Jack Fowler opens up about his family
Love Island's Jack Fowler has opened up about his family history in an emotional Instagram post.
He revealed that his ancestors were slaves, 'on their home island, Saint Helena.'
Jack also shared that because his father is black, he's experienced a lot of racism in his life.
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The former Love Islander shared a photo of himself and his father on Instagram, 'Here’s me and my dad.'
He began his caption, 'my grandad was one of the first hundred to arrive just after the Windrush on the RMS St Helena from a very small island called Saint Helena in the South Atlantic that has a population of 4,000 people.'
'My Nan shortly followed and then they had my dad who was born and raised in London.'
The reality star revealed, 'My dad met my mum who was a white British East Londoner when he was 12 and as my dad reached 34, my elder brother was born followed by me.'
'We were both born and raised in east London,' Jack explained.
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Racism
Jack pointed out that, 'Growing up with a dad who’s a man of colour was a powerful insight into what racism is really is.'
'Because my dad is black, I was educated from a young age about the slave trade as my ancestors were slaves on their home island, Saint Helena.'
'The experiences that my dad had growing up being a man of colour in school and throughout adulthood have been taught to me.'
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Jack admitted, 'There have been times where I’ve been treated different because of the complexion of my dads skin.'
'An example is during my young footballing life where I was treated differently as soon as people knew that my dad was black.'
He admitted, 'I was confused at the time but quickly learnt and became aware of what was happening.'
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Jack's frustration
The TV star said he was frustrated by this, but it helped him understand how his father has felt his whole life.
Jack wrote, 'I feel that it’s my responsibility to share this story with you because I expect that I’m not the only one who has a white skin complexion but has parents of colour.'
'I love the black culture and it hurts to still see that even in 2020, black people are not being treated equally.'
He began to wrap up his post, 'I feel as a white looking mixed race man, I’ve experienced many moment of white privilege.'
'It’s times like these that we should treat people of all colour, religion and walks of life equally.'
'I’m proud of my roots. Always have been always will be and I will always speak up and stand against racism,' Jack finished.
To learn more about the Black Lives Matter movement and how you can support and educate yourself, click here.
