A jewelery designer who founded an academy for young people says she is working to keep her parents’ legacy alive.

Norma Banton has been making jewelery for 22 years and was the first black woman to own a jewelery store in Birmingham’s Jewelery Quarter.

His parents, Nancy Burrell and Dillon Banton, came to the city as part of the Windrush generation and both worked in the Jewelery Quarter; his mother worked at the Birmingham Mint and his father Lucas worked at the car factory.

“I feel like I’m carrying on their legacy… they are very much a part of what I do,” he said.

“My parents’ house was always open. My mother fed all our friends,” Ms Banton said.

“Twenty-two years later, I may not be welcoming people into my home, but I am creating a home from home, creating a safe space for young people to learn skills.”

Ms Banton said she was reminded of racism during training and being excluded from exhibitions for no real reason.

He said a teacher described it as a “hot black thing” because one of his favorite techniques, the chase, involved using black tar.

She founded a support group for jewelers during the coronavirus pandemic and founded the MasterPeace Academy in 2021 after hearing about other jewelery designers’ experiences of racism.

The academy trains local youth, especially those who feel there are barriers to entering the jewelery trade.

Ms Banton said she initially thought he must “have thick skin”.

“But when I interviewed 60 black jewelers, I was getting the same stories,” he said.

He founded an academy “as a safe space so that no one will be exposed to racism while retraining in this profession.”

Since the academy was founded, approximately 30 students have completed their degrees.

“I feel a sense of responsibility that it is up to me to make a difference for the next generation of black jewelers because if not me then who?

“We want to work with organizations to make the future brighter – not just for black students, but for everyone in the jewelery trade.

“We want to leave the business safer, fairer and more equitable than we found it.”