People in Harmony celebrates multicultural living and is the national charity for mixed race families, couples and individuals. For over twenty five years this interracial organisation has been providing advice, support and information not only to its members but to the media and to the wider public. People in Harmony produces a wide range of educational resources around the issue of mixed race, as well as organising regular conferences and workshops on this issue. It also arranges recreational events such as camping holidays and the annual picnic at the Notting Hill Carnival, where members can just get together for the fun of it

The group was set up at the beginning of the '70's, one of the bleakest eras of recent British history. This was a time of severe economic recession - massive unemployment, national strikes, inflation - the perfect breeding ground for fascism, especially as immigration was at its peak. People who looked different were ideal scapegoats and overt racism was rife. The irrational, emotional fires of xenophobia were fanned by the likes of the National Front and Enoch Powell. They preached race hate.

In fact, it was Powell's infamous 'rivers of blood' speech in 1971 that sparked the idea for People in Harmony. Particularly, his view that mixed race children would never fit in and would cause friction in the community. At least one woman knew Powell was wrong. Carol Kayira was married to a Malawi writer and they had two children. Carol's personal experience was that mixed race children are a bridge between communities and she was determined to speak out. She decided to write to Johnny Walker's Radio 1 programme and the producers invited her onto the show to talk about her idea for forming a group of like-minded people. The response from the public was overwhelming support and Harmony (as it was then called) was born in 1972.

Initially based in London, people joined Harmony from all over the country as well as abroad. Members shared experiences, and developed strategies for dealing with racism and prejudice. They challenged racists like Powell by pointing out the benefits of being part of a mixed race family and how lives are enriched by different cultures. They promoted cross-cultural respect and understanding. Conferences were arranged on interracial marriages and trans-racial adoption and fostering; the Multicultural Books for Children list was established; members went out into the wider community - giving talks to organisations like the Mothers Union, Health Visitors and the Racial Unity Society. Harmony was meeting a huge need. It provided a forum for people to come together and to be - outside of other's concepts of race, ethnicity and colour. Soon, local groups were flowering up and down Britain.

By 1981 a fund was started to buy a centre for Harmony. Carol raised money through donations, interest free loans and grants to buy a run-down property in Meare, Somerset. She moved in 1983 and, together with members and volunteers from other organisations, carried out extensive renovations to the building. Part of it was turned into a shop and other rooms were used for anti-racist training sessions as well as committee meetings. Harmony now had a home and a written constitution and decided to register as a limited company. However, the name Harmony was already in use, so members agreed to change theirs to People in Harmony, as it is known today.

In July 1985 founder Carol Kayira resigned for personal reasons and the centre was relocated to Southampton for a while. Members really wanted a base in London but the cost of property there was prohibitive. So they started looking further afield and eventually found a good compromise in Slough which is within easy reach of the capital. The current premises at 49 Ledgers Road, Slough were bought in 1991 and People in Harmony obtained charitable status four years later, in 1995.

A lot has happened in the quarter of a century since People in Harmony was founded. Multiculturalism has become a buzzword; the Prime Minister's wife has worn a sari; and the Queen of Hearts was in love with an Arab. As we enter the new millennium 40 per cent of 'black' British children have a white parent and this figure is rising. Yet, our institutions (the police, armed forces, health service, schools ...) have been shown to be riddled with racism. It seems there's a long way to go before we can truly call ourselves a multicultural society. Until then, those of us who cannot be defined in racial terms will continue to need a forum, and People in Harmony will still be meeting that demand.

Written by Ishraga Lloyd from information provided by Carl Palmer (Kayira), Krishnan Iyer and Val Hoskins