Islington’s mayor, Cllr Anjna Khurana, at the official launch of The Black Cultural Centre in Holloway

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A NEW Black Cultural Centre has opened in Holloway, set up by the council following feedback about a lack of provision for black communities in Islington.

Jubilant drumming marked the launch on Wednesday of the hub in Hornsey Road, which is promised as a safe space for residents from black African and Caribbean heritage, and where four black-led organisations will each take up residency for three months over the next year.

The first of these is Black History Studies, an educational organisation run by husband and wife duo Mark and Charmaine Simpson.

Addressing a packed room at the lunchtime launch event, Ms Simpson said: “I believe it is very important for us to access spaces and take up space, especially in the UK.

“We’ve been here a long time – a very long time – and we have contributed in so much ways to this country, but we’re not going to wait for people to recognise that, we are going to recognise that.”

The group will offer educational programmes, a community cinema and black history walks.

Sapphire founder Jasmine Canon-Ikurusi

The other three pop-ups are Carib Eats, which brings people together through food and helps older people learn about technology; Go Africa, an organisation that encourages cultural pride; and Sapphire Community Group, which supports young people with issues including mental health, homelessness and unemployment.

Carib Eats founder Ali Kakande said she felt “so proud” to be at the centre, adding: “Carib Eats is more than just a meal.

“It’s connection, it’s community, and some people say it’s love. Come and see what we’re doing, and then you can tell me if it is.”

Sapphire founder Jasmine Canon-Ikurusi told the Tribune that the new centre was “everything she had ever imagined,” and that she was excited to support young people to believe in themselves, while Go Africa founder Anna Nije spoke about the importance of “a place that you can go to meet people that look like you”.

Islington’s equalities chief Councillor Sheila Chapman said: “We hear… that people from Global Majority backgrounds don’t always feel a strong sense of belonging, that you don’t always feel you’re being listened to. So this is our chance to say, this is where we all belong. This is where you belong.”

Several other council­lors attended the launch, including Holloway ward’s Jason Jackson who told the Tribune that the centre’s close proximity to the Emirates Stadium meant that it would not only serve Islington residents but “send a message out across London as a whole”.