Black History Month: Wales' pioneers who are creating change

A statue in honour of Wales' first black head teacher Betty Campbell has brought her to wider public attention.

But she is just one of many black pioneers in Wales who have created significant change, according to Race Council Cymru's Marian Gwyn.

The historian, who has been working to get black history taught in Welsh schools, has highlighted some of the other "inspirational" unsung heroes.

Who are they and why should everyone know about them?

They include a Welsh language teacher, a support worker for immigrants and an internationally recognised composer.

Ali Abdi says he is on a constant mission to ensure people from disadvantaged backgrounds in Cardiff are at the forefront of decision making.

In 2017, he spearheaded the Bay Citizens Community Jobs Compact which connects employers and people to combat poverty, unemployment and under-representation in the workforce.

Ali, 36, who has been volunteering for about 20 years, said he got his greatest kick out of helping young people in Grangetown.

He runs the national BAME youth forum and has helped bridge the gap between people from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds and politics - playing a role with the Welsh Youth Parliament and the children's commissioner for Wales.

In 2013, he led a campaign for the first halal-compliant Nandos restaurant in Cardiff after finding it surprising it did not exist considering the "sizable Muslim community we have here".

"We took action. Muslims and non-Muslims can sit together and now enjoy a cheeky Nandos," he said.

Ali also helped raise almost £2m to turn a run-down pavilion into a space where "people from all communities can meet".

When Birmingham-born Natalie moved to Pwllheli, Gwynedd, aged nine, the two areas could not have been more different.

She was the only black pupil in her school.

"In Birmingham, I had friends from all over - it was very multicultural and then suddenly I stood out like a sore thumb."

Growing up in 1980s Pwllheli, racism was a constant feature, with her left "feeling like I wanted to be invisible - I had no self-esteem".

Natalie, whose parents are Jamaican, became a fluent Welsh speaker and now teaches Welsh as a second language at a primary school in Neyland, Pembrokeshire.

She also delivers hate crime workshops in schools and runs engagement activities, sharing details of her culture and heritage.

"I'm not somebody who likes to stand out but some things need to be said and shared... we can't expect positive change if we sit back smiling and accept what's going on," she said.

After settling in Wrexham, Iolanda Viegas has acted as a constant pillar of support for immigrants. When she came to the UK in 2001 from Mozambique, she was promised work in retail in London.

But the bus dropped her off in Wrexham - a place she had never heard about - to work in a warehouse. After finding she was being paid less than minimum wage, Iolanda visited the council and got herself a home and a new job with a decent wage.

She became passionate about encouraging other immigrants to stand up for their rights. In 2013, Iolanda set up a group helping the Portuguese community in north Wales to learn English and Welsh, to understand Wales and support each other.

This led to her becoming the first woman to become a councillor for Portuguese communities in the UK and Ireland in 2015.

"She is one of the most inspirational people I have ever met," said Ms Gwyn. "Everything she does is for the benefit of the people."

In 2019, Iolanda turned her passion into a career, joining Citizens Advice Cymru to help people apply for status and settle in Wales.

Ify Iwobi, from Swansea, studied music performance at Brunel University.

Since then, she has been the Black History Young Musician of the Year (2017) and won the All Wales Ethnic Minority Welsh Women's Achievement Award (2019).

Ify has attempted to give asylum seekers and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds the chance to explore each other's culture through music and dance in her project Crossing Borders.

"Many people love the arts but can't access it because they're expensive. Fees can put a barrier on that, especially for ethnic communities," she said.

"Many of them were getting into street crime, not going to school and finding it difficult. Here was an opportunity where they could learn new skills."

The project has given young people the chance to perform at Cardiff's Wales Millennium Centre and The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

Ify also raised more than £2,000 for the NHS from her Covid track in 2020 and has funded 10 Nigerian children's education from charity performances.

Omotolani Somoye - known as Tolani - runs engagement activities for people in Bangor, Gwynedd.

It is the first step towards realising her goal of having strong communities of people from diverse backgrounds.

The 35-year-old from Nigeria moved to Wales in 2015 to study and teach business law at Bangor University. She now runs events to celebrate black history and one recently saw Tolani arrange for artists and dancers from India and Jamaica to share their talents.

"People from diverse platforms do not always have an opportunity to present what we have so other people can learn from our culture," she said.

"I want to give people in Bangor a voice and a platform. I want to serve as a bridge that connects people together in the community where they are free not to be judged by what they do."