the plans for a unity conference in October 1948 in Lagos, and on Nkrumah’s return home. Sherwood demonstrates that colonial powers colluded with each other and the US in order to control the burgeoning struggles for independence. By labelling African nationalists as ‘communists’ in their efforts to contain decolonisation, the Western powers introduced the Cold War to the continent.
Providing a rich exploration of a neglected history, this book sheds light for the first time on a crucial historical moment in the history of West Africa and the developmental trajectory of West African independence.


Monday 17 June 'The size of the crowd. How historians have assessed numbers at demonstrations from 1848 onwards' - Keith Flett
(The paper will be posted online at www.londonsocialisthistorians.blogspot.com to invite comments and discussion on social media.)

The deadline for the next issue of the London Socialist Historians Group Newsletter is 1 September 2019 - Letters, articles, criticisms and contributions to debate are most welcome.

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