I've raised £15000 to Open the Marcus Garvey Centre for Education in Handsworth, Birmingham
Organised by Harambee Organisation of Black Unity
Story
In 1974 the Harambee Organisation started the Marcus Garvey Nursery in Handsworth, Birmingham. It was one of the first Black led nurseries in the UK educating countless children until it closed in 2008.
As has happened to far too many community organisations, Harambee was in serious financial difficulties and a new board was put in place to keep the organisation alive. After merging with the Organisation of Black Unity in 2017, Harambee OBU is now is the position to take work forward and build up the organisation. For a full breakdown of the history of the work on the building visit Make it Plain
Education is a central part of the work and we plan to house the education department of the Organisation in the Marcus Garvey Centre. We will continue the legacy of providing Black education in the space and use the building as a hub to bring the community together to discuss, plan and provide Black education from the early years through into adult learning. A space for Black education is so important because of the systemic inequalities that we face in the school system
A system cannot fail those it was never meant to protect - WEB DuDois
We have started the work on the building and plan to have the ground floor of the building open soon. We have secured the building; ensured it is structurally sound; fixed the flooring; and work is underway on the electrics.
We have already spent £25,000 on the building on cleaning, security, internal walls, structural work, asbestos removal and the installing electricity. We are making progress but need support to get the building open.
The funds raised here will be used to pay for plumbing to be installed in the building and plastering, so that we can open the building to the public. Once open we plan to engage the community in the space and deliver educational programmes. which include:
A Black supplementary school, restarting the Malcolm X Study circle; being the base of the Harambee Organisation of Black Unity and; being a hub to bring together people interested in Black education. In the long term we are committed to the Marcus Garvey Nursery and also plan to start a Pupil Referral Unit.
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