Norma Gregory

Last updated

Norma Gregory
Born1969 (age 54–55)
Mapperley, Nottingham, England
Alma mater University of Nottingham;
Institute of Education, University of London
Known forFounder of the Nottingham News Centre and the Black Miners Museum

Norma Jacqueline Gregory (born 1969) is a British author, historian, archivist, broadcaster and diverse heritage specialist of Jamaican descent. In 2013, she founded the Nottingham News Centre focused on the preservation of heritage. [1] She is a museum project consultant encouraging increased diversity of representation in British museums [2] [3] [4] and the founder director of the Black Miners Museum. [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Early life and education

Norma Jacqueline Gregory was born in 1969 and raised in Mapperley, Nottingham, England. She is the daughter of Jamaicans who migrated to the UK in the 1960s. At school she experienced the lack of representation of marginalized people in the history curriculum. After working briefly as a model, and as a security guard at Harrods, Gregory enrolled in evening classes and completed a two-year radio and print journalist course in 1996. In 2004, she gained a postgraduate certificate in learning mentoring. After her degree in English language, Literature and Religious studies, she received a Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) from the University of Nottingham, followed in 2005 by a Master of Arts from the Institute of Education, University of London. [8]

Career

Gregory was employed for some years as a secondary-school teacher, mentor and higher education lecturer in London and Nottingham. In 2013 she founded the Nottingham News Centre, a Community interest company (CIC) [9] aimed at gaining, preserving and passing on information about heritage. [10] She led a project to collate the history of the Nottingham Carnival. In October 2014, she instigated the placing of a blue heritage plaque in Nottingham for the entrepreneur and former slave George Africanus and later launched the George Africanus Society, UK. [11]

In 2015, Gregory published Jamaicans in Nottingham: Narratives and Reflections. [4] The book highlights the historical presence in Nottingham of people with Jamaican heritage. Examples are George Africanus (c 1763–1834), a former West African enslaved person who went on to be a successful entrepreneur, and Cecile Wright, a professor and researcher at the University of Nottingham. [12] The book includes two chapters on coal miners. After failing to find many other resources on black coal miners, Gregory set out to research and curate an exhibition at the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield, Yorkshire, called Digging Deep: Coal Miners of African Caribbean Heritage. The exhibition was on tour from 2018 onwards. [13] Gregory also set up the Black Miners Museum in 2013. [14]

Publications

Directorships

Awards

In 2000, Gregory was awarded the Millennium Commission Award for her Black British Poets media project. [8] In 2016, she won the Black Achievers’ Award (Nottingham) in the Category for Arts, Culture & Music (Best Female). [19]

Gregory was presented with the Alumni Laureate Award from the University of Nottingham in 2017 for her dedication to heritage and community education. [17] In 2018, Gregory received a Windrush Award (Nottingham), the Inspirational Leadership Award. [20]

More recently, in November 2023 she was voted Women's Champion of the Year in the Women's Leadership category for her work with the Nottingham News Centre at the Social Enterprise Awards UK. [3] The following December, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of Nottingham. [21] [20] [3] Also in 2023, Nottinghamshire County Council gave Gregory the Pride of Gedling Award Best Community Project for her ‘Digging Deep’ exhibition. [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nottingham</span> City and council area in Nottinghamshire, England

Nottingham is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located 110 miles (180 km) north-west of London, 33 miles (53 km) south-east of Sheffield and 45 miles (72 km) north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham is the legendary home of Robin Hood and to the lace-making, bicycle and tobacco industries. The city is also the county town of Nottinghamshire and the settlement was granted its city charter in 1897, as part of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nottinghamshire</span> County of England

Nottinghamshire is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county borders South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Nottingham (323,632).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1984–1985 United Kingdom miners' strike</span> Industrial action in British coal mining

The 1984–1985 United Kingdom miners' strike was a major industrial action within the British coal industry in an attempt to prevent colliery closures. It was led by Arthur Scargill of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) against the National Coal Board (NCB), a government agency. Opposition to the strike was led by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who wanted to reduce the power of the trade unions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ollerton</span> Town in Nottinghamshire, England

