Our Story

Chloe - Founder of Narrative Black History Group

HOW NARRATIVE BEGAN

Narrative was my idea before it was ever a business.

It was born in 2020, during lockdown, after the murder of George Floyd. As the world watched, I saw people across social media trying to understand racism and the Black experience, with many white parents desperately searching for ways to teach their children about Black history. I watched mums sharing what they had found, what they were showing their children and what they were learning themselves. I knew many genuinely wanted to learn and become better allies, but I kept thinking: why is it so difficult to find this history?

Then one mum shared that she was going to show her children The Prince of Egypt to teach them Black history.

That was my final straw.

Not because the story itself wasn’t important, but because it showed me how easily the breadth of Black history could become reduced to another story of slavery and oppression. So I went live on Facebook for over an hour and shared the history I’d grown up learning — from Black Wall Street and African kingdoms to books, films and stories that deserved to be known. I talked about the Black experience, about raising two Black sons in Britain, and why knowing where we come from matters.

I told people: you don’t have to be Black to learn this history. You just have to be willing to listen.

And somewhere in that conversation, I realised we needed to create something better.

That was the beginning of Narrative.

WHY FLASHCARDS?

I wanted to make history accessible.

Something small enough to pick up for five minutes, keep on a shelf, take in the car or pack in a suitcase. Something that could be used at home, in a classroom or simply whenever you wanted to learn something new.

No huge textbook. No complicated starting point. Just history, at your fingertips.

So we created the Narrative Black History Flash Cards.

And that was the beginning.

MY MUM BELIEVED IN IT TOO

My mum was a teacher, lecturer and author who held a Master’s in Ethnicity, Culture and Globalisation, and she believed deeply in the importance of education, identity and knowing your history.

She believed in Narrative from the beginning, and helped create the flashcards with me.

Even when life, work and running other businesses got in the way, she would ask me:

“Chloe, are we actually going to do anything more with this?”

At the time, I kept saying I was too busy.

I didn’t know that one day I’d wish I had listened sooner.

When we lost mum in April 2026, I finally had the space, time and energy to return to the idea we’d started.

I didn’t create Narrative because my mum died.

I revived it because she believed in something I had already created.

And I wanted to finish what I’d started — in her honour.

But This Story Started Long Before 2020

Our story begins in Grenada. 🇬🇩

My family is Caribbean, my great grandmother was Carib, and my grandparents were part of the Windrush generation.

They came from Grenada to Britain when Britain called for workers from across the Commonwealth.

But their story wasn't a simple journey of leaving one country and arriving in another.

They left four children behind in Grenada while they established their life in Britain.

They later sent for two of their children — the two middle children — to join them here.

They worked two jobs each, built a life and had two more children including my mum. They bought homes in Britain and back in Grenada using the Pardna system.

"We are the product of Windrush."

And eventually, their story took another turn.

In 1984, they sold their home in Britain and returned to Grenada.

They'd bought a house.

They'd bought a shop.

And they owned three acres of land.

My grandad is now 96 years old.

And his story is still here to be told.

Where home becomes complicated for many Black families, displacement did not end with slavery. Our ancestors were taken from Africa to the Caribbean, and generations later, our families made another journey when Britain called.

We may never know the African names or origins that were taken from us, and for some, even the Caribbean no longer feels like home.

My uncle was brought from Grenada to Britain as a teenager, built his life here and, after decades away, now finds that the place he was born no longer feels like the home he remembers.

Two journeys. Two places. And sometimes, nowhere that feels completely like home.

His story is a reminder that these aren’t simply chapters in history — they are experiences that continue to shape real people and families today.

So when Narrative teaches about Windrush, Caribbean migration and the experiences of the generations who came before us, we aren't simply teaching something we found in a textbook.

We are teaching part of our own family story.

And that makes preserving it even more important.

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Three Generations. One Legacy.

This is where our story began. See what we've built. Check it out here. see next page.

We were fortunate to attend Saturday school as children and grew up in a proudly pro-Black home.
Learning about Black history wasn't something that appeared for one month of the year.
It was part of our upbringing.
We were surrounded by books, conversations, knowledge and stories that helped us understand who we were and where we came from.
And education runs deep within our family.

My mum dedicated much of her life to education and to sharing knowledge about Black history.
She understood the importance of knowing your history.

So when we lost mum, I found myself thinking even more deeply about the legacy she left behind.
And I knew I didn't want that legacy to end with her.

So I am reviving Narrative in her honour.
What began as a business has become something much more personal.
A continuation of a legacy.
A way of keeping the conversation going.
A way of sharing the knowledge she valued so deeply.
And a way of making sure that the stories of Black people continue to be told, taught and celebrated.

Why It Matters to Me

I am a mum of two boys.
And I want my sons — and every Black boy and girl who encounters Narrative — to grow up knowing that they have every reason to be proud of who they are and where they come from.

I want them to know that their history did not begin with slavery.
That their story is not defined by oppression.
That they come from Kings and Queens.
From thinkers and innovators.
From leaders and creators.
From people who built, resisted, invented, travelled, fought, created, survived and thrived.

Because when children know their history, they don't just learn about the past.
They begin to understand themselves differently in the present — and imagine themselves differently in the future.