Black Welsh people are inhabitants of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

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 Tiger Bay ( cy, Bae Teigr) was the local name for an area of Cardiff which covered Butetown and Cardiff Docks. Following the building of the Cardiff Barrage, which dams the tidal rivers, Ely and Taff, to create a body of water, it is re ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

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 (0.6% of the Welsh population). The first recorded black person to live in North Wales, of whom historians have detailed knowledge, was John Ystumllyn (died 1786), a Gwynedd gardener whose origins are unrecorded.

Notable black Welsh people

Sports

Association football

Ethan Ampadu Ethan Kwame Colm Raymond Ampadu (born 14 September 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre back or defensive midfielder for Serie A club Spezia, on loan from Chelsea, and the Wales national team. Ampadu previously played for E ...

* Nathan Blake *

Ben Cabango Benjamin George Cabango (born 30 May 2000) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Swansea City and the Wales national team. Early life Cabango was born in Cardiff to an Angolan father and a Welsh mother. He has ...

* Robert Earnshaw *

Danny Gabbidon Daniel Leon Gabbidon (born 8 August 1979) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played for West Bromwich Albion, Cardiff City (two spells), West Ham United, Queens Park Rangers, Crystal Palace, and Panteg. He a ...

* Ryan Giggs *

Adam Henley Adam David Henley (born 14 June 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for National League North club Chorley. He primarily operates as a right-back, but can also be deployed at left-back. Born in the United States and r ...

Brennan Johnson Brennan Price Johnson (born 23 May 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Nottingham Forest and the Wales national team. Early life Johnson was born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire. He is the son of former football ...

* Joel Lynch * Rabbi Matondo *

Eddie Parris John Edward Parris (31 January 1911 – 27 February 1971) was a Welsh international footballer, who played for Bradford Park Avenue, Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, Luton Town, Bath City, Northampton Town and Cheltenham Town. He was the firs ...

Article in Chepstow Free Press
* Jazz Richards *

Tyler Roberts Tyler D'Whyte Roberts (born 12 January 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for club Birmingham City and the Wales national football team. Roberts is an academy graduate of West Bromwich Albion and ...

Hal Robson-Kanu Thomas Henry Alex "Hal" Robson-Kanu (born 21 May 1989) is a Welsh inactive professional footballer who last played as a forward for West Bromwich Albion and the Wales national team. Although he initially played primarily on the wing, he was us ...

Sanchez Watt Herschel Oulio Sanchez Watt (born 14 February 1991) is an English professional footballer who last played as a forward or winger for Wealdstone. He has represented England at under-16, under-17 and under-19 levels, and he is also eligible t ...

* Sorba Thomas * Ashley Williams

Athletics

Jamie Baulch James Stephen Baulch (born 3 May 1973) is a retired Welsh sprint athlete and television presenter. He won the 400 metres gold medal at the 1999 World Indoor Championships. As a member of British 4 × 400 metres relay teams, he won a gold medal ...

, sprint athlete *

Colin Jackson Colin Ray Jackson, (born 18 February 1967) is a Welsh former sprint and hurdling athlete who specialised in the 110 metres hurdles. During a career in which he represented Great Britain and Wales, he won an Olympic silver medal, became wo ...

* Christian Malcolm,

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete * Nigel Walker, former Welsh track and field athlete and

international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player

Rugby League

* Billy Boston, represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

* Regan Grace *

Clive Sullivan Clive Anthony Sullivan MBE (9 April 1943 – 8 October 1985) was a Welsh rugby league footballer. A Great Britain and Wales international winger, he played for both Hull F.C. and Hull Kingston Rovers in his career, and also for Oldham ( Herit ...

, the first black athlete to captain Great Britain in any sport

Rugby Union

Aled Brew Aled Brew (born 9 August 1986) is a former Wales international rugby union player who played as a winger. He made his debut for the Wales national rugby union team against Ireland in the 2007 Six Nations Championship. In his career, as well a ...

* Nathan Brew * Leon Brown * Mark Brown, became the first known player of black origin to represent Wales in 1983. *

Colin Charvis Colin Charvis (born 27 December 1972) is a former captain of the Wales national rugby union team and also played for the British & Irish Lions. A back row forward, Charvis was equally adept as a flanker or as the no. 8. Charvis became the w ...

, the first black captain of the

Wales national rugby union team The Wales national rugby union team ( cy, Tîm rygbi'r undeb cenedlaethol Cymru) represents Wales in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played the ...

* Jason Forster *

Ashton Hewitt Ashton Hewitt (born 20 November 1994) is a Welsh rugby union player who plays as a wing for the Dragons regional team, having previously played for Cross Keys RFC and Newport RFC. He is a Wales under-20 international. Hewitt made his Dragons deb ...

