RACE Centre Summer School 2026
About this Event
When: Monday 3rd August – Thursday 6th August, with a celebratory event on the evening of Thursday 6th August. There will be 8 different sessions (information on each listed below) - you can come to as many as you want as they are all different!
Where: Manchester Central Library
Who is it for: 15-19 year olds.
What will it include: It is free to attend. There will be 8 sessions in total and attendees can attend all 8 of the sessions, or they can choose which sessions they are interested in. Food and drinks will be provided for all sessions, with lunch provided between the morning and afternoon session. Any necessary equipment will be provided. We can also support with public transport costs if needed.
What are the sessions about: The sessions will all be different, speaking to themes of anti-racism and relating to our archive collections. We have got many brilliant facilitators coming in from different organisations who will be running sessions. There will be creative activities, including comic-making, zine-making, badge-making, poetry and more, exploring themes including the Moss Side Uprisings, Pan-Africanism in Manchester, local activism, and beyond!
Who can I contact for more information: If you have any questions, please contact [email protected] or [email protected]
Monday 3 Aug
🕑: 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Session 1: Young Identity poetry workshop
Host: Young Identity
Info: A poetry and writing workshop led by Young Identity. Working with RACE Centre archive collections to inspire your creative work.
🕑: 01:30 PM - 04:00 PM
Session 2: Pan-African Legacies Heritage Trail
Host: See My World
Info: A guided walk for Part 1 of the new SEE MY WORLD heritage trail uncovering the city's vital role in the birth and evolution of Pan-Africanism. Curated by local historian Linford Sweeney and rooted in the enduring legacy of the 1945 Pan-African Congress, the walking trail maps key sites across the city, connecting past and present through storytelling, memory, and place. From historic meeting points to overlooked landmarks, each stop reveals a chapter of Manchester’s deep and often underrepresented connection to our history.
Tuesday 4 Aug
🕑: 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Session 3: Moss Side Futurism
Host: José Sherwood-González
Info: This is a collections-based speculative-fiction and zine-making workshop, where participants will dig into real local histories, working with the Elouise Edwards photography collection as prompts for "what if?" storytelling about their own areas and futures.
🕑: 01:30 PM - 04:00 PM
Session 4: Manchester 10 Archive
Host: Kids of Colour
Info: In this session, we will explore The Manchester 10 case, which saw 10 young people collectively punished as a result of racism in the criminal justice system. Just like many Joint Enterprise cases, their case relied on racist gang narratives to imprison young people in the city. You will be joined by staff members from Kids of Colour, and members of The Manchester 10 who had success at the court of appeal. Together you will explore the case, and why it is so important to document injustice and resistance in our city.
Wednesday 5 Aug
🕑: 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Session 5: Welcome to the RACE Centre Archives
Host: RACE Centre
Info: Join us for a behind the scenes look at the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre and Education Trust archives. Including a tour of our library, strong room and the Manchester Central Library search room, with the chance to have a hands-on experience looking through items from the archive. Ending with badge-making inspired by our collections.
🕑: 01:30 PM - 04:00 PM
Session 6: Anti-Racist Comics and Archival Stories
Host: Catalina Delgado Rojas
Info: In this comics workshop, we will bring the collections of the AIU Race Centre into dialogue with comics from the virtual exhibition Comics and Race in Latin America. We will explore comics’ graphic language to construct anti-racist visual ideas and create a comic page about our experience in the archive.
Thursday 6 Aug
🕑: 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Session 7: Making Manchester: Streets and Spaces for the Community
Host: Parise Carmichael-Murphy
Info: This will be an interactive workshop where we will explore the idea of civic space through Manchester's Black history and city life today. It draws on materials from the archives and trails at the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre to consider how people have shaped public space through celebration and community organising. You will have the opportunity to create your own map of meaningful places in Manchester, and we will work together to design a new civic hub for the city.
🕑: 01:30 PM - 04:00 PM
Session 8: a love letter for the remaining softness left in brown boys...
Host: nasima bee
Info: A screening of ‘ a love letter for the remaining softness left in brown boys, for when the rest is taken from them’ with a workshop exploring the themes of brown boy joy and what this means from the lens of the global majority and Muslim experience.
🕑: 05:00 PM - 07:00 PM
Celebration event
Info: A celebration of all the work and learning from the Summer School! A chance to share with family, friends and supporters. Food provided.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 0.00