Ollerton is a town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ollerton and Boughton, in the Newark and Sherwood district, in the county of Nottinghamshire, England, on the edge of Sherwood Forest in the area known as the Dukeries. The population of Ollerton and Boughton at the 2011 census was 9,840.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vernon Coaker</span> British Labour politician

Vernon Rodney Coaker, Baron Coaker is a British politician and life peer serving as Shadow Spokesperson for Home Affairs and Defence since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Gedling from 1997 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borough of Gedling</span> Local government district in Nottinghamshire

Gedling is a local government district with borough status in Nottinghamshire, England. The council is based in Arnold. The borough also includes Carlton along with villages and rural areas to the north-east of Nottingham. The main built-up part of the borough around Arnold and Carlton forms part of the Nottingham Urban Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold, Nottinghamshire</span> Market town and suburb of Nottingham

Arnold is a market town in the Borough of Gedling in the county of Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands of England. It is situated to the north-east of Nottingham's city boundary. Arnold has the largest town centre in the Borough of Gedling and the most important town centre in the northeastern part of the conurbation of Greater Nottingham. Gedling Borough Council is headquartered in Arnold. Since 1968 Arnold has had a market, and the town used to have numerous factories associated with the hosiery industry. Nottinghamshire Police have been headquartered in Arnold since 1979. At the time of the 2011 United Kingdom census, Arnold had a population of 37,768.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sutton-in-Ashfield</span> Market town in Nottinghamshire, England

Sutton-in-Ashfield is a market town in Nottinghamshire, England, with a population of 48,527 in 2019. It is the largest town in the district of Ashfield, four miles west of Mansfield, 2 miles (3 km) from the Derbyshire border and 12 miles (19 km) north of Nottingham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Africanus</span>

George John Scipio Africanus was a West African former slave who became a successful entrepreneur in Nottingham, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Nottinghamshire</span>

Nottinghamshire is a county that is situated in the East Midlands of England. The county has history within the Palaeolithic period, dating anywhere between 500,000 and 10,000 BCE, as well as early Anglo-Saxon communities, dating to 600 CE. Furthermore, the county has significance in the political aspects of English history, particularly within intercommunal fighting, and its economics is historically centred around coal and textiles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Dukeries</span> Area of Nottinghamshire, England

The Dukeries is an area of the county of Nottinghamshire so called because it contained four ducal seats. It is south of Worksop, which has been called its "gateway". The area was included within the ancient Sherwood Forest. The ducal seats were:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colwick</span> Village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England

Colwick is a village and civil parish, in the Borough of Gedling of Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated to the east of Nottingham's city boundary, and forms the Colwick ward. At the time of the 2011 census, the village had a population of 2,829, falling to 2,778 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nottinghamshire Police</span> English territorial police force

Nottinghamshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the shire county of Nottinghamshire and the unitary authority of Nottingham in the East Midlands area of England. The area has a population of just over 1 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gedling</span> Village in Nottinghamshire, England

Gedling is a village and former civil parish which gives its name to the larger Borough of Gedling in Nottinghamshire, England. It lies 4 miles (6.4 km) north-east of Nottingham city centre. The parish was abolished in 1935 and absorbed into the urban district of Carlton, which in turn was abolished in 1974 on the creation of borough of Gedling. The population of the Gedling ward at the 2011 census was 6,817 and 111,787 for the district. Gedling was recorded in the Domesday Book and is still a distinct settlement, although residential, commercial and industrial growth in the wider borough of Gedling and the neighbouring city of Nottingham, boroughs of Broxtowe and Rushcliffe and district of Ashfield means it can be difficult to distinguish the village of Gedling from the nearby town of Carlton, with which it has become contiguous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newstead, Nottinghamshire</span> Village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England

Newstead is a village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England in the borough of Gedling. It is situated between the city of Nottingham and the towns of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Sutton-in-Ashfield and Hucknall.

