Archive & Heritage
Preserving the record. Opening it to the future.
JAHA preserves, catalogues and interprets the James Alexander Personal Archive and connected histories of housing, migration, community action and Black British life.
StatusOngoing archive stewardship.
Related workArchive / Education / Legacy
CollectionJames Alexander Personal Archive
Why this work matters
A family-held record with public value.
The archive begins with the life and work of James Alexander, but its significance reaches beyond one individual. Photographs, documents, press material and family-held records reveal a wider history of housing, migration, community organisation and belonging.
JAHA’s role is to preserve that material responsibly while creating pathways for research, interpretation, education and future public access.
The record
Homes, documents and evidence of community action.
Public display
From family archive to museum context.
Material from the Alexander Archive has also entered public display. In 2024, a Trinity Housing Association team photograph from the collection was included in the permanent displays at the Museum of the Home, London, within the section on squatters.
Its inclusion demonstrates how family-held archive material can contribute to wider public histories of housing, activism and Black British life.
Family-held recordPreserved archiveInstitutional interpretationPublic history
Archive stewardship
From family material to an organised cultural record.
JAHA is developing a consistent system for identifying, cataloguing, describing and connecting archive material.
The aim is not simply preservation. It is to make relationships between people, places, photographs, documents, films and public history visible — while maintaining responsible stewardship of the original material.
Building access
A resource for research, learning and new work.
As the collection develops, the archive can support documentary research, exhibitions, education, publications, oral history, community engagement and future interpretation.
JAHA also welcomes knowledge from people and organisations who can help identify individuals, locations, organisations and events represented within the collection.
Contribute to the record
Help us identify, preserve and interpret this history.
We welcome conversations with archives, museums, researchers, community historians and people who may hold knowledge or material connected to James Alexander, Trinity Housing Association and the wider history represented by the collection.
Contact JAHA about the Archive