Black History Month: political lobbies for change

Dr Nazia Khanum, who was a member of the group and the head of Tower Hamlets’ race and housing team, was instrumental in the commissioning of a research study into housing management practices in the borough.

What Price Equality, by Dr Deborah Phillips, examined the allocation policies of the council and the reasons for the “unbelievably high” levels of racial harassment that were occurring in the borough at the time. The report also disclosed the prejudiced attitudes of housing officers, which were “staggering”, Dr Khanum recalls.

The Federation of Black Housing Organisations

One of the most important examples of Black activism and pressure within the housing association sector was the Federation of Black Housing Organisations.

In the early 1980s, the manager of a hostel for homeless Black youth in Reading set up a forum for colleagues working in the same field, to combat the discrimination and exclusion faced by young Black people. The group of hostel workers began meeting regularly and soon other Black workers in housing joined their number.

Louis Julienne, who initiated the forum, originated from Liverpool 8 and as a result of his work there, knew all too well the impact of police harassment, discrimination and exclusion on Black youth – low self esteem, dependency on the state and/or criminality. His personal objectives were “self-determination, independence and advancement for Black and minority ethnic people’’.

By 1983, the forum of hostel workers had expanded to include not only other Black and minority ethnic people working in housing, but also one or two of the early Black-led housing associations and other organisations concerned with tackling racial inequality in housing. In the same year, the forum formally established itself as the Federation of Black Housing Organisations (FBHO), with Mr Julienne as its director.

At that time, the FBHO’s central concerns were around the promotion of an independent Black housing sector and the involvement and advancement of Black and minority ethnic people who were working (voluntary or otherwise) in the social housing sector. The early leaders of the FBHO were founding members of black and minority ethnic housing associations.

“The rationale was that these organisations could better respond to the needs of their communities, [and] would provide a vehicle for the employment and development of Black people within the housing association sector”

The FBHO’s first chair, the late Jack David, was a founder member of Harambee Housing Association in Birmingham, which later became Handsworth Single Homeless Housing Association. Its second chair, Tony Soares, had founded Ujima in London. Under the stewardship of these two men, the FBHO began to formulate a constructive and coherent argument for the promotion and establishment of housing associations controlled by Black and minority ethnic people.

The rationale was that these organisations could better respond to the needs of their communities, would provide a vehicle for the employment and development of Black people within the housing association sector, and critically, associations controlled by Black and minority ethnic people would bring independence and empowerment to those communities.

According to Leslie Laniyan, an active member of the FBHO who later became its fourth chair: “We were professionals in the sector. We knew the system and we knew the issues that faced our people. There was such commitment, passion and energy… we just wanted to make a difference for our communities.’’

The FBHO also spearheaded the development of positive action training in housing (Path). The model for Path was Merseyside Skills Training (MST), a charitable organisation established in 1983 with the objective of providing professional, administrative and technical training for Black people over 19 years old. MST’s first scheme provided trainees in social housing with placements at eight local housing associations.

Mr Julienne had developed a close association with MST, and saw that there was considerable scope for the expansion of positive action training in social housing. The first Path scheme started in Yorkshire and the model (and name) was soon replicated in Bristol, the East and West Midlands, London and Manchester due largely to the efforts of the FBHO.

“There is little doubt that the FBHO played a pivotal role in the establishment of a ‘black housing association movement’, and the significant expansion of positive action employment initiatives across the housing association sector”

The FBHO was a vibrant pressure group, with tremendous energy, drive and vision. But, as with many voluntary organisations, it never secured consistent core funding. Cash was always an issue, which, in its later years, affected its ability to pursue its objectives strategically.

The FBHO’s raison d’être was the establishment of housing associations controlled by Black and minority ethnic people. When the Black housing association sector became established, the FBHO was no longer seen as relevant. However, there is little doubt that the FBHO played a pivotal role in the establishment of a ‘black housing association movement’, and the significant expansion of positive action employment initiatives across the housing association sector.