Matthew O’Brien is a PhD candidate at UCD’s School of History. His research project entitled, “Political Education and Black Power Grassroots Activism in Chicago, 1968-1983,” has been sponsored by numerous funding bodies including the Fulbright Commission, the Irish Research Council, and the British Library, among others. Focusing on how African American activists in Chicago challenged traditional power structures to improve their day-to-day lives through a series of innovative and revolutionary techniques, this project draws on the labours of community driven action and leadership, using a vast quantity of primary material collected from archival collections across the city of Chicago as well as interviews with former members of the Illinois Black Panther Party. Matthew is also the treasurer of the Oral History Network of Ireland, where he also serves as the Graduate Officer, attempting to broaden the organisation’s student outreach.