Remembering Our Past
An exhbition of artwork and words by Peter Sagar
1. Early Radical Newcastle; this piece celebrates the great early radical pioneers in Newcastle, men such as Rev James Murray, the pamphleteer and teacher Thomas Spence, the Unitarian Minister William Turner, leader of anti-slavery work in the 18th century and founder of the Lit, and Phil,  and the great illustrator and Radical Thomas Bewick.
2. Brunswick Methodist Church and the Anti-slavery Movement. In 1807, the Slave Trade within the British Empire was abolished. However slavery remained and campaigners were soon addressing this injustice.  Although there were some in the region who supported slavery and there was a sugar refinery and workshop where shackles were made, both near the banks of the River Tyne around the Blaydon area. there were many in the region who were strongly against the slave trade.  Among the many huge meetings in Newcastle and the wider region was one in August 1830 at the newly built Brunswick Methodist Church, near Fenwicks. 3 years later the government of Earl Grey, a Newcastle-based politician passed the act abolishing slavery in the British Empire.     
3. Grey's Monument Newcastle; this drawing highlights the words featured on the monument in the dead centre of Newcastle, words which many people never seem to read.... The words explain why the monument was built in 1838, to commemorate the achievements of Newcastle-based Earl Grey, who as Prime Minister, managed to get the Great Reform Bill, which widened the electorate, passed in 1832 and oversaw the abolition of slavery in the British Empire the following year.
4. The Cooperative Movement; after a few attempts which had failed, the first cooperative to really succeed was on Toad Lane in Rochdale, established in 1844. The Cooperative Movement became a very important part of life in Northeast England.  Indeed in the second half of the 19th century, the highest number of Cooperative members per head of population of any region in the country was in Northeast England. The drawing shows four major Cooperative buildings in Newcastle, including warehouses and shops....  The gentleman in the middle is Joseph Cowen,who was responsible for helping a lot pf the progressive movements in the region in the second half of th 19th century, including the development of the Cooperatives  
5. Garibaldi Come to Newcastle; Newcastle built a strong internationalist reputation during the 18th and 19th centuries One of the causes supported by Newcastle people, including Joseph Cowen, was that of Italian independence and unification.  Garibaldi came to Newcastle in 1854 and was afforded a procession around the city and a great reception....
6. The Jarrow March 1936; In 1936 the unemployment rate in the ship-building town of Jarrow in South Tyneside had reached 87%. Accordingly 200 men decided to march to London to speak to the government and lobby them for the siting of a steelworks in the town, to provide new employment opportunities. They were supported by the people of England - until they reached London.  The government refused to meet them and they were sent back to the Northeast with little more than a cup of tea. And they had their dole stooped for the duration of the march, as they had not been 'available for work'.  It looked as if the crusade had failed, but less than 10 years later a Labour government was elected in a landslide and the sympathy shown to the marchers had surely played its part in changing people's opinions....
7. The DLI Liberate Belsen April 1945; On 15th April 1945, the Durham Light Infantry liberated the Belsen Concentration Camp in western Germany.  There they found an horrendous sight in front of them, with bodies of those who had died piled up, while a deadly typhus epidemic raged around the camp. Among those who were nearly saved by the DLI were Anne Frank and her sister Margot, who had sadly succumbed to typhus about a month earlier....  
8. Martin Luther King Newcastle 1967; on 13th November 1967, Martin Luther King was awarded an honorary doctorate at Newcastle University. King was awarded his degree in the appropriately-named King's Hall opposite the Royal Victoria Infirmary, which is featured on the drawing.  Newcastle University was the only university in Britain to honour Martin in his lifetime.....  
9/10. Remembering Jo Cox; Jo Cox M.P.was shot, stabbed and brutally murdered on 16th June 2016, during the divisive European referendum Campaign. On 18th June, graffiti was spotted on a wall in Byker, near Chillingham Road Metro station stating RIP Jo Cox and next to it were a collection of flowers making an impromptu shrine. On Wednesday June 22nd 2016, there was a service in St Nicholas' Cathedral, Newcastle to remember Jo's life.