News

The Leeds Black Elders Association were awarded funding by the Heritage Lottery Fund to deliver the Here To Stay Project which is a two year oral history initiative, that commenced in early 2008.  It aims to capture and preserve the memoirs and experiences of African and African Caribbean elders in Leeds.  It focuses on thier lives before and after they came to Britain in the 1940s onwards, and the contributions which they have made to society.

City's Black History Is Set To Be Recorded

Tuesday, 29 January 2008 00:00

Lottery funding of almost £200,000 has been channelled into Leeds to record and preserve the history of the city’s African and Caribbean people. 

Leeds Black Elders’ Here to Stay  Project is tracking the histories of migrant workers from African and the Caribbean in Leeds since the 1940s.

The Here to Stay Project will record and capture the memories and experiences of African and African Caribbean elders.

The project will focus on their lives before and after they came to Britain as migrant workers following the Second World War.

The Leeds community is being asked to donate items or copies of documents in order to have them displayed  and placed in the public archives for the benefit of a wider audience.

Experiences

The project will tie in with the National Curriculum and elders will visit local schools.  These experiences will be documented on a website, CDs, DVDs and in a book.

The grant will be used to employ two workers as well as sessional workers to record the oral histories.

Fiona Spiers,  Heritage Lottery Fund Manager for Yorkshire and the Humber, said:

“This is a fantastic opportunity to capture the histories of this community and bring them to  life for future generations.

“We are passionate about giving people the chance to explore their past and I’m sure the young people will be inspired by the stories of their elders.”

Yorkshire Evening Post Tuesday 29 January 2008