Your Manchester: An Exploration of Manchester’s Legacy of Student Activism
This blog post was written by Iris Peck, MA student in Art Gallery and Museum Studies, as part of the ‘Your Manchester’ student placement project. This project involved developing an exhibition with themes and objects chosen by the students. All research and interpretation in this post is attributable to Iris.
“What Manchester does today, the rest of the world does tomorrow.”
This quote, attributed to former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, is a testament to Manchester’s historic and enduring legacy as a hotbed for political change.
Through this project, we set out to explore this element of the city’s vibrant landscape over the last 200 years through the eyes of students at the University of Manchester.
Manchester, the Political Capital
Manchester was the historical setting of the Peterloo Massacre in 1819, the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League in 1839, the formation of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1903, and the birthplace of some of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels most significant works. The city is continually evolving and has contributed to the British political landscape in a unique way. Over the University of Manchester’s 200-year history, students have become part of the fabric of the city and embedded themselves within this history.
Student life in Manchester is uniquely connected to this political legacy. It was part of what drew me to the university as a teenager applying to universities. Beyond academic performance, I wanted to become part of the city’s vibrant cultural and political landscape, epitomised by the university’s ethos of social responsibility and civic engagement.
Women’s Rights and Educational Equality
My exploration of this history begins with this copy of Iris from July 1892. Iris was a student publication set up by some of the first female students to attend the university, and was published between 1887 and 1894. While mostly a means to connect female students and celebrate academic achievement, it also allowed space for students to write about social issues and women’s rights.
This specific edition served as a poignant reminder of Manchester’s significance in the expansion of women’s rights and my own place as a woman in higher education. Within its pages is an essay written in response to the passing of Anne Clough, a prominent suffragist and advocate for women’s education, which not only highlights the inequalities faced by women in higher education but also underscores the female students’ ongoing struggle for equality. As the essay concludes:
“Much has been done. Are we to draw the conclusion nothing more remains for us to do? Far from it […] And it is Miss Clough’s example perhaps more than anyone’s that has taught us how the loftiest aims may be combined with the greatest patience, and with the most tender helpfulness for those who, however imperfectly, are struggling upwards to a nobler life.”
These words not only reflect Manchester’s history, but the ongoing fight for equality and representation within both academic and professional settings for women. In particular, it demonstrates how diversifying the voices discussing these issues can play a role in furthering social change. While the writer goes unnamed in the publication, the essay grapples with how class inequality contributes to their own privilege in having access to higher education. The publication also details the development and running of a female students’ club for working-class girls in the local area as a means to bridge the class divide and pay their privilege forward.
Manchester and the Suffragettes
Manchester was a focal point for the suffragette movement partly due to the leadership of Emmeline Pankhurst, who formed the WSPU and organised rallies, protests, and publications. Notable events like letter bombings and protests took place in Manchester, underscoring the confrontational tactics that propelled the cause into the national spotlight. Despite opposition and persecution, including arrests and force-feeding, the movement persevered and the 1918 Representation of the People and Qualification of Women Acts were passed.
Emmeline’s daughters, the Pankhurst sisters Christabel and Sylvia, had close ties to the city’s universities. Christabel studied Law at the University of Manchester, whilst Sylvia trained as an artist at the Manchester School of Art (now part of Manchester Metropolitan University). In addition, many students joined local chapters of the WSPU, participating in rallies, marches, and protests throughout the city.
As both a socialist and a feminist, Sylvia Pankhurst’s politics have shaped many of my own experiences with feminism. As the feminist movement developed throughout the twentieth century and intermingled with class politics, modern intersectional feminism and advocacy for women’s rights has emerged as a powerful force within the movement. The diversity and strength of this activism is reflected in the current Student Union’s Feminist Collective, which aims to provide a space for all to discuss a wide variety of topics.
Student Socialism
The rapid development of Socialism during the twentieth century had a significant impact on the political landscape. Left-wing politics have often been embraced by young people and students, upholding the legacy of ‘radical’ political change and ideology. This Socialist Society Membership Card from 1957 presents a starkly different visual representation of the ‘student socialist’ in Manchester.
