Remembering the Broadwater Farm riots and their impact will be the theme of this year’s Lucel Tate lecture at the Hibiscus Elders Community Centre in Stratford on 29 October.

Hibiscus Community Centre opened in 1994 in response to the lack of social and leisure facilities for older African and Caribbean people living in Newham. It is home of Hibiscus Caribbean Elderly Association (HCEA) a charity which leased the building from the council. Over the last 25 years a it has delivered a full range of services reflective of Caribbean culture.

Founded in 2018, The Lucel Tate lecture seeks to contribute to the discourse on issues shaping the black experience in contemporary Britain, with a view to establishing an alternative narrative with which to inform public policy.

Slight in stature, quiet and unassuming, Lucy Tate was a significant person in her community. A retired maternity sister, she worked in Forest Gate all her life.

First Chair of the Association, her contribution to the development of black community in Newham saw the establishment of Hibiscus Community Centre and Hibiscus Sheltered Housing Project. Both continue to deliver services today.

Her lasting legacy however was her influence in helping to shift public policy in social care and housing away from the one size fits all to diversity in the provision of these services. The Association’s annual lecture in her name not only pays tribute to her memory but also seeks to build on her legacy.

During the pandemic face to face services were suspended.

However some services: day centre exercise classes and members’ monthly social gathering are now delivered online via Zoom. The suspension of business activities has hit the group’s finances. Donations are an important part of much needed income, so financial support in favour of funding raising projects would be gratefully received.

Contact: Clifford Hedley, Hibiscus Elders Community Centre, Buckingham Road, Stratford E15 1SW and email.

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