Bradford Car Stories, a window into culture, class and identity

If, in the first sentence of this article, I use the word, Islamophobia, I have no doubt that many of you will simply move on.  But, bear with me.   We have published many articles about the financial and environmental benefits of classic cars, but we have not mentioned the cultural and social benefit of classic cars.

I live in a northern textile town and witnessed first hand the influx of migrants coming to work in the mills, hospitals and public transport networks.  I am sure that many of you saw this too.   I grew up in a multi cultural society and always took it to be normal.

For the last 20 years I have been involved in organising classic car events and it increasingly dawned on me the role those classic cars can have in integrating our society.   The shows I organised had an increasingly diverse visitor and exhibitor profile.   But it wasn’t just race, it was age too.   One of the greatest rewards of these events was to see an 80 year old white British man talking to a young Asian man about their shared passion for cars.  It isn’t our differences that bring together but our shared interests.  That doesn’t have to be cars, it could food, music or art.

As part of the Being Human Festival 50 modified cars were put on display in Bradford City centre to promote the sharing of car stories by different communities.  Dr Yunis Alam, head of the Sociology/Criminology department in the University of Bradford’s School of Social Sciences, has spent the last 20 years examining issues such as class, identity and race, and how they relate to a shared cultural narrative, in particular our love of cars.

At the event visitors were able to sit in cars and listen to ‘car stories’ told by the people in Dr Alam’s research, and share their own story in a car video booth.

Dr Alam said: “A lot of my research over the last 20 years has involved looking at culture and identity. Our love of cars, and in particular, the modification of cars, is a kind of common language that cuts across categorisations that are often seen as divisive, such as race and class – it’s an example of something that binds people together, like food, fashion and music.

“My working hypothesis is people prefer to get along, but over the last 20 years there has been increasing anxiety and worry about race and the differences that often end up defining who we are, especially at times of tension.

“What this day was about – apart from just bringing people together people who love cars – is looking beyond those differences, to a shared experience, and showing that, when you actually get down to it, our sense of belonging and identity – the things that we all hold dear, the things that actually matter to us – are often very similar, and sometimes the same. The car is a prime example of that.”

So, if you are applying for funding, or writing about the benefits of classic cars, then perhaps you should be including the way it reaches to many hard to reach groups such as young men and the elderly, the disabled community and provides an opportunity to promote issues such as mental health.   And if you run a club, perhaps you should be asking difficult questions about inclusivity and whether you could do more to embrace people who don’t look and act like you do.