Black Welsh people


Black Welsh people are the inhabitants of Wales who have an African or an Afro-Caribbean background and are black. Wales is home to one of the United Kingdom's oldest black communities, and Tiger Bay in Cardiff has housed a large Somali population since the development of the port in the 19th century. The 2011 census reported that there were more than 18,000 Welsh-African people in Wales.
The first recorded black person to live in North Wales, of whom historians have detailed knowledge, was John Ystumllyn, a Gwynedd gardener whose origins are unrecorded.

Demographics

Notable black Welsh people

Sports

Association football

  • Ethan Ampadu
  • George Berry
  • Nathan Blake
  • Ben Cabango
  • Robert Earnshaw
  • Danny Gabbidon
  • Ryan Giggs
  • Adam Henley
  • Brennan Johnson
  • Joel Lynch
  • Rabbi Matondo
  • Eddie Parris
  • Jazz Richards
  • Tyler Roberts
  • Hal Robson-Kanu
  • Sanchez Watt
  • Sorba Thomas
  • Ashley Williams

    Athletics

  • Jamie Baulch, sprint athlete
  • Colin Jackson
  • Christian Malcolm, track and field athlete
  • Nigel Walker, former Welsh track and field athlete and Wales international rugby union player

    Rugby League

  • Billy Boston, represented Great Britain
  • Regan Grace
  • Clive Sullivan, the first black athlete to captain Great Britain in any sport

    Rugby Union

  • Aled Brew
  • Nathan Brew
  • Leon Brown
  • Mark Brown, became the first known player of black origin to represent Wales in 1983.
  • Colin Charvis, the first black captain of the Wales national rugby union team
  • Rio Dyer
  • Jason Forster
  • Ashton Hewitt, Hewitt has also become known for speaking out against racial abuse.
  • Martyn Madden
  • Mackenzie Martin
  • Richard Parks, former Wales international rugby union player turned extreme endurance athlete and television presenter
  • Matthew Robinson
  • Anthony Sullivan
  • Ben Thomas
  • Gavin Thomas
  • Christ Tshiunza, became the first black & African born player to represent Wales in November 2021.
  • Eli Walker
  • Nigel Walker
  • Glen Webbe, often stated to be the first black player to play for Wales, Webbe was the first black player to represent Wales at a World Cup, and is considered by many to be Wales' "first black icon".

    Boxing

  • Steve Robinson

    Music

  • Dame Shirley Bassey, singer
  • Jason Camilleri, rapper and former BBC presenter
  • Kizzy Crawford, singer-songwriter and producer
  • Eädyth, producer and singer-songwriter
  • Patti Flynn, jazz singer and founder and patron of Black History Wales
  • Aluna Francis, musician, former member of electronic music duo AlunaGeorge
  • Eric Martin, musician and rapper also known as MC Eric
  • Benji Webbe, musician, frontman of the alternative metal band Skindred
  • Iris Williams, musician and member of the Gorsedd of Bards.

    Film and television

  • Josie d'Arby, TV presenter
  • Rakie Ayola, actress
  • Rungano Nyoni, film director and screenwriter
  • Suzanne Packer, actress
  • Jessica Sula, actress
  • Tayce, RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 2 contestant
  • Darragh Mortell, actor
  • Gabin Kongolo, actor

    Others

  • Selena Caemawr, autism activist, entrepreneur and poet
  • Betty Campbell, headteacher
  • Abdulrahim Abby Farah, diplomat
  • Vaughan Gething, former First Minister of Wales in the Welsh Government, first black leader of a European nation
  • Uzo Iwobi, equalities practitioner and former Commissioner for the Commission for Racial Equality
  • Louise Watkins Kelton, United States Marshal