Radical History Blog

When it comes to World War Two, if we think of the 'Home Front' we tend to just imagine the Blitz - German bombers over British cities, RAF bases on endless alert, down in the public air raid shelters and all that.

Ever since US President Harry Truman dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945, instantly murdering 80,000 people - 30% of the city's population - the issue of nuclear weapons has exercised the conscience of the British Left.

On Saturday 8th September, three valiant members of the Radical Tea Towel team, Tim, Bea and Luke, plus Luke's brother Adam and Moss the dog, ventured forth in the wind and rain to find the cave on Mynydd Llangynidr, high on the moors above the village of Trefil, in Blaenau Gwent, South Wales...

Across history, radical movements for democratic change have often been led by members of the upper classes.

It takes a brave person to stand up and back a revolution. Sometimes it takes an even braver one to call out its weaknesses.

History gives us many examples of cities which have shown a special talent for producing radical politics. 'Rote Wien' (Red Vienna) was known as a socialist stronghold between the wars until the Nazis marched in.

In the early 1940s a Lakota Indian Chief, Henry Standing Bear, wrote to the Polish-American architect Korczak Ziolkowski and asked if he'd be willing to build a to commemorate Native American history.

It's 55 years today that "" delivered his beautiful speech: 'I Have a Dream', at the 1963 'March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom'. I know that you've probably heard people go on about the greatness of this speech before.

One of the favourite lies told by Britain's imperial apologists is that the decolonisation of the British Empire was 'bloodless'.

The recent mistreatment of the by the Home Office has been catching some much-needed headlines of late. But it's not as if Britain had been a paradise for residents of its former colonies until now.