Archive of Opening the Gates

Andy Merrifield discusses the influence of Guy Debord and the Situationist International on the events of May '68.

The radical newspaper The Black Dwarf played a pivotal role in the British left in the late '60s. In this introduction to the magazine by Tariq Ali, it's editor for the first years of its existence, Ali discusses the influences behind the formation of the magazine and the role its played in the events of 1968 in Britain.

In 1969, The Black Dwarf published an issue on "The Year of the Militant Woman". Reproduced below is the centrepiece article of the issue, Rowbotham's powerful manifesto of women's liberation - an article which broke new ground on the left in Britain. As Rowbotham wrote later, "everyday details such as these were not part of the language of politics in 1969."