Sixth form Conference at The Centre for International Slavery Studies in Liverpool

Make a Difference History Ambassadors will be working with three sixth form colleges: Ashton Sixth Form College, Xaverian Sixth Form College and Connell Sixth Form to reflect on issues of race in the USA past present and future in a panel discussion which will include Shirin Hirsch and Sami Pinsabari.

The themes and issues discussed all connect to the A Level History curriculum, but will allow scope for the students to explore these issues in a broader context.

In the run up to the conference there will be preparation workshops taking place in the colleges, which will be delivered by History academics and History ambassadors

The conference is entitled, The Civil Rights Movement: Past, Present and Future 6th Form Conference, International Slavery Museum, Liverpool. Organised by Manchester Metropolitan University in partnership with the Centre for the Study of International Slavery and funded by the US Embassy and BAAS. The conference commemorates the 65th anniversary of the Supreme Court Brown V Board of Topeka decision that overturned the ‘separate but equal’ ruling of the Plessey V Ferguson case in 1896. This momentous case heralded the start of the ‘classic’ Civil Rights Movement in the USA, 1954-1967.

The conference aims to use this historical moment to explore more widely issues of race by introducing students to lesser-known participants in the fight for racial equality in the past, but also in the present day. This will provide a platform for students to reflect on a specific area that complements their A level History studies, but also to consider the contemporary issues of race that lie outside of the curriculum too. It has kindly been funded by the US Embassy and BAAS.