Black History Month 2023: Three Gloucester women speak on their important contributions to their community
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To mark Black History Month 2023 almost coming to an end, the celebration of the black community in Gloucester is important. Across the UK, June 2023 marked the 75th anniversary of the Empire Windrush arriving in the 1950s and 1960s in search for a new life in the motherland.
Black British history in Gloucester is all around for people to see and recently an audio production based at Gloucester Guildhall called ‘The Grip’ showcased the experiences of those left behind while Windrush elders came to cities such as Gloucester.
The theme for 2023 is Saluting Our Sisters, recognising Black women’s contributions to fields including literature, music, fashion, sport, business, politics, academia, social and health care.
READ MORE: Oxstalls Sports Park reopens for Gloucestershire tennis club
In Gloucester specifically, meet Philippa, Valerie and Audrey who all have their own stories to tell.
Valerie Simms
Born and raised in Gloucester in 1962, Valerie’s parents came to the UK in the late 1950s. Today she brings up three children and says she wants to give them an opportunity to explore their own background.
Setting up her own project called ‘Arts Diverse-City‘, Valerie says it came out of frustration because her daughter has learning needs which means Valerie is a carer to help her. The main priority for Valerie is to make sure there’s “the availability of art projects for young people with learning differences made the days endurable by helping the whole family focus on making something beautiful” and that “creative experiences should be available to everyone: young people and young adults and the senior.”
On Black History Month and Saluting Our Sisters, Valerie says: “Having to share what the arts are about is important to me and I want to capture a lot of the culture for our community. 2023 is 75 years of Windrush and I still don’t think the doors are open enough.”
“There are lot of things still not being addressed in Gloucester and we have to bring people together to have a better voice. Growing up in Matson was lovely and then going into secondary school was interesting and my emotions are a little mixed. I hope we can continue what we’re doing and to unite and work together and I do feel that the younger generation need role models.”
Audrey James
An experienced psychodynamic counsellor and psychotherapist with a private practice in Gloucester, Audrey James was born in 1960 and her parents came to Gloucester in August 1965.
Starting a career in psychotherapy because she wanted her community to have a sense of freedom, Audrey says it was a huge personal journey where now is the time to continue making a difference.
Audrey says that marking Black History Month 2023 means a particular focus on her profession because, “I know there’s an underrepresentation of black therapists and we are low in numbers of people from the black community coming forward to talk about mental health. We had a call to come to the motherland but we were not accepted and given the most dismal places to live in so there is a stigma within the community to open up when we’ve experienced prejudice.”
“Windrush 75 is a celebration and a commemoration but even my own father doesn’t speak of what happened and I don’t push him. I didn’t come to the UK until I was 6 years old and it was traumatic because I didn’t know my parents before and when I look back I masked a lot of my feelings but underneath there was a lot of pain. I hope my community can talk more and talk about the pain they’re carrying. For younger generations I wish they put they’re phones down and I would love them to focus.”
Philippa Smith
At three months old, Philippa Smith went back to Jamaica and today she’s a community producer, performance artist, director and vocal coach where Philippa founded Voice Academy Gloucester in 2017.
Her latest project during Black History Month called ‘The Grip’ involved a one-off, one-hour radio production discussing families, separation and the Windrush at Gloucester Guildhall.
Philippa said: “Windrush wasn’t something I grew up hearing about even though I knew my grandparents had travelled from Jamaica but I didn’t class it as Windrush. It means to me that people made a sacrifice, they were called to come and came to contribute to the UK. The Grip is another word for a suitcase back in the day so the show is about unpacking the grip and exploring the experiences the Windrush generation went through.”
Philippa adds that “Gloucester has a vibrant black community and it’s a diverse city. I hope that people begin to talk and tell their stories and own them. There’s no shame in our stories and I would hope that the younger generations can see a role model in us because their story is our story.”
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