ACI History
Afrikan* Culture & Identity (ACI) work has been a lynchpin of the BREAD Youth Project since the publication of the Youth Work acclaimed "Equaliser II" - a guide to anti-racist work with young people in 1994. T his seminal publication set a basis for work with the marginalised Afrikan-Caribbean, Afrikan and dual/multiple heritage young people within Bristol.
The aim of ACI work within BREAD was to foster a sense of pride in identity and heritage for young people whose history and culture are not represented positively within the National Curriculum or the media. Young people within ACI were equipped with a sense of their heritage and contribution to world development so that they could become confident and achieving members of society.
The first few years (1998-2001) concentrated on work with Afrikan Young Men aged 11-25, the core group of young people being 11-19 years old. That project developed many successful initiatives, such as 'Nwabudike' (Son is the Father's Power) that looked at the role of the Black young male in decision-making, influencing organisational procedure and practice, challenging institutional racism and in the arena of politics.
By late 2002 Bread made a clear commitment to deliver Afrikan-centred youth work and to test the impact of that approach. The Afrikan Culture & Identity Team grew with a female trainee youth worker and culturally-specific and mixed gender work were developed and delivered by Kumani (Destiny - To Change Oneself).
Despite early hurdles there have been a number of successful developments and projects: BLING (Black Identity for a New Generation), Adisa, which means Each One Teach One (with Bristol City Council's Museum Services, Full Circle and The Mill Youth Centre), Hazika-Kujani (Intelligent Youth, for 8-11 years) and (through partnership work with Bristol City Council's Youth & Play Service) the Black Youth Forum (Uhuru Hala). All have emerged as groups or time limited projects under the broad umbrella of ACI, within Bread Youth Project.
* Afrikan is spelt in this way because of the reclaiming of Afrika after the result of the Portuguese invasion of Afrika, when the continent was subsequently spelt Africa. The spelling with a k is bound in the value of political empowerment.
Please note that the Afrikan Culture & Identity Project (ACI) is not currently active. We are seeking continuation funding.