A prominent black advocate for survivors of domestic abuse says she was repeatedly asked by a member of the Buckingham Palace household at the Queen Consort’s reception where she “really came from.” Here’s what you need to know.
Ngozi Fulani, chief executive of Sistah Space, described the conversation as a “violation” and said the experience at Camilla’s major engagement on violence against women on Tuesday will “never leave me.” Fulani, said a household member challenged her when she said her charity was based in Hackney, saying: “No, what part of Africa are you from?”
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She detailed the full conversation, which she said happened ten minutes after she arrived, on Twitter, which included the exchange: “Where are you from?’”
“Me: ‘Here, UK’. ‘No, but what nationality are you?’ Me: ‘I am born here and am British.’ ‘No, but where do you really come from, where do your people come from?’ Me: ”My people’, lady, what is this?’
“Oh, I can see I am going to have a challenge getting you to say where you’re from.”
Fulani, who founded Sistah Space in 2015 to provide specialist support for African and Caribbean heritage women affected by abuse, wrote: “Mixed feelings about yesterday’s visit to Buckingham Palace.
“10 mins after arriving, a member of staff … approached me, moved my hair to see my name badge. The conversation below took place. The rest of the event is a blur.”
She thanked Mandu Reid, leader of the Women’s Equality Party, and Safe Lives chief executive Suzanne Jacob for their support on the day. Reid, the first person of color to lead a national political party in British history, tweeted she had also heard the exchange.
“I was right there. I witnessed this first hand,” she said.
“We were at an event that was supposed to celebrate our work.
“For people like … people like us will never really belong here.”
Responding to messages of support, Fulani wrote: “Standing there in a room packed with people while this violation was taking place was so strange, especially as the event was about violence against women.”
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