Late singer and activist Patti Flynn has become the first Black woman to have a purple plaque dedicated to her in Wales. The Black History Wales patron and celebrated jazz singer was known for her 26-year campaign for a memorial to Black and ethnic minority servicemen and women.
According to BBC Wales, her son Michael Flynn welcomed the award for his mother, who passed away in 2020, saying she "stood on the shoulders of other strong, Black women". The plaque will be unveiled on Friday at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff.
The Purple Plaques campaign was created to improve the recognition of "remarkable women in Wales" and award them with a plaque to commemorate their achievements and cement their legacy in Welsh history. So far, the campaign has commemorated the likes of Dr Frances Hoggan, who was a pioneering doctor from Brecon, Thora Silverthorne - a trade unionist and nurse from Abertillery, and Charlotte Price White, who was a suffragist and peace activist from Bangor in Gwynedd.
