Black Welsh people
Black Welsh people are the inhabitants of Wales 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 in Cardiff 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.
The first recorded black person to live in North Wales, of whom historians have detailed knowledge, was John Ystumllyn, a Gwynedd gardener whose origins are unrecorded.
Notable black Welsh people
Sports
Association football
- Ethan Ampadu
- George Berry
- Nathan Blake
- Ben Cabango
- Robert Earnshaw
- Danny Gabbidon
- Ryan Giggs
- Adam Henley
- Brennan Johnson
- Joel Lynch
- Rabbi Matondo
- Eddie Parris
- Jazz Richards
- Tyler Roberts
- Hal Robson-Kanu
- Sanchez Watt
- Sorba Thomas
- Ashley Williams
Athletics
- Jamie Baulch, sprint athlete
- Colin Jackson
- Christian Malcolm, track and field athlete
- Nigel Walker, former Welsh track and field athlete and Wales international rugby union player
Rugby League
- Billy Boston, represented Great Britain
- Regan Grace
- Clive Sullivan, the first black athlete to captain Great Britain in any sport
Rugby Union
- Aled Brew
- Nathan Brew
- Leon Brown
- Mark Brown, became the first known player of black origin to represent Wales in 1983.
- Colin Charvis, the first black captain of the Wales national rugby union team
- Rio Dyer
- Jason Forster
- Ashton Hewitt, Hewitt has also become known for speaking out against racial abuse.
- Martyn Madden
- Mackenzie Martin
- Richard Parks, former Wales international rugby union player turned extreme endurance athlete and television presenter
- Matthew Robinson
- Anthony Sullivan
- Ben Thomas
- Gavin Thomas
- Christ Tshiunza, became the first black & African born player to represent Wales in November 2021.
- Eli Walker
- Nigel Walker
- Glen Webbe, 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
Music
- Dame Shirley Bassey, singer
- Jason Camilleri, rapper and former BBC presenter
- Kizzy Crawford, singer-songwriter and producer
- Eädyth, producer and singer-songwriter
- Patti Flynn, jazz singer and founder and patron of Black History Wales
- Aluna Francis, musician, former member of electronic music duo AlunaGeorge
- Eric Martin, musician and rapper also known as MC Eric
- Benji Webbe, musician, frontman of the alternative metal band Skindred
- Iris Williams, musician and member of the Gorsedd of Bards.
Film and television
- Josie d'Arby, TV presenter
- Rakie Ayola, actress
- Rungano Nyoni, film director and screenwriter
- Suzanne Packer, actress
- Jessica Sula, actress
- Tayce, RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 2 contestant
- Darragh Mortell, actor
- Gabin Kongolo, actor
Others
- Selena Caemawr, autism activist, entrepreneur and poet
- Betty Campbell, headteacher
- Abdulrahim Abby Farah, diplomat
- Vaughan Gething, former First Minister of Wales in the Welsh Government, first black leader of a European nation
- Uzo Iwobi, equalities practitioner and former Commissioner for the Commission for Racial Equality
- Louise Watkins Kelton, United States Marshal