An important collection of interviews, revealing stories of Black lives in Stockport, has been preserved for future generations.
The recordings uncover the life stories of ordinary local working people, business owners, community leaders, and unsung heroes of African and Caribbean heritage.
Amongst their number are some higher profile individuals, including singer Yvonne Shelton, who has performed with Doves, Simply Red, Blossoms and Beautiful South and Florence Coke, who runs the popular Mama Flo’s Jamaican restaurant in Great Moor.
Some of the interviewees have moved to Stockport from countries such as Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, and Jamaica, whilst others were born and raised in the area.
The interviews – 27 in total – were recorded by young volunteers working with social enterprise Rising Stars [risingstarsnw.com], which offers creative industries experience to young people and Ebony and Ivory Community Organisation [eaico.org], which runs creative and cultural activities for children and teenagers.
The project, called Black Lives in Stockport, was supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and gave local young people the opportunity to learn skills including video camera operation, running focus groups and interview techniques.
Now, the interviews, along with a number of donated family photos, have been catalogued and archived for future generations by staff at the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre, which is based at Manchester’s Central Library.
The preservation of community projects from global majority groups has been part of a six year National Lottery Heritage Fund supported project called Coming In From The Cold.
The project saw experts from the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Education Trust support community groups to collect and preserve a range of material including oral and video histories interviews, photographs and papers.
The archived collection will be transferred to Stockport Library archives, when they are reopened to the public at Stockroom, a universal learning and discovery space at the heart of Merseyway, due to open at the end of 2024
Solomon Onaolapo from Rising Stars instigated the project. He said: “I’ve lived in Stockport since I was 16, having initially moved from Nigeria to London.
“I knew there was very little information in Stockport’s archives about Stopfordians of Black African and Caribbean heritage and the contributions they have made to the local area. I wanted to preserve their untold stories for future generations, so they could gain some understanding of how we lived in 20th and 21st century Stockport.
“One lady we interviewed, Eleanor Gilbert, unfortunately passed away shortly after we recorded her video. I hope it brings her family some comfort that part of her story will live forever in our town’s archives.”
Laila Benhaida, community archivist, Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre and Education Trust, said: “Through these interviews the heritage, culture and traditions that have influenced and shaped Stockport are revealed, and through the archive a legacy for researchers and the community itself has been created.
“Since 2018, we have supported over 70 different heritage projects from global majority community groups and have already taken in over 40 new archive collections.
“This will make the Centre’s collections one of the most significant in the UK.
“The Coming In From the Cold project has been important in that it has led to an increase in diversity of material in our public archives, both in terms of heritage as well as representation in Greater Manchester. It is also important because the material was collected through projects that were led and shaped by the communities themselves.”
Members of the public can make an appointment to view or listen to any of the Archives’ collections by emailing rrarchive@manchester.ac.uk or calling 0161 275 2920. The Centre requests 24 hour notice. Follow @AIU on X and IG to keep up to date with further new collections.
