The Black Diamond and Beyond

The Black Diamond and Beyond: Hidden Hands and Healing Lands

This is an innovative resource designed to inspire learners to explore the industrial past, present, and future of Wales. 

Through the lens of Glamorgan Archives’ records, the resource unearths hidden contributions across four themes:

• Natural Resources and Wealth
• Innovation and Ethics
• People and Places
• Health and Community Activism 

Central to this resource is a challenge to traditional narratives. 

The People and Places theme centres the roles of Global Majority heritage people, women, children, and animals, and is underpinned by two bespoke videos exploring the history of Black miners. These films illustrate the global nature of the 19th-century coalfields, showing how the world came to Wales just as Wales went to the world. 

The Innovation and Ethics theme interrogates who is celebrated or ignored in history. By exploring the ‘why’ behind these narratives, learners develop a critical lens while examining the necessity of ethically grounding innovation to ensure future community wellbeing.

Health and Community Activism celebrates the collective action that shaped a nation, highlighting Global Majority practitioners who pre-date the NHS. By reflecting on memorials, it invites learners to envision an inclusive landscape of remembrance that honours those historically overlooked. 

The activities are experiential and theme-focused to maximise cross-disciplinary learning and cynefin.