The House We Built:
Community Housing In The African Diaspora
Wednesday 19 February
6-8pm
St Paul's, Bristol
Join Kinfolk Network and Decolonising Economics for an Inspiring Evening with The Medicine Project: Lessons In Black Economic Interdependence.
Welcome to the third instalment of The Medicine Project! This time, we’re diving deep into the powerful legacies of Black-led community housing movements and their ongoing impact.
Step back in time with us to 1985 and explore the story of Zenzele House—Bristol’s first self-build project. What started as a bold self-build initiative by Black activists became a transformative model of community-driven solutions, addressing the urgent need for affordable housing and shaping Black British economic history. Zenzele House was more than just bricks and mortar—it was a beacon of self-help, solidarity, and resilience.
Another alternative approach to housing self-support was the United Housing Association. Bristol’s first Black-led housing association. It was established in 1985 in St Pauls by Black community leaders including Owen Henry and Guy Reid-Bailey. It provided a roof for hundreds if not thousands of people of Afrikan heritage and other ethnic groups.
But what comes next? Guiding this vital conversation will be the Afrikan ConneXions Consortium, a visionary Bristol-based organisation dedicated to building institutions for Afrikan Heritage Community Self-Repair. They are continuing the legacy by creating Zenzele Village— a land and legacy intergenerational initiative for Afrikan community self-repair. This will be community-owned, run and managed.
This is more than an event—it’s a call to action for building sustainable, empowered futures. Join us as we celebrate the past, critique the present, and envision a liberated tomorrow.
Together, we’ll explore:
- The lessons of Zenzele House and United Housing, the latter now has merged with other housing associations, ending its journey from Black ownership.
- Strategies for governance, sustainability, and resisting co-option in community housing.
- How to utilise this knowledge to build a legacy founded on community asset ownership.
- How to adapt historic practices to modern challenges while staying true to the principles of Black liberation and self-repair.
This event is for and by Black people.
About the Political Education Series:
This political education series is designed for Black organisers and activists who are interested in dismantling capitalism but feel overwhelmed about the steps needed to create nourishing economic realities.
We’re calling on Black organisers and activists across the UK who want to engage more with solidarity economics organising, rooted deeply in our histories and cultures as African and Afro-diasporic communities. Through in person and online events, this political education series will take organisers on a journey of reclaiming and popularising alternative ways of dismantling capitalism, rooted in the tools of elders such as savings circles (Pardner, Susu, Ayuuto), squats, housing cooperatives, community gardens, labour sharing and much more.
Using the African oral history tradition, this political education series will foster intergenerational and international dialogue, seeking to create space for the diaspora to reconnect with practices that have sustained life and health - practices that resist and offer a pathway out of racial capitalism.
This Political Education Series Is Perfect For You If:
- You are a Black organiser
- You hate capitalism but don’t know what else is there
- You are new to economics and want to learn more about it
- You’re interested in mutual aid
- You’re looking to connect to Black activists from across the UK
Additional Information
- This event will take place in Bristol. The exact location will be shared with ticket holders on the morning of the event.
- The venue is fully accessible with a ramp and accessible bathrooms.
- There will be free food and drink available, with vegan options.
Here’s what we’ve got coming up this year:
📅 Global Exchange of African and Diasporic Solidarity Economy Practices on 26 March 2025 at 6-8pm GMT (online)
📅 Healing in Community on 3 May 2025 Time TBC in Glasgow