Shire Hall Historic Courthouse Museum’s first temporary exhibition, Journey to Justice was launched at a VIP event last week, alongside a local response piece, Radical Dorset. The new exhibition shines a light on every day people’s fight for justice, both in Dorset and in the US.
Young volunteers who had contributed to Radical Dorset, alongside local groups working with race and equality, museum staff, the mayor of Dorchester and the Journey to Justice team gathered to cut the ribbon on the new exhibition in Dorchester. The travelling exhibition, which will be on display until August 31, features the lesser known stories of the fight for equality and justice during the US Civil Rights movement.
Young people from Dorset worked alongside staff at Shire Hall and the Dorset History Centre to research Dorset’s fascinating history of protest. They uncovered stories including the intriguing Robert Wedderburn, the son of a Jamaican slave and Scottish Jacobite who was incarcerated in Dorchester gaol for speaking out against slavery.
Holly Anderson, aged 17, from Weymouth, said that being involved in creating Radical Dorset had been “incredibly interesting.”
She said: “It was really insightful, seeing and un-earthing local history which I had no idea of!
“Collecting, researching and using source material from the local history centre as part of a team was unlike anything I had done before; and then later collating that in response to the exhibit was not only fun but gave me insight into the life of a historian.”
She added: “As a consequence, I feel more educated about where I live and the lives of our predecessors, and how justice and the struggle for it is prevalent in all aspects of society – even in ‘quiet’ Dorset!”
Director of Shire Hall, Anna Bright, thanked everyone involved in Radical Dorset for their hard work in bringing to light Dorset’s intriguing past. She said: “Everyone worked so hard and it is wonderful to have these two histories of protest – in the US and the UK – as part of our first exhibition.
“Both show people taking a stand, putting themselves on the line and making their voices heard against ill-treatment. Our motto here at Shire Hall is ‘If we put our voices together, we will be heard,’ so this exhibition is very close to us.”
Journey to Justice founder, Carrie Supple, said: “Journey to Justice is delighted and honoured to be part of the stunning Shire Hall Historic Courthouse Museum as their first temporary exhibition. The stories they tell, of Dorset’s struggles for human rights led by ‘ordinary’ people fit perfectly with our mission – galvanising visitors to take action for social justice today.”
Entry to the Journey to Justice and Radical Dorset exhibitions is free and the temporary exhibitions run until August 31.
The museum is open every day from 10am to 5pm. Entry to the permanent exhibition (including the cells and courtroom) is £8.50 for adults, £4.50 for children and £20 for a family, which includes an annual season ticket giving visitors unlimited free returns for a year. For more information visit www.shirehalldorset.org, find the team on Facebook @DorsetShireHall, Instagram @shire_hall_dorset and on Twitter @ShireHallDorset.
