We must act now or we’ll lose an important part of suffragette history
The history of the working class suffragette movement rests in the hands of a few dedicated historians. That’s not enough.
The National Portrait Gallery has produced a gift book called 100 Pioneering Women. While commendable in its celebration of women’s history, the vast majority is dedicated to aristocrats and the wealthy. With the exception of a notable few, such as Margaret Bondfield and Olive Morris, there are hardly any from working class backgrounds. Of course that’s hardly surprising, as to get a high class portrait in the first place you need wealth or power.
The National Portrait Gallery must work within the constraints of what it is — a fairly traditional establishment to promote history through the medium of portraits. However this does not solve the issue of how we can understand, preserve and celebrate working class history in the absence of such platforms.
When conducting research for my Women Activists of East London project, accessing visual sources was enormously difficult. There were plenty of images of Pankhurts and Fawcetts, but photos of working class activists were difficult to find. I searched for months for an image of leading trade unionist, Sarah Wesker. I never found one. This is both sad and frustrating considering her significant contribution to the movement.
For historians, photos provide important historical information. For the general public they bring a person from the past to life, preserving their legacy. Who can forget the iconic image of young Kim Phuc running out of her village as her body burned with napalm? It is said that image of an ordinary girl contributed hugely to the ending of the Vietnam war. And it will forever contribute to our understanding of that historical event.
There are images of working class communities, however they are often of street scenes or general dwellings. While these are enormously helpful in understanding and remembering the lives of Victorian and Edwardian East Enders, the individuals are often nameless. Just passing figures with no identities or stories.
Thanks to the hard work of a small group of historians we are fortunate to have preserved a reasonable collection of images of the East London Suffragettes. The photos were taken by Norah Smyth, was was a member of the East London Federation of Suffragettes, and close friend of Sylvia Pankhurst. Norah Smyth’s photographic collection provides us with a vivid glimpse into the lives of working women activists, putting names to faces.
Having the photos however is not enough. If more than a small group of academics are to learn about and appreciate this history, the images need a platform too. I think it’s unlikely they’ll make it into the National Portrait Gallery, so we must do what we always in this digital age — share them on social media.
As part of the centenary celebrations I’m proposing we use our own personal platforms to get these women recognised for the work they did to get us *all* the vote. So let’s say their names, and keep saying them so they are forever remembered.
Minnie Lansbury
Click here to share and remember Minnie
Rose Witkop
Click here to share and remember Rose
Julia Scurr
