Written by Ellie McManus
Tucked away in Whalley Range is a building shaped by decades of resistance – one that has housed generations of activism, care and community. As someone who has lived and worked a stone’s throw away from the area for years, I’m only just discovering the story of the Nello James Centre, but learning about its legacy has revealed urgent truths about the present and how vital it is to protect our communities, and the spaces they call home.
A Radical Past Hidden in Plain Sight
The Nello James Centre (named after C.L.R James, a Trinidad-born historian, political activist, and leading figure in the pan-African movement), was once a thriving hub run by the community, for the community. The centre served as a legal advice centre, education space, print workshop, nursery, youth club, African dance centre, and social gathering point. It was a place where activism took root and ordinary people did extraordinary things – a testament to self-determination, mutual aid, care and strength in people coming together.
But like so many vital community spaces in Manchester and across the UK, the Nello James Centre has been falling into disrepair and slipping out of public hands. As part of my role as Communications and Engagement officer at Rekindle, I had the opportunity to work on Rekindling Nello James Project, alongside project lead Bianca – focused on unveiling, platforming and capturing the stories of the Nello James Centre. Whilst working on the project I had the pleasure of listening and transcribing the audio from the very first Project steering group meeting. The powerful and meaningful discussions really drove home that we are here to rekindle the conversations around the centre politically, emotionally and historically.
The centre of the project is all about holding sessions with community members, organisers and original members of the centre, gathering stories, reconnecting the threads of local history, and opening conversations about what comes next. In Bianca’s words: “Let’s come together as a community,”…“and try to unpack the layers that led to its breakdown, to stop the cycle from happening over and over.”
The Hidden History on Our Doorstep
Stepping into the history of the Nello James Centre and the surrounding community has been both powerful and eye-opening, and has made me question how such vital history could be so absent from public memory, while being so alive in the memory of the community that it once served. In recent months, I’ve also learned more about the building that now houses Rekindle School – once the home of the Abasindi Co-operative, a radical Black women’s collective whose legacy still resonates within its walls. Like the Nello James Centre, their work wasn’t simply about delivering services – it was rooted in empowerment, dignity, and joy.
Attending the launch of the Kath Locke Heritage Project exhibition (still ongoing, and well worth a visit) made it clear just how deeply this part of Manchester – Moss Side, Hulme, Whalley Range – is built on collective strength and people power. The stories I’ve encountered through this work highlight how we must protect our community spaces, as well as the connections, care and self-determination that shapes them. In a city where so many longstanding community spaces are vanishing to make way for development, the loss is visible, and the grief is collective, ongoing, and deeply felt.
Keisha Thompson attended the Nello James Centre as a child and described it as a ‘hub for the community’. During the first community steering group we held, Keisha said that: “to watch it deplete and degrade and become derelict is heartbreaking.”
Memory Meets Action
Before jumping into important decisions regarding the Nello James Centre, I saw Bianca and team take the time to listen to community members memories, and absorb themselves in researching The Central Library’s archival resources linked to the centre. I’ve been struck by the fierce belief and insistence on community power, from those who have reached out with links to the centre.
In another steering group meeting, Jackie McNeish declared, “We’ve got to stop giving away our power.” And Siarka Murisanga added, “You always hear ‘somebody should do something about that,’ but you’re somebody. Everybody is somebody.” These conversations are about possibility and power, not just nostalgia.
What’s Next?
We don’t yet know what the final outcome will look like; the challenge ahead is huge – navigating complex systems of ownership, development, and power. But what we do know is that in reconnecting with this powerful local history, we are already witnessing a community beginning to reassemble. There is a growing energy in reconnecting to this history and bringing people back together. As shared spaces disappear, we’re hearing voices that have long been shut behind closed doors, stories of struggle, resilience, resistance and joy. This is about the past, present and future.
Spaces like the Nello James Centre remind us of “the power we have as people” – Jackie McNeish. They show us that the buildings may be brick and mortar, but what really holds them up is community. This history reminds us that spaces made by the people must stay with the people. And that history doesn’t belong in glass cases, it lives in our streets, our conversations, and the buildings we fight to protect.
Join us: Want to get involved or share a story connected to the Nello James Centre? Email Project Lead, Bianca at: bianca@rekindleschool.org