Thirty years ago the news in South Wales was dominated by the fate of the coal industry and the attempts taken by the National Union of Mineworkers to halt mine closures. Using photographs and personal testimony this event combined reflection on the details of the strike, with a consideration of its complications for contemporary protest.
Linking Yesterday with Today for a Better Tomorrow
The Coal Miners’ Strike 1984-1985: What Lessons for Contemporary Protest?
Thirty years ago the news in South Wales was dominated by the fate of the coal industry and the attempts taken by the National Union of Mineworkers to halt mine closures.
While the strike action polarised opinion, the mining communities received considerable public support from trade unions and other community organisations. On the coal field the mining villages were reorganised by the women enabling them to survive for twelve months without income or social benefits. Many of these events, then described as “revolutionary”, have been forgotten with the passage of time, and will benefit from examination in a contemporary context.
Using photographs and personal testimony this event combined reflection on the details of the strike, with a consideration of its complications for contemporary protest.
Following a plenary led by Huw Beynon, there was a number of group discussions, exhibitions and displays to encourage participants to remember, reflect and discuss the relevance that these past events have for our understanding of current issues.