The University’s Student Socialist Society was first formed in 1913 as an extension of the then-new Labour Party, and several iterations of the society have existed over the last century. The longevity of the society reflects generations of students immersing themselves in those ‘radical’ academic and political movements, as well as an enduring connection to the social inequality faced by working-class communities in Manchester.
This card symbolised membership of the Socialist Society which, in addition to its connection to broader national and international socialist organisations, was directly involved in supporting local labour strikes and disputes. The card also provided access to the Unity Theatre in London, an agitprop, workers’ theatre company with controversial ties to the Communist Party. This represents a broader form of student engagement with politics and advocacy, not only at the academic and local levels but also beyond, which is indicative of the interconnected nature of student activism in Manchester.
The current Socialist Workers Student Society, similarly connected to a broader socialist organisation, highlights the endurance of these ideals in contemporary student’s experiences. The manner in which engagement has changed over time is apparent across the city. No longer are students card-carrying members of organisations, but the voices of class consciousness and structural change are no less present. Friends and I have often joked that the university bus stops along Oxford Road are a socialist stronghold! Almost always decorated with the face of Karl Marx and other variations of socialist iconography, one can see posters advocating for a wide variety of social causes through a socialist lens that flourishes uniquely in Manchester.
Black Power on Campus
This ‘Black Power’ pamphlet is from the 1968/9 copy of Guerrilla, a student publication by the Socialist Society. The name of the journal alone demonstrates a shift in students’ mentality to one of overt militancy. As someone who had previously studied student Guerrilla movements in 1960s America, I was fascinated by how that culture had translated over to British students’ experiences.
It is evident that the Black Power movement had a significant impact on Manchester’s Black communities in Moss Side and Hulme during the 1960s and 1970s. The ideology grew in popularity in response to over-policing and discrimination against these communities. Pan-Africanism and Black Power sought to assert Black identity, pride, and autonomy, advocating for self-determination and social justice. It directly contributed to formal political advocacy, community outreach, educational programs, and the cultural development of Black British art, music, and literature in the city that has shaped the experiences of students of colour today.
Whilst the writers behind Guerilla were predominantly white and entirely male, the last fifty years have witnessed the expansion of intersectional conversations on race involving a more diverse range of voices. While the Black Power pamphlet discusses the tangible influence of this ideology throughout the student population, it does so in a more academic than tangible way. Today, there is a plethora of official student organisations set up to connect and support Black students, as well as a broader social space for individuals to advocate for both communities and individuals on campus.
Manchester and the Civil Rights Movement
During the 1960s, Manchester saw the emergence of grassroots organisations dedicated to combating racism and promoting racial integration in housing, education, and employment. Notable events such as the 1964 Race Relations Act, which aimed to address racial discrimination in Britain, sparked discussions within Manchester’s diverse communities.
Students in Manchester were incredibly engaged in these conversations, organising demonstrations against racial discrimination in housing and over-policing, as well as within education. These issues remain all too familiar for current students. During my time at the university, I have been involved in various protests against racial discrimination, with Black Lives Matter marches and debates around racial equality and decolonisation in both academic and social settings defining much of my own experience as a student. The racial theories and discourse found in the archives continue to resonate with my experiences and remain relevant to student life in Manchester.
Bridging the Gap
From the early pioneers of women’s education to the champions of socialist ideals and advocates for racial justice, every generation of Manchester students have left their own unique mark on the collective history of the university and the city as a whole.
Similar political issues shape our current experience as students. Exploring the voices of the students who came before me and realising just how similar their plight was to contemporary political discourse has been inspiring.
As one anonymous student wrote in Iris 131 years ago, “Much has been done. Are we to draw the conclusion nothing more remains for us to do? Far from it.”
The University of Manchester digitised Special Collections material is made available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC 4.0) wherever possible. For further information on digital images and to request high resolution copies please contact our Imaging team.
See the other blog in this series: https://medium.com/special-collections/your-manchester-student-activism-in-the-1970s-85278bfe7833
