TELEVISION: Discussing growing up brown in Cornwall with ITV Westcountry

I was fortunate enough to have been contacted by ITV West Country to appear in a piece about the experience of growing up as a Person of Colour in Cornwall. 

This was a really important opportunity for me to express the isolating and difficult moments that come as a given being in the very small BAME community in Cornwall. I didn't have any other brown or black children in my class at primary, or secondary school, and there were maybe 10 or 15 students from ethnic minority backgrounds in my whole secondary school. 

I have only just started to process the damaging effect this had on my sense of identity. Even in the absence of racism and micro-aggressions, a lack of belonging is a very difficult concept to manage as a young person, particularly as a teenager.  

It was incredibly beneficial to be able to talk to my peers in such a candid, authentic way. I have high praise for Lucy, the producer, who allowed us to speak freely with a respectful guidance through questions. We all found the conversation to be deeply therapeutic, finally in the presence of peers we had been for such a long time without. The conversations (there were two) lasted for over an hour each, and hopefully more content will be shared soon.

Watch the interview here.