, Hewitt has also become known for speaking out against racial abuse. * Martyn Madden *

Richard Parks Richard David Parks (born 14 August 1977) is a former Wales international rugby union player turned extreme endurance athlete and television presenter. In rugby he represented Newport RFC, Pontypridd RFC, Celtic Warriors, Leeds Tykes, Perp ...

, former Wales international rugby union player turned extreme endurance athlete and television presenter * Anthony Sullivan * Ben Thomas * Gavin Thomas * Christ Tshiunza, became the first African born black player to represent Wales in November 2021. *

Eli Walker Eli Walker (born 28 March 1992) is a Welsh retired international rugby union player who played for the Ospreys as a winger. He previously played for Swansea. Career Walker first broke into the Ospreys team during the 2011–12 Pro12 season, st ...

* Nigel Walker *

Glen Webbe Glen Webbe is a former Wales rugby union international player. Webbe is often stated to be the first Black Welsh person to represent the Welsh national rugby union team, and has been described as "Wales first black icon". Early life Webbe was ...

, 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 * Kizzy Crawford, singer-songwriter and producer * Eädyth, producer and singer-songwriter * Patti Flynn, jazz singer and founder and patron of Black History Wales *

Benji Webbe Clive John "Benji" Webbe (born 11 March 1967) is a Welsh singer, best known as the lead vocalist and synthesizer player for the reggae metal band Skindred. Aside from his main project, he is also active in Diamond Spider, Dub War, Mass Mental a ...

, musician, frontman of the alternative metal band

Skindred Skindred are a Welsh reggae metal band formed in Newport in 1998. Their musical style mixes heavy metal, alternative rock and ragga. The band also integrate elements of punk rock, hardcore punk, reggae, dancehall, jungle, ska, hip hop, drum ...

Film and television

* Josie d'Arby, TV presenter *

Rakie Ayola Rakie Olufunmilayo Ayola (born May 1968) is a Welsh actress known for her work in theatre and television. Ayola has appeared in television shows including '' Black Mirror'', '' Noughts + Crosses'', ''Doctor Who'', ''Silent Witness'' and ''EastEn ...

, actress * Rungano Nyoni, film director and screenwriter *

Suzanne Packer Suzanne Packer (born Suzanne Jackson on 26 November 1962) is a Welsh actress, known for playing the role of Tess Bateman in the BBC medical drama '' Casualty'' from September 2003 to August 2015. She later returned to the series as a guest for ...

, actress *

Jessica Sula Jessica Bianca Sula (born 3 May 1994) is a Welsh actress known for her portrayal of the character Grace Blood in the third generation of the television series ''Skins'' and for her role in the M. Night Shyamalan-directed horror film '' Split'' ...

, actress *

Tayce Tayce Szura-Radix (born 28 May 1994) is a Welsh drag queen and model from Newport, Wales. She is best known for competing in the second series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'', where she was placed as a runner-up. Career Tayce has professionally ...

RuPaul's Drag Race UK ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' is a British reality competition television series based on the American television series of the same name. The television series, a collaboration between the BBC and World of Wonder, premiered on 3 October 2019. T ...

series 2 contestant *

Darragh Mortell Darragh Mortell (born 23 June 1989) is a Welsh actor, writer, and director of television, radio and film. He began his career as a child actor starring in television shows such as ''Dani's House'', ''Diddy TV'' and most notably, ''The Story of ...

, actor

Others

Betty Campbell Betty Campbell (6 November 1934 – 13 October 2017, born Rachel Elizabeth Johnson) was a Welsh community activist, who was Wales' first black head teacher. Born into a poor household in Butetown, she won a scholarship to the Lady Margaret Hi ...

, headteacher *

Abdulrahim Abby Farah Abdulrahim Abby Farah ( so, Cabdiraxiim Caabbi Faarax, ar, عبد الرحيم آبي فرح; October 22, 1919 – May 14, 2018) was a Welsh-born Somali diplomat and politician. He was Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations 1979-1990. He ...

, diplomat *

Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething (born 15 March 1974) is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician serving as Minister for the Economy since 2021. He previously served as the Minister for Health and Social Services from 2016 to 2021. He has been the Membe ...

, Minister for the Economy in the Welsh Government *

Uzo Iwobi Uzoamaka Linda Iwobi ( Companies House form IN01 (Appointment to register a company) for Race Council Cymru, full name Uzoamaka Linda Iwobi. The form is accessible at the entry for 28 November 2011 Incorporation born 7 February 1969) is a Bri ...

, equalities practitioner and former Commissioner for the

Commission for Racial Equality The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom which aimed to address racial discrimination and promote racial equality. The commission was established in 1976, and disbanded in 2007 when its ...

References

External links

* * African diaspora in Europe {{portal bar, Wales