Oral History with Zoe Penny

00:00 Zoe introduces herself; she was born in 1971 to a Jamaican dad and an English mum. Growing up in Woodley/Romiley was difficult being ‘mixed race’ because there were so few other people of colour.

03:57 Zoe did really well at school and went on to university at Hull to study European Studies with Spanish. She felt at home with Spanish people and culture. After uni she wasn’t sure what to do so decided to go back to Spain to teach English; at the interview with the British Council they suggested South America and she chose to go to Venezuela for a year.

06:47 Zoe loved teaching in Venezuela, “first time in my life where everybody looked like me” and is still friends with people she met there 26 years ago.

09:50 Back in the UK, Manchester, Zoe worked in social work, in a children’s home and then field social work. The emotional side became difficult and she started to learn aromatherapy at Aquinas College, Stockport, and loved it. Around this time, Zoe re-connected with her Jamaican family.

14:53 Zoe lived in Whalley Range and Moss Side, she moved away from social work and has formal training in aromatherapy. She went to Spain for 18 months to work in an office in the mornings and do treatments in the afternoons and returns to Stockport (c.2008) after being away for almost 10 years.

18:22 Zoe is still very close to her gran and her younger cousins.

19:35 She started her own business giving treatments.

21:20 Talking about school, primary was harder than secondary due to the name-calling and racist words in playground songs. She felt terrible about herself. By secondary school, her attitude had changed, and people were frightened of her.

25:51 She was shocked when she came back to Stockport after living in Manchester, had several racial abusive incidents and found the police weren’t very helpful. She currently has a neighbour that is very active with the British National Party.

32:50 She doesn’t have many of her English family left as the older generation has died. She speaks to a couple of cousins occasionally. Sees her Jamaican gran a lot in Manchester and some younger cousins.

33:37 Zoe was only introduced to Caribbean food when she connected with her Jamaican family in her late 20’s and she loves it, learned how to prepare it in Jamaica.

38:53 Before the current Covid-19 pandemic, life for Zoe was steady and stable, going to festivals, lots of movement. Now it is all closed up and she has found the last 6 months very challenging ‘financially, emotionally, mentally’. Discusses Covid-19 and how it has made her feel, and how it has touched her friends and family.

44:05 Zoe says that one step to addressing racism is consistent and ongoing education and exposure in schools, when previously people haven’t been exposed to ‘different’ kids, to challenge what they are learning in their homes.

49:52 The Windrush scandal has affected Zoe directly through her Jamaican family.

54:27 When asked how to tackle racism, Zoe says “haven’t we done enough? We’re tired” and says that the majority who say they care should speak up, and that the Black community need backup.