By Hannah Niblett
In the process of pulling together some exhibition material for the Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity’s (CoDE) conference next month (‘Documenting, understanding and addressing ethnic inequalities’) I’ve got completely sidetracked by something in the archive…
We have 17 issues of the local community newspaper Moss Side News from 1969 – 1978. They’re not in good condition (so I sadly won’t be taking them to the CoDE conference) but they are fascinating reads, revealing the burning issues of the time, namely housing (‘slum’ clearances were taking place), space for children to play and generally defending Moss Side against the bad press it got in the more mainstream local media.
This last point in particular has been an ongoing theme for Moss Side. The newspapers are part of a collection donated by Elouise Edwards, a longstanding resident of Moss Side who has spent her life working in, promoting and defending her community. The issues of Moss Side News sit alongside papers from of the Moss Side Defence Committee and ephemera from the Roots Festival – a yearly celebration of the diverse arts and cultures of Moss Side. Her material covers the 1960s to the 1990s, but there is no doubt this work must continue – I just put ‘moss side news’ into Google and the results, in the wake of last week’s Manchester Arena terror attack, give a woefully one-sided view of this proudly diverse and lively area.
The Elouise Edwards Collection will be available for public access later this summer – contact us if you’d like more details.
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4 replies on “Wednesday Finds: Moss Side News”
What about the old moss side adventure playground workers Tim Fergus Martyn goldstone Margaret audrey Taylor Vincent they used to take us camping it was only £3 per week all food was included that was in capel curig north Wales a would love to see some old photos somone somewhere has some
Hello,
When I lived in Whalley Range, directly opposite the Moss Side Press, I got to know Bob Jones who ran the printing of that esteemed newspaper for several years. I maintained contact with Bob when I moved to London but lost track later when I defected to Devon. Is there any chance you could put me in touch with him again, please?
Best wishes – John Bois
Hi John – No-one in the current team knows Bob Jones I’m afraid, so we can’t help you directly. I’ll mention his name to a couple of our community contacts next time I see them and get back in touch with you if they have any leads.
Hi John
Would love to know if you ever tracked down Bob or have details for him?
Many thanks,