The black community’s ‘untold stories’ to be shared

The “untold stories” of black Caribbean communities are to be shared after a grant was awarded to a charity.

Northamptonshire Rights and Equality Council has been given about £235,000 by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to deliver Summer of ’76: Black Youth United by Reggae, Heritage and Resistance.

It will be a “landmark two-year project” to ensure the past is shared with future generations.

The group said that for decades the community had largely remained “absent from local history”.

Anjona Roy, its chief executive, said the funding would “preserve and make this heritage accessible for future generations – helping young people today learn from this self-organisation and cultural expression which aimed to resist discrimination”.

A woman smiling at the camera. She has long dark hair and is wearing glasses. She is standing in front of a banner. — Anjona Roy said the funding would help preserve the legacy of past generations [Northamptonshire Rights and Equality Council]

The group said: “For decades, the experiences of black Caribbean communities who helped shape the county’s cultural, social and political landscape have remained largely absent from local history.

“The stories of the young people who built communities, challenged racism, created spaces of belonging through music and culture, and organised for equality have rarely been recorded or recognised. This project will change that.”

It will collate memories and photographs to create educational resources, exhibitions, films, podcasts and community events and It will be a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to safeguard an important chapter of Northamptonshire’s history before it disappears”.

The project will tell the story of the Matta Fancanta Movement, a black youth collective that emerged during the late 1970s, and explore how young people used music, creativity and collective action to confront discrimination and create opportunities for themselves and future generations.

“Importantly, this is not simply about preserving the past,” the group said.

“The project will inspire today’s young people by demonstrating how previous generations challenged injustice, built resilient communities and created lasting social change.”

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