Anandi Ramamurthy

Objects and labels relating to the Asian Youth Movement and Bradford 12 in Above the Noise: 15 Stories from Bradford, Gallery 2, National Science and Media Museum. Image credit: National Science and Media Museum / Science Museum Group

While seeing the history of the Asian Youth Movements and the Bradford 12 represented in the space of the National Media Museum was uplifting, contextualizing it within the constraints of the museum’s labelling system was a challenge. When your history has been marginalized and misunderstood, explaining the complexities of its meaning is not necessarily possible in 120-word panels or 40-word labels. There are no shortcuts to explaining what has been misrepresented.

The multiple meanings of the past were also brought to the fore. Amongst former members of the AYMs, there were differences in opinion about how the past should be presented in the exhibition. Some individuals wanted to present a story of increasing integration with Marsha Singh, a former member of Bradford AYM becoming an MP. Others argued that the focus should be on the legacy of the movement’s politics to embrace the slogans of the movement: ‘Black people have the right, here to stay here to fight’ and ‘Self defence is no offence’. Communities, like nations are not coherent – there are dynamics of power and political positions which constantly ‘unsettle’. This unsettling should be a central part of any heritage practice – and must be accompanied by an unsettling of institutional processes and standards.

Paste-up wall of posters and ephemera relating to the Asian Youth Movement and Bradford 12 in Above the Noise: 15 Stories from Bradford, Gallery 2, National Science and Media Museum. Image credit: National Science and Media Museum / Science Museum Group