3.2 CONTEXT

SADACCA and African-Caribbean Diasporic

In Sheffield, The District African Caribbean Community Association (SADACCA) was established in 1986 on the foundations of the Sheffield West Indian Association. The latter was initially founded in 1955 by the first-generation Afro-Caribbean migrants in the city, also referred to as the Windrush generation. The organisation expanded its reach to accommodate the influx of migrants from diverse African-Caribbean backgrounds but also to provide spaces for care activities for the community. Shortly after, community wellness groups, social clubs and support structures providing care services began to spring forth, and in response Sheffield began to acknowledge the growing culture and population, albeit passively and unenthusiastically.

When approached, the city leased the Wicker building, an old steel factory near the river and tucked away in the part of the city that was not deemed desirable for locals, to SADACCA and its community members to carry out their cultural practices. The building had previously been unoccupied for ten years and was in a state of severe disrepair. Community volunteers and the community Elders set out to create a space that was livable and that could host a range of activities as needed. These activities spanned health services, day care groups for elders and young children, Saturday school to impact knowledge, church services, a women’s support group, mental health associations, gardening and food classes and parties in the main hall. Thus, this African-Caribbean community occupied a central place in post-colonial urban landscape of Sheffield. The community subverted inequity, racism, alienation and colliding cultural differences to form a palpable space that Homi Bhaba would describe as; “something different, something new and unrecognizable, a new era of negotiation of meaning and recognition” (Bhabha, 2001).

The spaces and the practices within were borne in response to a gap in the infrastructure of care within the city and resulted in the creation of niche spaces; a ‘third space’ to accommodate a diasporic culture, one of hybridity. Bhabha (1994) explains hybrid identity and third space in postcolonial discourse as emerging from challenging the validity of an essentialist cultural identity imposed by the coloniser on colonised populations. It is the failure to establish a singular and universal sociospatial framework of identity for the ‘other’ that creates the indeterminate spaces of “disruption and displacement of hegemonic colonial narratives and cultural structures and practices” (Bhabha 1994; Bhabha 1996; Paul 1998).

The third space is a production of a culture that is familiar but with new

elements interwoven in the creation of new identities that celebrated the ‘before’, reconciled the ‘now’ and allowed the ‘new’ to form. This identity is “neither just this/nor just that” (Dayal p. 47). This identity has negotiated and translated the journey of interruption due to a diaspora motion, an original culture that can be traced to a ‘home,’ and a new culture that has ‘othered’ the body within its new space. The hybrid body has the potential of trans-culturation due to a counter hegemonic agency within it that allows fluid existence between different moments and, importantly, the ability of new subject positions to emerge within the third space.

In 2015, SADACCA’s board was reduced to three members following a complete termination in its funding by Sheffield. This reputation has been difficult to shed and consequently making it hard to secure grants for new projects despite partnerships with Universities (Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam) and other community groups. Coupled with these challenges, the SADACCA’s lease of the Wicker building is set to expire in less than five years - after 36 years of occupancy.

SADACCA has faced a challenge in progressing discussions with the city council and other government entities about their security of place. They understand that the loss of the Wicker building will widen the gap in re-conciling their identity and continue to fragment the sense of belonging of Sheffield’s diaspora communities.

To help alleviate these risks, SADACCA partnered with us (UCL BUDDs) to outline their priorities and propose interventions to maintain an ideal system of care. That included the following:

• Re-thinking identity of community members within space and framing a notion of belonging and value within Sheffield by re-affirming their contributions to the city.

• Secure the future of Wicker as an anchor for the production and provision of spaces of care.

• Develop a community partnership model that can be used by SADACCA and other organisations to support community members.