The first ever black woman to become a Blue Badge Tourist Guide is giving tourists an unforgettable experience that explores Lambeth’s long history of Afro-Caribbean culture.
Angela Morgan, 67-years-old, works with New London Agenda (NLA) — the membership organisation for London’s built environment sector — to host guided tours of Brixton and Westminster, taking inquisitive tourists around the culturally rich areas.
Becoming the first black woman to qualify for the Blue Badge Tourist Guide in 2013, Morgan hosted another walking tour around Brixton on Saturday.
Throughout the tour, Morgan explained how black history in Brixton has been multifaceted and layered, explaining that the area looked very different in the 1980s.
She said: “It’s to balance the needs of those who want to come to Brixton, and those who have a perception of Brixton back in 1981, when it was regarded as a very dodgy area to be in.
“Some people refer to it as the mugging capital of London, that’s how we saw it because there was a lot of crime, that’s how we see it when we remember the riots in 1981.
“But it wasn’t, that was just the surface — we weren’t looking at the causes, we weren’t looking at the situations that resulted in these people’s experiences or perceptions of an area.”
Morgan highlighted the difficulties she had faced growing up as a first generation Afro-Caribbean in the UK.
She recalled the psychological impact of constantly needing to be part of something that her community was denied access to, explaining that her tours aim to help society better understand the efforts the black community have made to be accepted.
Angela said: “I have been hiding the things that I don’t necessarily know that society could cope with — and I think it is time that we have an open conversation.
“It is time for you to see the effort that we have to go through in order to be ‘as good as you’ and never reach that goal.
“I remember going out when I was a child, putting a towel around my head and putting an elastic band to create a ponytail, those are the length we went to, just to be accepted.”
She added: ‘It’s trying to get people to see us as individuals as well as part of something, but equally I don’t want to be seen as a black woman to the point that that’s my only qualification in life — I’ve done more without thinking about my skin colour, it’s other people that remind me of my skin colour.
“I want the people of Brixton to be the essence that makes Brixton very special because when you go into their shops, you’re seeing ethnic cards, you’re seeing people that have been creative and made things and I want them to enjoy it.”
The tour covered the Windrush Square, The Ritzy, the library, Black Cultural Archives, Lambeth Town Hall, Trinity homes, Trinity Gardens, Bookmongers, Market Row, Brixton House, Carlton House, Southwick House, Bon Marche department store, Brixton Recreation Cente and Ferndale Road.
Visit https://nla.london/events for more upcoming events and exhibitions. Featured image courtesy of NLA, with thanks.
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