A mosaic co-designed by local school children commemorating the history of protest movements has been unveiled in Barking.
The ceramic celebration of the fight for social justice has been installed at a site known as the Three Lamps – which was a meeting place for early trade unionists and suffragettes by Abbey Green.
The mosaic – which features artwork commemorating the fight for women’s rights, sexual, and racial equality – was created by artist Tamara Froud and pupils from St Margaret’s school and is part of a heritage project delivered by Be First, Barking and Dagenham Council’s regeneration arm.
Councillor Darren Rodwell, Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council said: “Barking and Dagenham has led the way on the fight for equality and social justice from the suffragettes to the famous women strikers at Ford’s.
“The struggle for a fairer society continues and judging by this magnificent mosaic it’s clear our young people will continue Barking and Dagenham’s proud tradition of leading the way in the fight for a fairer society.”
Tamara Froud said: “I am delighted to help create the Barking Heritage Trail. It was especially brilliant to work with the children of St Margaret’s school to realise their ideas old and new, about protest. My thanks to Simone Panayi for bringing the history alive so brilliantly in the design sessions.”
Simone Panayi, Be First’s heritage officer, said: “We’re really proud of the borough’s protest heritage. And thanks to the support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Tamara’s wonderful mosaics we can shine a light on the borough’s role in the fight for social justice and importance of the Three Lamps.”
