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Communities of Liberation

Communities of Liberation is a historical research and public art project which aims to increase awareness of the long history of the African presence in the borough of Tower Hamlets, by focusing specifically on excavating and sharing stories of individuals who lived here in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The aim of the project is to identify the places, spaces and networks in which African people lived, worked or socialised during the period of operation of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Rather than focus on exceptional individuals - eg those who published their life stories or were abolition activists - the project will locate names, stories and experiences of everyday life of working Londoners, and map them to specific locations in present day Tower Hamlets. We are especially interested in the buildings and spaces - homes, taverns, places of worship - where ‘working class’ African people would gather, meet and coalesce as a community.

Co-producers in reading room with maps
Communities of liberation logo of west india docks

Project Blog

Updates from the project so far 

Communities of liberation logo of west india docks

Exhibition

Exhibition Opening Times 

Tower Hamlets Town Hall

160 Whitechapel Road, London E1 1BJ

Until Saturday 29 March 2025

Opening hours

Monday-Friday 9.00am-6.30pm

Thursday until 8.00pm

Saturdays during events

Sundays closed

Communities of liberation logo west india docks

Audio Content

Listen to a collections of interviews and creative pieces from the exhibition 

communities of liberation logo

Events Programme

communities of liberation logo

Podcast East End History in An Object – Communities of Liberation Edition

In this episode we look at an archival record, a Day Book of Baptisms at the church of St George in the East, 1786-1790 – Reference Number L/SGE/B/1/11. This unique record is evidence of people of African Heritage living in the East End over 230 years ago. Communities of Liberation is a historical research and public art project which aims to increase awareness of the long history of the African presence in the borough of Tower Hamlets, by focusing specifically on excavating and sharing stories of individuals who lived here in the 17th and 18th centuries