Since we were in Kew, several of us visited the nearby The National Archives to tour the space and visit their exhibit, Suffragettes vs. the State.
Located several kilometers away from Kew Gardens at the end of a meandering path by the river, The National Archives (TNA) is a large and contemporary building holding many of England and Wales oldest and most iconic documents. As the official government archive, they hold documents related to all matters of Britain's history over the last 1000 years, from the Domesday book to the British Railway and Foreign Office reports to archived websites.
Like many of the other sights we've visited, TNA has a reading room accessible to members of the public. To access any documents we have to fill out a request with the archive staff, which they aim to have in your hand in under an hour. While many items are only available in person they have an extensive website that I've found very user-friendly and interesting. In addition to items available thanks to their digitization project, they have great online exhibitions, a podcast, and lots of tips and guides that show TNA's commitment to stay relevant and useful.
After poking around the research area of TNA, I visited their Suffragette exhibit. Through plenty of posters, newspapers, pamphlets, photographs, and legal documents like Bill proposals and booking papers for women arrested, in addition to authentic props like clothing, the archive created a moving and informative exhibit on the women who were at the forefront of the Suffragette movement in England.
A video prepared by the archive discussed the Suffragists vs. the Suffragettes and the value and role of each group in getting some women equal rights. The film complements the exhibit by providing a historical context of the women's movement. It explained that at the turn of the century women still lacked the rights afforded to the men of society, like the vote and equal pay. After peaceful protests for equality were repeatedly ignored and proposed bills were denied a fraction of the Suffragist movement turned to militant protests to demand equality. While the Suffragists used words, writing campaigns, and peaceful protests, the Suffragettes, feeling this ineffective, used hunger strikes, window smashing, and arson. Their motto was Deeds Not Words.
The exhibit did a great job of presenting history without getting bogged down in information. However, one critique I have of the exhibit was that it focuses solely on white women. It doesn't address the long history of non-white people's involvements to earn equality and when they earned equal rights. With exception of this oversight, I learned a lot from this exhibit and was very impressed with their range and quality of items.
Located several kilometers away from Kew Gardens at the end of a meandering path by the river, The National Archives (TNA) is a large and contemporary building holding many of England and Wales oldest and most iconic documents. As the official government archive, they hold documents related to all matters of Britain's history over the last 1000 years, from the Domesday book to the British Railway and Foreign Office reports to archived websites.
Like many of the other sights we've visited, TNA has a reading room accessible to members of the public. To access any documents we have to fill out a request with the archive staff, which they aim to have in your hand in under an hour. While many items are only available in person they have an extensive website that I've found very user-friendly and interesting. In addition to items available thanks to their digitization project, they have great online exhibitions, a podcast, and lots of tips and guides that show TNA's commitment to stay relevant and useful.
After poking around the research area of TNA, I visited their Suffragette exhibit. Through plenty of posters, newspapers, pamphlets, photographs, and legal documents like Bill proposals and booking papers for women arrested, in addition to authentic props like clothing, the archive created a moving and informative exhibit on the women who were at the forefront of the Suffragette movement in England.
The exhibit did a great job of presenting history without getting bogged down in information. However, one critique I have of the exhibit was that it focuses solely on white women. It doesn't address the long history of non-white people's involvements to earn equality and when they earned equal rights. With exception of this oversight, I learned a lot from this exhibit and was very impressed with their range and quality of items.
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