A NEW documentary aired on BBC One Wales last night by Cardiff film-maker Liana Stewart titled Black and Welsh premiered - featuring Newport actor Alexandria Riley.
In the half hour documentary, Liana Stewart highlighted a collection of stories from across Wales about what it means to be black and Welsh.
Black role models
Liana Stewart talks about growing up in the 1990s when there were very few black role models on television - and not much is different today and there needs to be change.
Representation matters because it can shape how people are viewed by society and how they view themselves. It is important that we see more diverse stories.
Questions Black and Welsh people face
“Where are you from?”
Participants discuss how their appearance has meant that other people have invalidated their Welshness.
Welsh speaker, Jaci Cullimore, from Bethesda, Gwynedd, said she had people assume she is not from the area and does not speak Welsh.
Asking someone about their ethnic heritage can appear to just be a way to get to know someone, but receiving that question again and again can imply that a person does not truly belong in their country, just because of their appearance.
What should you say instead? Nothing. If the person wants to discuss their identity, they will do so on their own accord.
Alexandria Riley
We learned about actor Alexandria Riley, from Newport’s, experience of going to her first few acting jobs and being asked to do her own makeup and hair at work - thinking it was the norm - until she saw other people getting different treatment.
“Everyone else is rocking out of bed and having everything there for them," she said.
She also talks about The Tuckers, and how it was a turning point in her career - “There was no mention of race - nothing”.
Hair
Touching a black person’s hair without their permission - a common experience for the participants.
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Racial micro-aggressions may be a more subtle type of prejudice, but their effects can be damaging to the mental and physical health of the Black community.
They are often indirect, often unintentional expressions of racism, sexism, ageism, or ableism. They come out in seemingly innocuous comments by people who might be well-intentioned.
Gaynor Legall - who was the first black woman city councillor in Wales - talks about the pride she feels for her hair and how it showed who she was.
International Welsh model
19-year-old Laiqah Omar, from Cardiff, talked about working her way through the modelling industry and doing shows with fashion giants such as Prada, Tommy Hilfiger, and Chloe as a Welsh Somali woman.
In Black and Welsh, the conversation never shies away from talking about the uncomfortable and difficult situations people have been through, but also celebrates the humour, pride and ‘Welshisms’ familiar to all Welsh people regardless of background in this snapshot of a multicultural nation.
Film-maker Liana Stewart said these stories had led to the "most important film I've ever made".
"I'm hoping people will hear our truth and recognise we're just as Welsh as the next person.
"It just so happens that we're black."
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