I moved to Bradford from my hometown, the Midlands, when I was 18, and I came to Bradford to go to university. I remember it feeling really dark going in through the front door and getting to another door, where you had to press a buzzer ... I did feel a bit unsure, but I also felt like I wanted to be with these people. So now I think I’ve found my people, and that felt really good. Fanny Accordian There was a level of diversity and inclusivity that you felt here, that it felt like a really safe space where you didn’t have to generally justify, or you weren’t on guard because you were overhearing racist comments from the table over the road. Steve Tandy I was really active politically down in Brighton and so the club, to me, reflected the values that I developed, and it felt like a safe space for me … it was somewhere I could go without worrying about it - like-minded people - and I didn’t have to constantly be telling people to stop being racist, sexist, etc. ... it was a wonderful environment for me to be with like-minded people and feel accepted and welcome. Emma Marshall I always look back at them times, and I know that people who were around me, irrespective of colour, creed, religion or whatever, when it came down to violence against me as a black person or an Asian person or whatever, they stood in the front line. They stood in the front line to protect me and everything like that. So, you know, I really value that time. Aki Nawaz it has fond memories… a place that agitated, a place that spoke for a lot of people that otherwise didn’t have a voice. They were disenfranchised or disheartened or just something else. Derek Simmonds
PART TWO: A PLACE OF COMMUNITY
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