In celebration of Black History Month, Niko told pupils in Assembly about his heritage

October 3rd 2023

In celebration of Black History Month, Niko told pupils in Assembly about his heritage...

I am Black and I am Proud of it. This is my heritage.

For my family, it all started when two African American brothers were born free after the abolishment of slavery. When they were young men, they decided to leave Salem Massachusetts on a whaling ship bound for the South Pacific. The first stop after leaving Salem was Kingston Jamaica, where one of the two brothers decided to get off and stay, that was the last time the two brothers saw each other. The name of the brother who continued on the whaling ship was William HB Williams, and when the ship arrived in Samoa William decided to get off. He married the daughter of a Samoan chief and had five sons. After living in Samoa for 20 years, one Sunday whilst cooling off their Sunday meal, a dog belonging to a chief of a neighbouring village came along and started feeding on their family lunch. Angered by this, William killed the dog. When his father-in-law came to know of this, he advised William to take his wife and children, and to leave Samoa on the next boat heading for Fiji. This was to avoid a conflict between the two villages which would surely have led to bloodshed. On the passage to Fiji, William passed away at sea and his wife Koine and their five sons arrived in Levuka, on the island of Ovalau which was the first Capital of Fiji. Upon arriving in an unfamiliar land, Koine, without her husband wanted to return to Samoa. Her two older sons decided to stay on in Levuka, whilst her three youngest sons returned with her to Samoa. One of the two brothers that stayed in Levuka went to Vanualevu, which is the large northern island of Fiji. The brother who stayed in Levuka was John Denny Williams. He married Maraia McGoon, the great granddaughter of the Tui Wai Levu, the Chief of Lovoni Village, which is where my family hail from.

If you have followed my story, I am actually a descendant of an African American who was born free, but who was himself a descendant of slaves in America.

Being of mixed heritage, in my case, black American, Samoan and Fijian with a splash of Spanish and English, my parents had prepared me for possible racial prejudice which my ancestors were sadly victims of. My parents knew that they were sending me to a good place where people are accepting of people of different races and cultures, however, they understood that in every society, sadly, racist elements exist, and they prepared me to be thick skinned in the event that I should encounter such unpleasant and prejudice attitudes.

Fortunately, I am proud to say that I have not encountered any racial prejudice whatsoever since joining King’s Bruton. King's as a whole has been accepting and inclusive in the activities that I take part in such as rugby, House activities, lessons and the EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) Committee. I have found everyone at King’s to be friendly and kind - from my teachers, to fellow pupils, and at this juncture I would like to thank the Headmaster, Mr Wilmshurst for enabling me to have the opportunity to attend this amazing and inclusive school. The EDI Committee has made a huge impact at King’s in celebrating International Women’s Day last year and also Mental Health Awareness Week, and now Black History Month.

As we know, black people have made a huge impact in society whether it was Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X or Nelson Mandela. They all share experiences of standing up for their human rights and fought against racial prejudice.

If I were to give advice to pupils of mixed heritage, or any heritage, it would be to always perform to the best of your ability, whether in sport or academics, to always be aware of the people you surround yourself with, and to never forget your roots and where you come from, and most importantly, to be accepting of each other and be kind.

I will leave you with a quote from Oprah Winfrey, who said:

“I was raised to believe that excellence was the best deterrent to racism and sexism. And that’s how I operate my life”.

Niko - U6^th Form New House