Born Black in Dudley in the 1980's

My grandfather’s on both sides of my family migrated from Jamaica to Dudley in the 1950’s as part of the Windrush Generation. Unknown to each other, they embarked on the adventure across the Atlantic Ocean, landing on Himley Road that was well known for renting shared accommodation to young Caribbean migrants. Both secured employment in the steel and car manufacturing industries, working long hard hours in the Black Country’s murky factories.

Once their father’s had secured their own homes, my parents, both born in Jamaica, received a letter to join their families in Dudley. They arrived as children and grew up as part of Dudley’s 1960’s close knit black community. Young and in love, they met in the 1970’s and were soon enjoying the view from Eve Hill flats with their new born son.

By the late 1980’s, they were preparing for my arrival. They moved to a small, terraced council house in Lower Gornal that overlooked wild fields filled with wild buttercups and bluebell flowers, which we now know as Milking Bank. Journeying from Gornal to “The Buffery” after school on a Friday to be with my grandparents and my many aunts, uncles and cousins was a weekly ritual. Garnished with custard creams, orange chips, squash and Top of the Pops followed by Eastenders on the T.V, it was our usual noisy catch up. I loved to hear my grandparents tales about their homeland and secretly listen to the men’s loud Patio banter, batted across make shift domino tables.

The realisation that I was a part of a minority group came at a very early age. As I got curious about the outside world, I was immediately confused by the many strange stares, whispers and remarks made by others. I had always seen white faces on T.V, in books and shops however, I soon realised that my neighbours and peers hadn’t seen many dark folks like me. In 2011, Gornal’s ethinic minority population was at 3% therefore, I’m certain that in the late 80’s, we were the only black family in Gornal and I was definitely the only dark black face in my school presenting a difficult environment to navigate as a child.

My parents were hard-working, mum was a NHS nurse and my dad a retail manager. In 1996 they purchased a house closer to Dudley town giving us easier access to our community network. The first day in my new school was refreshing, I loved the diversity of Jesson’s C.E Primary school and was able to meet lots of other black children. Our head teacher, Mrs Griffiths, actively promoted our cultural development and creativity, ensuring this was weaved through every element of our curriculum, I loved been a part of the school’s gospel choir, playing clarinet in our junior orchestra and painting pictures of the garden from our sunny art room.

Moving nearer to Dudley town located us closer to the Claughton Centre previously known as the Sir Gilbert Claughton School. This served as a cultural hub for Dudley’s black residents, it gave me access their Black led Saturday school and an annual summer holiday programme where black children from across the borough were invited to learn and play together. Here, I was introduced to African dance, Steel Drums, Carnival costumes and Anansi folk tales. 

We also lived nearer to the New Testament Church of God Dudley, my grandparents became members of this church on arrival to the UK in the late 1950’s. Sunday school was a weekly ritual for all the grandchildren till my early teenage years, ensuring that we were in the orderly presence of black elders on a weekly basis, saturated with their stories, colorful ancestral songs of survival and praise.

By the time I had finished secondary school, it felt like the community vibe had withered, there didn’t seem to be much happening in Dudley for young people therefore, I embarked on a journey to explore the world outside of this “small town”.

University felt like a door way to global opportunities, however, my three year exploration of Marketing Management opened my eyes to the impact of consumerism, globalisation and our capitalist economy causing me to rethink my values. I graduated knowing that I wanted to use my business acumen to help empower people locally.

I delved enthusiastically on a 10 year journey into the social sector, discovering the complexities that people face with housing, employment, welfare and education services. Working in a variety of roles, I gained experience working front line with communities to Operational Management of regional services and Project Management in the West Midlands and in London, within the Public and Third sector. I’m passionate about all things strategic and love my role working creatively with leaders to help shape strategy, manage change and facilitate business improvements. In this season, I am curious about Project Management as a social collaborative practice, Organisational Development, Design Thinking and building Participatory Platforms.

Life has its strange turns, in 2019, I ended up back in Dudley with a fresh perspective and a few grey hairs wondering how I could share my skills and experiences to make a difference in my home town.

I now spend my days managing a variety of projects, writing and creatively re-imagining the future of Dudley's Black Community by developing the Afro Histories Dudley platform.

This Is Me Dionne Charlotte