News

The need for specialist black and minority ethnic led housing associations

28 January 1992

These are the comments of Louis Julienne, the then Director of the Federation of Black-led Housing Associations after a race & housing conference held in Glasgows Mitchell Theatre to BBC Reporting Scotland. Through his efforts, working with Robina Qureshi, who was then employed by the SFHA, sufficient pressure was put on then then Scottish Homes to ring fence £8M towards house building targeting the specific unmet needs of people from BME communities across Scotland.

"There's a need because black and minority ethnic people have been excluded, both as tenants and in employment, by housing associations and, by forming black-led housing associations then you can guarantee that these associations will be much more sensitive to the housing needs of people from black and minority ethnic communities in the way that mainstream housing providers haven't been.

"But what black-led housing associations will not do is provide accommodation exclusively for black communities  - they will provide housing for all those in housing need, without forgetting they will be more sensitive to the housing needs of black people than other housing providers have been.”

Louis Julienne, Federation of Black Housing Organisations

BBC Reporting Scotland 28 January 1992

**April 2022: As a fifth generation black Liverpudlian, Louis Julienne understands just how important it is to know your history.

Elizabeth Clark, his great, great grandmother, was a free slave who left North Carolina, travelled to the Bahamas then made a home in Liverpool. She became a servant in the port city and began the “dynasty” of which 75-year-old Louis is a proud member.

While Louis was well aware of his own family’s history, he discovered the stories of black people who lived and worked in a city – once a hub for the transatlanic slave trade – were largely untold. That’s why, 7 years ago, he co-founded the Heritage Development Company Liverpool (HDCL) with fellow trustees Albert Fontenot and Ray Quarless. The project, which is supported with National Lottery funding, is devoted to bringing Liverpool’s black history to life.

 Louis’ effort has been recognised with a well-deserved nomination for a 2022 National Lottery Award. Describing his excitement at being nominated, he said, “I’m very pleased about that. It really helps to put the HDCL on the map.”

Fortunately, the project’s future was guaranteed with the help of a grant from The National Lottery’s Emergency Fund. Louis said, “The National Lottery funding has brought us back from the brink, allowing us to amplify the stories of our community that need to be told.”

 

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