Talk: Racial hierarchy in Edwardian Yorkshire: Bradford’s Somali Village of 1904, by Prof Fozia Bora

Contact Details:

Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, LS2 9JT

01133436100

Leeds Inspired

Talk: Racial hierarchy in Edwardian Yorkshire: Bradford’s Somali Village of 1904, by Prof Fozia Bora

20th November 2025

Part of the city of Bradford’s Great Exhibition of 1904, showcasing the city’s industrial and technological innovation, a group of 57 Somalis displayed their “culture” to the general public through building and inhabiting a “Somali Village” in Lister Park for six months. This talk explores a disturbing yet surprising form of cultural encounter, through a local and global history that has been forgotten, yet has much to teach us today.

Public talk followed by Q&A with Prof Fozia Bora, School of Languages, Cultures, and Societies, University of Leeds.

Find out more about the project here https://somalivillage.org.uk/a-somali-village-in-colonial-bradford/

This event is part of Leeds City of Languages. View the full event programme here https://leedscityoflanguages.leeds.ac.uk/programme/ to check out the wide range of events happening across the city.