Leeds West Indian Centre celebrates anniversary milestone

The Leeds West Indian Centre (LWIC) has been providing educational, cultural and social events and activities for the communities of Chapeltown and Harehills.

The LWIC will be marking its anniversary on Saturday, October 14, with a community event at the venue, which will include photographs from The Historic England Archive, capturing the centre’s opening event in 1983. They offer a fascinating slice of local social history with men smoking and playing dominoes, young children playfighting and a youth steel drum band performing.

The anniversary event - which will also feature speeches from notable community leaders and performances from local DJs and a steel band orchestra - will be captured by a photographer and added to Historic England’s Archive to complement the existing collection, giving a ‘then and now’ comparison. There will also be an opportunity for local residents to share their stories and memories of the Leeds West Indian Centre.

Aseye Negedu from The Historic England Archive discovered the images from amongst its online collection of 650,000 photos.

Aseye said: “I love these photos. They remind me of my own cultural background and I love that they are of people in action doing a variety of activities, which is less typical of our known collections in the Archive. The images for me reflect a historical moment in Black British history and illustrate why West Indian community centres were developed in different parts of the country during the early 1980s. I love the fashion, the hairstyles and the smiles and joy that is reflected in them too.”

Elaine Comrie from the Leeds West Indian Centre, said: “Saturday’s event will be a celebration of 75 years of family establishing our footprint in this nation and 40 years of cultivating a robust foundation here in Chapeltown, Leeds.”

The 40th anniversary event is on Saturday, October 14 from 11am to 4pm. Free entry. Leeds West Indian Centre, 10 Laycock Pl, Leeds LS7 3AJ.