LOVE Island’s Jack Fowler has revealed that his ancestors were slaves as he opened up about the racism he has faced for having a black dad.
The 24-year-old hunk shot to fame on the 2018 series of the ITV2 reality show, and has now spoken out about his experience as the light-skinned son of a black man.
Taking to his Instagram page this evening, Jack posted a photo of himself with his dad, whose parents moved to the UK from Saint Helena as part of the Windrush generation.
In the photo, Jack is beaming as he puts his arm around his dad, who is also grinning at the camera.
The star captioned the post: “Here’s me and my dad.
“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. My dad met my mum, who was a white British East Londoner, when he was 12, and as my dad reached 34, my older brother was born followed by me.
“We were both born and raised in east London. 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.”
Jack went on to reflect on the racism he had faced because of his dad’s skin colour, explaining that he knows he was treated differently during his football career.
He wrote: “The experiences that my dad had growing up being a man of colour in school and throughout adulthood have been taught to me.
“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.
“I was confused at the time but quickly learnt and became aware of what was happening. It made me feel frustrated but I understood that my dad is a black man who has been through feeling this way all of his life.
“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. I feel as a white looking mixed race man, I’ve experienced many moments of white privilege.
“It’s times like these that we should treat people of all colour, religion and walks of life equally.”
He concluded the empowering post with: “I’m proud of my roots. Always have been always will be and I will always speak up and stand against racism.”
Jack’s post was widely praised by his followers, with the star previously attending Black Lives Matter protests in London.
Last month, the killing of black American George Floyd as he was arrested by white police officer Derek Chauvin triggered a debate on racism all over the world.
In a disturbing video, Chauvin can be seen kneeling on handcuffed Mr. Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes while he pleaded for air.
The clip sparked Black Lives Matter protests for racial equality across the globe – including most US states, New Zealand, Australia, and up and down the UK.
Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013 and is an international movement that campaigns against violence and systemic racism towards black people.
