I’m battling the same structural racism my grandmother did

Elated, delighted, overjoyed, proud; and disappointed. 

I feel all this simultaneously when I think about how, in the 1970s, my grandmother – Betty Campbell – was Wales’ first Black headteacher.

Of course, I’m honoured to be related to someone who achieved such a monumental feat.

But at the same time: I’ve worked in education for 18 years, and I know the structural racism my grandmother faced in her desire to become a teacher – let alone a headteacher – is still very much present today.

Research conducted by the Education Workforce Council in Wales showed no Black Headteachers or Black assistant headteachers in Wales between 2018 and 2022; and just one Black deputy headteacher was listed during those years.

The EWC’s 2024 stats, meanwhile, showed there were no headteachers, no assistant headteachers and just one deputy headteacher in Wales who identified as Black/African/Caribbean/Black British.

That’s not to say my grandmother didn’t give us hope – she did. She changed the face of education in Wales, incorporating Black History into her school curriculum. Today, children are going on school trips to visit her statue and learn about her life, because of the legacy she left.

In fact, my grandmother gave us more than a ripple effect of hope. I’d call it a tidal wave of power and possibility in the face of structural racism.

My grandmother was born in 1934 in Butetown, Cardiff – one of the country’s oldest diverse communities – and although Butetown is classed as a ‘disadvantaged’ area, my grandmother would have described her childhood and upbringing as very rich and nurtured.

Challenges were experienced, but my grandmother would always describe her childhood as full of love, understanding, knowledge, cohesion and warmth. Her community was exceptionally tight-knit and she had support from everyone around her to thrive and excel. It was a community that prioritised heartfelt relationships, as she would go on to do throughout her life. 

She won a scholarship to Lady Margaret High School for Girls in Cardiff, where she expressed a desire to teach one day – but was told by a teacher that the problems would be ‘insurmountable’.

Thinking about my grandmother being told this, I feel heartbroken.

I was a deputy headteacher myself, for seven years. My mother and godmother were both headteachers; I’ve come from a background of really strong female Black leadership.

But I know being told that being a teacher is an ‘insurmountable’ goal is something that many young children from Black African and Caribbean backgrounds are still told today; if not verbally, then through lower teacher expectations. 

The overriding systemic racism my grandmother faced is still very much present; and it’s the experience of too many children today.

But my grandmother didn’t give up. In 1960, she was able to attend Cardiff Teacher Training College – where she was one of the first six female students.

After qualifying and teaching at other schools, my grandmother started work at Mount Stuart Primary School in Cardiff for 28 years, becoming its headteacher in the 1970s. 

Today, the Welsh curriculum is clear about its purposes, one of which is about children being informed and ethical citizens not only of Wales, but of the world.

That’s something my grandmother did long, long before it became official – because of her desire for equity to be realised, and her acute understanding of the importance of that.

My grandmother opened up so many people’s worldviews to different cultures, languages and lives; to the extent that she’s been linked to helping create Black History Month in Wales. 

I think that’s down to her vision for her school curriculum, and her sense of: ‘It doesn’t matter what your background is – you’ll be learning about the histories of people from a range of backgrounds. This is something all children need to learn about’.

This was a truly pioneering attitude in the 1970s, when there was very little understanding of the need for this multicultural approach. But flying in the face of structures and systems that have been – and are still – racist was never something my grandmother was scared of. 

She was part of the Commission for Racial Equality, and she ensured her students were taught about apartheid; to the extent that, when Nelson Mandela came to Wales, he sought her out to meet with. The current King Charles visited Mount Stuart in 1994 and my grandmother’s ability to connect with people from a range of backgrounds was a gift.

I was lucky enough to have 37 years with my grandmother; and my favourite memories of her are our family holidays together. We went everywhere; the importance she placed on global community was something she passed on to her family, for which we are grateful.

On these holidays, we’d just talk – often about our family history. My grandmother told us about how she fought long and hard to get recognition for the contributions that merchant seamen made to the war effort, for example.

My grandmother had a large family and was incredibly supportive and encouraging towards all of us; not to mention inspiring.

Her legacy of leadership has been passed to many in our family, too. We all think we’re coming up with something on our own; but really, we’re absorbing messages about self, and what we can do, from all around us. And, subconsciously, I think my grandmother showed us that we could see ourselves in these distinguished professional positions and deserved to take up that space. 

When she passed away in 2017, it was incredibly painful for all of us. She was such a well-loved, cherished person. But what a legacy she left behind – a legacy we, in her family, are all so proud of; and one that’s being lived out to this day.

It’s being lived out by the fact that, in 2019, it was decided that a statue of my grandmother – the first statue of a named woman, who actually lived, in an outdoor public space in Wales – should be built.

And I have no doubt that the anti-racist work going on in Wales today, including the Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan, wouldn’t be happening without her. 

The word ‘trailblazer’ gets used a lot; and it’s been used plenty of times in relation to my grandmother. 

But a trailblazer is, truly, exactly who she was.

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