What Is Past Truisms?
Past Truisms is a Community Interest Company (CIC). All of our work is designed to support those who lack voice – both in the past, and in the present – in society today.
We originated in the North of England and we do the bulk of our work in defined, local areas. But we can count our successes locally, regionally and internationally.
What Drives Past Truisms?
We believe in the power of history, heritage and the arts. We are committed to overcoming the various – and many – false perceptions of one another, both as individuals and as communities.
We usually work with those who live in the UK and who consider themselves to be ‘British’. But we are not interested in peddling concepts that deliver nationalist sentiments. We want to help those who are still voiceless in terms of their heritage, identity and expression – however they choose to define themselves.
We carry out our work by using heritage and the arts as a method of fostering greater understanding, cohesion and friendships between different groups of people; those of us who may live in the same towns, but who would not normally socialise together.
Over the years, the professionals that contribute to the work of Past Truisms CIC, have found that those of us who come from disadvantaged backgrounds might differ in terms of our race, ethnicity, age, faith, gender, schooling, politics or postcode – but that we usually have two things in common; our shared humanity and the need to feel proud of our area’s heritage – or our collective legacies.
Education, new knowledge and empathy is the key. We can overcome differences and create a better future for the next generation just by learning about our shared humanity and values.
Who We Partner with – and Who We Represent
As we all age, there is a tendency to dismiss those who have not lived through the same history that we have experienced. ‘Snowflake’ accusations after all, are simply the 21st Century version of saying that ‘the Ducking Stool Never Did Me No Harm’. (*with thanks to the Monty Python Team.)
So, our work prefers to honour our ancestors, whilst having compassion for our descendants at the same time.
Past Truisms celebrates and revisits the history and the arts of the overlooked; the miners, the weavers, the navvies, the domestic servants, the brickies, the labourers, the traders, the grocers, the cotton spinners, the housewifes and daughters and sisters, the indentured, the slaves, the beaten, the abused, the mentally ill, the disabled, the societal-different and the inmates. Many of whom who did their best as individuals to educate themselves, but who were met with opposition at every turn.
Of course, we don’t have to agree on everything (in fact, life would be rather boring if that was the case!) but by working together to cherish our histories and to empower ourselves, we can overcome extremism, fear of ‘the other’, intolerance and hatred.
Why ‘Past Truisms’?
A ‘truism’ is a statement that is obviously true and not to be doubted; for example, the statement ‘you can’t win them all.’ Those of us involved with Past Truisms feel that many statements and buzz-words used in society – that are well-meaning’ – (such as ‘equal opportunities for all’) have now become so common that they have lost impact. In fact, in some cases, their use actually alienates the very people that they need to win over!
With this in mind, we design projects that unearth histories of places and people that have been overlooked in recent years. Our work is designed to inspire disadvantaged people to move beyond clinging to over-used truisms. We want to create sparky new ways of looking at the world and at each other; new narratives that shore up those who are the most down-trodden in society.
Work with Past Truisms
Since 2019, Past Truisms has been leading on the Robert ‘Reschid’ Stanley project. This is an initiative that brings together diverse groups of people, who would not normally meet or have dialogue with regards to their collective and different heritage backgrounds. We have also carried out a number of small projects, including the impact and evaluation of Holmfirth Arts Festival and running workshops for libraries in order to help families with overcoming ‘reluctant readers.’
During 2020-22, Christina will be carrying out the role of Writer in Residence for Kirklees. Throughout this time she will be doing her best to employ the approach Past Truisms and bringing people together using the medium of writing, reading and the art of storytelling.
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If you would like Past Truisms to come to your community, organisation or school in order to help you create a similar way of working – just get in touch. We love to work with different groups and to learn from one another