Black History Month: What's it like growing up as a young black person in Gloucestershire?
20-year-old Jordan Cameron says he suffered racial abuse when he lived in Cheltenham but is now able to embrace his heritage in Gloucester
Growing up anywhere in the UK as a young black person presents all sorts of difficulties.
But being brought up in a semi-rural and predominantly white community in Gloucestershire produces a whole other myriad of hardships that may not be experienced in more culturally diverse and urban areas of the UK.
Greatest Hits Radio Gloucestershire were given an exclusive insight into the personal experiences of 20-year-old Jordan Cameron, a young black guy growing up in Gloucestershire.
"When someone doesn't smile back at me I wonder if it's because of the colour of my skin"
Jordan has lived in the county his whole life, first living in Cheltenham and then moving to Gloucester when he was in his teens.
Unfortunately, he struggled at school and during his GCSEs, which is why he's now completing a Level 2 course with the Princes Trust, after doing his Level 1 a couple of years ago.
Jordan said, "Education was always a tricky one for me. I struggled with a lot of mental health issue during the last couple of years at school. So to say I was dedicated to the education system would be a lie
"But now I'm trying to rescue what I lost from my education and prove to myself that I can do this course and achieve something", he continued.
So what is it like growing up as a young black person in Gloucestershire?
"One thing I will say is there is a massive difference growing up in Cheltenham compared to growing up in Gloucester.
"When I was 6 or 7-years-old I had my first experience of racial abuse. An old man on the estate I lived on called me the N word in a really aggressive tone.
"I didn't really understand it and when I told my mum, she was obviously really angry, but still I didn't really understand", Jordan explained.
Jordan also experienced racial abuse at his primary school from another pupil.
"I just remember them calling me a s**t-bag on wheels. I don't know whether that was in reference to the colour of my skin, but that's definitely the way I took it", he recalled.
As Jordan grew up, his experiences with racial abuse continued in Cheltenham. He explained how he's confused when he smiles at someone on the street but they don't smile back.
"I just wonder if it's because they're thinking that I'm a chav, or if it's because of the colour of my skin. And it's a really horrible thing to have to question", he said.
Despite having these traumatic experiences that have evidently stayed with Jordan throughout his life, his life in Gloucester is very different.
He's now part of a larger black community and is able to embrace his Jamaican heritage - and is actively encouraged to do so.
"If we had better black history at school then there wouldn't be the need for a Black History Month"
He explained, " I can now go to the Jamaican club and see my family. I love the food - you can't beat a bit of jerk chicken and rice and peas.
"You hear an amazing range of music from reggae to dancehall - and everything in between as well. Also the grandmas with their tambourines at black church is incomparable to the experience at a white church.
"It's small things like that though that make me feel part of something", Jordan continued.
In the UK, research shows that unemployment rates are far higher amongst people a minority ethnic background. In 2018, 7% of people who were unemployed were from a BAME background, compared to 4% of unemployed people who were white.
Of that 7%, black people had the highest unemployment rate out of all the minority ethnic backgrounds at 9%.
The odds for Jordan to find employment are a lot lower to his white counterpart, but Jordan explained that he doesn't intend for this to stand in his way of succeeding in life.
"If I wanted to go out and start my own business, then there's nothing stopping me from doing that. If someone wanted to do that who was white, there's nothing stopping them as well.
"We'd both still have to put in the same hard work to start a business and I believe we only block ourselves off when we use that statistic", Jordan added.
Jordan's positive outlook on life is refreshing. His pragmatic and optimistic understanding and perception of racial inequality in the UK is definitely something people could learn from by beginning to confront these issues with a positive mindset.
"We first have to accept ourselves and our own culture, then no one else really has a choice not to"
Jordan believes that moving forward, education is key to combatting racism. He recalled a white-centric national curriculum that is in need of decolonising, to introduce more black voices to how and what we learn.
"At school we would look at how Hitler was guilty of causing genocide, but would ignore colonisation and slavery.
"I think the national curriculum is ignorant to black history which is why it needs to be integrated better.
"If we had better black history at school then there wouldn't be the need for a Black History Month", Jordan expressed.
There's certainly a long way to go to wipe out the racial inequalities that undeniably exist within our society in the UK in 2020.
The death of George Floyd yet again ignited the insurgence of determination to make sure black voices are heard and to incorporate conversations about race into our everyday lives.
It may seem like little progress is being made, Jordan's generation bears hope that the challenging and awkward discussions that are being had today are making a difference; the positive outcomes are being imprinted onto this next generation to continue the fight for racial quality across out nation.
Jordan echoed this notion of creating a better future for young black people.
"It comes down to social acceptance. You've got to accept yourself first, before anyone else can. And once you accept your own culture, no one else really has a choice but to accept it."