Glasgow has a long and storied history, but too often the stories that we hear are those belonging to the rich and powerful men who write the history books. I set off to discover something new about my city by joining two very different tours that brought new perspectives. In this article, I share my experience with Glasgow Radical Tours.

This article is part of a two-part piece, "A Tale of Two Cities," published in issue 14 of the magazine, focussing on community action.

Words by Devon McCole | Photos by Miriam Ali

History is written by the victors. There’s no doubt about it, I thought, as I walk through the city centre with my tour guides, Katherine Mackinnon and Henry Bell of Radical Glasgow Tours. I was taken by how little I seemed to know about my own city’s past after reading it, but I soon remembered what my history teacher told me – history is written by the victors. In this article, which first featured in our Community Action issue, I’ll unearth the hidden and overlooked history of Glasgow.

“I think of Glasgow as quite a radical city. It feels like that’s always been the case but it didn’t happen out of thin air.” Katherine Mackinnon is one of the founders of Radical Glasgow Tours. She’s talking as we stand on the banks of the Clyde. She’s addressing a group of us who turned out for the tour one spring day: “This is where people arrived when migrating to Glasgow at the time when the Clydeside built most of the ships at sea. We wanted to start here first because in a city, everybody arrives at some point.”

Co-founder Henry Bell gestures towards the river: “If we stood here 120 years ago you would hear nothing but the deafening sound of ships and industry. Glasgow’s history involves a lot of imagination, but we have photographs we can show you for reference.” Sure enough, Katherine and Henry have brought along some archival materials to pass around including copies of old photographs, political pamphlets and, my personal favourite, a little red book of socialist hymns sung during the Socialist Sunday School movement from 1890-1980.

We walk along the Broomielaw, which we are told was the site of a race riot that took place in 1919. Upon seeing some of our surprised faces, our tour guides ask if we have ever heard of this event. Only a few hands were raised and, as if she were expecting this, Katherine smiles and says: “Not a lot of people have heard of the Broomielaw Race Riots, it’s a much darker side of our history that is often ignored.” Her smile fading to a more serious expression, she explained how a mob of white workers formed and grew as passersby joined them in chasing Black and Asian people looking for work down the Clydeside,“Only people of colour were arrested that day and put in what they called ‘protective custody’,” she adds.

“That same year the Battle of George Square happened. A historical demonstration led by the Trade Unions who were fighting for a 40-hour work week, it is celebrated part of Glasgow’s left-wing history. Glaswegians were seen as fighting against oppression, and they were.” Katherine said, “But it’s important we talk about the darker parts of history, because the race riots of 1919 tell us so much about the attitudes towards ethnic minorities in Scotland at that time. And, whilst there are some inspiring stories of resistance to come from that same year, they cannot exist without the context of everything else that was happening at that time too.”

After the Broomielaw we arrive at La Passionara, a statue that symbolises rebellion. Henry stops, explaining the statue's history, its remembrance of Scots who fought in the Spanish Civil War and its connection to Communism: “This statue is a symbol of rebellion. Conservatives in Scotland wanted to stop the statue from being built at the time. But it’s important to remember that whilst the woman sculpted was a Communist, she was also a Stalinist. We want to include this as a reminder to be careful who you turn into a hero.”

Henry, leading the group away again, said people often share their own histories and experiences with them on tours: “We always end up learning something new ourselves. We had a man on our tour who was involved in the restoration of La Passionara. Apparently it’s made of fibreglass and filled with old coat hangers and other scrap metal.”

Katherine tells us “Histories are often lost over time because the wealthiest and most powerful in society are often the ones to dictate who gets honoured, telling their own side of the story and neglecting the rest. The realities of everyday people are kept alive mainly through oral history.”

Henry, nodding in agreement, chimes in: “We like to add these unexpected anecdotes to our tours whenever we hear them because they add to our history.”

They led us to Nelson Mandela Place, where Mandela visited after his release from 19 years in political imprisonment. Katherine said “Nelson Mandela Place was actually called St George’s before the name change in 1986. The South African Consulate used to be here, so in an act of resistance against Apartheid in South Africa, the street was renamed after their most famous political prisoner instead.”

We pass through St Enoch Square, where socialist bookshops and publishing houses were established nearby. Finally we end in George Square, where we were told all about the Socialist Sunday School movement that has inspired their own Red Sunday School. The tour ends with an invite to the pub.

After the tour, I feel a profound sense of hope and pride, it was certainly designed to inspire as well as educate. Katherine and Henry were fair in their reflections, shedding light on lesser known historical events and weighing up all aspects evenly. Their passion for these ideas that have shaped the city shone through.

To find out more, visit: www.radicalglasgowtours.com.