Businesswoman speaks out on Jersey "racism"

Monday 24 December 2018

The Chair of the Institute of Directors has spoken out on the racism her sons faced while living in Jersey.

Jersey resident and respected businesswoman Charlotte Valeur said that the discrimination her mixed race children had endured was so serious that it included them being called the n-word aged just nine and 11.

While the allegations in question relate to incidents eight years ago, Ms Valeur, who was speaking during an interview with the Mail on Sunday, said that she still felt concern that racism was "still alive and kicking" and remains a problem in Jersey.

"These events may have taken place nearly a decade ago but it still happens to this day," she said.

Pictured: Ms Valeur picking up the Director of the Year Award in 2017.

The Denmark-born 54-year-old is a former investment banker and local champion of diversity, having set up ‘Board Apprentice’ – a not-for-profit scheme committed to encouraging diversity on boards around the world.

This autumn, she was appointed to take the reins of one of Britain’s most influential business groups as it faces allegations of racism and sexism among its senior members.

Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, she detailed her own family's brushes with prejudice. 

Ms Valeur, who moved to Jersey in 2006 with her Ghanian husband, said that her two sons had racial slurs directed to them by their classmates. She explained that she confronted the school about this, as well as the parents, asking, "Do you have a problem with black people?"

Pictured: Charlotte Valeur aired her concerns about racism in Jersey and the wider UK in an interview with the Mail on Sunday.

Their response, she said, was a mix of "boys will be boys" and blame being directed towards the lack of diversity in Jersey ("we don't have so many black people here").

She continued: "I said, 'Imagine your boy goes to a university in England when he reaches 18 and goes up to a black man and calls him a n***** – it’s going to be a big problem. Please teach them [that using that word is wrong]'.

"Unless you tackle these incidents head-on, every time you sadly witness a situation like this, then we as a society can never progress. We need to speak up."