Marjorie Helen Arnfield, was an English artist who specialised in both industrial and rural landscapes, painting in oil, acrylic and watercolour. Her landscapes, particularly her paintings of Provence and Spain, are characterised by vivid colours and an impressionistic style. In an interview in the magazine Artists & Illustrators in 1998, Arnfield described her palette of colours, which included ochres, burnt siennas, cadmium, viridian, reds and blues, as "colours that sing".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coal mining in the United Kingdom</span> Fossil fuel from underground

Coal mining in the United Kingdom dates back to Roman times and occurred in many different parts of the country. Britain's coalfields are associated with Northumberland and Durham, North and South Wales, Yorkshire, the Scottish Central Belt, Lancashire, Cumbria, the East and West Midlands and Kent. After 1972, coal mining quickly collapsed and had practically disappeared by the 21st century. The consumption of coal—mostly for electricity—fell from 157 million tonnes in 1970 to 18 million tonnes in 2016, of which 77% was imported from Colombia, Russia, and the United States. Employment in coal mines fell from a peak of 1,191,000 in 1920 to 695,000 in 1956, 247,000 in 1976, 44,000 in 1993, 2,000 in 2015, and to 360 in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mansfield</span> Market town in Nottinghamshire, England

Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire. It gained the Royal Charter of a market town in 1227. The town lies in the Maun Valley, 12 miles (19 km) north of Nottingham. It had a population of 110,500 at the 2021 census, according to the Office for National Statistics. Mansfield is the one local authority in Nottinghamshire with a publicly elected mayor.

Nubian Jak Community Trust (NJCT) is a commemorative plaque and sculpture scheme founded by Jak Beula that highlights the historic contributions of Black and minority ethnic people in Britain. The first NJCT heritage plaque, honouring Bob Marley, was unveiled in 2006 after "two years of research and behind the scenes negotiating". The scheme has been run and managed by the not-for-profit organization Nubian Jak Trust Ltd since August 2016, with a remit to commemorate and celebrate the diverse history of modern Britain. Its objectives include the promotion of social equality and to encourage activities that promote cultural diversity in society.

References

  1. ↑ "Profile | Nottingham News Centre". nottinghamnewscentre.com. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  2. ↑ Blake, Keimae (6 October 2021). "Nottingham born author works to 'diversify' British museums". Nottinghamshire Live. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Motune, Vic (March 2024). "Unearthing untold stories". The Voice . p. 3.
  4. 1 2 Blake, Keimae (6 October 2021). "Meet the Nottingham born author and broadcaster working to 'diversify' British museums". NottinghamshireLive. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  5. ↑ "Home – Black Miners Museum". blackcoalminers.com. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  6. ↑ Pratley, C.; Gregory, N. (2022). Fuggle, S. (ed.). "Celebrating diverse heritage: Norma Gregory on 'Digging deep, Black miners' heritage'". S. Fuggle. YouTube.
  7. 1 2 3 Administrator (15 May 2020). "Literary Locations #58: Beaconsfield Street, Hyson Green". Nottingham City of Literature. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Ethnic Media Consultancy | Norma Jacqueline Gregory UK". 13 October 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  9. 1 2 "Nottingham News Centre | Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Consultancy". nottinghamnewscentre.com. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  10. ↑ "Nottingham News Centre". Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  11. ↑ chrismoffat (22 June 2015). "Norma Gregory". Black British History. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  12. ↑ TOCaribNews (4 November 2019). "Digging deeper with Norma Gregory". Toronto Caribbean Newspaper. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  13. ↑ Mudd, Vanessa (30 December 2019). "EXHIBITION | Norma Gregory on Digging Deep to Celebrate Britain's Black Mineworkers". the CULTURE VULTURE. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  14. ↑ "Home – Black Miners Museum". blackcoalminers.com. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  15. ↑ Gregory, Norma (2015). Jamaicans in Nottingham: Narratives and Reflections. Hansib. ISBN   978-1910553015.
  16. ↑ Gregory, Norma (2023). An Introduction to Sharing and Celebrating Diverse Industrial Heritage. Nottingham News Centre Publications.
  17. 1 2 team, Code8. "Norma Gregory". Peters Fraser and Dunlop (PFD) Literary Agents. Retrieved 5 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ↑ "About Norma Gregory, diverse industrial heritage educator". issuu. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  19. ↑ "About Norma Gregory, diverse industrial heritage educator". issuu. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  20. 1 2 Adkin, Lana (24 December 2023). "Meet the Windrush descendant who unearths Notts' hidden history". Nottinghamshire Live. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  21. ↑ "Honorary doctorate for 'Digging Deep' historian Norma Gregory". The Gleaner . 9 January 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  22. ↑ "2023 winners". Pride of Gedling Awards. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.