Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre


The Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre is 'one of Europe's leading specialist libraries on migration, race and ethnicity' open to members of the public as well as to students and researchers. It increases access to and visibility of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic histories with a growing archive of material relating to the local area. Its sister organisation, the [|Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Education Trust] offers advice, training, networking opportunities, project support, exhibitions, publications and events to help community organisations to record and share their heritage. The Centre is part of The University of Manchester and is located in Manchester Central Library, where it is part of the Archives+ partnership. The current head of both the Centre and the Trust is Dr Safina Islam who was appointed in March 2019.

History

Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre (AIURRRC)

The impetus to create the Centre arose from the need to find a home for the increasingly large personal collection of books and other material about race relations which had been collected since the 1960s by Lou Kushnick OBE, then Professor of Sociology at The University of Manchester. In discussion with colleagues, Kushnick considered donating the material to the University of Manchester Library, but decided he would like it to be readily available to people outside the University as well as to students and researchers, envisaging a collection that would ‘have huge research value, but also be instrumental in celebrating cultures and combating racism.’ He approached Professor Martin Harris, then Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester, who agreed to provide rent-free space to support the initiative.
The Centre was established in 1999, with Lou Kushnick as its first Director.
Initially based on the university campus, the Centre had a number of homes, including at the University of Manchester's Sackville Street Building. It moved to its present location in Manchester Central Library when that building reopened following refurbishment in 2014, making access to the Centre by members of the public more readily available than before.
The Centre is named after Ahmed Iqbal Ullah, a 13-year-old pupil of Burnage High School in Manchester, who was murdered in a playground incident in 1986. Ullah's death and the public inquiry into it highlighted deficiencies in UK race relations education of the time. The name was adopted for the Centre because Kushnick ‘wanted to send a signal’ and aimed for the material to be used ‘in outreach programmes to teachers in schools with limited resources a narrow curriculum encourage an environment where all children could flourish.’
The Centre and Trust's former Co-Director, Jacquleine Ould-Okojie retired in August 2018. She had been involved in the Centre since its inception and was previously the organisation's Education Coordinator.

Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Education Trust (AIUET)

The AIUET is the charitable trust linked to the AIURRRC. It was created in 2001 and is a registered charity governed by a board of trustees. It functions as the outreach arm of the Centre and delivers a wide range of activities and projects that include:
The AIUET receives funding from Manchester City Council and the University of Manchester. The funding is governed by a collaboration agreement between the three parties. AIUET has also been successful in securing National Lottery Heritage Fund grants for community heritage projects. These include:
The library has over 14,780 titles, with subjects ranging from culture, identity, history, politics and local studies. Collections held by the Centre include unique primary resources and extensive secondary resources on the theme of local, national and international race relations and migration. Approximately two-thirds of the library collection is loanable to anyone with a Manchester Libraries card. Reference only material is clearly labelled and can be studied anywhere within the library. Collection highlights include:
The Centre is a partner in Archives+ which brings together a number of organisations to provide a holistic range of archive and heritage services from its city centre location in Manchester Central Library.
The Centre's Archives include books as well as magazines, reports, posters, photographs, oral histories, personal and organisational papers and ephemera. Highlights are:
The first book published by the Education Trust was A Long Way From Home. It features stories, poetry and mini biographies narrated by young refugees and was published in 2002 in association with Save the Children. The Trust has since published a range of books for children as well as teaching resources for schools. These include:
With the Education Trust, the Centre holds, participates in and supports a range of activities, including theatrical, musical and literary events. It is particularly active during the annual Black History Month.