Hackney Residents 1980s-90s & Colin Roach Centre Users - Memories

What do you remember about the Colin Roach Centre? I’ve been researching Hackney’s history for a long-form non-fiction project and recently came across something I hadn’t seen before. Among the documents released through the Undercover Policing Inquiry is a Special Branch report from 1985 showing that the campaign for an independent inquiry into policing in Hackney following Colin Roach’s death was itself being monitored by Special Branch. That sent me down a rabbit hole into the origins of the Roach Family Support Committee, the independent inquiry, and eventually the Colin Roach Centre. I’m now trying to build as complete a picture as I can, so I’d love to hear from anyone who remembers Hackney during this period. Whether you were directly involved, remember the demonstrations, spent time at the Colin Roach Centre, heard stories growing up, or just remember what the atmosphere in Hackney was like in the 1980s and 90s, I’d be really interested to hear from you. I’ve written up what I’ve found so far here if anyone’s interested: https://open.substack.com/pub/onceuponatimeinhackney/p/colin-roach-centre-inquiries-official?r=83lnus&utm\_medium=ios Equally, if anyone has photographs, leaflets, newsletters or other material from the period, I’d love to hear from you.