Exhibition: Protest Banners past and present at People’s History Museum

Throughout 2019, the PHM is exploring ‘the past, present and future of protest’. Kicking off the year is an exhibition showcasing banners, both historic and contemporary, which were used by groups seeking political and social change. The banners featured represent UK wide protests, with a particular emphasis on our local area. The earliest is from the Great Dock Strike of 1899, where the call for workers’ rights was a key development in the creation of the modern trade union movement. Also included are flags from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the People’s March for Jobs in 1983, and the Poll Tax demonstrations of 1990. A more recent protest was Queers Against the Cuts, which saw a group of LGBT people march against government austerity. This display leads into the Museum’s headline exhibition ‘Disrupt? Peterloo & Protest’, which commemorates 200 years since the titular massacre.

Sat 19 Jan 2019 – Sun 5 Jan 2020, People’s History Museum, Left Bank, Spinningfields, Manchester, M3 3ER, Tel: 0161 838 9190, 10am – 5pm, FREE (suggested donation £5), phm.org.uk/exhibitions