To celebrate Black History Month, FWN are publishing a series of articles on inspiring black women from History. Jackie Taylor writes about Hyacinth Jarrett. Born in Mandeville, Jamaica in 1932 Mrs Hyacinth Jarrett travelled to England in 1956. She embarked on a career of Nursing but soon realised that she had a gift for hairdressing, establishing her own business Jarrett’s Hairdressers in 1970. Mrs Jarrett soon became an expert in Black, European and Asian hair and styling. Eager to pass on...

Black History Month: What is it, and why does it matter? By Marianna Masters Every October, Black History Month invites us to pause, reflect, and honour the legacy of Black communities in Britain and Black people oversees who have shaped our culture. But in 2025, with so much unfolding around us, from rising far-right rhetoric to the continued marginalisation of Black voices, it’s not enough to simply mark the occasion. We need to ask: why does this month matter, and what are we doing with...

To celebrate Black History Month, FWN are publishing a series of articles on inspiring black women from History. Our Chair, Marianna Masters, writes about Mary Seacole   On my many trips to St Thomas’s Hospital as a former Public Governor for Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, I would pass the statue of Mary Seacole. She stands tall, striding forward into the wind, just outside the building where so many lives are cared for. I often paused—not just to admire the sculpture, but to...