As a young Black British woman living in Britain in 2021, I am grateful to live in a country where as a woman, I am free to have an education and be able to have a career.

At the same time, I feel very disappointed at the fact that Black people are still fighting against systemic racism and injustice.

At one point, it did make me feel a bit lost and confused about my identity and where I fit in as a Black British woman, with a Caribbean background.

I am second generation British, my grandparents came to the UK from Jamaica in the 60’s.

They had hopes and dreams of living a better lifestyle and also being able to help their families that were back home.

I have listened to their shocking stories of working in hospitals and being treated with complete disdain, being physically and verbally attacked on the streets by racists and other acts of racism that they faced, when they first came to the UK.

As much as I admire the strength and tenacity that my grandparents and the other Windrush generation had, I have at times felt quite frustrated and annoyed.  I feel that when they came to the UK and realised the racism that they would have to deal with, they should have jumped on the first ship back to Jamaica.

I believe that if they had gone back home, things today would be a lot different for their children and the generations that came after them. I truly feel that we would not still be dealing with racism in education, at work, being predominately stopped and searched by the police and so much more.

My personal experience of being Black and British has fortunately not been as harrowing as it was for my grandparents.

In my family we all grew up being proud to be Black.

As much as I knew that there was racism in the UK, I still saw myself as very much British.

As I got older I would meet people who would ask me where I’m from. I would say “I’m from here” (the UK), then they would say “No where are you originally from?” “Where are your parents from?” I would then say Jamaica.

Unfortunately I would later find out that Jamaicans don’t class Black Brits as being Jamaican and have had no problems letting us know this.

At one point, it did make me feel a bit lost and confused about my identity and where I fit in as a Black British woman, with a Caribbean background.

I have had to accept the fact that not only will I most likely never be seen as equal and welcomed by White people, but also from a section of my own race, which has been a disappointing reality.