British | Bajan
My Mother is from England, and my Father is from Barbados. As a child, I often felt like an outsider, different. But as I became an adult, I came to see my ethnicity as a positive thing. I like drawing on two different cultures. Being mixed-race is also much more commonplace now in our societies. It offers me different insights and a deeper understanding of certain issues and an instant connection with other mixed-race people.
My childhood combined both cultures. Art and literature were a huge part of my life. My Mother, an artist and teacher read us all the classics from Lewis Carroll to CS Lewis, passing on her love of literature to me. This led me to study the subject at university and become a journalist and finally an Editor. My Father educated us about his own childhood in Barbados. It included idyllic stories about the countryside with goats running around, but also tales of how colonialism impacted the island through slavery. He left Barbados in the 70s aged 19 to join the British army and spent 6 years stationed all over the world. It meant he had a genuinely global perspective on many issues. Afterwards he settled in London where he met mum. She was British but her own Mother was of Polish Jewish descent.
My parents were both very political. Politics was always discussed at home and we had friends who were mixed-race couples who had escaped apartheid in South Africa. I was always aware of racism and injustice and developed a love of campaigning from both parents. It’s the reason why I was drawn to working for Marie Claire magazine, which always felt like it covered global issues as well as fabulous fashion and beauty.
I have experienced casual racism at points in my career. Things have improved but we still have a long way to go to make people of all races and cultures feel comfortable in modern workplaces. Now I’m the Editor of @marieclaireuk. I’m trying to build a more inclusive and diverse workplace where everyone regardless of their background, race or sexual orientation can thrive. I’ve also worked hard to create content that is diverse and inclusive of all women.
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