PROUD TO BE WHO I AM BLACK, A LONDONER AND A

Ordinary or Special? I have never thought of myself as exceptional or inspirational. I had also never thought of myself as great or an achiever. In fact, for most of my life, I doubted myself and my abilities because I have struggled so much and failed countless times. I know that many people in the world can relate with my story because all of us are fighting our own battles and failing each day. This is particularly the case for many Black people because unfortunately, we have generally had fewer opportunities compared to other races due to being oppressed for a long time. So sadly, it made little difference when we were suddenly given our ‘freedom’ (as though it was theirs to give).

Strangely, but unsurprisingly, under this freedom we have essentially just been allowed to exist without being given any reparations or compensation for the injustices and atrocities that we suffered. We have simply been told we are free to compete with people who are far ahead of us – people who benefited from our labour and enslavement. Of course, a lot has changed since then, and things are still changing. I currently believe that Black people now have opportunities which we need to seize…and seize them we will!

With that being said, I must admit that I genuinely believe that my story was ordinary and uninspiring. However, many people have told me that my story is actually quite inspirational and that I must share it to help inspire other people who are currently facing the same problems and challenges that I overcame.

MY STORY

The Struggle I have lived in London since 1965. Having lived here for so long, I identify it as my home. I attended primary school in London and enjoyed it immensely. Unfortunately, I performed poorly in secondary school because at the time, I was quite unfocused and playful. Consequently, I left secondary school with poor grades. After secondary school, I would search for and do different kinds of work but I kept getting one terrible job after the other. I tried everything - virtually everything – and nothing seemed to work. At one point I even became a stand-up comedian! Nonetheless, after a long period of searching, I eventually found a job and worked in charities as a PA and Facilities Manager. However, I was eventually made redundant at the age of 56.

A Twist of Fate After losing my job to redundancy, I started a tour guiding business at the age of 57. I am proud to say that fortunately for me, this venture has really taken off. Strangely though, a large part of my success is due to all the failures and pain that I suffered in the past. As if to add icing to the cake, at my current age of 63, my co-author Jody Burton and I have written a book titled “Black London: History, Art & Culture in over 120 Places.” The book involved three years of gathering information about places in London so that readers can easily identify and appreciate their Black identity. As a culmination of 3 years of our hard work, the book can be used as either a guide or a historical book. I am really happy that it has become popular among Black people – because it has achieved exactly what we created it for – the promotion of black pride, excellence and history in London. That is the message we set out to put across. So, after all is said and done, when you tell my story, let it be known that I am extremely proud to be Black, a Londoner and a natural born fighter.

PROUD TO BE WHO I AM… BLACK, A LONDONER AND A FIGHTER

BY AVRIL NANTON, AUTHOR AND HISTORIAN