Let me make your acquaintance. My name is Louise DaCocodia!
Few people know me by the name Louise. Instead they prefer to call me Mrs D. If you speak to my close family, friends and peers, it will be apparent that they have much to say about me. Many will use words such as “activist”, “campaigner”, “caring nurse”, “educator”, “leader”, “ambassador” and so on to describe my character.
 

I undertook much work within my community. Many comment that I had my “hands in everything”. Yes, it is true. I became very much involved in many different fields of work. Upon arriving in England, I began working within the NHS and rose up the ranks. I understood that working within the NHS was not my only purpose in life. It was also my duty to: care for, strengthen, educate and uplift. Most importantly, it was my main
goal to empower people within my community. I knew that the power to do great things was within me and I never took a back seat; instead I took action.

When many did not exercise forms of protest, I campaigned. When there was no one who looked like me on the magistrate’s bench, I took a seat and recoloured courtroom drawings. When the teacher was absent, I lead, building educational opportunities upon the foundation of progress. I became the teacher. I dedicated my life to making a real difference. Entering spaces which regularly excluded others like me, I challenged the ruling authority. My work created better opportunities for those of African-Caribbean descent within my community.

My work empowered women.

I am a black woman. I am a Jamaican woman. I am a British woman. It is time for the world to hear my story.
Let me reflect, and start from the beginning…

 (extract from unpublished manuscript by Trishauna Stewart)